“The Great Marriage Supper”December 31, 2017 A.D.by Pastor Ben Willis

SERMON

PASTOR: INTRODUCTION

Across The Revelation to John we see parallels made between the realities of God and the counterfeits of Satan. We see the real, Lord God Almighty, the One sitting on the Throne, and we see the counterfeit, the Dragon, Satan, the Devil… We see the real, God the Son, the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, and we see the counterfeit, the Beast, the first beast (that is), with a fatal wound that has been miraculously healed (in imitation of the Lord Jesus’ being raised from the dead). We see the real, Christ’s Church, marked and measured, and we see the counterfeit, the False Prophet, that looks like a representative of the Lamb but that speaks with the voice of the Dragon. We see the real, the Bride of Christ, dressed in righteousness, and her city, the New Jerusalem, and we see the counterfeit, the Great Prostitute, drinking obscenities and impurities, and her city, Babylon the Great, covered with heresies and blasphemies…

As our reading begins, “the End” has just begun with the fall and destruction of the Great Prostitute and her city, Babylon the great. With their destruction falls the whole world-system and the devil’s wicked, sinful, death-fearing pattern of life-together across human society… (Immediately after our reading, the Beast and the False Prophet are quickly defeated, and, finally, the Devil – Satan – likewise proves himself no match whatsoever for the One seated on the Throne and the Lamb. But, for now, so far, it’s just been the fall and destruction of the Great Prostitute and her city Babylon the great…)

ELDER READING FROM: THE REVELATION 19:1-10 [NLTse]

After this, I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in Heaven shouting, “Praise the Lord! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God. 2 His judgments

are true and just. He has punished the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the murder of His servants.”

3 And again their voices rang out: “Praise the Lord! The smoke from that city ascends forever and ever!”

4 Then the twenty-four elders and the four living beings fell down and worshiped God, Who was sitting on the throne. They cried out, “Amen! Praise the Lord!”

5 And from the throne came a voice that said, “Praise our God, all His servants, all who fear Him, from the least to the greatest.”

6 Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder: “Praise the Lord! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to Him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and His bride has prepared herself. 8 She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.

9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.”

10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers and sisters who testify about their faith in Jesus. Worship only God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.”

PASTOR: SERMON

Wedding customs in the time of Jesus had three major parts. First, a marriage contract was signed by the parents of the bride and the bridegroom, and then the bridegroom’s parents or the bridegroom himself would pay a bride-price – typically a gift of money, land, or livestock – to the bride or to her

parents. This began what was called the betrothal period—what we would today call “the engagement”. This period was the one Joseph and Mary were in when she was found to be with child (Matthew 1:18; Luke 2:5).

The second step usually occurred a year later when the bridegroom, accompanied by his male friends, marched and danced and sang in procession to the bride’s house creating a parade-of-sorts through the streets. The bride would know in advance this was going to take place – though, perhaps not the exact day or the exact time of day – and so she would be ready with her maidens, and when the bridegroom and his men arrived, they would all join the parade and accompany them all back to the bridegroom’s and bride’s new home. (Sometimes their new home would be an addition the bridegroom had built onto his father’s home; sometimes it would be a new house altogether.) This custom is the basis for the Lord Jesus’ parable The Ten Bridesmaids in Matthew 25.

The third phase in a good Hebrew wedding was the marriage ceremony, which ended with the bridegroom and bride being led to the bridal chamber… And with the bridegroom and bride formally wed and having consummated their union, the wedding supper would begin! (A celebration that might go on for days, as we see happening in John 2 when the Lord Jesus attended the wedding at Cana.)

So, when we read about the “Wedding Supper of the Lamb” in John’s vision in The Revelation, we are watching the culmination of the Lord Jesus’ marriage to His Bride, the Church. The implication, of course, is that the first phases have already taken place. The first completed here on earth with each believer individually making a contract – a covenant – with God by placing our faith in Christ as the Savior of our lives and the Lord oof our lives. Our bride-price was Christ’s sacrifice on the cross paying the penalty for our sins. The Church on earth today, then, is “betrothed” – engaged – to Jesus Christ, and, like

the wise bridesmaids in the Lord Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25, all of us believers should be watching and prepared for the return of our Bridegroom.

The second phase of our marriage speaks of the Rapture, when Christ will come to take us – His Church – out of the collapsing world to our new home: The New Heavens and the New Earth! Then after all the pomp and wonder of being finally and fully united with Him, the “Marriage Supper” will follow: The glorious celebration of all who are in Christ!



“Idol Chatter”December 17, 2017 A.D.by Pastor Ben Willis

SERMON “Idol Chatter”

1 JOHN 5:13-21 [NLTse]

13 I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. 14 And we are confident that He hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him. 15 And since we know He hears us when we make our requests, we also know that He will give us what we ask for.

16 If you see a fellow believer sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. 17 All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.

18 We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. 19 We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.

20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and He has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and He is eternal life.

21 Dear children, keep away from idols, that is, anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.

SERMON

We are finishing up our year-long reading of the Bible. This past week we finished Hebrews, and read through James, and First & Second Peter. This reading from 1 John that Elder Roger Casey just finished comes from next week’s readings. I’m a week ahead of us because next Sunday – Christmas Eve morning – the Service will largely be led by the kids and teens of the church, including the Message. So, as I believe the Lord wanted this Message preached, since I won’t get a chance to preach it next Sunday, here I am preaching it today. J

During our prayers this morning I asked us what we were praying for this Christmas: What we were asking God for… With that on my mind this past week as I was preparing for this morning I got wondering what God might want from us this Christmas: What He’s asking us for… And the very end of this reading caught my attention: John’s final words of the letter, “Dear children, keep away from idols, that is, anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.” (5:21)

For those of you reading along with Roger this morning, if you were reading along in our pew Bibles – the New Living Translation – you saw that I inserted the word “idols” into our reading. Its translation simply says: “Keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.” If you’re reading along in some other translation – the NIV (the New International Version) or the New King James Version or the growing-more-and-more-popular ESV (English Standard Version) – your translation simply read: “Keep yourselves from idols.”

Of course, both translations are correct because when the Holy Spirit (through John) is calling us away from “idols”, he’s not just telling us to not worship God by bowing down before or praying toward statues made of wood or marble or gold that represent God or other gods. No. “Idols” and “idolatry” in the Bible include anything we might worship other than God (through Christ): Anything that might take God’s place in our hearts.

You see, the Bible makes clear that as far back as Genesis chapter 3 – which records the first sin – that human being’s root problem is that we don’t want to let God be the center of our lives. In Genesis 3 Adam and Eve trusted the devil more than they trusted God. In Genesis 4, Cain went along with his jealousy instead of going along with God. By the time of Noah, the people of the earth had ignored and distanced themselves from God so completely that Genesis 6 tells us, “Everything [human beings]

thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.” (v. 5) And by Moses’ day, the peoples’ of the earth were so mixed up about right and wrong and love and hate and rightness and injustice that God had to give Moses the Ten Commandments (and over time a bunch of other so-called “laws”) to help people get to know good from bad again!

Yup, like Adam and Eve trusting the devil, and Cain giving in to his jealousy, and even the Israelites wanting a golden calf they could see and touch to worship instead of a God Who couldn’t be seen or touched, human beings have always chosen created things to worship and be our “gods” because we don’t want God to be in control of our lives: We want to be in control of our lives.

So, wealth, work, family, and wanting others to like us can all become “idols” when we look to them to help us feel good about ourselves and acceptable to others. A property, a possession, an activity, or an institution can all become “idols” when we need them in our lives in order to be happy. A hope, an idea, a pleasure, even a hero can become “idols” when, if ever threatened or taken from us, would cause us to turn our backs on God. Yes, even the good things God has given us and the good callings He has on our lives can become “idols” when they become the real goal of our day-to-day living instead of Almighty God Who gave them…

Several years ago I shared with you all the story of a time when my wife, Amy, and I were making our way through a crowded movie theater parking lot and Amy, having looked both ways, had then dashed across the traffic to the other side. (Only, Amy hadn’t seen a car that I could see coming up from behind us!) In that moment when I thought I was going to lose her I had one of those “life flashing before your eyes” conversations with God: Begging Him not to take her. And in that same moment God showed me how, if I didn’t surrender Amy’s life and welfare to Him – how, if I always demanded He keep her safe and healthy – how Amy

would always be vulnerable to the wicked plans of the Evil One. That is, if my love for God and my trust in Him depended on whether or not He took good-enough care of my wife, how the devil could then always hurt me and cause trouble between God and me by hurting her or even taking her from me. God taught me in that moment that the safest place for my wife to be was not in my hands or in my plans for her and us, but in His hands and in His plans for her and us. I needed to worship Him alone.

God shattered another potential-idol of mine years later when our first child was born. Amy was exhausted after a long night of labor made all the more draining on account of her having been given a large dose of sleeping medicine by accident just as her contractions started. She literally didn’t have it in her to push Noah out. And he was stuck. And the nurse hit that dreaded blue button, and the coding announcement went out over the hospital loud speakers. And as the crash cart came in and I was pushed out of the way, it became clear that my wife and my son were going to die as I helplessly watched. And I told God in that moment, with tears pouring down my face, that He could have her and I would still love Him, and that He could have Noah, too, and that I would still love Him…

And God was merciful to me as those little stone sculptures fell from the altar of my heart and smashed on the hospital floor at my feet. He had mercy on us in that Amy is here today and in that, God willing, Noah will be home for Christmas break later on this afternoon.

But how do we know when the Lord is rightly and solely enthroned upon our hearts and when something or someone has become an “idol” that we’ve placed there?

First of all, there’s always competition for the throne of our lives. The devil hates that we’re saved and is doing everything in his power to break up our relationship with the Lord. So, the question is never,

“Is there something or someone competing for God’s place on the throne of my life?” the question is always, “What is competing for God’s place on the throne of my life?”

And we get the answers to such questions by honestly answering other questions. Questions like:

u “What gives my life meaning? What gives my life worth?”

u “What is my greatest nightmare? What do I worry about most?”

u “What keeps me going? That is, what – if I failed in it or lost it – would cause me to not want to live anymore?”

u “What do I rely on when things go bad or get difficult? What do I comfort myself with?”

u “What preoccupies me? What does my mind think about when I’m not doing something else?”

u “What prayer, if unanswered, would make me seriously think about turning away from God?”

u “What gives me the most self-worth? What am I the proudest of?”

u “What do I really want and expect out of life? What would really make me happy?”

The common-thread answers to these questions will make absolutely clear to you what has become too important to you… u

Once we’ve identified our “idols”, how do we go about smashing them and removing them from the throne of our hearts?

First, let’s realize that having an “idol” or “idols” alongside or in God’s rightful place in our lives is like saying to God, “Lord, it’s good to have You in my life, but there’s this other thing that I must have or I’ll never be happy and my life won’t be meaningful. You are not enough, Father. I need this, too, in order to be fulfilled. In fact, if you take it from me I’ll turn my back on You, because I like having You in my life, but I need this!” (Does anything or anyone come to your mind as I said that? Well,

that’s your “idol” or at least one of the “idols” competing for God’s place in your life.)

So, acknowledging what having an “idol” in our lives says to God, we repent and seek to smash the “idol” by coming against its place in our lives in two different ways:

First: We meditate on the sin of our idolatry in order to hate the sin of our idolatry. And, second: We meditate on the grace of God to us in the work of Jesus in order to love the grace of God to us in the work of Jesus.

So, hating the sin of our idolatry… If we are the Bride of Christ then by allowing this “idol” we are having an affair! If we are the sons and daughters of God then by allowing this “idol” we are rejecting the Dad Who has given everything for us and Who has everything for us! Our Husband in Heaven is the One Who has declared us innocent of sin, not this “idol”! Our Father in Heaven is the One Who has saved us from the power of sin and the fear of death, not this “idol”! Jesus is the Way, not this “idol”! Jesus is the Truth, not this “idol”! Jesus is our Life, not this “idol”! He’s the One Who’s saved us! He’s our Lord! We will no longer be controlled by this “idol”!!!

And, loving the grace of God to us in the work of Jesus… We admit to our Beloved: “Lord, I’ve been trying to earn my own salvation and set up my own righteousness through this “idolatry”. But Jesus is my salvation! I am righteous only in Your Son! You accept me because of what Jesus has done on the cross! All my problems come because I am forgetting how loved, honored, beautiful, secure, rich, respected, embraced, and free I am in Jesus! Help me, Abba-Father, to be so captivated by Your love for me that no other love can ever control me again!”

We meditate on the sin of our idolatry. We meditate on the grace of God to us in the work of Jesus.

“Merry Christmas, Jesus! We give our hearts to You afresh and unchallenged this morning. Please, help keep us from idols, that is, anything that might take God’s place in our hearts!”



“Godliness Training”December 10, 2017 A.D. by Pastor Ben Willis

SERMON “Godliness Training”

1 TIMOTHY 4:1-16 [NLTse]

Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. 2 These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.

3 They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know the truth. 4 Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks. 5 For we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer.

6 If you explain these things to the brothers and sisters, Timothy, you will be a worthy servant of Christ Jesus, one who is nourished by the message of faith and the good teaching you have followed. 7 Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. 8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” 9 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. 10 This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers.

11 Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them. 12 Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. 13 Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them.

14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you. 15 Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for

the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.

SERMON

In 1 Timothy 4:8, Paul wrote, “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” “Godliness” is an old-fashioned word that means God-like-ness, so, training for godliness is training that makes us more like Christ, more like God. In this passage, the parallel between “physical training” and “training for godliness” teaches us something about that.

First off, Paul tells Timothy and us why we should take up godliness training: And that is, because there are false prophets and false teachers out there who are teaching – not God’s heart and mind and Word, but – the deceptions of demons(!), Paul warns. By “out there” I mean, in pulpits, on TV, writing popular blog-posts; wearing coats and ties, wearing skirts and dresses, wearing jeans; preaching and teaching to hundreds, preaching and teaching to thousands, preaching and teaching to small groups…

At a recent study and prayer meeting of the elders and deacons, we were sharing stories of our run-ins with the devil and his crew of fallen angels (demons). Everyone who shared made a similar observation: Satan doesn’t appear wicked; that is, nobody who’d encountered the devil saw the red, two-horned, pointy-tailed creature with the pitchfork we see in so many depictions of the evil one. No. The embodiment of evil (at least for each and every one of the elders or deacons who shared) appeared normal, typical, average, like anybody else…

We all can be tricked into thinking that we live in a world like Dick Tracy, u where all the good guys looked like good guys and where u all the bad guys looked bad. But the truth is, bad guys can be attractive and be good preachers, too, and bad gals can be attractive and work wonders, too. And that’s why we need to be warned, u and that’s whhy we

need godliness training, because Paul tells us that, in truth, these folks are hypocrites and liars not sensitive to God’s Spirit and who, though seeming faithful, have turned away from the true faith. But we can’t know that if we haven’t trained ourselves in godliness.

And, let’s not fool ourselves into believing that false prophets and false teachers might just be leading us astray about aspects of our faith that don’t matter day by day. No. Paul gives the example of people teaching about what you can eat and who you’re free to marry! These deceivers the devil has sent to infiltrate Christ’s Church are not only taking the freedom of the gospel and twisting it into a new kind of slavery, they’re not only taking the Christian’s desire to obey God out of love and gratitude and twisting it into an obedience coming from fear and obligation, and they’re not only taking the gracious gift of salvation and twisting it into something you or I could take credit for ourselves, but these wolves in sheep’s clothing – these pagans in pastor’s clothing – are also taking the glory of the cross of Christ and equating it with the color of this or that political party or the flag of this or that government; they are also taking the wild and gentle wonders of all it means to be male and female in the image of God and neutering us all down into tame and bland counterfeits; they are also taking the wealth and riches of the gospel of Jesus Christ and making Christian people want the wealth and riches of this life more. We need godliness training so that we can recognize the subtleties and nuances of such differences, especially since (on account of how attractive false prophets and false teachers can be) we can be far down the slippery-slope of their inspiring and entertaining ways before we realize the evil that’s being done to us.

It happened here in this church, for the handful of you here long-enough to remember it. Tim Dean, an elder of the church who has now moved down to Delaware for retirement, was on the committee of

church members who originally interviewed me and eventually hired me to be your pastor. Tim told me about the pastor who was here before me, a fellow well-versed in the Bible and who preached and taught well and often about the cross of Christ and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

But, after a while, Tim said, somethings just seemed to be off in the ways he was encouraging the church to apply the Scriptures. It eventually got to seem so “not right” to him that he began going home after Worship and looking up the context for all the passages the pastor had referenced in his messages. It became very clear to Tim that the pastor was taking the truths of the good news but twisting them to move the church according to his own plans and agenda. A sermon that pastor gave, sadly titled the “Palm Sunday Massacre” by many who were in the church at that time, woke the entire congregation up to the reality that, nice guy though he was, he was a false prophet and a false teacher, and, praise God, you fired him for it…

Yes, no matter the benefits we can receive from dieting and working out, godliness training is even more important because it affects not only our health and welfare in this life but also affects our place and station in the life to come! And Paul writes in another place, “if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.” (1 Corinthians 15:19)

What does godliness training look like? Paul says it includes exercising and practicing-using the gifts the Holy Spirit has given us. Paul says it involves giving our complete attention to the things of God: “Throwing yourself” into God’s work, he writes to Timothy. It involves both how we’re living our personal lives as well as what we say and teach publicly to be true about Jesus.

In physical exercise, we train our muscles to be strong and flexible by regularly forcing them to do things that are hard for them to do. Over time, our muscles develop the ability to do these hard – and even harder – things, but only because we have

consistently worked them to do things that, at first, seemed almost too hard for them!

Likewise in godliness training, we won’t grow unless we continually challenge our spiritual “muscles” to do things we find hard. With that in mind, let’s u ask ourselves:

What am I disciplining myself to do that is hard for me to do? As we ask ourselves this question, let’s keep in mind that what is hard for someone else may be easy for us. We’re looking for things that we, personally, find hard to do. “No pain, no gain,” as the weightlifters say.

u Another question: How regularly am I requiring myself to do these things? Down through the centuries, many have found it helpful to have some daily routine of spiritual practices. “Once in a while” has proven not to get the job done. Likewise in physical training: The athlete who finds him- or herself saying, “I’m too busy to train today; it won’t hurt to miss just one day,” is probably not someone you’ll see playing past the high school level, and someone you definitely won’t see competing professionally or winning a medal in the Olympics. (And we are training for a prize far more precious than wealth or fame or 5-minutes of glory on a podium.)

For example, think about something like daily Bible reading. Many would say, “But I can’t read the Bible every single day. There are some days when I’m just too busy to get my reading done.” Well, yes, it is hard — and therein lies the value of it, at least from the standpoint of godliness training. The very act of doing that which is hard is beneficial (not to mention all the other benefits of reading the Bible itself).

The willingness to pay the price and do the hard things is what separates those who are genuinely head-over-heels for Christ and who genuinely desire to be close to Him and like Him from those who simply think of Christianity and faith and Heaven as all being nice ideas.

I hear the Lord calling to me (I hear Him calling to us all): “Honestly, how much do I really mean to you?”

My friends, with all the ways the devil is active trying to trick us and distract us and to satisfy us with lesser things, are we willing to train for Christ’s sake? Are we willing to ask the hard questions and do the hard things to show Him our love and gratitude for saving us in Christ?



“Glory! Plain & Simple”November 26, 2017 A.D.by Pastor Ben Willis

SERMON – “Glory! Plain & Simple”

2 CORINTHIANS 1:1-12 [NLTse]

This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.

I am writing to God’s church in Corinth and to all of His holy people throughout Greece.

2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with His comfort through Christ. 6 Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. 7 We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.

8 We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. 9 In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, Who raises the dead. 10 And He did rescue us from mortal danger, and He will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in Him, and He will continue to rescue us. 11 And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety.

12 We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity in all our dealings. We have

depended on God’s grace, not on our own human wisdom. That is how we have conducted ourselves before the world, and especially toward you.

SERMON

I don’t know about all of you but I think that we’ve been tricked. At least, I know I have.

I’ve long been a fan of superhero fiction, and have always loved watching or reading about the hero fighting to keep the damsel safe, rescuing her at great odds, and then living together happily ever after. Glorious!

The medium is a little bit different, but you see the same deception if you’re a fan of People magazine or of Woman’s Day or of Men’s Health: The lives of the rich and famous often seem so much more interesting and adventurous and “what life is supposed to be like” than our lives; in those pages the diet always succeeds and the workout always leaves great results. Glorious! Our TV shows and pop-music also portray and sing of bigger-than-life-romances and more-interesting-than-our-lives relationships, bigger-than-our-business deals, more-productive-than-we-could-ever-be movers-and-shakers, and of having a cleaner house and running a tighter ship than we ever could. Glorious! There’s engaging drama. There’s edge-of-your-seat suspense, There’s breath-taking passion. Glorious!

I say that I think we’ve all been deceived because the world portrays all of these things as “glorious”: Bigger-than-life! Heart-rending or heart-stopping! Earth-shaking! I think we’ve all been tricked into thinking that all of this is what “glory!” looks like.

Even here in Christ’s Church the idea of God’s glory shining through seems to be equated with bold healings, shocking deliverances, heartfelt reconciliations, mass conversions, awesome manifestations of the Holy Spirit! Glory is acknowledged at times when God gets us a new car or helps us win the lottery or does something else that we really, really, really, really want Him to do.

But I think the Lord Jesus is revealing to us today (by the Apostle Paul) that glory can be big and loud and attention-getting, but that glory is, perhaps even more often, a quiet, often-unnoticed breaking-into-our-world of Heavenly truth, character, and wonder.

1 Kings 19 memorably records a time when the Prophet Elijah needed encouragement from the LORD. And so, 1 Kings 19 records: “A mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper… And a voice said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” (19:11-13)

We so often only expect God to show Himself in the hurricane-, earthquake-, and firestorm-like visitations of life! But oftentimes God’s simply there, waiting for us to notice that small bush-on-fire on the mountainside, waiting for us to notice that it’s not spreading or going out. Waiting for us to draw nearer… We so often only expect God to show Himself in the heavenly choir singing “Hosannas” and praise! But oftentimes He’s simply there, walking into our midst in the disheveled form of a lone angel messenger, waiting for us to give Him our attention. Waiting for us to give ear to His message. Waiting for us to draw near…

As we read through 2 Corinthians this week on our way through the Bible in 2017, Paul gives us images and examples of God’s glory shining quietly and mildly in the midst of the everyday mundane.

Paul shares that God’s glory bursts into our lives when we’ve trusted in Christ and the result is pain, grieving, disillusionment, fear, or confusion. Heaven shows itself shining around us in such moments in the form of God Himself comforting us through His Word or through the Body of Christ… The angels cry, “Glory!”

Paul shares that God’s glory bursts into our lives when He calls us to move in a certain direction on a given matter for Christ’s sake even though all the world around us is moving in the opposite direction. (Paul makes clear that we’re not moving in that direction because we’ve become passionate about it or because it’s come to break our hearts, but only because Christ has asked us to move in that direction for His sake and His sake alone.) Heaven shows itself shining around us in such lonely moments by having the Holy Spirit silently remind, encourage, and convict our hearts of everything Christ has ever promised… The angels cry, “Glory!”

Paul shares that God’s glory bursts into our lives when we are treated by unbelievers around us as though we are repulsive, ugly, uneducated, uncouth, evil – as though we are giving off some kind of cringing stench – treating us that way just because we are Christians. Heaven shows itself shining around us in such moments because, unknown to us, at these very same times other Christians around us and those Jesus is calling to Himself are finding us supernaturally attractive, beautiful, wise-beyond-our-years, gracious, noble – as though spreading an intoxicating perfume across their lives… And the angels cry, “Glory!”

In our reading, Paul tells about a time when God’s glory burst into he and his fellow-missionaries’ lives as they were sharing the gospel. He writes, “We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure! We thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die.” But Heaven showed itself, Paul said, because in those moments they stopped relying on themselves and learned to rely only on God. They thought they were going to die, but they knew that God raises the dead! God rescued them, Paul rejoiced! And he and his companions were confident God would keep rescuing them again and again!

Paul shares that God’s glory bursts into our lives when we don’t give up or give in to the world’s threats, persecutions, judgments, and pressures. Heaven shows itself shining around us in such moments by the Holy Spirit granting us supernatural faith in the unseen realities of the life to come and supernatural confidence in our own resurrection on account of His having raised Christ… And the angels cry, “Glory!”

Paul shares that God’s glory bursts into our lives when we bear up under the weaknesses and infirmities of these earthly bodies. Heaven shows itself shining around us in such moments as the Holy Spirit fills our hearts with assurance concerning our promised heavenly bodies… And the angels cry, “Glory!”

Paul shares that God’s glory bursts into our lives when we bear the grace and good news of Jesus to others as His ambassadors. Heaven shows itself shining around us in such moments as God makes Christ – afresh and anew – to be the offering for the sin of the world so those around us can be made right with and draw near to God… And the angels cry, “Glory!”

2 Corinthians 4:7 compares Christians to “fragile clay jars” containing great treasure. (Maybe like this McDonald’s cup containing this delicious chocolate milkshake.) Like the flimsy plastic casing of this cup, the Apostle Paul says that God likes working through our human weakness and fragility because it makes it clear to all those around us that any great power we demonstrate must be from God and doesn’t come from us, ourselves. After all, what are we? [Put the cup down and smash it with my foot!] [Try to smash it again and again and again!]

We’ve been deceived. God’s glory is not most often expressed in grand, attention-getting acts. It is most often expressed in flimsy, quiet acts of

faithfulness, servant-heartedness, self-sacrifice, and weakness… [Pick up the cup and put it on the Table.]

When people see us responding to hardships with grace, everyone with eyes-to-see knows that Heaven has burst into the world and sees God’s glory shining among us!

Let us live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministries. In everything we do, let us show that we are true ministers of God. Let us patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. Perhaps we’ll be beaten, put in prison, have to face angry mobs, be worked to exhaustion, have to endure sleepless nights, and/or go without food. May we prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. May we faithfully preach the truth!

God’s power is working in us!

May we use the weapons of righteousness in our right hands for attack and the weapons of righteousness in our left hands for defense. May we serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. Let us be honest even if they call us liars. Let them ignore us; we know we are well-known by God! Even if we are made to live close to death, let us not forget that we are still alive! Even if we get beaten, let us praise the Lord that we haven’t yet been killed. Even as our hearts ache, let us always thrill in the joy of the Lord. Even if we are made poor, let us know the glory of giving spiritual riches to others. Even if we own nothing, let’s always remember that, in Christ, we have everything!

O, those angels are crying, “Glory!”



“Beautiful Feet”November 19, 2017 A.D.by Pastor Ben Willis

Sermon – “Beautiful Feet”
ROMANS 10:4-15 [NLTse]

4 …Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which [God’s Law] was given. As a result, all who believe in Him are made right with God.

5 For Moses writes that [God’s Law’s] way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. 6 But faith’s way of getting right with God says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to Heaven?’ (to bring Christ down to earth). 7 And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead?’ (to bring Christ back to life again).” 8 In fact, it says, “The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.”

And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: 9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by be-lieving in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced.” 12 Jew

and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, Who gives generously to all who call on Him. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

14 But how can they call on Him to save them un-less they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

SERMON – “Beautiful Feet”

The good news of Jesus Christ has become bad news in much of the public eye. The message has been distorted, twisted into something very different from all the Lord Jesus came and preached and died and rose from the dead and went back up into Heaven to convey to us.

Some of the better-known versions of how Christ’s message has been twisted is that Christ has come and died to pay price for human sin and so now Christian-people can sin all they want – it’s okay! – because Christ has paid the price for sin! (But that’s not the message.)

Another twisted version is that Christ came and lived and then died and rose and ascended to show people what a sinless life looked like so that we can now follow after Him and do likewise. Folks who think this is the message believe a person has to get their act together, straighten up, and stop sinning in order to be welcome and able to go to church, and to Heaven. (But that’s not the message, either.)

Of course, the true message is that Jesus Christ – God the Son – came and died to pay the death-penalty all human beings deserve for our sin, and so everyone who believes in His saving-death is forgiv-en their sins for all time. And Jesus came and died so that human beings would no longer be under the power of sin so that we can stop sinning, or at least,

sin less and less and less, until Jesus returns and makes us brand new.

There’s more to it, of course, but that’s the heart of the good news. However, most people don’t know that. They just know one of the twisted ver-sions. So, Abba is sending us out to be His messen-gers to tell those around us the truth.

Revelation 12:11 says that we, Christians, over-come the devil “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony.” And the apostle Peter writes in his first letter, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:15) So, we gain power, authority, and confidence in our faith and against the spiritual realms as we trust in the sin-sacrifice of Jesus and as we share what God’s done in our lives with those around us. At the very same time, since Christ has called us to be holy – dif-ferent – then there tends to be a difference between our actions, attitudes, and priorities and those of the people we work with and go to school with and

whom we shop with… And when people around us notice the difference and ask us, “Why are you dif-ferent?” we need to be ready to tell them that we are different on account of Jesus!

Probably the most effective tool we have for sharing our faith with others is our testimony: The story of how Jesus Christ has brought us into a close relationship with Himself and how He’s enriched our lives because of it. The Apostle John wrote, “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard” (1 John 1:3). And that is exactly what our testimonies are, right: Simply proclaiming to others what we have personally seen and heard about Jesus Christ.

Now, the purpose of preparing our testimony ahead of time is to help us be ready: To help us put into words some of the important and interesting details of our coming to Christ and of our lie with Him, details we might forget to share if were we simply talking off the cuff.

Of course, our story serves mainly as a “door opener.” Many people aren’t going to be convinced

that they need Jesus just by hearing what He’s done and doing with our lives. But listening to our stories can often open up a conversation that might allow us to share the gospel more fully later.

The apostle Paul shares his testimony three differ-ent times across the Book of Acts. If you read Acts 26 out loud it takes about three to five minutes to say, the perfect length of time for a testimony that will get peoples’ attention without having their minds wander because our story goes on and on.

In vv. 1-5 Paul describes the ways he thought and the things he did before he became a believer. In vv. 6-11 Paul explained how he became a believer. And in vv. 12-21 Paul explained how becoming a believer changed his life. What a great pattern for a Christian testimony!

So, with preparing our own testimony in mind, we might want to start with what our lives revolved around, where we looked for security and happiness before we became Christians, and what happened when those crutches began to let us down? Then, it

might be good to move onto telling of when we heard the gospel for the first time, or when we ex-perienced genuine Christianity for the first time: What was that like for us, what was our initial reac-tion? And then, how did our attitudes about it begin to change? What was the hardest parts about Jesus’ good news for us to accept? And then, why did we finally accept Christ? Lastly and perhaps most im-portantly, of course, we likely want to end with how giving our lives to Christ changed us: Not just our behaviors, but our character, our attitudes, and our perspectives on life, as well.

We’ll want our testimonies to be personal, not preachy: So let’s use “I” and “me”. And let’s write it down the way you would speak it, since when we do share it we’re going to be sharing it informally and casually with another person, the same way we’d be informally and casually sharing anything else.

When we talk about how our lives looked before we were Christians, let’s not dwell too much on past

sin or “how bad we used to be”. That can distract people and even come across kind of arrogant. We need to simply make it clear that we knew we need-ed something more.

When we share how we came to Christ, let’s make the specific steps clear, such as, “I bowed my head and asked God to forgive me my sins and take control of my life,” or “I went forward and when the pastor prayed for God to forgive me my sins and become the lord of my life, I agreed with his prayer and gave Jesus my life,” etc… Anyone hearing or overhearing this part of our testimony should know how we became a Christian and how they can be-come a Christian, too!

Of course, when we start talking about how Christ has changed our lives, we need to make sure that God’s the One Who looks good, not us. Our testimony isn’t so people can say, “Wow! Look at Ben!” No, it’s so people can say, “Wow! Look at Je-sus!” Let’s include how the Holy Spirit has changed and is changing our attitudes about some of the

things we’d earlier said that we struggled with be-fore we were Christians. But let’s be specific. Let’s not just say, “I have such peace now.” What does that mean? Yeah, let’s let people know that in the same kind of situation that used to make us respond in anxious, frantic ways, that now we respond in confident, hopeful ways. (Or whatever is the truth about us since Christ.) We want to make clear that we still have struggles, but we also want to make clear that we now have a sure and certain hope, and a path ahead of us and a Helper on that path – Jesus Christ – to get us and keep us there.

Someone said that, “Today’s test is tomorrow’s testimony.” And someone else said, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” Let’s make our feet beautiful.



“Thou Shalt Keep On Keeping On”November 12, 2017 A.D.by Pastor Ben Willis

SERMON – “Thou Shalt Keep On Keeping On”

LUKE 8:4-15 [NLTse]

4 One day Jesus told a story in the form of a par-able to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear Him:

5 “A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scat-tered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. 6 Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When He had said this, He called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and under-stand.”

9 His disciples asked Him what this parable meant. 10 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be ful-filled: ‘When they look, they won’t really see. When they hear, they won’t understand.’

11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s Word. 12 The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. 13 The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. 14 The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. 15 And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s Word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.

SERMON

We’ve been reading through the Bible together as a church in 2017: This past week finishing the book The Acts of the Apostles. As a part of our reading the Bible together, I’ve committed to preach – each Sunday – from something we’d read the week be-fore. So, it may be strange that our Scripture Reading this morning comes from The Gospel of Luke at the end of a week where we’ve been reading through Acts. But, I think you’ll see the connection if you’ll bear with me…

The God of the Bible is unique. For thousands of years, loyal devotees worshiped the god of the hills, the god of the valley, the god of the sea… But the God of the Bible attached Himself to a people. The idea that there was a God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – a God of people – this was something new!

And the Bible records the direct line of this rela-tionship – from Adam and Eve to Abraham and Sa-rah, from Abraham and Sarah to David and Bath-sheba, and from David and Bathsheba to Mary and Joseph.

This relationship between God and His people was everything but easy. There were periods of great joy and celebration, like when King Solomon and the elders of Israel dedicated the Temple. There were seasons of frustration and anger, like when the Lord allowed foreign armies and tyrants to conquer. There were times of unfaithfulness and apostasy, like when Israel and Judah tried to be like the surround-ing nations and even worship their gods. And there were painful seasons of silence, like the years be-tween the Judges and Samuel when the Lord did not speak to Israel, and the four hundred years of si-lence-from-the-Lord between the Prophet Malachi’s ministry and the angel Gabriel’s appearance to Zech-ariah the priest heralding the birth of Jesus Christ.

One characteristic holds the history of God and Israel together – perseverance. When Israel turned her back on God, God didn’t turn His back on Israel. We see Him step back for a time, here and there, but

the Lord’s overall commitment to Israel and Israel’s overall commitment to the Lord remained concrete and steadfast.

In the Parable of the Soils that we read this morn-ing from Luke 8, Jesus warns that some will hear God’s Word and believe for a while, but “then fall away when they face temptation” (v. 13). Others hear “but never grow into maturity” because of the cares and riches and pleasures of this life (v. 14). But those praised by Jesus as the reason He came, are those who “hear God’s Word, cling to it, and pa-tiently produce a huge harvest” (v. 15). Or, to quote the New International Version instead, those who “hear the Word, retain it, and by persevering pro-duce a crop”.

A fruit of the Holy Spirit in every Christian’s life, true Christian spirituality has always emphasized per-severance. The writer of the letter To the Hebrews wrote: “Since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endur-ance the race God has set before us.” And Paul writes to the Christians in Rome: “[The Lord] will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. But He will pour out His anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wicked-ness.” (Romans 2:7-8).

Love, thanksgiving, righteousness – true holiness – are seen over time in our endurance, our persever-ance, our persistence. It is relatively easy to “flirt” with such things: Being courteous to other drivers if it’s been an exceptionally good day; publicly giving God thanks and credit if something made you really happy; going to someone’s assistance or helping someone in need if you have the time; throwing some extra money into the offering plate as long as you don’t need it for yourself… But such behavior is in reality superficial love, superficial thanksgiving, superficial righteousness. But what Father is seeking

from us is persistence: Our commitment to continue doing the loving thing, expressing our thanks, mak-ing the right decisions even when (and perhaps it’s moment by moment), you feel pulled in the oppo-site direction. Genuineness in our relationship with God is far more than occasional acts of kindness and charity. The Lord has perseveringly committed to us and is looking for our commitment to persistent sur-render to Him.

What can give us such power to persist and en-dure and persevere in love and thanksgiving and righteousness and doing good? I think Paul hints at the answer in the Romans 2 passage we talked about above. He writes that, those who keep on doing good are “seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers” (Romans 2:7). Since there is no immortality in this life, Paul is saying that Christian perseverance is based on the idea that there is another life after this one – we call it “Heav-en” – and that life is eternal and for which this world is a preparation. The coming world is so glorious, and heavy with so much honor, that that life is worth making sacrifices for now in this life to receive the glory, honor, and immortality there. Christian endurance, persistence, and perseverance don’t make any sense unless we live with a keen sense of eternity.

My younger and older brothers and sisters in Je-sus: The holiness that will be rewarded in Heaven is an enduring love, a persistent thanksgiving, a perse-vering righteousness. Read through the entire Bible. I promise you, you won’t find one reference to a “crown in Heaven” going to the person who’s had the “happiest” life on earth. No, there is no heaven-ly reward for the Christian who felt the least amount of pain.

In closing, 2 Thessalonians 3:5 says, “May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient en-durance that comes from Christ.” There’s the Bible’s recipe for holiness and a “successful” life here on earth: O, that our hearts could more fully under-

stand and more fully express God’s love! O, that we could more fully understand and more fully express the patient endurance of Christ Himself!



“Sola, Sola, Sola, Lord!”November 5, 2017 A.D.by Pastor Ben Willis

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 16:1-15 [NLTse]
1“I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith. 2For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God. 3This is because they have never known the Father or Me. 4Yes, I’m telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you will remember My warning. I didn’t tell you earlier because I was going to be with you for a while longer.

5“But now I am going away to the One Who sent Me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. 6Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. 7But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send Him to you. 8And when He comes, He will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in Me. 10Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see Me no more. 11Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.

12“There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. 13When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His Own but will tell you what He has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14He will bring Me glory by telling you whatever He receives from Me. 15(All that belongs to the Father is Mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever He receives from Me.’)

SERMON
Last Sunday was Reformation Sunday, a day when Protestant churches around the world celebrated the central belief of Christianity: Justification by faith; that is, God declaring us innocent of sin because of our faith in Christ. I was away last Sunday, so, I hope it’s okay that we celebrate such a wonder a little bit today…

Martin Luther was an Augustinian monk. He had been taught in his Roman Catholic church that God demanded absolute righteousness from human beings in order to be reconciled with us: Absolute love towards Him, absolute love towards our fellow human beings, and unshakeable faith like Abraham’s, who was willing to sacrifice his son. Luther knew he could never meet such a standard and so, even living as a monk, he was tortured by his sin. He came to hate what he called, “the righteous God Who punished sinners”.

In Luther’s day the Roman Catholic church was the only kind of church in Europe. The Pope, cardinals, and bishops had far-reaching power over their parishioners, claiming to have each one’s salvation in their hands! And because Bibles were available only to those who could read Latin, Hebrew, or Greek, there were few who could tell them they were wrong.
By this time, the church had fallen to proclaiming that God declared His people innocent of their sins only through a mixture of faith and works. On the surface this may sound innocent enough, I mean, the Scriptures do tell us that faith without works isn’t truly faith at all. But during this sad time in the Church’s life, abuses abounded.

For instance, from the 1100s to the 1300s – during the time of the Crusades – the Popes declared that a person could automatically be forgiven all their sins if they volunteered to go to Jerusalem to fight “the Muslim infidels” and re-take the Holy City. Notice: Their sins weren’t simply forgiven as they trusted the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, no; only if they trusted Christ and joined the Crusades, would their sins be forgiven. (And many went who were drowned at sea, captured and sold into slavery, or just out-and-out slaughtered.)

By Martin Luther’s day, the sale of “indulgences” had become the popular abuse. Because the Catholic church believed that Christians who had died had to spend time in a state called “Purgatory” to be fully purified of their sins before being allowed into God’s holy presence in Heaven, the church taught that family members could quicken their loved one’s journey to Heaven by giving money to the church. The popular slogan was, “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings / a soul from Purgatory springs!”

(In its extreme, “indulgences” could even be purchased beforehand in order to grant a ruler or some wealthy person absolution and the church’s blessing upon a wrong they had not yet done but were planning to do!) It is this “sale of indulgences” where the idea came of one “buying the stairway to Heaven”!

Martin Luther was not the first to call the Catholic church to account for its wrongs and abuses. John Wycliffe in England, John Huss in Czechoslavakia, and Girolama Savonarola in Italy all tried to challenge the church. But Wycliffe was declared a heretic (and after his death his remains were dug up, burned, and his ashes were thrown into a river), Huss was burned at the stake, and Savonarola was hanged and then his body burned. (Every Reformer knew the danger of standing up to the church!)

It was in this climate that 500 years ago, on October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther publicly posted 95 Bible-based proofs showing that God declares human beings innocent of our sin for no other reason than our faith in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, and challenging any and all of his colleagues to a debate if they wanted to try and prove him wrong.

And debate they did! As Luther’s “95 Theses” (as they came to be called) were distributed and spread, other “protesters” and their “protestant” followers across Europe were emboldened. They’d, likewise, been seeking the reform and renewal of the Roman Catholic church and a return to the Bible: Men such as Desiderius Erasmus in the Netherlands, the Waldensians in France and Switzerland, Heinrich Zwingli in Switzerland, John Calvin in Switzerland, John Knox in Scotland, and many, many others.

While the Reformation movement was widespread all across Europe, not all leaders or groups were “protesting” the same abuses, nor were they unified in every area of theology. Some were more concerned about personal holiness. Others saw the abuses of the monastic movement. Others felt the Roman Catholic church needed a thorough “house-cleaning” from top to bottom.

However, five basic, fundamental truths – often called “the Five Solas” – were consistent across the entire movement. In response to the question, “How are people saved?” all of the “protestants” agreed: “Sola fide”, that is Latin for “by faith alone”. Human beings are not eternally-saved by Worship attendance or by church membership or by participating in the Sacramemts, but – “sola fide” – by faith alone!

In response to the question, “How are people forgiven their sins?” all of the “protestants” agreed: “Sola gratia”, Latin for “by grace alone”. A person is not forgiven their sins through “penance”, that is, by trying to show how sorry they are or by trying to do more good than they’d done bad; nor can one’s sins be forgiven by a priest or any other “holy person” declaring one forgiven (since no one can forgive sins but God alone); no good work, no generous gift, nor any manner of repentance can move God to forgive human beings their sins. Sins are forgiven by God’s grace alone, His gift to those who have faith in Him alone.

In response to the question, “Who is the mediator of the Church?” that is, “Who restores Christians back into a right-relationship with God?” And the “protesters” all agreed: “Solus Christus”, Latin for “Christ alone”. Neither priests, bishops, cardinals, popes, nor any form of church hierarchy can bring human beings into a right-relationship with God. Only the sin-less, fully-God, fully-Man Jesus of Nazareth – Christ alone – can bring men and women, boys and girls, back into right-relationship with God as a free gift by God’s grace alone when they receive the Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for their sin by faith alone.

When the reformers were asked, “How do we know this to be true?” That is, “What is the ultimate basis of authority for spiritual life?” the “protesters” all agreed: “Sola Scriptura”, Latin for “by Scripture alone.” Yes, churches will always have their traditions and teachings; yes, human beings will always have the desire to “reason through” and want to make sense of things in their own minds; and, yes, people will always have all sorts of experiences that lead them to this, that, or some other belief about God, salvation, and living by faith; but, Scripture has greater authority than them all!

If a pastor, priest, pope, or church proclaims something but the Bible clearly says something else, trust and live by the Bible. If some well-known scholar or brilliant-thinker declares that this is illogical or that that is unreasonable or that some other thing makes no sense, but the Bible states clearly and repeatedly that whatever-it-is is God’s truth, trust and live by the Bible.

If you have some amazing experience that you’re sure has been with God (or if someone else tells you about an amazing experience they’ve had that they are sure was with God) and it makes you doubt all that the Bible clearly says, or even this or that little thing that the Bible clearly says, if the Bible really does clearly say it, trust and live by the Bible.

The Holy Spirit will never reveal to anyone anything that contradicts or goes against what Jesus has passed on to us in the Scriptures. As Jesus Himself has said, “[The Holy Spirit] will bring Me glory by telling you whatever He receives from Me.” (John 16:14) (And, as we’ve also read, the Lord Jesus is only passing on what the Father first gave to Him!)

Lastly, when the “protesters” were asked, “What is the purpose for life and the church?” they answered with one voice, “Soli Deo Gloria”, Latin for “To glorify God alone”. It’s not to have big congregations or beautiful buildings. It’s not to feed or build homes for the poor. It’s not to get to know the Bible so well that we can quote it and teach it to others. No.

The purpose of life and of the church is to point everyone to God in a way that makes Him look good and gives Him the credit for every good and hopeful thing: To glorify God alone! (Having big congregations and beautiful buildings may glorify God. Feeding and building homes for the poor may glorify God. Getting to know the Bible well and teaching others may glorify God. But all of those wonderful things are empty and worthless if we’re not glorifying God alone, Who has revealed Himself to us by the Scriptures alone, showing us that we are forgiven our sins and eternally saved from all worry, fear, death, and darkness on account of the sacrifice of Christ alone by His free gift of grace alone through faith alone!

How about you?
1. “How are people saved?”
2. “How are people forgiven their sins?”
3. “Who restores Christians back into a right-relationship with God?”
4. “What is the ultimate basis of authority for spiritual life?”
5. “What is the purpose for life and the church?”

Are these questions settled for you?

Let’s pray…



“Do-Be-Do-Be-Do & What Can I Do For You?”October 15, 2017 A.D.by Pastor Ben Willis

MARK 3:13-19 [NLTse]
13 Afterward Jesus went up on a mountain and called out the ones He wanted to go with Him. And they came to Him. 14 Then He appointed twelve of them and called them His apostles. They were to accompany Him, and He would send them out to preach, 15 giving them authority to cast out demons. 16 These are the twelve He chose:
Simon (whom He named Peter), 17 James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus nicknamed them “Sons of Thunder”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon (the zealot), 19 Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed Him).

SERMON
I’ve titled this part of my Sermon, “Do-Be-Do-Be-Do,” and would like us to focus on v. 14 of our reading today. Mark writes, “Then He appointed twelve of them and called them His apostles. They were to accompany Him, and He would send them out to preach, giving them authority to cast out demons.” That’s how our New Living Translation – the Bible in our pews – renders the Greek. But most literally, the Word of God says, “And He appointed twelve, whom He also named apostles, to be with Him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message and to have authority to cast out demons.”

In our pew Bible translation this passage from Mark comes across as though there are three “works” the Twelve were called to: 1) Accompanying Jesus; 2) preaching; and, 3) casting out demons. But most literally there are only two things those first apostles were to be about: 1) Being with Jesus; and then, 2) sharing the good news while setting demonized people free.

And that’s why I’ve called the message “Do-Be-Do-Be-Do”: First off, it sounds catchy since Frank Sinatra made such phrases famous; but second, because we live in a culture that loves and rewards doing. However, the Lord makes clear that our doing-what-He-has-made-us-to-do comes from first being-with-Him, spending-time-with-Him, enjoying-simple-fellowship-and-companionship-with-the-Lord.

Our Lord and Savior says this same thing most famously and directly in John 15: “Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in Me.
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.” (vv. 4-5)

So, if we want to do good things and change the world for Christ we must first hang-out and spend much time with Christ. If we want to “do” we first have to “be”. (So, I guess Sinatra got it backwards. It should be, “Be-Do-Be-Do-Be”!)

The apostle Paul paints a picture of this reality for the Colossian-Christians, saying, “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ,” (that is, since we were born-anew when we put our trust in Christ), “since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of Heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of Heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life,” (that is, your old life died when you began to believe, and a new life has begun), “and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.” (3:3)

Paul is conveying the truth that every Christian lives every day, that even though we can be preoccupied by and focused on our lives here in this world and the things of our society and culture, our real life is with Christ! Yes, just as Christ is with us and in us, here, likewise, we are with Him and in Him, there, at the right-hand of the Father in Heaven!

And the Lord Jesus makes absolutely clear that He created us for fellowship and companionship with Him and not just for the work of ministry for Him when He famously said to His disciples shortly before being arrested: “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me. There is more than enough room in My Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am.” (14:1-3)

Yes, the Lord has called us to be harvest-laborers in His Vineyard – sharing the good news and doing good to those in need – but He has also called us simply to hang-out and be with Him, enjoying one another’s company. He’s given us work to do! But our ability to serve Him well and to “produce much fruit” comes from spending quality and quantity time with Him: Walking with Him and talking with Him and letting Him tell us we are His Own! And letting Him fill up our lives with joy, like no other we’ve ever known!

MARK 10:46-52 [NLTse]
46 Then they reached Jericho, and as Jesus and His disciples left town, a large crowd followed Him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road. 47 When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 “Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him.
But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 When Jesus heard him, He stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.”
So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, He’s calling you!” 50 Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked.
“My Rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!”
52 And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road.

SERMON
Here in Part 2 of the Sermon I want to invite you to get comfortable where you are in your seat. If you’re leaning up against someone I’d ask you to move just slightly away so – at least for this time – you aren’t distracted by their touch… Put your arms comfortably at your sides or clasp them loosely in your lap…

I want you to begin picturing the scene Neil just read… (Here’s a modern-day picture of Jericho, so you can get a flavor for the city…) Close your eyes… Picture the stone and plaster buildings around you: The narrow alleyways; the broader dirt streets; perhaps there are dung-piles here or there that haven’t been cleaned-up or swept aside yet from the horse-traffic, and the donkeys bearing their burdens, and the sheep and goats being driven to and from the market…

Hear the noises of the flapping awnings… and the horse-noises and donkey-noises and sheep- and goat-noises… Hear the voices of the people around you – some low and murmuring, others speaking and gesturing loudly: “They say He can forgive sins!” “He’s healing the blind and deaf and mute and lame!” “Could He be the Messiah, the Christ?” “EVEN THE DEMONS OBEY HIM; HE’S SETTING PEOPLE FREE!” “He just had a meal with Zacchaeus, and now Zacchaeus is sharing his money with the poor and paying back everyone he treated dishonestly! The little guy’s a new man!”

Feel the heat beating down on you as you… and the dust in your face and the grit in your teeth…

…And as Jesus and His disciples left town, a large crowd followed Him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus was sitting beside the road. When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
“Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him.
But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
When Jesus heard him, He stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.”
So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, He’s calling you!” Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked.
“My Rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!”
And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road…

Who are you in the crowd? Are you one of the Twelve, crowding around the Lord, trying to be seen as important, one of His men? … Are you someone in the crowd, trying to get near to Him, to touch Him, if you can? … Are you Bartimaeus, so desperate – so aware of your need – that you don’t care if people give you a hard time for making a fuss? …
Because Jesus is calling to you, “Come here.” …

And He’s standing before you, and you’re standing before Him, and He says to you, “What do you want Me to do for you?” …
You think of how unfair life has been… You think of all the ways people have hurt you… You think of the sins that you just can’t get out of your life…

“What do you want Me to do for you?”
You think about the gifts you wish you had… The personality you with you had… A dream-job comes to mind… Your relationship with your husband or your wife, with your kids, with your folks…

“What do you want Me to do for you?”
He is speaking to the deep places in you… His Spirit – holy – calling out to your spirit – wounded, stained, longing…
“What do you want Me to do for you?”

And you followed Jesus down the road!



“All That God Requires”October 01, 2017 A.D.by Pastor Ben Willis

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 3:1-6, 13-17 [NLTse]
In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, 2 “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” 3 The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said,
“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’”

4 John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. 5 People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. 6 And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River…

13 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to talk Him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by You,” he said, “so why are You coming to me?”

15 But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize Him.
16 After His baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on Him. 17 And a voice from Heaven said, “This is My dearly loved Son, Who brings Me great joy.”

SERMON
This past week we’ve been reading the prophets Zechariah and Malachi, and just got into the opening chapters of the Gospel of Matthew as we’re reading through the Bible together this 2017.

Zechariah prophesied around 520 BC when the Jews were first allowed to return to the Promised Land from their years of exile in Babylon (the lands of modern-day Iraq). He prophesied mostly to encourage them in the work of rebuilding the Temple.

Malachi prophesied about a hundred years later: The Temple had been rebuilt and worship and the sacrificial system had been reestablished, but they were mixing with the nearby Samaritans and other surrounding peoples and so the LORD was being worshiped alongside other idols and powers, corruption was rampant, and the rich were taking advantage of the poor and helpless just like the wicked-old-days before they were exiled from the land! The days of Malachi were the days of Ezra and Nehemiah and their leadership and reforms.

And through the prophet Malachi the LORD condemns Israel for not recognizing His love in preserving them across their history as a nation and people, and for offering second-rate sacrifices (animals that were blind, stolen, crippled, and sick; He rages, “You wouldn’t offer such to your governor for his taxes, but you offer such to Me!”). The Levites and priests were to live reverently and “awe-inspired” before the LORD and the people, truthfully teaching Israel God’s Way, but instead they were showing favoritism in the teachings and the ways they carried out God’s Laws: Permitting the worship of other gods/idols; allowing for casual divorce; preaching to some that their sin and wickedness weren’t so bad; supporting the practice of sorcery; and turning a blind-eye to lying, withholding people’s wages, the oppression of widows and orphans; foreigners being deprived of justice; and withholding God’s full tithe from Him.

Israel and their leaders used the excuse that it was “too hard” to serve the Lord (1:13). But the LORD never intended for human beings to follow Him by our own strength and power.

The Prophet Zechariah a hundred years earlier told the Jewish governor, Zerubbabel, and high priest, Jeshua, “It is not by force nor by strength, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” (4:6) (More popularly known as, “Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD.”)

And then the Lord is silent for about 400 years, letting that Word resonate in the hearts and minds of His Covenant People: “Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD”…

And along comes Jesus Christ! John the Baptist doesn’t want to baptize the Lord thinking it best for Jesus to baptize him! But the Lord Jesus responds, “We must carry out all that God requires!” And now take notice: The Lord Jesus is baptized by John, and as He comes up out of the water He is baptized in the Holy Spirit!

“The life You’ve called us to is too hard for us,” the leaders of Israel cried out to the LORD. But Zechariah had told them, it’s “Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD!” And the Lord Jesus tells John they must do all that God required: And Jesus is baptized in water and then baptized in the Holy Spirit! Our Father has never intended for us to live the new life He’s given us on our own: By our own strength; by our own power. We, too, must carry out all that God requires. And God requires us to be baptized in the Holy Spirit!

We need the Holy Spirit to help us in our weaknesses (Romans 8:26). We need the Holy Spirit to convicts us of our sin, opens our eyes to God’s truth, and to grant us spiritual gifts to be able to accomplish all the Father calls us to. The Holy Spirit counsels believers and guides us. Because the Holy Spirit lives within us, we can be confident asking God to help us in our times of need, and to give us the courage and grace to live as we should.

Some Christians believe that we receive the empowering baptism of the Holy Spirit when we put our trust in Christ. But that can’t be true because every single example of the Holy Spirit filling someone happens after they’ve come to faith in Jesus.

Other Christians believe that you simply have to ask and then believe you’ve received Him, even if nothing ever happens. And yet every example of the Holy Spirit filling someone in the Bible is accompanied by some manner of extraordinary event, even if those events were only experienced by the one being baptized. (Which is, of course, what happened with the Lord Jesus: Only He saw the dove, and only He clearly heard the Father’s voice. And then only He was aware of that inner-calling that drove Him into the wild places of that land for 40 days of prayer, fasting, and temptation…)

Think about what it was like for you being baptized: Whether water was poured over your head like a washing and cleansing or whether you were dunked under water like a dying and rising to new life… Baptism is the language the Bible uses to speak of being filled with God’s Spirit: The Bible speaks of it as an immersion in the life of the Spirit. The Lord Jesus says, “John immersed in water; you will be immersed in the Holy Spirit!” If we’re baptized in the Holy Spirit like we’re baptized in water, you can’t imagine the Holy Spirit merely sneaking in quietly while you are asleep and taking up residence in you unnoticed! (Of course, it may start that way, but eventually we’re going to experience “the plunge” of it all, or else Jesus and Luke would not have called it a “baptism” in the Spirit…

How do we receive the Holy Spirit? How are we baptized in the Holy Spirit? How are we filled and kept filled with the Holy Spirit?

1) Put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior for your sins and commit to follow Him as the Lord of your life;
2) Be baptized in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
3) And, seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit in prayer and with the laying on of hands of other Spirit-filled believers.

Then, once you’ve received the Holy Spirit, keep repenting and seeking the Lord (according to Psalm 51:11); don’t upset the Holy Spirit in you by saying “no” to His direction or by neglecting His promptings (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Timothy 4:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:19); keep praying that He would keep filling you (Ephesians 5:18); always follow the Spirit’s leadings (Galatians 5:16, 25); and, keep about that which keeps you growing spiritually, sowing to the Spirit, they say (Galatians 6:7-8).

“But for you who fear My name,” Malachi preached to those hard-hearted Israelites so long ago, “But for you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves led out to pasture… You will tread upon the wicked as if they were dust under your feet! (Malachi 4:2-3)
[Move to behind the Lord’s Table…]

If you do not believe you have received the Holy Spirit – that is, been baptized in the Spirit or been filled with the Holy Spirit (it all refers to the same experience) – then, publicly declare your trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior from sin and the Lord of your life by celebrating the New Covenant God has made with us by eating and drinking Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross by faith, and then, after Closing Song and Benediction, come forward and have the Elders lay hands on you that you may be filled with power from on high! (And Elders, if you’re not sure whether or not you’ve received the Holy Spirit, be first in line so that you can, in-turn, then pray for others.) Let’s ask Him for what He desires to give us. Let’s carry out all that the Lord requires. Let’s humble ourselves before the Lord so that He may lift us up!
[Go right into praying for the bread and the cup…]



“Why Wrath and Fear Are Great News!”September 24, 2017 A.D.by Pastor Ben Willis

THE PROPHET NAHUM 1:1-15 [NLTse]
This message concerning Nineveh came as a vision to Nahum, who lived in Elkosh.
2 The Lord is a jealous God, filled with vengeance and rage. He takes revenge on all who oppose Him and continues to rage against His enemies! 3 The Lord is slow to get angry, but His power is great, and He never lets the guilty go unpunished. He displays His power in the whirlwind and the storm. The billowing clouds are the dust beneath His feet. 4 At His command the oceans dry up, and the rivers disappear. The lush pastures of Bashan and Carmel fade, and the green forests of Lebanon wither. 5 In His presence the mountains quake, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles, and its people are destroyed. 6 Who can stand before His fierce anger? Who can survive His burning fury? His rage blazes forth like fire, and the mountains crumble to dust in His presence.

7 The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in Him. 8 But He will sweep away His enemies in an overwhelming flood. He will pursue His foes into the darkness of night.

9 Why are you scheming against the Lord? He will destroy you with one blow; He won’t need to strike twice! 10 His enemies, tangled like thornbushes and staggering like drunks, will be burned up like dry stubble in a field. 11 Who is this wicked counselor of yours who plots evil against the Lord?

12 This is what the Lord says: “Though the Assyrians have many allies, they will be destroyed and disappear. O My people, I have punished you before, but I will not punish you again. 13 Now I will break the yoke of bondage from your neck and tear off the chains of Assyrian oppression.”

14 And this is what the Lord says concerning the Assyrians in Nineveh: “You will have no more children to carry on your name. I will destroy all the idols in the temples of your gods. I am preparing a grave for you because you are despicable!”
15 Look! A messenger is coming over the mountains with good news! He is bringing a message of peace. Celebrate your festivals, O people of Judah, and fulfill all your vows, for your wicked enemies will never invade your land again. They will be completely destroyed!

SERMON
Israel existed as an association of tribes for its first years in the Promised Land. The tribes were united into one kingdom under David, and grew wealthy beyond compare under Solomon. But Israel divided into two kingdoms – Israel in the north and Judah in the south – after Solomon died. At times the two nations were allies; at other times they were enemies.

At the time of the prophet Nahum, the northern kingdom of Israel had been wiped out, defeated and taken away as captives by the cruel and ruthless Assyrians. And just as the people of Israel had been taken away to other lands, people from other lands also conquered by the Assyrians had been brought to the lands of Israel to make a life for themselves and to keep the taxes and tribute due to the king coming.

Which all left the southern kingdom of Judah terrified!

“Did you see what they did to our cousins in Israel? It’s only a matter of time before they come for us!”
But through the prophet Nahum the Lord says, No.

“Why are you scheming against the Lord, [Assyria]? He will destroy you with one blow; He won’t need to strike twice!”
“Celebrate your festivals, O people of Judah, and fulfill all your vows, for your wicked enemies will never invade your land again. They will be completely destroyed!”

And that’s what happened.

Of course, by Jesus’ day the Assyrians have long disappeared into the history books, as have the Babylonians who conquered them, and the Persians who conquered them, and the Greeks who conquered them. During Jesus’ days and the days of the New Testament the Romans rule the world: From the British Isles in the west to Germania in the north, all the north African nations to the south over to Judea – the Promised Land – in the east. But enemies still abound with much to fear from the Lord Who is jealous for His people.

Modern folks don’t like to talk too much about this idea of “fearing the Lord”. God is love, the Bible says, and God being “angry” with His enemies, and us and they “fearing Him” accordingly, doesn’t fit very well into modern ideas about love. So many today have decided that God’s rage and wrath can’t be a part of God’s life with us and that fearing God can’t be a part of our life with God.

But such ways of thinking are merely examples of how we’ve come to judge God instead of letting Him judge us.
We ask questions like, “If God is so loving then why do bad things happen to good people?” And we ask, “How could a loving God command His people – the Israelites – to wipe out every man, woman, and child of their enemies?” “How could the Lord speak with such anger and judgment against the peoples surrounding Israel, and even speak with such anger and judgment against the Israelites – His Own people – themselves?”

Did you know that such questions and concerns about fearing God and about His anger and wrath are not at all modern? One of the earliest controversies the early Church had to face was called “Marcionism”: The idea the Old Testament God was mean, harsh, and wrath-filled, a different God altogether from the kind, patient, and loving God of the New Testament, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But the God of the Bible is one and the same.

Jeremiah prophesies: “Behold the storm of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. (30:23) And from our reading this morning, the prophet Nahum: “The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries and keeps wrath for His enemies. (1:2) And yet we might say, but of course. That’s the Old Testament. But hear these words from the apostle Paul: “The wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of humankind, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” (Romans 1:18) And hear these words about the Lord Jesus Christ from The Revelation to John: “From His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.” (Revelation 19:15)

These ideas of fearing God and His wrath and rage toward sin and sinners is clearly and widely taught in the Bible. It is so interwoven with the hope of our peace with one another and with God through the cross of Christ that if we throw away the one we lose all hope of the other.

Unfortunately, I think moderns have become so familiar with the sinful expressions of human wrath and rage, and have so associated the idea of fear with that of cowering, that we have forgotten that when we speak about the “wrath of God” that it is the wrath of God. That is, everything we know about God—His fairness, His love, His goodness—needs to be poured into and made part and parcel of our understanding of His rage and wrath and what it means to fear Him.
Maybe you have suffered because of someone who is habitually angry, losing their temper, or flying into a rage. Human anger can often be unpredictable, petty, and disproportionate. But none of these things are true of the anger of God. God’s wrath is the just and measured response of His holiness toward evil.

Proverbs 24:12 says, “Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.” For God understands all hearts, and He sees you. He Who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve.” And the good news is, He knows when we didn’t know, too.

So, God’s wrath is rightly feared because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) God’s wrath is rightly feared because we are fairly condemned sinners apart from Christ. (Romans 5:1) God’s wrath is rightly feared because He is powerful enough to do what He promises. (Jeremiah 32:17) God’s wrath is rightly feared because God promises eternal punishment apart from Jesus Christ. (Matthew 25:46) (The Bible speaks of the wrath of God as God giving people over to their excesses and addictions and scheming and wickedness: To do to others and to live in fear of others doing it to they themselves. And the Bible pictures Hell, that final result of God’s rage and wrath against sin, as being a place “where their worm never dies” and as a fiery place of horrible suffering… And for our sin and selfishness and our rejection of God as God, that is what every human being deserves.

Which is what makes the good news so marvelously good:
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). Because of Christ sacrifice on the cross and His serving our punishment there, God can rightly say that He’s made sinners innocent of their sin. (Romans 3:26) Justice has been served, and there is second punishment. Yes, in Christ God has lived a sinless life which no other human being could ever do, and He has done what we didn’t deserve: Taking our sins upon Himself and giving His righteousness to us.
Charles Wesley was right to explode in praise: “And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior’s blood? Died He for me, Who caused His pain! For me, who Him to death pursued? Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for for me? Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?”

Our closing song is “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah.” As we sing about our weakness and God’s power, as we sing about “the crystal fountain”, “the healing stream” He’s provided for us in Christ’s sacrifice to wash us clean of every mar and sin, if you want to stand where you are – or come forward – to commit yourself anew to the Bread of Heaven, our Strong Deliverer, He is worth it! Come, you are welcome at His throne of grace!