Now, is exactly the right time! Come, Let Us Finally get excited about our Worship of our God. Revelation 4:1-11

Revelation 4 Amplified Bible

Scene in Heaven

4 After this I looked, and behold, ^[a]a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a [war] trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” ²At once I was in [special communication with] the Spirit; and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with One seated on the throne. ³And He who sat there appeared like [the crystalline sparkle of] ^[b]a jasper stone and [the fiery redness of] a sardius stone, and encircling the throne there was a rainbow that looked like [the color of an] emerald. ⁴Twenty-four [other] thrones surrounded the throne; and seated on these thrones were ^[c]twenty-four elders dressed in white clothing, with crowns of gold on their heads.

The Throne and Worship of the Creator

⁵From the throne came flashes of lightning and [rumbling] sounds and peals of thunder. Seven lamps of fire were burning in front of the throne, which are ^[d]the seven Spirits of God; ⁶and in front of the throne there was something like a sea or large expanse of glass, like [the clearest] crystal. In the center and around the throne were four living ^[e]creatures who were full of eyes in front and behind [seeing everything and knowing everything that is around them]. ^{7 [f]}The first living creature was like a lion, the second creature like a calf (ox), the third creature had the face of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. ⁸And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes all over and within [underneath their wings]; and day and night they never stop saying,

“Holy, holy, holy [is the] Lord God, the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all], who was and who is and who is to come [the unchanging, eternal God].”

⁹Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanksgiving to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and they worship Him who lives forever and ever; and they throw down their crowns before the throne, saying,

¹¹
“Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they exist, and were created and brought into being.”

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Heaven’s throne room is filled with indescribable sounds of praise and worship.

The four living creatures give round-the-clock adoration to the One on the throne. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,” they proclaim.

This is a picture of all creation exalting, glorifying, honoring, magnifying, God as the Creator and Lord over all things—the only ONE worthy of all our praise.

Creation’s song of praise—led by the four living creatures— serves as a call to worship for the twenty-four elders.

God’s people cannot help themselves, responding in everlasting worship when surrounded by the authentic, enthusiastic praises of all the rest of creation.

All God’s people in his worldwide church—young and elderly, seekers and established followers—help each other celebrate and confess with praise.

Together, today, every single moment of every single day, we join with the rest of creation, saying,

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they . . . have their being.”

This picture reminds us that just as all of creation constantly proclaims the glory of God (Psalm 19), so too can all God’s people—in our work and play each day as well as when we gather for a worship service. All things give glory to God for bringing them into being, and he keeps all creation in his constant care.

Our creating, life-sustaining God is worthy to receive our praise always.

But now let us ask the question I am sure everyone has their own answer for:

What is worship?

Okay, I know that is a ridiculously obvious question!

Every adult and most children reading this morning know what worship is!”

Since in these 2022 technological times and that is such a ridiculously obvious question and the answer is obviously such common knowledge to the vast majority of those in this assembly, quietly answer that question to yourself.

If you were standing on the exact place of your own Judgement, and God asked you to put your head up, shoulders back and your smart phone down, and then look and answer the question, “What is worship?” what would your answer be?

The New Testament does very little to either define or describe worship.

In fact, the Old Testament does more to define and describe worship than does the New Testament.

Jesus talked very little about worship.

The book of Acts describes the beginning of Christianity but does not describe Christian worship in detail.

The epistles do not contain major sections on worship.

The New Testament book that says more about worship than any other New Testament writing is the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

It in symbolic terms makes several statements about worship in heaven.

I. I ask you to do two things.

A. The first thing I ask you to do is to call to mind your definition of worship.

1. I am quite serious.

2. Think about your definition of worship.

3. I want you to consciously hold on to that definition.

B. The second thing I want you to do is this:

1. While you keep your definition of worship firmly in your awareness,

2. I want you to read with me several worship scenes from the book of Revelation.

3. So I want you to do two things at one time:

stay constantly aware of your personal definition of worship

and listen to what Revelation says about worship.

C. Read with me.

Revelation 4:8Amplified Bible

⁸And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes all over and within [underneath their wings]; and day and night they never stop saying,

“Holy, holy, holy [is the] Lord God, the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all], who was and who is and who is to come [the unchanging, eternal God].”

Take great care to note the stress upon God’s holiness.

Revelation 4:9-11 Amplified Bible

¹¹
“Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they exist, and were created and brought into being.”

Again, take great care to note the stress upon God’s holiness.

Revelation 5:8-10Amplified Bible

⁸And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb (Christ), each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of fragrant incense, which are the prayers of the saints (God’s people). ⁹And they sang a new song [of glorious redemption], saying,

“Worthy and deserving are You to take the scroll and to break its seals; for You were slain (sacrificed), and with Your blood You purchased people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
¹⁰
“You have made them to be a kingdom [of royal subjects] and priests to our God; and they will reign on the earth.”

Note the first two passages involved the worship of God, Who is the central figure in heaven.

Note the shift in this passage: the worship of the resurrected Jesus, God’s sacrificial Lamb.

Note the emphasis is on the worthiness of Jesus because he accomplished God’s basic objective.

Revelation 5:11-12Amplified Bible

Angels Exalt the Lamb

¹¹Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and [the voice] of the living creatures and the elders; and they numbered myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands (innumerable), ¹²saying in a loud voice,

“Worthy and deserving is the Lamb that was sacrificed to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”

The Lamb is still the focus of worship here.

Take great care to note again the stress is still on worthiness.

Revelation 5:13-14 Amplified Bible

¹³And I heard every created thing that is in heaven or on earth or under the earth [in Hades, the realm of the dead] or on the sea, and everything that is in them, saying [together],

“To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb (Christ), be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”

¹⁴And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped [Him who lives forever and ever].

Now the focus is both on God and the Lamb.

The stress is on their praise worthiness.

Revelation 7:11-12 Amplified Bible

¹¹And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the [twenty-four] elders and the four living creatures; and they fell to their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹²saying,

“Amen! Blessing and glory and majesty and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might belong to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

The focus of worship is now back on God.

Again, take great care to note God is praised for His worthiness.

Revelation 11:16-18 Amplified Bible

¹⁶And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell face downward and worshiped God, ¹⁷saying,

“To You we give thanks, O Lord God Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all], Who are and Who were, because You have taken Your great power and the sovereignty [which is rightly Yours] and have [now] begun to reign. ¹⁸And the nations (Gentiles) became enraged, and Your wrath and indignation came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and [the time came] to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints (God’s people) and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and [the time came] to destroy the destroyers of the earth.”

The focus is still on God.

Note the stress is on thanksgiving.

There was an outpouring of gratitude because God has used His power to rescue them from all that tried to destroy them.

Revelation 14:6-7Amplified Bible

The Angel with the Gospel

⁶Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an ^[a]eternal gospel to preach to the inhabitants of the earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people; ⁷and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God [with awe and reverence], and give Him glory [and honor and praise in worship], because the hour of His judgment has come; [with all your heart] worship Him who created the heaven and the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

The focus is still on God.

The stress is on reverencing (fear) God by giving Him glory as the source of judgment and creation.

Revelation 15:2-4Amplified Bible

²Then I saw something like a sea or large expanse of glass mixed with fire, and those who were victorious over the beast and over his image and over the number corresponding to his name were standing on the sea or large expanse of glass, holding harps of God [worshiping Him]. ³And they ^[a]sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

“Great and wonderful and awe-inspiring are Your works [in judgment],

O Lord God, the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all];
Righteous and true are Your ways,
O King of the ^[b]nations!
⁴
“Who will not fear [reverently] and glorify Your name, O Lord [giving You honor and praise in worship]?
For You alone are holy;
For all the nations shall come and worship before You,
For Your righteous acts [Your just decrees and judgments] have been revealed and displayed.”

The focus in still on God.

They sang.

God’s greatness and holiness is honored.

Revelation 19:1-6Amplified Bible

The Fourfold Hallelujah

19 After these ^[a]things I heard something like the great and mighty shout of a vast multitude in heaven, ^[b]exclaiming,

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory (splendor, majesty) and power (dominion, might) belong to our God; ²because His judgments are true and righteous. He has judged [convicted and pronounced sentence on] the great prostitute (idolatress) who was corrupting and ruining and poisoning the earth with her adultery (idolatry), and He has imposed the penalty for the blood of His bond-servants ^[c]on her.” ³And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke shall ascend forever and ever.” ⁴Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures also fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah (praise the Lord)!” ⁵Then from the throne there came a voice, saying,

“Praise our God, all you bond-servants of His, you who fear Him, the small (common) and the great (distinguished).”

Marriage of the Lamb

⁶Then I heard something like the shout of a vast multitude, and like the boom of many pounding waves, and like the roar of mighty peals of thunder, saying,

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all] reigns.

The focus is still on God.

It is a scene of praise.

Four times God’s throne rings with the sound of creatures declaring, “Hallelujah!” [Literally, “Praise the Lord,” a joyful expression of thanksgiving.]

God won!

He did what He intended to do!

He defeated even the strongest centers of wickedness and evil, and He rescued all who would turn to Him!

The result was an incredible, indescribable, outpouring of gratitude to Him.

Now is the time (sorry, I have to) to return you to the year of our Savior 2022.

D. Do a little comparing.

0. Do you still have your definition of worship clearly in your mind?

1. How does your definition of worship compare to what happened in heaven in worship of God and of the Lamb (Jesus Christ)?

2. Where in your definition of worship do these things fit in?

a. The holiness of God.

b. The worthiness of God.

c. The praise worthiness of God and the Lamb.

d. Reverencing God for His holiness.

e. Glorifying God.

f. Saying, “Amen,” and declaring, “Hallelujah” with joy.

II. Let me make some personal observations–you do not have to agree with me, but I surely hope and fervently pray that God has challenged you to think.

A. My first observation is that there is not a whole lot that occurs in our worship assemblies that prepares us for heavenly worship.

0. There are not many “Amens.”

1. Too rarely is there this powerful sense of gratitude because our God of power has forgiven us and rescued us.

2. Too rarely is there this powerful sense of joy that flows from the gratitude of what God has done.

3. There are almost no hallelujahs, or obvious expressions and declarations of praise because of God’s great worthiness and holiness.

4. There is little evidence that we who believe and preach and confess and testify to belonging to God feel genuinely compelled to fall before our God.

B. My second observation is that we have through the centuries changed worship.

0. It has become a “take out’” type of worship, not much better than the take-out meals we have become accustom too.

1. No preparation. No real purification, No real cost, No real thought, and no real effort and no real inspiration or encouragement towards active participation.

C. We have made worship assemblies primarily about education instead of primarily about praising God.

a. We are so busy there is no time for spiritual education.

b. There is not convenient time to study–individually or with a group.

c. I wonder if for some of you the only time you seriously think about the Bible is when you read a daily devotional or go to “church” on any Sunday morning.

1. The core of our worship focuses on the sermon, a human accomplishment, rather than the Lord’s Supper, a divine accomplishment.

a. If you are typical, you are more likely to react to your opinion of the sermon than your opinion of what God did in Jesus Christ.

b. Your faith is more likely to be affected by what is said or what is not said, but should have been said, in a sermon than what God did in the death of Jesus.

D. My third observation: (and this one might prayerfully stun a few people) one of the key reasons [not all the reasons, but one of the significant reasons] that we are losing so many people is this: we have made too much effort to convert people to the church denomination, too little effort to convert people to Christ.

0. We are the church–the church is not some institution that exists apart from us.

1. If a man or a woman is in Christ, he or she by an act of God is part of God and Christ’s church.

2. The power of God and the glory of God will be seen in the church when the power of God and the glory of God is seen in our lives.

III. The basic objective of worship is simple.

A. First, worship should call all who are in Christ closer to God.

B. Second, worship should fill those who belong to God through Christ with a sense of joy and gratitude.

C. Third, worship should make every single Christian feel closer to every other Christian because the one thing we all have in common, the unifying element, is that we are in our Lord and Savior and King, Christ Jesus.

Question: how often to you leave a worship assembly without worshipping?

Question: how often do you leave a worship assembly feeling joy and gratitude because you feel much closer to God?

Question: Will you feel, have you felt, joy and gratitude toward God this week?

Question: How did you express it?

Question: How did you experience it?

Question: How will you live it out?

Question: How do you live into it?

Question: How do you live outward from it?

Question: How will you maximize ‘Love God, your neighbor, yourself’ from it?

Question: How have you been minimizing ‘Love God, neighbor, self’ from it?

Question: Does your neighbor know anything about your maximum, minimum?

What other questions do you have on your heart, soul, which require an answer?

What about your “eternal perspective” of worship requires a “re-adjustment?”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Prayer of Affirmation

This world would deny you, Lord,
and rely overmuch on human wisdom
in their alleged “search” for answers
to questions they have yet to ask,
but we will yet raise to praise you,
and exalt and magnify your name,
for we know that you are Alpha,
the beginning of all things,
and Omega,
the end,
and all that is between.
We have known your healing.
We have known your provision,
We have known your victory.
Our sorrow has turned into dancing
and our tears to songs of joy.
We shall praise you ever more. Amen

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Make, Take Time for the Holy One. Take, Make “Every Effort” to do what Leads to Your Peace and Your Mutual Edification. Mark 1:35-39

In the streaming series The Chosen, one episode depicts Jesus returning to a camp where he and his disciples are staying for the night.

It is late, and Jesus has spent the day healing crowds of people.

He stumbles into camp, exhausted from the day’s ministry.

The disciples can only watch him, surprised at how tired he is.

His teaching and healing work must have been exhausting.

Though he was fully God, Jesus was also fully human, so he got tired and needed sleep (see Mark 4:38; John 4:6).

Our narrative reading for today explains that after a long day of teaching and healing, Jesus rose early in the morning to pray.

Jesus needed time to connect with his Father in prayer, resting in his Father’s presence and focusing and resting for a while to then refocus on his purpose.

He had come to do much more than heal people in Capernaum, even though that was clearly important while he was there.

When the disciples went out and found him, he said, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”

Does Jesus ever stop?

Does Jesus have limitless energy to just “keep going and going and going?”

No! Even Jesus needed His rest and time to refresh his physical body and soul.

Jesus too spent considerable time in prayer with his Father, and in the process and short, but extremely intense ministry he remained focused on his purpose.

If this was important to Jesus, it is certainly important for his followers too.

Be sure to spend personal time with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each day!

Mark 1:35-39Amplified Bible

³⁵Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left [the house], and went out to a secluded place, and was praying there. ³⁶Simon [Peter] and his companions searched [everywhere, looking anxiously] for Him, ³⁷and they found Him and said, “Everybody is looking for You!” ³⁸He replied, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so I may preach there also; that is why I came [from the Father].” ³⁹So He went throughout Galilee, preaching [the gospel] in their synagogues and casting out demons.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

“Let us therefore make every effort [possible] to [‘perpetually’ keep right on doing every single day] what leads [us all] to peace and to mutual edification”

But lets us be reasonable with ourselves – what does that phrase mean to Us?

Are we expected to be like the “Energizer Bunny” that can outlast all others.

Are You and I Energizer Bunny Christians?

Or always like the “other bunny” who runs out of battery power far too soon?

We don’t make it easy for new Christians to become engaged with their faith journey because we throw some pretty confusing concepts and ideas at them.

Two of my favorites that are really not intuitive for most people are the idea of the Holy Spirit or simply The Spirit and the concept of “growing in your faith.”

Our evangelical reflex is to strive to simplify the equation by simply telling new Christians to “follow Jesus” which is not necessarily any more helpful.

The real trick is to show them how to engage with the Spirit for the strength to follow Jesus that will facilitate our faith growth.

Easy, right?

No, most lifelong Christians struggle to understand how to live a Christian life, so how can we expect a person new to Christianity understand it any better.

A metaphor to help us understand these concepts and ideas a little better is to “borrow” from Madison Avenue one of its most iconic spokespersons

– the Energizer Bunny.

The Energizer Bunny is powered by Energizer batteries that reputedly are longer lasting than the average battery.

So, the Energizer Bunny continues moving in the direction that it is pointed until its batteries run out of power – if it ever runs out of power.

Has anyone ever seen on those television commercials the Energizer Bunny running out of battery power even ONCE? Does anyone ever change batteries?

It keeps going and going and going… remember.

A new Christian, or any of us mature and maturing Christians for that matter, is trying their hardest, with all available energy, to be the Energizer Bunny.

On Sundays, we ‘preach it,’ set them in motion to follow Jesus by instructing them in worshiping, reading the Bible, serving others, loving our neighbors.

Our batteries are powered by the Spirit which can actually keep our “bunny” moving forever forward and around and drum beating, but our batteries run out because of our human incapacity to sustain anything for a long period of time.

So, we are “making every effort” at “growing in faith” by ‘perpetually’ doing these activities that help us to follow Jesus, propelled by the power of the Spirit.

Again, this ‘perpetual motion Christianity’ is easy, right, because if we are all doing all these things then ‘Holy Spirit empowered’ we should be good forever.

Well, the problem with that supposition is that we are still merely human.

Our capacity to convert the Spirit’s power into action in our lives can cause us to become excessively weary due to our own overexertion, excessive enthusiasm.

Or we will run headlong and head strong directly into adversity which causes us to disconnect from the Spirit because we can fix the problem on our own power.

Sometimes, we just get distracted by those shiny, new indestructible thingies being stored up for us in our heavenly storehouses that appear into our path.

No matter how many times you talk about “consistency in your spiritual life,” realize we are human and inherently, inconsistent creatures.

If we as God’s “chosen” preachers and teachers or Laity are truly worth our salt, we will be encouraging people to be the best ‘faithful’ followers of Jesus they can be, giving them tools to help them be better today than they were yesterday.

Now back to the problem of ‘Energizer Bunny Christianity’ which is what do we do when we will finally let our batteries run out of power – how do we recharge?

I think there are three critical tools that God created so that we can energize our batteries on the fly and help us to be the servants we were created to become.

Like the man Rabbi Jesus intentionally planned for regular “time away from the crowds” Fellowship and intentionally praying and worshiping regularly with a community of other Jesus followers which gives us an energy boost as well as a better understanding of what all this new 2022 Christian ‘stuff’ means for us.

Now, hear me clearly, I am endorsing you to go to church somewhere else with other people; not just listening to Christian satellite music or Spotify or a preset list of “meditative” music or some sermon podcast in the car on your daily work commute. And don’t get me started on the “I can worship God anywhere” folks, which is a whole different – and YES! a very aggravating topic for another day.

I am a very strong advocate and even stronger proponent of ‘living’ in Acts 2:

Acts 2:43-47Amplified Bible

⁴³A sense of awe was felt by ^[a]everyone, and many wonders and signs (attesting miracles) were taking place through the apostles. ⁴⁴And all those who had believed [in Jesus as Savior] ^[b]were together and had all things in common [considering their possessions to belong to the group as a whole]. ⁴⁵And they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing the proceeds with all [the other believers], as anyone had need. ⁴⁶Day after day they met in the temple [area] continuing with one mind, and breaking bread in various private homes. They were eating their meals together with joy and generous hearts, ⁴⁷praising God continually, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord kept adding to their number daily those who were being saved.

Striving to be Acts 2 Community – Making Every Effort – to be GOD’S Church;

Actively seek other Jesus followers to go on this journey with you. God created Eve from Adam so Adam would not be alone, and God intends the same for us.

Start or join a small “accountability” fellowship group or a Sunday School class, serve on a prayer team or ‘go forth’ mission team, whatever works best for you.

Go on a Christian Retreat make the effort to engage with people one-on-one,

to find new and insightful answers to old lingering energy draining questions, Koinonia support for making tough decisions, or a mentor to provide guidance.

Intentionally take Sabbath time regularly to rest and relax your brain and body.

God created the concept of Sabbath, which is another one of those complex church ideas, but simply stated its our time to let the Spirit re-energize our batteries so that we are prepared to go [refreshed and refocused] where Jesus asks us to go and [refreshed and refocused] do the things God calls us to do.

Let’s make it a [refreshing] priority to help people find the best place to engage ‘their Sabbath Day‘ keeping it holy, with the Holy Spiri, keep batteries charged.

I truly believe if Christians of any maturity level can help their own people find worship, find other people, and find their Sabbath rest, then they will find Jesus!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Father, I so very much need to spend time with you, just as Jesus did. Lord, lead me, guide me, and give me the strength I need for the work you have planned. Amen.

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Pondering Our Christianity? No More Excuses for our Excuses? One day all of our Excuses must CEASE! Luke 14:16-24

A psychology professor at a Midwestern University recently asked faculty members for the ‘most unusual, bizarre, and amazing student excuses’ they had ever heard. He got dozens of responses from his fellow professors:

* Grandparent death:

an old favorite, but one professor’s class established some sort of record when 14 of 250 students reported their grandmother’s death just before final exams.

In another class a student reported that he could not take a test because of his grandmother’s death.

When the professor expressed condolences a week later, the student replied, ‘Don’t worry, she was almost terminal, but she is feeling much better now.’

* Car Problems: “I had an accident, the police impounded the car, and my paper is in the glove compartment.”

* Animal Trauma: “I can’t be at the exam because my cat is having kittens and I am her coach.”

* More Animal Trauma: “At dinner last night, my dog ate all of my study notes, and he has not pooped yet this morning – can we postpone this until he does?”

We seem to have an excuse for everything, don’t we?

There are even websites on the internet that will help you generate an excuse!

It is true… you type in the type of excuse you need, and it generates one for you (www.zompist.com/excuse.html).

Also, you can even learn about how to

“Deliver a Fake Doctor’s Note and Making It Stick: 6 Must-Use Tips!”

I find that totally amazing!

What exactly is an excuse?

In a court of law, “an excuse is a defense in which a defendant argues that he or she was not liable for his or her actions at the time a law was broken and thus he or she should not be held liable for a crime. Excuses include diminished responsibility, duress, infancy, insanity, involuntary intoxication, mistake, provocation, and unconsciousness (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excuse).

I think my favorite excuse from that list is ‘infancy.’

“I was a baby when the crime happened… it wasn’t me!”

Excuse is a reason we give when something happens that does not go our way.

It is the ‘why’ we did something when we get caught.

It is our reasons for not doing something we know we should do.

The Bible is full of people making excuses and making excuses is as old as human beings.

You know the story from Genesis chapter 3. Adam ate the forbidden fruit, then when confronted about it, he came up with an excuse: “The woman you put here with me– she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it” (verse 12).

Then the blame was shifted to Eve. What did Eve have to say? Genesis 3:13 records her excuse: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

It was the serpent’s turn, and guess what – he didn’t have a leg to stand on!

Exodus 32 shares with us the story of the Golden Calf.

The people of God finally arrived from Egypt and settled at the mountain of God to receive the Ten Commandments.

Moses was gone a long time and the people became restless.

The people wanted Aaron, Moses’ brother, to make idols they could worship.

They gave him gold. Aaron made a calf. They were persistent in their request.

Moses returned with the Ten Commandments in hand and asked Aaron if he had made the idol.

What was Aaron’s response? Aaron is trying to explain himself and says,

“So, I told them, ’Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” (Exodus 32:24).

Aaron was not to blame… the fire was. Ridiculous and almost comical if the sin were not so grave, have such a bitter taste and have such lethal consequences.

God wants to have a relationship with us, and He wants that relationship to be the most important.

But we default to our sinful unrighteous humanity, and we make our excuses.

It is the great conundrum of mankind – We always have excuses after excuses.

We are going to look at a parable today where the invited guests made excuses.

Let’s read this story from Jesus.

Luke 14:16-24Amplified Bible

Parable of the Dinner

¹⁶But Jesus said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many guests; ¹⁷and at the dinner hour he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is ready now.’ ¹⁸But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have purchased a piece of land and I have to go out and see it; please consider me excused.’ ¹⁹Another one said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ ²⁰And another said, ‘I have [recently] married a wife, and for that reason I am unable to come.’ ²¹So the servant came back and reported this to his master. Then [his master,] the head of the household, became angry [at the rejections of his invitation] and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and the lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and the disabled and the blind and the lame.’ ²²And the servant [after returning] said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ ²³Then the master told the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled [with guests]. ²⁴For I tell you, not one of those who were invited [and declined] will taste my dinner.’”

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

The parable from Luke’s narrative describes for us a great banquet to which the master of the house had extended invitations far and wide.

No time had been noted in the invitation, but the understanding of the day was, once all was ready, notification would go out to all who accepted.

The moment arrived.

The servants were dispatched to gather the guests.

The minimal, if not automatic expectation would be that those invited would drop what they were doing and simply come, because to accept the invitation beforehand and then make an excuse when the day came was a grave insult.

And yet the excuses come.

Everyone knew that the banquet was being prepared and they were supposed to have cleared their schedules.

All who were invited gave excuses.

Other things and other people were subtly, suddenly taking priority over the banquet that was prepared.

Excuse One:

One man said he was too involved in his business.

The man had bought a piece of ground and needed to look after it.

A person can become too involved in any business, not just the business of developing property or farming.

A person’s business, profession, and affairs can often consume all of life.

Other things fall away, and the business is all that matters.

Excuse Two:

Another man said that he was too wrapped up in new purchases.

The oxen had just been purchased.

They were a new possession and the owner wanted to try them out.

So, it is with new purchases such as houses, cars, bikes, records and CDs, books, radios, televisions, and a host of other material things.

The Bible tells us over and over again, over emphasizes material things can take root in our lives and the love of things can become most important in our lives.

Excuse Three:

Still another man said that he was too wrapped up with his family.

This man had just got married.

We know that marriage is ordained by God and that getting married is certainly a good thing.

I think the master of the banquet would have liked it if preparations had been made to attend. Maybe this man could have brought his new wife along, but just says, “I can’t come.” Family can also become an all-consuming issue in our life.

ONE INTERPRETATION

So what does this parable mean?

As in all parables, there is a surface story and then the spiritual meaning underneath.

This is a story about a prepared banquet and all the guests excuse themselves from coming.

The key to interpreting this parable comes in Luke 14:15 right before Jesus gives the parable.

Jesus is eating in a pharisee’s house (Luke 14:1-14) and is discussing spiritual matters with those attending.

One of the people at the table says,

“Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” (Verse 15)

Who is the one preparing the banquet in the parable? God.

What is the banquet?

The Kingdom of God / Christian Faith and Life / Christianity

Who are those invited? Us / People / Believers / Non-Believers

ONE APPLICATION?

How does this parable apply to us?

What is the meaning of Jesus’ story about this banquet and the excuses?

How are we to strive to understand the complexities of this parable in our lives?

One 2022 application for this parable comes I believe, in looking at our own personal application of our daily Christianity in the different excuses given.

You see, God absolutely wants us to make Him a priority.

Except, too any of us absolutely do not want God being their #1 priority!

The parable is all about this prepared banquet that all of these people were supposed to attend and were supposed to make a priority.

God wants to be a priority in our lives.

He wants His Word to be the primary influence in our lives.

He wants our Sabbaths to be dedicated to Him.

He wants our worship to be directed at only Him.

He wants the “first fruits” of our resources to honor Him first.

God absolutely wants to have a relationship with us, and absolutely He fully wants that relationship to be the most important of all of our relationships.

But we default to our sinful and unrighteous humanity – and we make excuses.

* Maybe your business has taken over your life and you have no time for God. What is your excuse?

* Maybe the ‘things’ of life and the pursuit of them is more important than God in this moment, this time and this season. What is your excuse?

* Maybe you haven’t cracked open your Bible in quite a while. Have not had a conversation with Father, Son and Holy Spirit lately. What is your excuse?

* Maybe you are holding onto a grudge and just won’t forgive someone. What is your excuse?

* Maybe you are living like a “Christian” on Sundays, but on Monday through Saturday, you are not so sure you can account for “faith.” What is your excuse?

* Maybe all the effort you expend in your devotion and obedience to God has “tired you out,” “completely exhausted your spirit.” What is your excuse?

* Maybe you have decided not to give of your “first fruits” and your tithing. What is your excuse?

A whole lot of “Maybe’s” are going on all around us – so, our excuses are flying.

We are struggling to generate “just one more excuse” to get through our day.

There is no one alive right now who can deny “wanting just one more excuse!”

You see the Christian life is an exhausting one, all about giving God the priority and living and loving and moving forth in ministry under His Lordship alone.

When you accept Jesus Christ into your life, you accept Him as Savior and Lord.

Most of us have no problem with accepting Jesus as Savior.

We know that we cannot earn our way into Heaven, and we need God, and we need our sins washed away. We need Jesus. Yet, we cannot forget that He is Lord of our life as well. He is our priority, and it’s His will that should be sought after.

I have no idea what your excuse is for God or what the issue is. We all do it. We all give God excuses of why we can’t be faithful. I want to encourage you this day to rid yourself of your excuse and commit yourself to being faithful to God.

As tired and exhausted as we all undoubtedly are in these 2022 times, seasons, there is no excusing our way out of our innate needs for connections with God.

God is absolutely aware of these needs.

There is no time when He is not absolutely aware of these needs.

Isaiah 1:18-20Amplified Bible

“Let Us Reason”

¹⁸
“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord.
“^[a]Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be like wool.
¹⁹
“If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the best of the land;
²⁰
But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

The “Invitation to Come and Let Us Reason” is always there.

It has been in the Scriptures for thousands of years.

Ancient Biblical Editors have had uncountable opportunities to remove it.

What if they had removed those words all those thousands of years ago …?

Would that have given us “that one more final excuse” to give to God for why we are such prolific excuse makers – “It was nowhere in your Word, God!”

“Since it was not there in the first place – how can I be held accountable now?”

Do you believe our Lord God has a severe, chronic case of: “exhausted ears?”

His invitation has, in absolute fact, withstood the test of time and mankind.

It is our choice to stop – even for a few brief moments – “why all the excuses?”

There’re definite consequences for not stopping – “but if you refuse, God says.”

There are very definitely, decisively, eternally, consequences to continuing.

One day, Church – All of our excuses will have to absolutely have to stop!

One day, Church – All of our excuses will stop – then God our righteous Judge ….

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Lord God, my Way-maker, I know you have a destiny for me to achieve in this life. I want to follow the plan that you have laid out. Help me to understand and follow your call. Show me your will for my life and what I need to do right now to get started. Enable me to know who I am in Christ, and the special gifts and abilities you have given me. Give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation as I seek to know you more intimately. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Jesus’ Sense of Mission. Jesus Came not for the righteous but for Sinners.

One of the things we must always keep in mind when we are studying or even just reading the Scriptures is that context is king. We must understand the context if we are to understand what the passage means.

Today we are going to look at a passage of Scripture that has been the basis for many preachers for sermons which were isolated their setting.

The story of the call of our Lord to Matthew to follow him and the resulting change in Matthew’s heart as seen by the feast he gives so that Jesus can speak to all of his friends has been the basis of some very motivating sermons.

Jesus’ statement that He “did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” is a rich statement that could be preached on for days, if not weeks, on end.

There have also been many inspirational sermons presented on the nature of the new life we have in Jesus Christ based on what Jesus says in Matthew 9:17 about new wine being put into new wineskins.

In fact, there have been church renewal and evangelism movements started based on these two passages. However, no matter how motivational and inspirational a sermon or a renewal or movement may be, if it misses the point of the Biblical text, it is a very poor effort and could even descend into chaos.

A passage of Scripture cannot be properly understood without its context.

Turn with me to Luke 5:27-39. The parallel passages are Matthew 9:9-17 and Mark 2:13-22. As you are turning there, let me set the context for you.

Luke 5:27-39 Amplified Bible

Call of Levi (Matthew)

²⁷After this Jesus went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi (Matthew) sitting at the tax booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me [as My disciple, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk].” ²⁸And he left everything behind and got up and began to follow Jesus [as His disciple].

²⁹Levi (Matthew) gave a great banquet for Him at his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining at the table with them. ³⁰The Pharisees and their scribes [seeing those with whom He was associating] began murmuring in discontent to His disciples, asking, “Why are you eating and drinking with the tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews]?” ³¹And Jesus replied to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but [only] those who are sick. ³²I did not come to call the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to repent], but sinners to repentance [to change their old way of thinking, to turn from sin and to seek God and His righteousness].”

³³Then they said to Him, “The disciples of John [the Baptist] often practice fasting and offer prayers [of special petition], and so do the disciples of the Pharisees; but Yours eat and drink.” ³⁴Jesus said to them, “Can you make the wedding guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? ³⁵But days [for mourning] will come when the bridegroom is [forcefully] taken away from them. They will fast in those days.” ³⁶He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old one; otherwise, he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. ³⁷And no one puts new wine into old ^[a]wineskins; otherwise, the new [fermenting] wine will [expand and] burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. ³⁸But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. ³⁹And no one, after drinking old wine, wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is fine.’”

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

The theme of Matthew’s gospel is that Jesus is the promised Messiah and throughout his account Matthew continually stresses that point.

Mark and Luke make similar emphasis in their accounts.

Mark’s focus is that Jesus is the Son of Man who came to serve and give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Luke’s emphasis is that Jesus is the Son of Man who came to seek and save sinners (Luke 19:10).

In all three accounts, whether they are chronological such as Luke or thematic such as Matthew, there is a progression in presenting Jesus’ authority as the promised Messiah.

Luke’s narrative simply presents Jesus’ miracles in the order they happened while Matthew’s narrative groups them thematically to demonstrate that Jesus has authority over disease and sickness, nature and the supernatural.

We have seen Jesus’ authority over nature in His turning the water into wine at the wedding in Capernaum (John 2) (See: The Wedding at Cana).

Jesus will continue to demonstrate that authority by instantly calming the waters of the sea (Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:36-41) and walking on water (Matthew 14:24-33; Mark 6:47-51).

Jesus has authority over sickness and disease as demonstrated in His healing Peter’s mother-in-law of the fever that had put her in bed and many others of their various diseases that same day (Luke 4:38-41)

Jesus put his hands on the leper and healed him and made him clean (Matthew 8:1-4), healed a boy who was near death and 16 miles or more away by speaking a word (John 4:46-54).

Jesus has authority over the supernatural demonstrated by casting demons out of hosts of people. One of the first was immediately after he had finished teaching in Capernaum and a demonized man cried out.

Jesus rebuked the demon and commanded it to come out, which it did, and the people were amazed (Luke 4:31-37).

Later that same evening Jesus cast out many demons while He was healing people at Simon Peter’s home (Luke 4:40-41).

All of these miracles were signs which had demonstrated Jesus’ identity as the Messiah, God in human flesh. His abilities to do these things were the proof He also had the authority to forgive sin.

He told the paralytic man “Your sins are forgiven.” When the scribes and Pharisees who were present questioned His authority to forgive sins since only God can do that, Jesus healed the man in their presence to prove that “the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Luke 5:17-26).

The power to forgive sins is of the greatest significance because sin is the root of all man’s problems and so is his greatest need.

This is the context for what occurs next in all three accounts.

Jesus forgave and healed a sinner who was paralyzed.

Jesus had already shown great compassion toward all those who were sick.

Many would understand His forgiving the man as just an extension of that compassion to someone stricken with a severe ailment.

But what about people who were so despised the Jews considered them to be the equivalent of Gentiles? People they thought were excluded from being forgiven.

Jesus Calls a Publican – Matthew 9:9; Mark 2:13-14; Luke 5:27

The context of these passages is the demonstration of Jesus forgiving sinners and the change in life that brings.

Luke 5:27 summarizes what occurs, After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me.”

Mark 2:13-14 adds more detail, ¹³ And He went out again by the seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them. ¹⁴ As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

Matthew 9:9 adds the detail that this man was also known as Matthew.

No text states how much time passed from when Jesus forgave and healed the paralytic until this event occurs, but it would not have been a long time.

Jesus has gone out from Capernaum and is walking along the road that runs by the shore of the Sea of Galilee when He comes to the booth of the tax collector.

We are not told exactly what the booth looked like.

It could have been a small building or just a table with some sort of covering for shade.

Sitting in the tax booth is a Jewish man named Levi the son of Alphaeus. He is also known at Matthew.

All three gospel accounts state that Jesus simply commanded him saying, “Follow Me!” While it seems so simple, this is an incredible command.

The common thought among the Jews at that time was that a person who was handicapped was crippled in direct relationship to their sin or the sins of their parents or grandparents.

That is why the paralytic man was such a good opportunity for Jesus to teach the religious leaders listening to Him that He had the power to forgive sins.

When Jesus said to that man,

“Take courage, my son, your sins are forgiven.”

It was already assumed that the man was a sinner in great need of forgiveness.

But now we have the example of Jesus calling one of the most despised classes of people in all Israel to follow Him.

Tax collectors as a whole were despised. They were called “publicani” and seen as traitors to the nation.

A publican was a national who bought a franchise from Rome that gave them the right to collect the taxes, the tribute, which Rome placed on the countries they had conquered.

The advantage to the one who held the franchise to collect the taxes was that Rome asked for a fixed amount, but anything collected above that could be kept by the publican.

This led to all sorts of abuses of the system.

Now, no one enjoys taxes (except certain politicians that like to levy them).

Even in our own country where we do have some say in our taxation through our elected representatives, few are happy have get a call from an IRS agent.

Now imagine IRS agents were not collecting taxes for the benefit of your own community, state and nation, but instead for another nation, an enemy nation such as North Korea or Iran

Add to that sense of indignation the fact he was getting mega rich in the deal by “collecting” more taxes from you than you actually legally owed.

That gives you some idea about the feelings against these publicans.

It was to Levi, or Matthew (gift of Yahweh) that Jesus says, “Follow Me!”

Matthew must have certainly known about Jesus either from personal experience in hearing Him in person or hearing about Him from the reports of the people.

I frequently tend to picture Matthew as a man who has heard the gracious words of our Lord but looking at himself and saying to himself something like,

“What Jesus says is wonderful, but they could never apply to someone like me who is a publican.”

But the day comes when Jesus is walking along the road by the seashore and comes upon Matthew sitting in his tax office and He says to him,

“Follow Me!”

It was clear to those who saw this take place, and it was clear to the early Jewish readers of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus, by acknowledging extended His forgiveness to even the most despised outcasts of society.

The Publican’s Response: Matthew 9:9-17; Mark 2:14-22; Luke 5:28-39

Matthew 9:9 simply states that Jesus commanded him, “Follow me!” And he rose and followed Him.

There is no apparent hesitation. He gets up immediately and follows Jesus.

Matthew is modest about the personal cost of following Jesus in his own account.

Luke 4:28 states that “he left everything behind and rose and followed Him.”

Of all the disciples, Matthew paid the highest financial cost in following the Lord. There would be no returning to this job. Someone else would take his post.

Matthew alone knew the exacting cost and willingly paid it without hesitation.

He said not one single word, for his heart and his soul was locked deep inside the throes of a speechless surprise of unanticipated, and unexpected grace.

Matthew’s further response bears this out.

There was no mourning at all about what he had left behind.

Instead, he has extreme joy over the grace extended to him demonstrated by what he does next.

Luke 5:29, And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there were a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them.

What do you do when you are very happy and have great news that you want to celebrate and someone you want your friends to meet?

You throw a party, and that is what Matthew does.

But if you are in a class of people that is despised by most of the community, who do you invite?

Luke states that he invites “tax gatherers and others.”

The tax collectors are his co-workers and among the few with whom he could be friends, but who are the others?

The particular word used here (allos) means others of the same kind.

Matthew and Mark state that they were “sinners.”

These would be other Jews who were also outcasts of society for various reasons Perhaps – prostitutes, criminals, untouchables, and the non-religious.

It may well have likewise included Gentiles who were his friends as well.

There is no doubt that Matthew wanted them to know what Jesus had done for him and could do for them too.

Matthew invited Jesus and His disciples to his home for a reception and then invited his friends who were sinners to come meet Jesus, hear his good news.

The result was that these tax-gatherers and sinners were “reclining at table” with Jesus and His disciples (Matthew 9:10). Jesus, God in human flesh, the Holy one of Israel, is dining with the penultimate outcasts of Jewish society.

What an incredible scandal was taking shape here!

The Response of the Self-Righteous– Matthew 9:11, Mark 2:16, Luke 5:30

Luke 5:29 is specific that this banquet Matthew was holding in Jesus’ honor and so that his friends could meet Him was at his house, but apparently it was also a location in which those who were attending could easily be seen by those who were not attending.

Both Matthew 9:11 and Mark 2:16 state that the scribes and Pharisees saw Jesus’ dinning with those invited to Matthew’s banquet.

Luke 5:27 tells us what resulted from that,

The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”

Matthew and Mark point out that it was not so much that the disciples were eating with sinners, but that Jesus, their Teacher, was eating with them.

These were not questions of inquiry.

They were grumbling.

These are rhetorical questions of rebuke to the disciples of Jesus aimed at Jesus.

The point of their statement to the disciples was a challenge to them along the lines of,

“How can you dare to attach yourselves as followers of such a man who associates with such sinful people.”

They reasoned that if Jesus was really a man of God, then He should not be in the company of such wicked people.

If Jesus was really a man of God, He should be dinning with good and upright people like themselves.

Of course, none of them had invited Jesus to a dine with them, but that was beside their point that Jesus should not be in the company of those people.

Let me stop to quickly give you a couple of questions that need to be considered concerning these Pharisees.

First, why are they following Jesus around and so interested to see with whom He is dining?

In current contemporary times, I suppose we expect it from the paparazzi who follow celebrities all around trying to get the latest gossip to publish in their tabloids, but these are the “highly respected” religious leaders in ancient times.

Are they also interested in gossip or are they already trying to find a way to discredit Jesus? Remember, Jesus had already challenged their evil manner of thinking when He forgave the sins of the paralyzed man and healed him.

Second, why do they put the challenge to the disciples of Jesus instead of to Jesus Himself?

If they were interested in the truth about Jesus, what He taught and why He did things, wouldn’t it be better to ask those questions directly of Him?

Perhaps they have felt the sting of conviction for their own sinfulness when they have heard Him teach or talked with Him in the past.

They avoid Jesus while striving to intimidate the disciples. You would think they would have something better to do.

The Pharisees judged everyone else by their own standards and traditions.

As far as they were concerned, righteous people associate with righteous people and sinners with sinners. Jesus claims to be from God, but He associates with sinners, therefore He could not be who He claimed.

This is their case against Jesus, all the proof they wanted to conclude Jesus was not from God regardless of His teaching and the many miracles He performed.

Jesus’ Response – Matthew 9:14-15; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:31-32

When Jesus heard about what the scribes and Pharisees were saying, He then went out and talked with them directly.

All three-gospel account record nearly the same thing, but Matthew 9:12 & 13 gives a fuller account of Jesus’ response.

“But when He heard this, He said, ‘It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”

Jesus makes three arguments against their premise that He should not associate with sinners and in favor of His ministry of forgiveness and reconciliation as demonstrated by His willingness to associate with sinners.

Argument from Medicine:

The first argument is based in the realities of medicine.

It is a very simple and logical argument.

“Healthy people do not need a physician.”

“It is the sick that need to see the doctor.”

This same principle applies to the spiritual world as it does for the physical one.

Those who are spiritually healthy do not need a spiritual physician, only those who are spiritually sick.

A doctor is expected to go out to those who are sick.

What sort of doctor would spend all of his time with healthy people and would refuse to associate with those that were sick?

The implied rebuke was blunt and crystal clear.

The Pharisees claimed to be those closest to God, but they avoided sinners instead of helping them.

The scribes and Pharisees were quick to diagnose the disease of sin in others, but they offered no cure, no comfort, and no compassion.

All they did was “stand on their marble pedestals” and pronounce “judgment.”

One other point should also be made here.

People who are sick but refuse to acknowledge it do not go to doctors.

I am sure all of us know people like that.

It is obvious to everyone else that there is a problem, but they say it is nothing,

they’re okay, they will be fine, and they do not go to the doctor even though it is plain to everyone else they need a doctor.

Only people who recognize that they are sick go to the doctor.

The Pharisees were spiritually sick as they could be because their hearts were twisted by self-righteousness yet saw themselves in perfect spiritual health.

For that reason, they just refused to seek the spiritual physician and instead criticized Him.

The publicans and sinners knew they were sick.

They desperately wanted a spiritual physician.

Argument from Scripture:

Jesus’ second argument is from Scripture.

He quotes from Hosea 6:6, “I desire compassion, and not sacrifice.”

This was a very stinging rebuke to them for several reasons.

First,

Jesus preceded the Scriptural quote with the phrase, “go and learn,”

which was the phrase used by the Rabbis to rebuke those who did not know something they should have already known.

It was a stinging rebuke against their supposed superior knowledge.

Second,

the scripture quote itself was directly against their thinking and actions.

They were more concerned with carrying out every minute regulation they had set up in their vain attempt to be righteous than in carrying out what the Mosaic Law actually said.

They missed the whole message of God’s patience, mercy, and forgiveness running throughout the Hebrew Scriptures.

Third, the fact the quote was from Hosea made the point even more forceful because the story of Hosea’s continuing love and forgiveness to his wife Gomer,

though she was unfaithful in the extreme, was God’s living illustration of His love and forgiveness to Israel, though they had been unfaithful in the extreme.

The story was a picture of God’s desire for compassion and mercy rather than sacrifice.

Without the heart, all the rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices of the Pharisees were unacceptable to God.

Without mercy, they were shown to be more ungodly than the sinners who made no pretense of godliness.

Argument from Purpose:

The third argument was based on the very purpose for which Jesus came which was to save His people from their sins (Matthew. 1:21).

Jesus says here, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

This is a common theme throughout Jesus’ teaching and actions toward people.

He is compassionate and forgiving as He was to the paralytic man.

There are only two groups for whom Jesus had harsh words and actions.

The first are the moneychangers and marketers who had made the temple a place for thieves.

The second are the self-righteous religious leaders who claimed to know and show the way to God but were instead leading people to hell.

To sinners, you never find this harshness.

Instead, there is compassion and mercy. Jesus healed their diseases and cast out their demons.

He wept over Jerusalem’s hardness of heart.

His consistent call was like He gave to the woman caught in adultery,

“Where are your accusers? Neither do I accuse you. Go and sin no more.”

He never excused sin

but was always extending grace to the sinner who admitted his condition.

Conclusions

Jesus did not come to call the righteous.

If a person could have been truly righteous, there would be no need for Him to call them.

If such a person existed, there would be nothing to forgive, and they would qualify for heaven on their own merits.

Jesus’ call to repent and be forgiven goes out to the self-righteous, but such people would not heed it because they see no need for it.

Jesus came to call sinners to Himself. It is the poor in spirit that enter the kingdom of God. Repentant sinners receive mercy, grace, and salvation.

Unrepentant sinners and the self-righteous remain condemned in their sins.

What a wonderful truth this is to me because it means that Jesus’ came to call me, the Chief of ALL Sinners unto Himself.

And if you will admit your own sinfulness,

it means He came to call every single “Chief of ALL Sinners” unto Himself too.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

We thank you, O God, that you have given us an enduring hope—one which cannot disappoint us or mislead us. We thank you, that through our faith in you and in your Son Jesus Christ, you enter into every believing heart and make new lives that have been torn asunder by the darkness of this world…

Lord, hear our prayer…..

We pray today O God that those believers who are asleep may awake and know that salvation is nearer now than when they first believed. Help them, and us, to lay aside the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light that you bestow upon those who actively seek you day by day. Grant that their faith and ours may be fully alive….

Lord, hear our prayer…..

We ask today, O God, for those who have lost hope and for those who have never had it. Grant to us, to those we lift before you in our hearts a new and abiding vision of what have you have done, and what you are doing, and what you will do, to save and redeem your people and indeed the creation itself. Grant, O God, that all might see and believe and discover their purpose and the purpose of all that is and all that is yet to be….

Lord, hear our prayer….

We ask all this of you, O God, knowing that you are our hope and our salvation, a very present help in times of trouble, and the One whose purpose is to grant and new and abundant life to us and our world. Praise be to your name. Amen.

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Why Should I Walk with God and with His Blessings? Deuteronomy 5:32-33.

“Cause and effect” are a relationship between events or things, where one is the result of the other or others. This is a combination of an action and a reaction.

Something happens (a cause) that leads to an effect.

For Example ……

Cause: As we were waiting for a bus, we received 7 inches of rain in 4 hours.

Effect: My Umbrella did not keep me dry. The roadways were flooded.

Cause: I flipped the light switch.

Effect: The light came on and I saw the mess I made last night all over again.

Cause: The boss was busy.

Effect: Their secretary rolled their eyes skyward, took a telephone message.

THE REALITIES OF CAUSE AND EFFECT

From the time you are a child until you die, you understand cause and effect.

“Cause” is the action that produces a result or consequence.

And “effect” is the product, result, or consequence of that action.

As a baby you learn that if you cry, mom or dad will change you, feed you, or hold you.

As you grow into a toddler you learn that if you drop something from your highchair, somebody will pick it up.

As a kid working your way through school, you learn that if you study hard, you will earn good grades and increase the likelihood you will receive scholarships.

As a college student you learn that if you study hard, you increase the likelihood of receiving great grades and Latin Honors and the likelihood of that great job.

As a young adult you learn that hard work pays great dividends and increases the likelihood you will gain an excellent reputation and promotions on the job.

As an adult, you also learn that if you are not a particularly hard worker and are making excuses, chronically late to work, you get into trouble and lose your job.

Proverbs 24:30-34 The Message

One day I walked by the field of an old lazybones,
    and then passed the vineyard of a slob;
They were overgrown with weeds,
    thick with thistles, all the fences broken down.
I took a long look and pondered what I saw;
    the fields preached me a sermon and I listened:
“A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there,
    sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?
Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life,
    with poverty as your permanent houseguest!”

This thought comes to King Solomon after he considers the fields of a lazy man:

The field is overgrown and in general disrepair.

He sees the danger in staying in bed too long, although most of us might enjoy more of this practice. Poverty and lack attack if this behavior is not conquered.

There is always a cause and effect.

This same principal is found in the kingdom of Heaven:

The Cause: God loves you with an everlasting love. God gave His Son as a sacrifice so that you could be reconciled to Him. Love has victory over death.

The Effect: You experience the love of our Father, which fulfills you in a way that nothing else can. You share in His victory over death. You desire to share God’s love with others, so they, too, will experience His 100% love for them.

There can be no effect without a cause. God’s love for you should always be the cause for your walking with, for Him. If it’s not, then your work will be in vain.

Without faith in God, it is impossible to please God.

Without hope in God, it is impossible to please God.

Without love for God, it is impossible to please God.

Without faith, hope and love in and for God, it is impossible to walk with Him.

Walking with God does not lead to God’s favor, but God’s favor leads to walking in favor with God. If I walk with the world, can I genuinely say I walk with God?

Deuteronomy 5:32-33Amplified Bible

³²Therefore you shall pay attention and be careful to do just as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left [deviating from My commandments]. ³³You shall walk [that is, live each and every day] in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long in the land which you will possess.

Deuteronomy 5:32-33 The Message

^32-33So be very careful to act exactly as God commands you. Don’t veer off to the right or the left. Walk straight down the road God commands so that you’ll have a good life and live a long time in the land that you’re about to possess.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

After Moses instructed God’s people in the Ten Commandments, he added the Cause: they must walk “obediently in God’s way.” Then added the Effect, he said, God would bless them richly and make them prosper in the promised land.

To interpret this promise wisely, we need to know that prosperity in the Bible has more to do with spiritual blessings than material or physical things.

All over the world there are people who interpret God’s blessing mainly as a promise to make them healthy and wealthy and wise. But that is a mistake.

While some people do experience blessings of “never having spent a day in the hospital” or “never worrying about how to pay the bills.”

There are also those who have experienced the blessing of “having spent time in an ICU Bed, an Oncology ward or other long term care facility, their health in a critical state of flux: of life versus death.” Likewise, there are those who have experienced day to day struggles with how to pay the bills and feed their kids.

Trying to survive on our own strength and our own wit and wisdom is costly.

Frankly, genuinely walking with God can be even more significantly costly.

So many have lost their jobs and their health and their marriages. Have found themselves struggling through circumstances in life for which only the biblical Patriarch Job could Identify with, give the best counsel for surviving day to day.

Yet, amazingly, these same Christians will declare that in the midst of deep sacrifice they were blessed. Even Job declared his blessings. (Job 1:20-22)

When we walk with God, we live in community with our Lord. We feel God’s delight in all things good, and we sense his pain in the face of sin and evil. Such a close walk with God is itself a blessing. The joys and peace that flows from our relationship with God far outweigh the cost of being a follower of Jesus Christ.

Living our lives with God in it, makes things easier and gives us hope.

We may not be the most cognizant.

We may take God for granted, not realize it, not consider it for one moment, not pray over it, but walking with God is so much better than walking without him.

and here is why.

1. Walking With God Makes Things Possible

The Lord never said that our lives here on earth would be easy.

We are all absolutely going to go through hard times, and we are absolutely going to have our struggles. But our time here on earth will be worth it.

We are here to spread the Truth of God’s Gospel, the Truth of God’s love and light to others and spread the absolute greatest news ever that he is our Savior.

When we walk with God, it may not make things any easier, but it certainly and surely makes them infinitely more possible.

Walking with him gives us blessed assurance of his presence and power in our lives. Our God is powerful! With him all things are possible. We can endure trials and heartache. Because of Christ’s resurrection power in us, we can overcome.

“I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be my people” – Leviticus 26:12

2. He Is Our Comfort

The Lord is always walking beside you.

The Lord is always walking beside me.

He is going through every situation with you.

He is going through every situation with me.

He loves and cares for you and will always stand by your side.

He loves and cares for me and will always stand by myside.

Walking with Him will give you and me the absolute comfort of knowing that He is always there for you and me. He is always with you and me when we need someone to lean on and a shoulder to cry on; He is always there with open arms.

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” – Psalm 23: 4

3. He Will Help You

No matter what you and I are going through, God will help you and God will help me. We can always cry out to him for help. When we are frustrated and angry, cry out to him. When we are upset, feel like we cannot go on any longer, cry out to him. He will always be there to pick us up and move us ever forward.

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” – Hebrews 4:15-16

4. Walking Without Him Is an Unnecessary Struggle

When we are not walking with God, we are going to struggle even more because we are completely on our own. We feel we have no other choice but to just figure things out for ourselves, we are the only ones with all the right questions, all the correct, viable answers, and it will be much more difficult than it should be.

God is the only genuine light illuminating our path.

He will show us the way, but without him, we have to find our way through the darkness. Why do we permit the struggle, when we can have God to guide us?

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” – John 8:12

Hebrews 11:1-6Amplified Bible

The Triumphs of Faith

11 Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]. ²For by this [kind of] faith the ^[a]men of old gained [divine] approval.

³By faith [that is, with an inherent trust and enduring confidence in the power, wisdom and goodness of God] we understand that the worlds (universe, ages) were framed and created [formed, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose] by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. ⁴By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which it was testified of him that he was righteous (upright, in right standing with God), and God testified by accepting his gifts. And though he died, yet through [this act of] faith he still speaks. ⁵By faith [that pleased God] Enoch was caught up and taken to heaven so that he would not have a glimpse of death; and he was not found because God had taken him; for even before he was taken [to heaven], he received the testimony [still on record] that he had walked with God and pleased Him. ⁶But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek.

We know very little about Enoch.

His father was Jared, and his son was Methuselah, who lived longer than anyone else.

The most surprising thing about Enoch is that he did not die.

“By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: ‘He could not be found, because God had taken him away.’ For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.”

Enoch was one of two people in the Bible who never experienced death.

The other was Elijah. (See 2 Kings 2:1-14.)

Enoch’s walk with God made him stand out from the crowd.

Only a few generations later, God would send a flood to wipe away a humanity that no longer understood what it meant to live close with God.

Only Enoch’s great-grandson Noah and his family would be spared so that human beings could make a new beginning.

God’s special gift to Enoch reminds us walking with God is the way to true life.

Of course, unless the Lord returns in our lifetime, we will all face death.

But Jesus, who identifies himself as the way to God (John 14:6), also said,

“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25).

Then Jesus turns that belief around and against us – “Do we Believe this?”

With Faith pleasing to God ….

With Hope pleasing to God ….

With Love pleasing to God ….

Do we believe the cause: walking with God in faith has this effect: puts us on a level road that moves us forward and takes us beyond death to life eternal?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

God, my Guide and my Guardian,

Take me to task today,

Search me, and know me …..

Hold me accountable to thy Gospel Truth,

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
Exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O Glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
Let it be ratified in heaven. Amen

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One Reality of the Gospel Life: How to Be Selfless: An In-Depth Guide for us Selfish People. Galatians 3:6-8 Msg.

“You reap what you sow!”

Maybe, you have heard this saying before. Parents, teachers, and others use it a lot. It comes from this passage written by the apostle Paul: “A man reaps what he sows”—and Paul himself drew it from other ancient wisdom (see Proverbs 22:8; Hosea 10:12-13). Life’s circumstances too often prove the warning true.

Sow vast fields of Selfishness – Reap even greater harvests of Selfishness.

Matthew 9:35-38 Message:

^35-38Then Jesus made a circuit of all the towns and villages. He taught in their meeting places, reported kingdom news, and healed their diseased bodies, healed their bruised and hurt lives. When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd. “What a huge harvest!” he said to his disciples. “How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!”

Jesus sowed seeds of selflessness in his enormously compassionate response to the complex multitudinous needs of the people he had encountered throughout his circuit in the marketplaces and meeting places in these towns and villages.

He automatically gave to the people everything he had – he held nothing back from them in teaching them, reporting kingdom news to them, healing them of “their diseased bodies, healing them of their broken, bruised and hurt lives. So utterly confused and aimless they were, like sheep without their Shepherd.”

Next, Jesus sets up His disciples to gauge their responses to what they have just witnessed as Jesus, without even thinking twice about it, gave them everything.

“What a huge harvest!” He said to His disciples (and anyone else within hearing distance of Jesus’ words) “How few workers!” “On your knees! Pray for more harvest hands!” Can you just guess right here that Jesus was testing the reality of the quality of each disciple’s (and ours today) hearts and souls for service?

Can you see the Word of God sowing the seeds of a conflict here within these men? The of conflict within their hearts, souls and spirits of choosing between choosing between living almost exclusively for themselves with occasional circuits, and forays into the towns, villages, neighborhoods where help was desperately needed? Sowing the seeds of the Gospel wherever the ground was.

Jesus gave quite literally everything he had. The Disciples could only give of their limited selves, reluctantly of their meager and limited resources of what they believed they possessed – limited time, and time limited commitments.

Our great hope, Paul writes in Colossians, is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Remember, Jesus was called Immanuel (“God with us”—see Isaiah 7:14; and Matthew 1:23). And eventually the Holy Spirit came to live in the hearts of all believers (Acts 2). This means God is sewing, recreating his image within us.

This calls for our cooperation. As the farmer must sow seeds, pull weeds, and fertilize and water his plantings to reap a harvest, so we must cooperate with the Spirit to grow the good fruit of Christlike living. Sowing to please the Spirit means our work is done out of love for God and our neighbors (Mark 12:30-31), love for one another (John 13:34-35), and even love for our enemies (Luke 6:35).

The Holy Spirit’s guarding, guiding, inspiring, sowing, sewing and weaving and working within us bears fruit that pleases God. We just need to learn how to sow and tend his crops. Spiritual self discipline practiced every day will grow a great harvest of good in us that will please our Lord. Are you ready to sow with God?

Galatians 6:7-8The Message

^7-8Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God! —harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Apostle Paul writes to the Galatians: Our Selfishness destroys relationships!

It is the number one cause of conflict, arguments, divorce, and even war.

James 4:1 -3 Message says,

Get Serious

4 ^1-2Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don’t have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it.

^2-3You wouldn’t think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you’d be asking for what you have no right to. You’re spoiled children, each wanting your own way.

Every trouble starts because …..

“we are spoiled children of our self-centeredness.”

“We want what we want, when we want it, we want it all exactly right now!”

How very easy is it for our selfishness to subtly creep into our relationships?

How easy is it for our selfishness to suddenly thrust itself into relationships?

When you start a relationship, you work really hard at being unselfish.

But as time goes on, selfishness begins to creep in. We put more energy into building relationships than maintaining them.

If selfishness destroys relationships, then it is selflessness that makes them grow. What does selflessness mean? It means less of “me” and more of “you.”

It means thinking of others before you think of yourself and putting the other person’s needs before your own (Philippians 2:4).

Philippians 2:1-4 The Message

He Took on the Status of a Slave

2 ^1-4If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

Selfishness brings out the worst in us.

Selflessness brings out the best in others.

It edifies, it builds faith and hope, trust and love in relationships.

In fact, if you start acting selfless in a relationship, it forces the other person to change, because you are no longer the same person anymore, and they have to learn how to adapt themselves to it and learn to relate to you in different way.

I worked many years serving the multitudinous needs of homeless veterans.

I’ve actually witnessed it many times — some of the most unlovable of people nobody in their “right and selfish minds” wants to be around, are transformed when someone exhibits both subtle and sudden and genuine kind and selfless behaviors toward them and gives them what they need, not what they deserve.

How to Be Selfless: An In-Depth Guide for Selfish People

When I think of selflessness, I can’t help but think of my parents’ example.

My father worked hard to support my family financially and never missed a day of work. My mom was a Registered Nurse for well over 40 years, she was always there for the hospitalized patients under her care. She was available to talk and support my sisters and I through our most insecure and awkward years of life.

Together, she and my dad strived to love us and be there in every high and low.

As you read this, I hope and fervently pray you too can likewise remember those in your life who have shown you this kind of selfless love, whether it be a family member, a friend, a mentor, or some stranger who simply decided to take a few moments to care for you. These moments, and these relationships, are ones that get etched in our memories; they are powerful and impactful in our lives.

While we know this to be true, and may desire to be selfless ourselves, it can be easy likewise to draw a line in the sand that we are unwilling or afraid to cross.

Luckily God knows this about us and has given us great examples in the Bible to teach us how to be selfless.

We will look briefly, specifically at the example of Jesus as he provides a guide for us on how to be less selfish. In this, Jesus will provide for us a total of 9 tips for how we can selflessly follow, model the example of Jesus in our own lives.

Be inviting

Being inviting means acknowledging the sacred worth of all, welcoming, validating, and including others in our life, heart, and friendship.

It is not always convenient, but it is a powerful display of selflessness that can have a profound impact on those around us.

Jesus shows us this through his example below.

“Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means ‘son of Timaeus’), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’
Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’ So they called to the blind man, ‘Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.’ Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Jesus asked him. The blind man said, ‘Rabbi, I want to see.’ ‘Go,’ said Jesus, ‘your faith has healed you.’ Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.”
Mark 10:46-52 NIV

Jesus was not afraid to stop what he was doing (potentially inconveniencing himself) to selflessly invite others into a connection and relationship with him.

Nor was he afraid at all to be different from the crowd.

Jesus had an unconditionally compassionate and loving heart to be inviting.

While others around Bartimaeus just wanted him to go back to his customary roadside stand and stand down and be quiet, Jesus had reacted very differently.

He did not tell Bartimaeus to be quiet.

He did not tell him to return to where he came from and stop shouting.

He did not communicate that Bartimaeus was not good enough or that he was behaving wrong.

Jesus was inviting. He was interested. He was giving. He saw past Bartimaeus’s behavior into his heart. He asked Bartimaeus: “What can I do for you?”

Be admitting

‘Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:3-5 NIV

In this narrative passage, Jesus teaches us that we should focus on, own, and weigh the wrongs in our heart before pointing out the “specks” in others.

This is a critical and an essential element of selflessness: to care more about how we are impacting another person than how they are impacting us.

Admitting our own mistakes, sins, and weaknesses is actually a very important part of loving other people.

When we confess ourselves to God, admit the truth about ourselves, we not only protect ourselves from being self-righteous and critical of other people, but we also can more adequately heal those around us of the “specks” in their heart.

Instead of, rather than be motivated by self-protection, self-righteousness, or self-interest, or survival of the strongest and the fittest and the richest, we can serve, help others because of the care we have for those God has put in our lives.

Be forgiving

Once we confess ourselves unto God and admit to those places where we need His mercy, we are way far better able to forgive others for their shortcomings.

Being forgiving is a form of giving charity to others; it is a way of our selflessly clearing a debt in a relationship. Forgiveness is not something that can be faked but must be arrived at genuinely and honestly. (Isaiah 1:16-20 The Message)

There are times in marriage and relationships where I am convinced others have wronged me. I feel that I won’t be satisfied until the injustice is pointed out and thoroughly and rigorously and vigorously and selfishly dealt with.

This mindset only drags things out, heightens the emotions between me and my friends, and certainly doesn’t help us to resolve our arguments or feel close.

God teaches me, and I fervently pray He teaches you, that when we can admit our own faults, we will be more able to forgive, show mercy, and feel blessed.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Matthew 5:7 NIV

Matthew 5:7 Amplified: ⁷“Blessed [content, sheltered by God’s promises] are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

God values and appreciates when we show mercy to those around us.

Mercy is something near and dear to God.

He decided to display his love to us through showing us mercy (Romans 5:8).

Since this is the way God loves us, we can model this love. We can love others in the same way, through showing them mercy and forgiveness the way Jesus did.

Be available

A critically important part of modelling selflessness like Jesus, is our decision to acknowledge, value another enough to be available and to be interested in them.

Modelling Christ-like availability communicates that we value another greater than ourselves. It is our act of self-sacrifice and selflessness that places oneself aside to like Christ, to listen to, consider, feel for, and understand someone else.

Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.
One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’
John 5:2-3,5-6 NIV

Jesus often displayed his availability to others around him in a way that was shocking and ground-breaking. He unhesitatingly noticed people that others went out their way and ignored. He would touch people who were cast out.

In this passage, he interacted with and listened to the needs of a man who was paralyzed (and had no other friends – John 5:7). Jesus didn’t just speak to him but also took an interest in and helped him. Jesus was selfless in his availability to without hesitation, acknowledge to feel, talk, work with those around him.

Be serving

Being serving is a great way to give selflessly in humility.

It is a critically essential way to prioritize those around us, acknowledging, dedicating our thoughts and emotions to the needs and desires of others.

And as Jesus shows us, if we have any power or authority in a relationship, we should use this position to serve.

Jesus told them, ‘In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called “friends of the people.” But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.’
Luke 22:25-27 NLT

Here, Jesus teaches us to not concern ourselves with our position, status, or performance. What matters is deciding to concern ourselves with serving the needs and desires of others. This is what it truly means to be a real friend.

Selfless friendship is the best kind of friendship because it is not predicated on getting our needs met but acting independently of how the other person treats us. When we love and give to others, our fulfillment comes from modelling and experiencing, knowing that serving is pleasing in God’s eyes. (Proverbs 27:17)

Here are some ideas of ways and means we can choose to be serving today:

Ask someone around you if there is anything you can do for them.
Prioritize the needs of others as if you feel the need for it yourself.
Do chores around the house without someone asking you (my wife likes this one for me – especially when I do the dishes without her telling me twice).
Pick up groceries for a friend or neighbor.
Drop off a friend’s favorite meal.
Volunteer in your community.

Be admiring

Admiring, praising, and encouraging those around us is a way to be selfless.

When we do this, we are able to subtly shift the focus from ourselves (our envy, our malignant competitiveness, or insecurities) and instead focus on admiring and encouraging and inspiring someone else.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names
Philippians 2:3-9 NLT

In this scripture, Jesus’ example teaches me that my value and fulfillment do not come from my status, my success, or how I am seen by others.

Without moans, groans and complaints, Jesus gave up divine privileges, did not try to cling to status of any kind. Instead, he humbled himself, served others.

When we follow and model Jesus’ example, we won’t focus on the admiration and praise we can earn for ourselves or receive for our own behalf, but we will subtly start looking for ways to share encouragement with others around us.

Jesus lowered himself, so that he could elevate others.

He set an example for us to follow.

In the end God made sure that Jesus knew his value and was himself fulfilled.

To model and practice being “admiring,” think of people you otherwise envy, compete with, or have difficulty loving.

Choose to think of ways you admire them (example: what are their strengths or how can you learn from them?)
Text them words of encouragement.
Think of ways you can make them greater.

What do you learn about Jesus’ humility towards God and how did that translate to how he lived while on Earth?
Like Jesus did, how can you empty yourself and live to serve and love others?
Who is your mentor? That someone you know who is innately selflessly humble that you can admire and learn and model Christ from?

Be empathetic

Empathy is our ability to sense, understand, and imagine what another person is thinking or feeling. It is the ability to put ourselves in the spot of another to prayerfully perceive and understand what they may think, feel, need, or desire.

God and Jesus demonstrate this in the scripture below from Hebrews chapter 4.

When we see and are grateful for the empathy Jesus displays for us, we are able to do the same for others.

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
– Hebrews 4:14-16 NIV

God and Jesus see our thoughts, feelings, needs, and desires. They are able to understand and act in empathy and unconditional love toward us. This empathy produces in us confidence and Shalom as we rely on the graciousness of God.

In the same way, we can foster peace and confidence in others around us by practicing empathy ourselves.

When we model Christ in this way, we respond with gratitude for the empathy God always has for us, we are free, secure, confident to empathize with others.

This is the ripple effect of empathy.

Pray about God’s love for you and how God and Jesus have empathized with you
Pray about a few other people in your life and what they are going through. Ask God to help them with some of the things you think they might need. Praying for others not only helps us empathize with them, it’s also a way to spiritually serve by asking God to enter into their neighborhood and to meet their needs.

Be initiating

Jesus was a model leader, not just in his words or ability to move a crowd.

What really made Jesus a leader, and even attracted the crowds to him in the first place?

He would be the first to initiate giving to others who could not give back to him.

He repeatedly asked the beneficiaries of his love to say nothing to anyone else.

Other times he would leave before the person could even find out who he was.

In this way Jesus initiated by giving without expecting any return.

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 NIV

Jesus died for us, knowing that many of us would not care and would rather choose to still live self-absorbed lives. But he did it anyway so that we could have the very real choice and very real chance to be free and live a new life.

When we see and believe this personally, it changes us. We become not only willing to live selflessly ourselves, but we desire to. We initiate giving unto others, not in any selfish expectation of any return, but really to thank God.

Try surprising your family, friends or a stranger with a gift, for no reason.

Be persevering

One way to examine the purity of our selflessness is to see whether or not we persevere in love even when it is difficult.

Oftentimes in my marriage, I am amazed and stunned by how it is that my wife continues to extend mercy to me and patiently encourages me along in change, even when I am being ridiculously stubborn, self-consumed, and unchanging.

I know her persevering love is rooted in her appreciation for God’s own persevering love, mercy, and patience in her life.

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.
Romans 13:8 NIV

No matter how often we feel it is not true, the Bible calls us to live as though we are always in debt to those around us in our love.

God loves us enough to pay the price for our sins, if we choose to accept it. We can never adequately repay this debt, but we can continually remember to love one another because of how much we have been loved. (John 3:16-17)

God urges us to not treat his love with contempt, but to respond in gratitude (Romans 2:4), modelling, living our lives as if we still have a debt remaining in our relationships with those family, friends and neighbors who are around us.

This is what it means to persevere in selflessness, even when impossibly hard.

Pray about someone you get tired of loving.
In the moments that it is difficult to love and reflect on how God loved you.
Decide to love those around you out of a love for God, not just based on your feelings toward the person.

We Reap what we Sow ….

We sow selfishness – we reap selfishness

We sow selflessness – we reap God in Christ Jesus in our neighborhoods.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Almighty and Charitable God,

we praise and thank you for making us children of God,

not through our own power and piety

but through our baptism into crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ.

We turn daily to you,

and in that turning we find peace, courage and purpose.

Make your whole church a witness

to the great good news of Christ’s resurrection.

God, our Savior, hear our prayer.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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The Gospel in a Nutshell: And so, Jesus Asked, He is still Asking, “What Do You Want Me to Do for You?” Mark 10:49-51

As we look into this story again today, let’s now focus on the one question Jesus asks Bartimaeus, the man who is blind: “What do you want me to do for you?”

Since Bartimaeus has been customarily begging by the roadside, we would expect him to ask for handout—some bread or money, perhaps.

But in response to Jesus’ sudden question, the marginalized man is bold enough to ask for much more than what he might have originally asked for. He asks to be able to see—and that means he is asking to have his life completely changed.

If this, were you, in that exact moment Jesus spoke to you, asked you that one question you never expected to hear come from anyone’s mouth, how would you now respond to Jesus’ question “What do you want me to do for you?”

You have just been given a blank check with Jesus’ signature with full authority to ask for whatever you want in that exact moment, what is your first answer?

We all could use a little help, or a little healing, or some additional resources to get us through another hour or day, right? And surely, we would be thankful for whatever small amount of help the man Rabbi Jesus would give to balance life.

But let’s not forget who is asking. Just as Bartimaeus could see that Jesus was the Son of David, the promised deliverer who could make all things right, we need to see that Jesus is the Lord and Savior who offers us full, new life forever.

Jesus invites us, right here and right exactly NOW to be 10000% GENUINE and honest about our single greatest need: the mercy of God for sinners. So, we need to ask him for our miracle, and a new life, that we may serve with him forever.

Mark 10:46-52Amplified Bible

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

⁴⁶Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road [as was his custom]. ⁴⁷When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and say, “Jesus, ^[a]Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸Many sternly rebuked him, telling him to keep still and be quiet; but he kept on shouting out all the more, “Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So, they called the blind man, telling him, “Take courage, get up! He is calling for you.” ⁵⁰Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹And Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni (my Master), let me regain my sight.” ⁵²Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith [and confident trust in My power] has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Jesus on the road.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

This word has been on my heart for quite some time.

Today, for whatever reason, for whatever purpose, to whatever end God has set aside by His own sovereign Authority, I felt specifically moved by the Lord God, who literally woke me up from a sound sleep, release it into your soul today.

The specifics in this word won’t be for everybody, although the principles in this word are truly for everybody. But if the specifics of this word are for you, you’ll recognize yourself described below.

The message the Lord gave me for those of you to whom Holy Spirit bears witness today is:

You and I have a blank check with God.

Inserting ourselves into the Gospel Conversation between Bartimaeus and Jesus. We are saved, and we are healed. We share with Bartimaeus, a holy and miraculous life transforming experience, which at first, neither could believe.

We both know it has happened and it was Jesus alone who came, summoned us. Two Thousands of years apart, Jesus still lives and miraculously, blessedly, we are His witnesses, both ancient and contemporary. How much more real can it possibly get for us? Far more real for Bartimaeus because he stood face to face.

I find myself wanting to know from Bartimaeus himself – Face to Face! Face to Face with Rabbi Jesus – 100% Physically, not spiritually as is the case with me.

I find myself contemplating actually, genuinely, having that conversation in my living room – sharing my food and sharing my drink and sharing OUR Jesus!

So, this is how I have contemplated having, sharing that conversation with him.

“You AND I have sought God with all your heart for many years. We have loved Him; we still continue to do forever. Along the way, we have done everything possible to bring every aspect of our life into full maximum obedience to Jesus.

We have been healed, and the Lord has refined you in His fire. We have been through hell and back three times. (I heard the Lord say that very specifically: “three times.”) This triple refining has removed the dross from your life and mine in greater ways than you or I could ever know or think to ever imagine.

Listening! What measure and degree of absolute JOY fills my heart right now!

Now the Lord says: “I am pleased with you.”

Then eye to eye, The Lord looks at you. The Lord says to you, “I am pleased with you. I love the way you love Me. I love the way you faithfully serve Me. I TRUST YOU. I trust you to obey My Word, follow My instructions, to pull back if you get ahead, to keep pace with Me, and to venture out where and when I send you.”

So now Jesus says to you, “I want you to know that you have a blank check with Me.”

My Word is true, and I told you over and over in My Word that you have a blank check with Me when you are obedient. I have refined you as silver; yes, I have refined you as gold. I have searched you and found nothing amiss. You have been weighed in the balances and found NOT WANTING.

Now, beloved, I want to know what burdens you.

The aspirations in your heart are there because I placed them there; but I desire not to work alone, but to co-labor with you. I am moved by what moves you. I will be burdened for what burdens you, for you are My hands, feet on the earth.

So, I want you to please tell Me: Bartimaeus, (insert your name) what do you want to do?

What would you like to accomplish next for the building and strengthening and taking of My Kingdom? Where would you like to go? What would you like to do?

Surely, (insert your name) “I know your heart already, but I desire for you to tell Me anyway. I want to converse with you; to talk with you; to plan and dream with you. We are friends, you and I; and I just love to see what matters to you.”

You have a blank check with Me.

I say it again: ‘You have a blank check with Me.’ If you get ahead of Me, I will tell you; I will make it plain. If you are in step with Me, and I with you, you will know that too. There are no secrets between you and Me; I am keeping nothing from you. You are My friend, and there is open communication between us.

Matthew 9:35-38Amplified Bible

³⁵Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages [in Galilee], teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news (gospel) of the kingdom and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness [His words and His works reflecting His Messiahship].

³⁶When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion and pity for them, because they were dispirited and distressed, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is [indeed] plentiful, but the workers are few. ³⁸So pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

We have no idea what this man Bartimaeus did with his Miracle of Healing. We are only told that after he regained his sight, he followed Jesus “on the road.”

How Bartimaeus engaged with the ancient Roman world we do not know. How he came to fulfill his ministry, mission part in the Great Commission, Acts 1:8, is not known nor can it really be stated with any certainty how he Shared Jesus.

However, we can definitely say he played a significant role for John Mark in his writing of this Gospel Narrative which carries his name and Christ’s life to us.

Thanks be to God that those two came together somewhere, somehow. John Mark and Bartimaeus were introduced to each other by someone. Brought together to share a common miraculous experience, Salvation in Jesus alone!

Does this word resonate with you today?

Does Holy Spirit bear witness in your spirit that this word is for you?

So, now, I pray that God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have revealed themselves to you, and you are now ready to have that talk with them – to do that face to face, eye to eye, voice to voice thing, hear them say:

So, (insert your name) let’s move. Let’s go forth together. Let’s co-labor on the earth.

“What do you want to do? You have a blank check with Me. Ask, and you shall receive. There will be a process of discovery as I move with you; you will learn as you go; I will teach you what to say. We will labor, and we will work together.”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 146Amplified Bible

The Lord an Abundant Helper.

146 Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
²
While I live I will praise the Lord;
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
³
Do not trust in princes,
In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation (help).
⁴
When his spirit leaves him, he returns to the earth;
In that very day his thoughts and plans perish.
⁵
How blessed and graciously favored is he whose help is the God of Jacob (Israel),
Whose hope is in the Lord his God,
⁶
Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that is in them,
Who keeps truth and is faithful forever,
⁷
Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets free the prisoners.

⁸
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the ^[a]righteous [the upright in heart].
⁹
The Lord protects the strangers;
He supports the fatherless and the widow;
But He makes crooked the way of the wicked.
¹⁰
The Lord shall reign forever,
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

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The Gospel in a Nutshell – Courage! Leaving it all Behind. Mark 10:46-52

Our hearts stir with the many stories of bold and courageous people in the Bible.

We admire and are greatly inspired by the Patriarch Noah, heard the command of God, who stood alone built the Ark in the face of enormous unrighteousness.

We admire Abram for leaving his homeland to follow the Lord.

We applaud Moses for marching in before Pharaoh with God’s demand “Let my people go!” We love to hear of young David going out to meet mighty Goliath.

Well, we look at God’s approach to Joshua, who is about to take over in Moses’ place. God’s first words to Joshua are about courage. Three times in his address to Joshua, God repeats the challenge for all to hear “Be strong and courageous.”

Courage is needed when the task is big–and this task of communicating the Gospel is immense! God says, in effect, “Call Israel together; cross the Jordan; conquer the cities; overcome the enemies; resist their gods. Yes, the enemies of the Gospel will be many and will be fearsome, but you, I, must be courageous!”

Courage has always been a necessary quality among the people of God. Standing up in the face of opposition for the sake of God’s righteousness in a society that freely accommodates itself to evil takes courage.

Communicating and spreading the true gospel of Jesus Christ in a culture that wants to say any religion will do, takes courage. Allegiance to Jesus Christ in a world that is often against the Gospel truth of Jesus Christ takes great courage.

David’s confidence, immense courage in the Lord in the face of his enemies –

“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.”

“Thou preparest a table before me in the face of mine enemies.”

“Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever!”

“Thou anointest my head in oil, my cup runneth over.”

Paul’s charge to his friends in Corinth applies to us all. “Be alert. Continue strong in the faith. Have courage, and be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13, NCV).

Mark 10:46-52Amplified Bible

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Throwing his cloak aside, [the blind man] jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

— Mark 10:50

The expression “in a nutshell” describes an important point that can be shared in just a few words.

Did you happen to notice that in the VERSE about the ‘BLIND’ Bartimaeus “THROWING HIS CLOAK ASIDE, HE JUMPED UP and HE CAME TO JESUS.”

this series of actions includes a critically important detail!

Bartimaeus’s cloak was probably his only possession, and he needed it for his meager life sitting around on the side of the road, on the fringes of society.

DAY IN AND DAY OUT! EVERYDAY WITHOUT CHANGE!

AS WAS HIS CUSTOM …

HOW MUCH COURAGE DOES IT TAKE FOR US, THE CHURCH, TO SIT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, DAY IN AND DAY OUT, EVERY DAY, AS IS OUR CUSTOM?

Bartimaeus was blind and could not see what people might toss to him as they passed by, so he would have to spread some of his cloak on the ground to catch the small bits of food or gather the small number of coins that he might receive.

Then he would have to search, to feel around the cloak, find the offerings on the cloak. In other words, he needed his whole cloak in order to gather his income.

At night he would wrap the cloak around his body for warmth. It was his bed.

His courage was essentially what he searched for every day on his spread cloak.

So, to THROW HIS CLOAK ASIDE without thinking about it …. represented what?

What did that moment of ‘throwing the source of his courage aside’ represent to the Blind Bartimaeus?

Throwing his cloak aside … the cloak which served critical purposes for him …

Covering his nakedness? Collecting his source of income? His food for the day?

Throwing it aside … to who knows where, … to who knows who …

Exposing himself before those who he could not see, every last vulnerability?

“For the absolute shame, which was ever before him, which he could not see?

“For the absolute shame, which was ever before him, WHOM he could not see?

The absolute courage to stand there at the risk of ultimate public humiliation?

The absolute courage to stand there and either be arrested for indecency or to see, to be healed and made whole by his faith in Jesus whom he could not, see?

By the way, wow old was Bartimaeus? What season, stage of life, was he living?

Every age, every season of our lives carries with them different vulnerabilities!

How long had Blind Bartimaeus been Blind? From birth or from what age?

Physically Blind or Spiritually Blind?

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/mar/10/46/t_conc_967046

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5185/kjv/tr/0-1/

If “spiritually” blind – for how long, to what effect, affect, on his faith in God?

How long had Bartimaeus been customarily sitting by that customary roadside?

How long had Bartimaeus been customarily waiting to finally “jump up?”

How old are we now? How long have we been, like Bartimaeus, “customarily” waiting by our “customary” roadside, to shed our own “customary customs?”

What would it take for the Peanuts character Linus Van Pelt to stop sucking his thumb, carrying his security blanket over his shoulder – as was his “custom?”

Does Linus Van Pelt ever give up on his custom of philosophically sucking his thumb?

Does he ever give up on his customary “I always carry my blanket” philosophy?

When Jesus called the first disciples, they left everything behind to follow him (Mark 1:16-20; 10:28).

Similarly, blind Bartimaeus stands up, leaves his “security” cloak behind as he jumps to his feet to come to Jesus, to have his life changed, and to follow Jesus.

This is the gospel in a nutshell. Bartimaeus leaves his security blanket behind as he jumps up, comes to Jesus, gains his sight, follows his Savior into his new life.

What “customs” do we still “customarily ” still carry around with us – on the side of the street, we customarily sit at every day – waiting for Jesus to come?

Are we really ready to do as Blind Bartimaeus did – shed all of our “customs?”

Are we genuinely ready to expose all of our “nakedness/vulnerabilities” before a world we cannot see to communicate a Gospel, so few ever wants any part of?

Job 1:20-21Amplified Bible

²⁰Then Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head [in mourning for the children], and he fell to the ground and worshiped [God]. ²¹He said,

“Naked (without possessions) I came [into this world] from my mother’s womb,
And naked I will return there.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Cheer up! Jesus is calling you too!

Cheer up!

But not just “cheer up”

BUT …

JUMP UP!

The Gospel promise of God is this: Jesus is absolutely coming back!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

O Lord, my Salvation, I am blind to the world around me. I know there are issues to face, temptations to withstand, and enemies to meet. You gave us the Gospel! Give me a courageous heart, that I may be firm in my obedience. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

Dear Jesus, in your mercy and with your grace, restore my “sight,” please give me new life. Help me to see that following your call is the way to live each day. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQbt9ADhCJc

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God, our Creator and Our Emotional Health. Connecting our whole selves with the Word of God. Mark 12:28-34

There is an African – American Spiritual which declares to each of us today,

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul

Sometimes I feel discouraged
And deep I feel the pain
In prayers the holy spirit
Revives my soul again

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.

Let’s take a feeling test this morning.

Let Me Ask each of us these questions:

What are you and I feeling now?

What all did you and I feel yesterday?

What do you and I hope and pray you and I will feel tomorrow?

Who felt loving, happy, sad, hateful, angry, joyful, thankful, disappointed, depressed, jealous, ambitious, surprised, convicted, hopeful and who felt as though God’s love wanted to use them to make a difference in someone’s life?

Today we are going to take a brief biblical look at emotional health.

That is how to deal with how you feel.

Yesterday we talked about the heartbeat of love and hate.

“I Hate to Love!” and “I Love to Hate!”

Today we are going to begin looking at how to manage your emotions.

Moving into a “GOD” direction of “I Love to Love!” and “I Hate to Hate!”

I am pretty sure we all know the answer to this question …

When has anyone of us here ever had a change, good or bad, take place in their life because they did not keep your range of Love and Hate emotions in check?

We are going to look at what the Bible says about our emotional health and how to perhaps, even hopefully and prayerfully, successfully manage your emotions.

In the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, how to deal with how you and I feel.

Mark 12:28-34 Amplified Bible

²⁸Then one of the scribes [an expert in Mosaic Law] came up and listened to them arguing [with one another], and noticing that Jesus answered them well, asked Him, “Which commandment is first and most important of all?” ²⁹Jesus answered, “The first and most important one is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord; ³⁰and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.’ ³¹This is the second: ‘You shall [unselfishly] ^[a]love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³²The scribe said to Him, “Admirably answered, Teacher; You truthfully stated that He is One, and there is no other but Him; ³³and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to [unselfishly] love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴When Jesus saw that he answered thoughtfully and intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one would dare to ask Him any more questions.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Mark 12:34 … Young’s Literal Translation

³⁴And Jesus, having seen him that he answered with understanding, said to him, `Thou art not far from the reign of God;’ and no one any more durst question him.

Today we will begin to explore how emotional health and trust are linked.

Truth is, thanks be to God, we are all emotional beings and how we are doing emotionally (positively and negatively) affects all of us on a regular basis.

God our Creator, the Author of our entire Life has something to say about yours and mine emotional health, and it is my fervent hope you, the readership, are and become greatly encouraged and feel the touch of just one of the tears Jesus cried for you and receive a fresh anointing from the Holy Spirit, come to know how deeply you and I are loved by the Lord as we focus in on this truth today.

Do you know that God cares deeply about your emotions?

Gospel Truth is this: Your heavenly Father longs for your life to be marked by emotional joy, fulfillment, satisfaction, and peace. He longs for your emotions to be rooted and grounded in his steadfast love and goodness.

Our Savior is an emotional Savior. He is not void of feelings.

We feel because he feels.

We have emotions because we are made in his image.

For much of my Christian life I thought my emotions had to be based on my circumstances.

I felt happy or sad based on others’ opinions, the pressures of life, and opportunities I had or didn’t have.

As a result, I was on a constant emotional roller coaster following the ups and downs of this shaky world. I found myself controlled by the things of the world rather than the foundation of love laid before me by the sacrificial love of Jesus.

Scripture continually describes a link between emotional health and trust.

Isaiah 26:3-4 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”

Psalm 56:3-4 says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?”

And Psalm 33:21 says, “For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.”

We are robbed of having our emotions rooted in God whenever we take on more pressure than we are meant to carry.

Our emotional health is directly linked to our level of trust.

We feel pressure at work when we look to our job and co-workers for our provision, identity, purpose, and fulfillment.

We feel pressure in our relationships when our worth isn’t based on God’s perspective but the opinions of others.

We are robbed of peace when we try and plan our own steps rather than following our Good Shepherd into the green pastures and still waters.

In John 14:27 Jesus says,

“Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

God’s heart is to fill you with peace.

He longs for you to have all the fruit of the Spirit dwelling within you.

He has consistent, constant peace available to you.

But you must trust him in every area of your life.

You must hand over the reins of your relationships, job, identity, and plans to your Good Shepherd.

You must love and trust that he will guide you perfectly into an abundant life.

Mark 12:29-30 Jesus says this

“The most important commandment is this, You must love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength.”

Do you understand the emotion involved in this passage?

If this verse had said, you must love your favorite football team, or favorite singer, or favorite actor with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength,

what imagery comes to your mind?

How are you going to act at the game, at the concert, or at the movie?

Would people think you were a little radical, a little nuts?

God is saying, I want to have an emotional relationship with you, where you throw everything, you have into it.

God even complains when we don’t do it.

He says, these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

Have you ever seen somebody do something, and though they did it right, you could tell their heart just wasn’t in it.

God wants us to be emotionally involved in our relationship to him.

Look to your heavenly Father for peace.

Find rest in his abundant love.

Find your self-worth in the fact that God so desired relationship with you that he laid down his own life to have it.

UNDERSTAND MY EMOTIONS

Let me give you some truths about your emotions before we get into this.

1. First, Our Savior has emotions.

Jesus was God in the flesh.

Can you imagine the whole range of emotions he went through riding on the back of the foal as he entered the city gates of Jerusalem?

“Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna!” “Save us we Pray! Save us we Pray!” the crowd of people joyously shouted at the top of their lungs as Jesus recalled his destiny

He was happy to see the people turn out in large numbers.

He was thankful for the praises of the people.

He was disappointed that the Pharisees could not see what was taking place.

He was angry that religious leaders wanted him to silence the crowd.

He was so angry when He entered the Temple grounds, he turned over tables and yelled above the raucous din and activity of the “marketplace” inside.

He was sad that the people didn’t understand their true need.

He cried because he knew the destruction the Roman army would inflict on some of the people there.

He felt rejection because he knew the cross was still less than a week away.

Our Savior Jesus has emotions.

The only reason you have emotions is because you’re made in God’s image.

If our Savior was not an emotional Savior, we wouldn’t have any emotions.

We would not read: “Jesus Wept!”

2. My ability to feel is a gift from God.

Your emotions are a gift from God.

They may not always seem that way.

But even the negative ones have a role in your life.

God can use them to show you your need for him.

Emotions are a great asset.

They’re the one thing that make you and me human.

If you and I didn’t have emotions, you and I would just be a robot.

How many of you would want to be married to a robot?

It is our emotional ability that allows us to love and create and to be faithful and loyal and kind and generous and all the range of the emotions that are attached to both the good and bad and catastrophic things in life.

One of the most astounding verses in the Bible is

Genesis 1:26 “Let us make man in our image.”

In OUR Image.

As I said the only reason you have emotions is because God gave them to you.

And you were made in his image.

3. There are two extremes to avoid.

There are two extremes you need to avoid in dealing with emotions.

One is called emotionalism and the other is called stoicism

Emotionalism means all that matters is how I feel.

Emotionalism is the extreme of saying the only thing that matters in life is how I feel.

It does not matter what I think, it doesn’t matter what’s right or wrong, it doesn’t matter what’s popular or unpopular, good or bad.

What matters is doing and responding to what you feel.

If it feels good, do it.

If I am full of Emotionalism, my emotions, they control my life, they dominate my life, they run my life and I am a very emotionally centered person.

Stoicism – feelings aren’t important at all. Stoicism is the exact opposite. It basically says feelings aren’t important at all. The only thing that matters is the measure of your intellect and your will – your volition and your intelligence.

So, the stoics say emotions are not part of life; feelings do not really matter.

We lean one way or the other and have a tendency to marry someone on the other end. One of us wants to tell the whole story with all the drama, and the other one just wants to hear the basic facts.

Like Joe Friday, from Dragnet, we say “the facts mam, just the facts.”

Actually, both of these are extreme positions.

And the happy medium is where you really want to be.

It’s not emotionalism or stoicism.

You want to know how to worship God with your emotions as shown by the facts of the truth of the Word of God.

God gave us our emotions for a reason.

God wants us to worship him emotionally.

God wants us to feel it.

In fact, God complains in the Scripture many times you’re just worshiping with your lips but not with your emotions, not with your heart.

You don’t really feel it.

By the way the word “emotion” isn’t used that often in the Bible because the Bible uses the word “passions” or “affections” or the number one term for emotions is “heart.”

We still use that today.

When you fall in love, what part of your body do you symbolically give to the person to show it.

You say, “I give you, my whole heart.”

Heart is the symbol of love and emotions.

Even today we say, “I love you with all my heart.”

In the bible, the word of God, the mind represents the intellect and the heart represents emotions. Both of them are involved in the worship of our God.

We come to church to learn about God and to feel the presence of God. That’s why our praise and our worship is as important as hearing the preached word.

We now know that those are actually two different circuit systems in your brain.

Your emotions have an amazing system as well as your thoughts do.

Some things you just react emotionally without even thinking about it.

4. GOD GAVE US THE PSALMS IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND OUR EMOTIONS.

If you have a hard time with some emotions in your life you need to spend a lot of time in the book of Psalms.

Psalms has every emotion known to man in it – the good ones and the bad ones.

The positive and the negative.

You read some of those psalms and you think,

“Why is this chapter in the Bible?”

It’s there to teach you about even those negative emotions.

Because not all psalms are about praise and thanksgiving.

There are psalms of anger and there are psalms of complaining and psalms of lament and sorrow.

There are psalms of arguing with God.

Every emotion known to man is in the Psalms and God is saying all of these are legitimate.

I give these Words to you.

Psalm 127:1 Amplified Bible

Prosperity Comes from the Lord.

A Song of ^[a]Ascents. Of Solomon.

127 Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.

Psalm 100 Amplified Bible

All Men Exhorted to Praise God.

A Psalm of Thanksgiving.

100 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
²
Serve the Lord with gladness and delight;
Come before His presence with joyful singing.
³
Know and fully recognize with gratitude that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, ^[a]not we ourselves [and we are His].
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

⁴
Enter His gates with a song of thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, bless and praise His name.
⁵
For the Lord is good;
His mercy and lovingkindness are everlasting,
His faithfulness [endures] to all generations.

Psalm 70 Amplified Bible

Prayer for Help against Persecutors.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance.

70 O God, come quickly to save me;
O Lord, come quickly to help me!
²
Let those be ashamed and humiliated
Who seek my life;
Let them be turned back and humiliated
Who delight in my hurt.
³
Let them be turned back because of their shame and disgrace
Who say, “Aha, aha!”

⁴
May all those who seek You [as life’s first priority] rejoice and be glad in You;
May those who love Your salvation say continually,
“Let God be magnified!”
⁵
But I am afflicted and needy;
Come quickly to me, O God!
You are my help and my rescuer;
O Lord, do not delay.

In Psalm 70 we read today, in just those first five verses, we found desperation, frustration, anger, encouragement, confidence, humility and hope AND GOD!

So, we’re going to take some quality time at how to deal with how WE feel.

It is important for us to learn how to deal with managing our emotions and how to deal with an unwanted devotion.

Your Father counts you worthy of the death of his only Son.

Trust him today.

Place your entire life in his capable hands.

And experience God’s abundant life in the area of your emotions, rooting and grounding yourself in his unconditional, available love.

May your life be marked by increasing emotional health as you grow in trust.

Tomorrow, we’re going to try and examine why we must take quality time with God in our shared efforts to learn how to in Jesus’ name, manage our emotions.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Prayer

1. Meditate on the link between trust and emotional health. Allow Scripture to stir up your desire and willingness to trust God with every area of your life.

“For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.” Psalm 33:21

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” Psalm 56:3-4

2. Where are you not experiencing abundant life in your emotions? Where are you feeling void of peace, joy, passion, and purpose?

3. Ask God to help you discern what part of your life you are not trusting to him. Hand over that area to him and find peace and rest in his trustworthiness.

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” Isaiah 26:3-4

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

“Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27

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Heartbeat of Love and Hate. “I Love to Hate!” “I Hate to Love!” 1 John 3:11-18.

Human nature we say has multiple intense emotions attached to it, a couple of those intense feelings condensed into 4 letter words are love and hate.

If it is justified that we can just happen to instinctively or naturally love a person or an activity, can the same logic be used to justify hatred?

To understand if that is the case or not, we need to begin by defining hatred.

Both Merriam Webster, as well as Oxford dictionary, define hate as ‘extreme disgust’ and ‘intense dislike’ respectively.

Of course, both the adjectives mentioned here are pretty vague because it is difficult to decide what level of extremity or what measure of intensity can be termed as extreme or intense, the constant question comes, what parameters qualify this threshold?

Love and hate are two parallel emotions that are always used together. One needs to experience the extremes of hate/love to know entirely about them.

Hate is defined as a powerful feeling of not liking somebody/something at all. It’s a negative emotion that affects our rationales and way of thinking, and it comes out of anger, hostility and resentment. Hate harms the hater as well as the hated person, and it makes life more miserable.

In simple words where a feeling of mild disgust or of mild dislike makes us uncomfortable till that extent which we end up having a subconscious wanting to harm or cancel or just eliminate the target, that’s where the mild feeling gets converted into hatred.

Think about this. Our mental defense mechanisms are self-protective in nature, we subconsciously end up equipping the tool of greatest personal reassurance.

Hence, if we have already devalued the image a person or a group in our mind on the basis of what we have ‘heard’, we confirm the bias against something that we already have heard to reinforce and reassure our beliefs we feed ourselves with even more information to back it.

Aristotle states that ‘whereas anger is customarily felt toward individuals, hatred is often felt towards groups…. hate is based on the generalized attribution of action to the basic traits and features of a person’.

Hence if one day we experience or get to know that an individual having a specific trait, be it color or religion or anything similar we rather than disliking that specific instance end up reinforcing our stereotype that we have made and label the group showing that trait to be potential causes of the same actions.

Rather than hate, one should always spread love and bring positivity in their and others’ lives. One should not let hatred consume them as it will only have both serious and severe adverse effects on their physical and mental health.

Hence, I have brought these love – hate quotes to yours and mine attention to “put an elbow into our ribcages” and remind us to spread happiness and love!

“Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in this world but has not solved one yet.” Maya Angelou

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” Martin Luther King Jr.
Source: A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches

“I have decided to stick to love…Hate is too great a burden to bear.” Martin Luther King Jr.
Source: A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches

“Somewhere between love and hate lies confusion, misunderstanding and desperate hope.” Shannon L. Alder

“When we don’t know who to hate, we hate ourselves.” Chuck Palahniuk
Source: Invisible Monsters

“I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.” James Baldwin
Source: The Fire Next Time

“I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.” Booker T. Washington

“Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn’t matter which color does the hating. It’s just plain wrong.” Muhammad Ali

“Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too.” Will Smith

It is our love for one another that lets our light shine unto the world and boldly states we are Christians!

In 1 John 3:11-18 John states if one is indifferent or hates a brother or sister then either one is not saved or is out of fellowship with God.

1 John 3:11-18Amplified Bible

¹¹For this is the message which you [believers] have heard from the beginning [of your relationship with Christ], that we should [unselfishly] love and seek the best for one another; ¹²and not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother [Abel]. And why did he murder him? Because Cain’s deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.

¹³Do not be surprised, believers, if the world hates you. ¹⁴We know that we have passed out of death into Life, because we love the brothers and sisters. He who does not love remains in [spiritual] death. ¹⁵Everyone who hates (works against) his brother [in Christ] is [at heart] a murderer [by God’s standards]; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. ¹⁶By this we know [and have come to understand the depth and essence of His precious] love: that He [willingly] laid down His life for us [because He loved us]. And we ought to lay down our lives for the believers. ¹⁷But whoever has the ^[a]world’s goods (adequate resources), and sees his brother in need, but has no compassion for him, how does the love of God live in him? ¹⁸Little children (believers, dear ones), let us not love [merely in theory] with word or with tongue [giving lip service to compassion], but in action and in truth [in practice and in sincerity, because practical acts of love are more than words].

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

A new command Christ has given to us born of the water and the Spirit.

That is to “love one another” so that the world will “know that you are My disciplines” (John 13:34)!

As Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) we are called to not curse human beings made in God’s image (James 3:9) but instead labor to do good unto them (Luke 6:27) so that the comfort and love we have received (2 Corinthians 1:3-5) from the Father might be apparent and a witness of His grace and mercy.

If by Jesus’ own words, (Matthew 5:43-44) If God commands us to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us. then how much more ought we love, seek unity and peace with our spiritual brothers within the same body of Christ?

While the command to love one another is clearly to be a priority for God’s own it is difficult to put into practice because it invites intense persecution!

Rabbi Jesus warns us that while obeying His command to love results in our light shining amongst the lost it at the same time invites hatred amongst those who don’t want to approach the light because their evil deeds will be exposed (John 3:20, 15:18).

While it is painful to be persecuted by non-Christians who have not passed from death to life (1 John 3:14), how much more so when indifference or “active antagonism” comes from within the body of believers?

This was the situation that Apostle John wrote about in 1 John 3:11-18.

The Johanne community were “experiencing a pattern of prejudicial treatment and resentment” from two God-fearing bodies.

First, the Jews were putting them out of the synagogue and killing them (John 16:2, 9:34) due to their belief in the Messiah dying once and for all, and

second, they faced intense persecution from a group of heretics, followers of Cerinthus, that were spreading false teaching.

The incredibly sad part is that these secessionists used to belong to their church!

Today’s devotion is going review the reasons John gave as to why it is not ok to be indifferent or outright hate those created in God’s image, especially when they belong to the same body of Christ because such negative emotions often demonstrate your bond is with Satan and you in fact are not born again!

The Message from the Beginning

John begins by stating that he is “not giving the church a message they have never heard” but instead one that was given from the beginning!

The command to love was Christ’s command given to His disciples “likely dependent of the Last Supper discourse.”

Jesus said, “a new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so must you love one another. By this everyone will know you are my disciples if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).

This is not meant to be some “academic, theological, doctrinal statement,” but one of the litmus tests one can use to determine if one has indeed “passed from death to life” (1 John 3:14)!

“As the knowledge of God is tested by conduct—whether one walks in the light (1:5–2:11)—so being “born of God” (2:29) is tested by righteous action and love of the brethren.”

While the definition of “love” by the world is incredibly broad and often self-gratifying, the kind of love John is referring to,

agape love, is the “responsibility to demonstrate selfless concern for our brothers and sisters in Christ as our response to the grace God has given us!”

Agape love is crucial for “living for Jesus and for advancing God’s kingdom.”

Because it is by considering others better than ourselves and looking out for their best interests (Philippians 2:3) that one demonstrates one has indeed received and is now able to pass the comfort one has received from the Father onto His children!

It is not by our carrying Bibles, singing worship songs, theological astuteness, or even the size of our church or our congregations that others see God’s light but instead by our visible and invisible expression of sacrificial love for them!

While we are called to love all humans because they are created in God’s image,

John stresses how important it is to show those who have a bond with the Devil and are filled with jealousy, hatred and strife that when you chose a bond with God through belief in the atoning sacrifice of His Son (John 3:16-17) you receive the opposite: expressions of unity, peace and love for both God and one another.

It is covenanted within this testimony of love that a believer can point the lost sheep to the Good Shepherd to be found, loved, and redeemed by His blood!

Hatred as a Sign of Death

Before John tells his audience more about the love believers are to emulate, he begins by using Cain as an example of the opposite of love, hated!

We are told in Genesis chapter four that “in the course of time” (4:3) both Cain and Abel brought offerings unto the Lord.

While “Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil” Abel brought “fat portions from some of the firstborn of the flock” (4:3-4).

We are told that the Lord looked favorably on Abel’s offering and rejected Cain’s (4:4-5). “Cain became very angry; his face was downcast” (4:5) so the Lord said to Cain, “if you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it” (4:7).

In a fit of jealousy and anger we are told that Cain invited his brother Abel to go out into the field where he proceeded to butcher him like one would an animal!

I believe the greater issue here is not that Cain brought an inferior sacrifice, a grain instead of animal sacrifice as some commentaries suggest, but that Cain lacked love, trust and faith (Hebrews 11:4) to give God his very best and was filled with murderous hatred in the sight of his brother’s righteousness!

Despite both brothers being raised in the same environment and by the same parents, unlike Abel, Cain chose to reject God as the Master of his destiny and tried to control his own future.

Cain did not “become a child of the Devil (1 John 3:12) by murdering his brother.

Rather, he murders his brother because he is already a child of the Devil!”

The “evil character of Cain is universally assumed in both biblical, extrabiblical sources” and the murder of Abel constantly reminds us that every single person has to make a choice between “hatred and love, life and death, murder and self-sacrifice” that comes from either having love, trust and faith in self or in God!

With the story of Cain in mind John boldly warns the successionists, the Jewish people and his own flock that what one possesses within one’s heart, either good or evil, is a sign of whether one has passed from death to life (1 John 3:14)!

From Cain’s murder of Abel, we learn an absence of love means living in an atmosphere of death!

Our choosing between being “right in our own eyes, being right in the eyes of God will draw hatred from others who cannot tolerate the light, morality, and selfless, sacrificial righteousness of those who rely on God’s grace and mercy.

Since “genuine love cannot be fabricated or imitated, it is either present within our hearts from Christ or not.”

Love and fellowship with God are an amazing barometer to determine if one is saved or not!

In Mark 7:21-23 Rabbi Jesus said that true murder is that which is conceived in the heart. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed malice, deceit, lewdness, and envy, slander, arrogance, and folly.

All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean!

An absence of evil within one’s heart or having love for others “will not cause spiritual life to occur but will give evidence of it. Conversely, to be unable to love means that a person is without life from the Father and remains in death.”

For John when a believer is either indifferent or outright hates other believers this is the “spiritual equivalent of murder” (Matthew 5:21-22), as a lustful eye is the spiritual equivalent of adultery (Matthew 5:28).

John is not saying that any person who hates is unsaved or have committed an unpardonable sin but merely that since “hate and death go together” as evil from the Devil, these are signs one either has not passed from death to life or at the very least are not abiding in the new life in Christ, therefore stand outside of the fellowship of God!

To these first century secessionists who rejected both faith in Jesus (2:22–23; 4:2–3) and love for one’s brothers and sisters (2:9–11; 3:11–15), John point blank states you are not saved but to those inside his flock he is saying that since by your fruit you will be known make every effort to not hate but love those within the family of God!

Love as a Sign of Life

When it comes to knowing exactly what love is, John says we are to emulate Jesus who laid down His life for us (1 John 3:16)!

While Cain is a universally acknowledged example of ultimate hate,

He who emptied Himself and became the suffering servant for even His enemies is an ultimately holy and ultimately perfect example of agape love!

The kind of love we are to have for our brothers and sisters in Christ is one that goes beyond self to focus on the well-being of all others.

When John speaks of Christ laying down His life this makes us think of the passage where Jesus talks about being the Good Shepherd who voluntarily lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11, 15-18).

Agape “love is denial of self for another’s gain.”

It is doing what Jesus Himself already did and continues to do.

It is becoming like Apostle Paul who said, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

“The effacement, (the quality of not claiming attention for oneself) of another’s rights and perhaps existence for one’s own sake is the essence of hatred; the effacement of oneself for another’s sake is the essence of agape love!”

Being angry, envious, and holding extreme grudges against those born again and created in the image of God drives a wedge between us and Him for God above all is pure love!

While loving all people, especially those with different dreams, goals, hobbies, and yes even different theology is impossible for our sinful natures to accept, those born of the water and Spirit (John 3:5) can do so for they have been given a new heart to replace their one of stone (Ezekiel 36:26)!

While we “are unlikely to have opportunities to literally die for others” we are to walk in Christ’s footsteps and voluntarily (John 10:18) “sacrifice our own self-interests” so that the vertical relationship of love between us and the Father might horizontally be known amongst our fellow believers!

It is through this kind of sacrificial other focused love that the world and we too see ourselves as true children of God!

To keep these first century Secessionists, Jews, and members of his own church from enthusiastically speaking with the tongue the kind of love that is not in their hearts; above all,

John says agape love “must be practical, visible, and active” (1 John 3:17-18)!

How easy and self-assuring it is to say I love all of humanity while at the very same time being indifferent or hatful towards those who are “uninteresting, exasperating, depraved, or otherwise radically different and unattractive!”

To follow in Jesus’ footsteps, one must be willing to seek and acknowledge the needs of others by practically meeting them when possible.

What would have happened to us if Christ had not emptied Himself of the glory, He had with the Father but instead chose not to lift a finger to help us “sinful, ungodly, unrighteous folks?” What if Paul never wrote Romans chapter 5,6?

Without His grace and mercy would we not remain lost sheep looking for our Master?

“Actions speak louder than words”

for it is precisely in our putting other’s interests above our own that we demonstrate we have learned much from the Lord who is our Shepherd!

Since “love that fails to take form of action on behalf of others is nothing more than religious rhetoric,” with unspeakable joy in the presence of He who voluntarily atoned for our sins may we emulate His love for all by offering those around us whatever we can to reduce their burdens.

Since we have more material possessions than even the children of Israel when they entered the Promised Land, let’s give sacrificially, not with the expectation of reciprocity but with thankful hearts that what God has entrusted to us we get to share with His own!

Let us not give up meeting together (Hebrews 10:25), become indifferent to some and infatuated by others, but instead let us share with one another, unified as one body in Christ who share the same Spirit and glorious hope of one day going home to be with Jesus!

Let this be one more Affirmation of faith, hope and love for today,

“Lord Jesus the love and comfort You have given me help me to share it with my brothers and sisters for Your honor and glory, Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen!”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Father, my Guide, illuminate my mind so I can understand how you want me to live. Your word tells me that people of integrity who follow your instructions are joyful. You have said that those who obey your laws and search for you with all their hearts are blessed and happy. I want that joy! Holy Spirit, please guard me against allowing evil to influence what I believe and do. Help me walk only in your paths. May my actions consistently reflect what you have said is right and good. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Revelation 4 Amplified Bible

Scene in Heaven

The Throne and Worship of the Creator

Revelation 4:8Amplified Bible

Revelation 4:9-11 Amplified Bible

Revelation 5:8-10Amplified Bible

Revelation 5:11-12Amplified Bible

Angels Exalt the Lamb

Revelation 5:13-14 Amplified Bible

Revelation 7:11-12 Amplified Bible

Revelation 11:16-18 Amplified Bible

Revelation 14:6-7Amplified Bible

The Angel with the Gospel

Revelation 15:2-4Amplified Bible

Revelation 19:1-6Amplified Bible

The Fourfold Hallelujah

Marriage of the Lamb

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Mark 1:35-39Amplified Bible

Acts 2:43-47Amplified Bible

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Luke 14:16-24Amplified Bible

Parable of the Dinner

Isaiah 1:18-20Amplified Bible

“Let Us Reason”

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Luke 5:27-39 Amplified Bible

Call of Levi (Matthew)

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Deuteronomy 5:32-33Amplified Bible

Deuteronomy 5:32-33 The Message

1. Walking With God Makes Things Possible

2. He Is Our Comfort

3. He Will Help You

4. Walking Without Him Is an Unnecessary Struggle

Hebrews 11:1-6Amplified Bible

The Triumphs of Faith

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Galatians 6:7-8The Message

He Took on the Status of a Slave

Be inviting

Be admitting

Be forgiving

Be available

Be serving

Be admiring

Be empathetic

Be initiating

Be persevering

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Mark 10:46-52Amplified Bible

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

You and I have a blank check with God.

Now the Lord says: “I am pleased with you.”

So now Jesus says to you, “I want you to know that you have a blank check with Me.”

So, I want you to please tell Me: Bartimaeus, (insert your name) what do you want to do?

You have a blank check with Me.

Matthew 9:35-38Amplified Bible

So, (insert your name) let’s move. Let’s go forth together. Let’s co-labor on the earth.

Psalm 146Amplified Bible

The Lord an Abundant Helper.

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Mark 10:46-52Amplified Bible

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

Job 1:20-21Amplified Bible

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Mark 12:28-34 Amplified Bible

Psalm 127:1 Amplified Bible

Prosperity Comes from the Lord.

A Song of [a]Ascents. Of Solomon.

Psalm 100 Amplified Bible

All Men Exhorted to Praise God.

A Psalm of Thanksgiving.

Psalm 70 Amplified Bible

Prayer for Help against Persecutors.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance.

Prayer

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1 John 3:11-18Amplified Bible

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A Song of ^[a]Ascents. Of Solomon.