Mark 7:24-37 [NLTse]
24 Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know which house He was staying in, but He couldn’t keep it a secret. 25 Right away a woman who had heard about Him came and fell at His feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil spirit, 26 and she begged Him to cast out the demon from her daughter.
Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia, 27 Jesus told her, “First I should feed the children—My Own family, the Jews. It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”

28 She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates.” 29 “Good answer!” He said. “Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And when she arrived home, she found her little girl lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone.

31 Jesus left Tyre and went up to Sidon before going back to the Sea of Galilee and the region of the Ten Towns. 32 A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to Him, and the people begged Jesus to lay His hands on the man to heal him. 33 Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put His fingers into the man’s ears. Then, spitting on His Own fingers, He touched the man’s tongue. 34 Looking up to Heaven, He sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened!” 35 Instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly!
36 Jesus told the crowd not to tell anyone, but the more He told them not to, the more they spread the news. 37 They were completely amazed and said again and again, “Everything He does is wonderful. He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who cannot speak.”

Sermon
Anybody here have a dog that you love?

I grew up with Baggie (named after the Jungle Book’s Bagheera the Panther). He was a black lab who was so very faithful! We went everywhere with Baggie, and as long as we were with him, my parents felt we were safe.

A bunch of years went by after Baggie’s death, and we got Brandy (short for “Brandywine”), a golden retriever. Brandy had a ferocious-sounding bark, but we always joked that if a burglar ever knew to call Brandy by name that he would take the burglar and show him where the silver was. ?

As our reading begins, the Lord seems to be trying to get away from all the crowds and paparazzi.
When He’d heard that John the Baptist had been killed, He tried to take the disciples away to a quiet place where they could all get some rest. But some 5,000 men – not including women and children – had gotten to the place ahead of Jesus and been there waiting. After teaching and serving them all in that secluded place, the Lord tried again to get away with His disciples. Sailing across the Sea of Galilee, He landed in Bethsaida. But when He arrived everybody recognized Him, and He attracted the attention of a bunch of Torah-teachers and Pharisees, who were Jewish religious leaders in those days.
In our reading from Mark 7:24-37, the Lord Jesus is fleeing from the crowds and from the hard-heartedness of the Torah-teachers and Pharisees, so He and His disciples have trekked 50 miles to the entirely-Gentile port-city of Tyre, on the Mediterranean Sea.

Although the Lord is trying to keep a low profile, some lady some-how finds out that He is in town. Her daughter was being demonized by an evil spirit, so she immediately went to get the Lord Jesus’ help. And she falls at His feet and starts begging Him to drive the demon from her daughter.

Now, the Torah-teachers and Pharisees Jesus had just traveled so far to get away from looked upon Gentiles as “dogs”, and they called them “dogs” – kuon. The idea of “mongrel”, “stray”, “mutt”, or “junkyard dog” was in mind, since loose dogs – wild kuon – were seen as scavengers and trouble-makers and dangerous and needing-to-be-put-down in ancient times.

So, it’s unfortunate that most translations of this verse have the Lord Jesus calling this woman a “dog”, when He says, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs,” (v. 27) because the Lord doesn’t use the word for “mongrel” or “mutt” here. He doesn’t call this Gentile mom a kuon. No. The Lord Jesus calls her a kunarion.
When He tells this concerned mother that He shouldn’t be “taking food from the children and throwing it to the dogs,” He’s speaking of her and her fellow-Gentiles – these dogs – most literally as doggies, little dogs, puppies, treasured household pets. The Lord says, “No,” to this woman, but not because He sees her as some kind of mutt – a kuon –He says “no” to her using a picture of giggling young children sitting around the dinner table with their playful pups – their kunarion – lapping and nipping at their dangling feet.

Even so, this woman might have responded in all sorts of ways. I mean, “beloved pup” is better than “stray mutt”, but some might argue that it’s not much better. But the desperate mom chooses to humble herself to the Lord and God’s order of things: “To the Jew first, then to the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16) And she takes this picture the Lord has offered her – she accepts it – and then shares the reality that, because of the love that exists between children and their pets, that little dogs always get to eat the little bits that the little children feed them from their plates. “Okay, so I may be a pet in your eyes,” she seems to be saying, “but throw me a scrap, Lord. I’ll be satisfied with a scrap of Your mercy.”
And the Lord Jesus responds – on account of this woman’s attitude and her answer – the Lord tells her that He had, in that moment, cast the demon out of her daughter. When she goes home she will find the child well.

How does this connect with us today? As I’ve already said, this woman could have taken offense at Jesus’ words, labels, the truth as He saw it and put it forth. But she didn’t. She knew Who Jesus was. (Even if she didn’t completely recognize His deity, she clearly recognized the Almighty God’s hand of power upon Him!) And she doesn’t respond to Him in the trite ways so many across our culture want to come to Jesus: Demanding their own way, like they have a right to come before Him; forcing their own agendas, as though what’s important to them ought to set the schedule for God Almighty’s day; … Western people tend to make God out to be some sort of warm-fuzzy, sickly-sweet deity who should do whatever we want whenever we want it done; a god who’s concept of life and love should be exactly the same as ours; and who is pushed around and influenced by us, as though He were some kind of eternal people-pleaser.

But He is not! He is God Almighty! The Most High God! He is wonderful and terrible in His love and wrath! (As C. S. Lewis has so famously written of the Lord when asked if God was safe. “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course He isn’t safe. But He’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” [The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe])

And this woman, without perhaps fully recognizing Jesus to be this awesome One in the flesh, at least recognizes the hand of that awesome One upon Him. And she does not get upset with Him or argue with Him that He has spoken to her as though she were a little dog or called her by such name. She accepts His description. She embraces His depiction. The Lord Jesus spoke and she didn’t try to rebuke Him (the way Simon Peter did when the Lord first spoke about His crucifixion), she didn’t try to correct Him (the way we can sometimes edit what the Bible says to make it better fit what we think is right about God or what we think is more true or more reasonable about God). No. She accepts His Word and humbles herself to the order of things as He stated them: “To the Jew first.” (Romans 1:16) And yet, in that humbled place she was still able to see the grace of God offered to her and her fellow non-Jews. She basically says to Jesus, “It’s okay if God has chosen to deal with the Jews first, but surely God has enough for all the rest of us, too?”
As a mother she trusted that God must love human beings at least as much as she loved her little girl!

The first step to a new life in Christ is knowing and accepting the truth about our life apart from Christ. Without Jesus – apart from the cross – we are sinners, separated from God by our sins.

Religion is such a huge part of human life – no matter our culture, no matter our status, no matter our language or our education – religion is a huge part of life for every people, for every person. Even atheists, whose religion is all about denying religion.

The science of Sociology shows human beings to be religious creatures – even defines us as religious creatures. Humans seem to be uniquely aware that there is some universal, ultimate, eternal standard of behavior – of morality – and we all seem to be aware that we are not living up to it, and longing for a way to, somehow, be at peace with the One who established it. (Or the ones who established it, for peoples who believe there to be many gods.)

Sinners, missing the mark of perfection, that’s who human beings are apart from Christ. People are not basically good. People are basically bad. And our basic “badness” separates us from God because He is perfectly and completely good. The apostle Paul describes this in Ephesians 2: “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. (He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.) All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.” (Vv. 1-3)

And that’s why I love this Gentile mom: She knows who she is, and she knows Who God is. She doesn’t make herself out to be better than she is and she doesn’t make herself out to be worse. The Lord Jesus tells her what she is. She accepts His assessment. And that brings her into that place where she can cry out to the Lord for a miracle and be heard, and have her miracle be granted!

What about us? Do you hear the Lord Jesus telling you that you are a sinner but respond saying, “No, not me. I’m not so bad.” Or do you hear the Lord Jesus telling you that you are sinner and respond, “I’m worse than that, Lord. I’m horrid! And I know You hate me and want to have nothing to do with me because I’m such a miserable wretch!” Too often we make ourselves out to be better than Jesus says we are, on the one hand, or make ourselves to be worse than He says we are, on the other.

The Lord Jesus is telling you and me that we are sinners, today. And He is telling us that our sins have separated us from God. But Jesus goes on to say that He has come to repair the breach between us and God Almighty. He has taken our sins to the cross with Him and put them to death when He died there. Because of that, He can invite us back to God. There’s plenty of Him for the children and for the puppies at their feet! Plenty of Jesus – plenty of grace – for you and for me, for one and for all!

Will you accept who Jesus says you are so that you might become who Jesus has died to make you to be? He calls us to come to Him as the doggies we are because He wants to make us sons and daughters in the family!

Introduction
We’ve been reading through the New Testament as a congregation this year. We started at John and read all the way through Revelation, and have come back to the beginning, this past week finishing up Matthew and moving into Mark.
There’s a lot going on as we begin reading through Mark this week. One thing I want to highlight for us as we read a variety of excerpts from across Mark’s opening chapters today is the Gospel’s portrayal of Christ in us and us in Christ.
In the Book of Acts (before the apostle Paul has become a Christian, but is hunting down Christians) the Lord Jesus blinds Paul and brings him to his knees. And the Lord says to Paul, “Paul, why are you persecuting Me?” And yet, Paul had not, at that time, been persecuting Jesus. The Lord had already ascended into Heaven. No, Paul had been persecuting Christians! But the Lord Jesus recognizes no distinction between Himself and His people. Christ in us and us in Christ. And Mark demonstrates this across his Gospel. When the Lord Jesus is on the move, Mark is also calling us to be on the move with Him. For instance…

ELDER READS: Mark 1:9-11 [NLTse]
9 One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized Him in the Jordan River. 10 As Jesus came up out of the water, He saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on Him like a dove. 11 And a voice from Heaven said, “You are My dearly loved Son, and You bring Me great joy.”

PASTOR: Sermon
? Acts 10:38 makes clear that Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit was when the Lord received God’s power to do good and heal all who were oppressed by the devil. The Lord Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River and His baptism with the Holy Spirit sets the standard for believers: When we come to trust in Jesus Christ, He wants us to be baptized with water to show that we’ve repented of our sins and turned to God to be forgiven, and He wants us to be baptized with the Holy Spirit to empower us so that we might join Him in doing good and healing those who are being oppressed by the devil today.
Who, here, has been baptized with water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? … Who, here, has been baptized with the Holy Spirit for empowerment? …
And as we hear the Father’s words spoken over Jesus, know that He wants us to hear and know ourselves that – Christ in us and us in Christ – we are His dearly loved children, and that we bring Him great joy!
(Has anybody here made any really big mistakes lately, or done something you really regret? We are not treasured by God on account of what we’ve done or not done. We are saved by grace. Know that you are dearly loved and that you bring the Father great joy!)

ELDER: Mark 1:12-13 [NLTse]
12 The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, 13 where He was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care of Him.

PASTOR: Sermon
During times of temptation we can be brutally aware of Satan’s presence: Everywhere we turn, the enemy of our souls seems to be there in our faces, hemming us in, deceiving us, and baiting us to sin. Likewise, as the Lord Jesus was out among wild animals during this time of temptation, we, too, when we’re being tempted, can be so very aware of all manner of beasts surrounding us and snapping at us. Times of great temptation always seem to be accompanied by struggles in our relationships, financial troubles, health concerns… all trying to wear us down and have us sin. But here we see a fuller reality than what we ordinarily acknowledge and are aware of: Just as the Father’s angels were caring for the Lord while Satan and the wild things were assailing Him, just so, hosts of Heaven are also near to us during our times of being tempted, speaking God’s truth, granting us comfort and the grace we need to overcome.
Satan and his goons seem to pile on us during times of trial, but remember that God’s sent warriors to us during those times, as well. In Christ and Christ in us, there’s always more for us than against us!

ELDER: Mark 1:14-15 [NLTse]
14 Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where He preached God’s Good News. 15 “The time promised by God has come at last!” He announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”

PASTOR: Sermon
Notice, the Good News is not just that the Kingdom of God is near. And, notice the Good News is not just that God has forgiven our sins on account of our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Along with God’s Kingdom arriving and advancing, and our being forgiven so that we can draw near and be a part of it, the Good News brings a constant and ongoing call to: “Repent of your sins!”
We have been born-again – brought back to life – through our faith and trust in Christ. We have died to our old, sin-filled way of living. So, how can we go back to it? The answer, of course, is, we can’t. We must keep on repenting! The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

ELDER: Mark 1:16-20 [NLTse]
16 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 17 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow Me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 18 And they left their nets at once and followed Him.
19 A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets. 20 He called them at once, and they also followed Him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men.

PASTOR: Sermon
Does your work seem like it’s keeping you from following Jesus? Well, if it’s truly getting in-between us and our Savior, some of us may need to leave our work to find other work where we can follow Him. Others of us may, simply, need to look at our work differently. (For instance, if you’re a builder, to begin seeing yourself not just a builder, but as building the Kingdom of Heaven! Or, perhaps, you’re a teacher. Christ is calling you to start seeing yourself as one who is pointing your students towards the Teacher! If you’re a lawyer, you’re not just a lawyer. You are fighting for the Truth! You are not just a cashier, you are not just a secretary, you are not just a nurse… Acknowledge that you are where you are, doing what you are doing, because Jesus Christ wants you there to do what you are doing for Him!
Likewise, do family obligations seem like they are keeping you from following Jesus? For some of us, that may mean setting some healthy boundaries between you and your family members. Others of us may, simply, need to look at our family obligations differently. That is, it can be a world of difference between taking care of our elderly parents because nobody else will and taking care of them because we want to honor them, as Christ has called us to. A world of difference…
Also, Luke and John give us a little bit of background to know that Jesus had encountered Simon and Andrew and James and John before this interaction where He called them and they dropped what they were doing to follow Him. Likewise, who around us do we believe God is calling to Himself? (I’m not asking who around you you want to become a Christian. I know many of us long to have our kids or our folks or other family members or friends become Christians. I’m not asking you about them. Who around you do you believe the Lord is calling to follow Him? On account of Christ being in you and you being in Christ, whoever might be coming to your mind as I ask you that question, I think you need to go tell them that the Lord wants them to become one of His followers; to join you in following Him…

ELDER: Mark 1:29-31 [NLTse]
29 After Jesus left the synagogue with James and John, they went to Simon and Andrew’s home. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. They told Jesus about her right away. 31 So He went to her bedside, took her by the hand, and helped her sit up. Then the fever left her, and she prepared a meal for them.

PASTOR: Sermon
When Jesus, James, and John saw that Simon and Andrew weren’t at church, they went over to Simon and Andrew’s house after Worship to check on them. It seems that the brothers had stayed home because of their mother’s illness. And when Jesus, James, and John heard about their mom’s illness, they all went to pray for her. And she was made well.
We should do likewise: We should check on our brothers and sisters when we notice they aren’t in Worship; we should gather together to pray for one another and our loved ones as soon as we hear that someone is in need. Christ in us and us in Christ, the Lord Jesus and those first disciples are showing us the Way…

ELDER: Mark 3:20-27 [NLTse]
20 One time Jesus entered a house, and the crowds began to gather again. Soon He and His disciples couldn’t even find time to eat. 21 When His family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. “He’s out of His mind,” they said.
22 But the teachers of religious law who had arrived from Jerusalem said, “He’s possessed by Satan, the prince of demons. That’s where He gets the power to cast out demons.”
23 Jesus called them over and responded with an illustration. “How can Satan cast out Satan?” He asked. 24 “A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse. 25 Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart. 26 And if Satan is divided and fights against himself, how can he stand? He would never survive. 27 Let Me illustrate this further. Who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house.

PASTOR: Sermon
Three things… First, don’t be surprised when people around you get hostile or call you crazy when you talk about Jesus or do things in His name. People, even religious people, got mad at Jesus. It only makes sense that folks will likely get mad at us, too.

Second, don’t be surprised when you find yourself out-of-your-mind busy on account of ministry! It doesn’t necessarily mean you are doing something wrong or need to make changes. Sometimes, there’s just a lot going on around the Kingdom, and you are in the thick of it. Seek the Holy Spirit’s empowerment for what you need and His contentment through it all. Such times come and go…
Lastly, there will be times when you need to fight the devil in order to have him give up someone he’s been oppressing. Christ in you and you in Christ, you are stronger than the devil. In Jesus, you can tie up the devil – binding him and taking from him those he doesn’t want to let go. Your prayer might be as simple as, “In the name of Jesus Christ, I bind you from SO-AND-SO, Satan. He (or she) has chosen Christ and you have no right to oppress them any longer.”
Our nation is in a world of trouble. We live in the best of times! And yet it is also the worst of times! The Lord Jesus Christ has overcome death to empower us for Kingdom work! You and I have resurrection-power to be loving, joyful, at peace, and patient. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is ours so that we might be supernaturally kind, doing good, trustworthy, gentle, and self-controlled. The Lord Jesus wants to continue His work in you and me: Doing good and healing those oppressed by the devil.
When you live in Christ and Christ lives in you, nothing is impossible for you! Go and do likewise!

According to Matthew 22:23-33 [NLTse]
23 That same day Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question: 24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.’ 25 Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children, so his brother married the widow. 26 But the second brother also died, and the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them. 27 Last of all, the woman also died. 28 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”
29 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. 30 For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in Heaven.
31 “But now, as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead—haven’t you ever read about this in the Scriptures? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So He is the God of the living, not the dead.”
33 When the crowds heard Him, they were astounded at His teaching.

Sermon
In the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he wrote, “We would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.” (5:8) In his letter to the Philippians, he wrote, “For me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better… I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.” (1:21, 23) In the Revelation to John a voice from Heaven cries, “‘Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!’” (14:13) In these and many other passages of Scripture, the New Testament encourages us to view our own death and the deaths of fellow-believers not with fear or dread but with joy at the prospect of going to be with Christ.
On account of this, sometimes Christians think it shows a lack of faith if they mourn deeply in the face of their own deaths, or if they mourn deeply and experience deep sorrow for fellow-Christians who have died. But the Bible does not support that view. St. Paul did not tell the Thessalonians that they should not grieve concerning their loved ones who had died, but he wrote, “so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.” (4:13) The sorrow we feel in the face of our own deaths and in the face of the deaths of fellow-believers is clearly mingled with hope and joy because of the knowledge that we and they are going to be with the Lord. So, although we may have genuine sorrow when we are going to die or when Christian friends and relatives do die, we also can say with Scripture, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? … But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:55, 57)
When unbelievers die, the sorrow we feel is not mingled with the joy of assurance that they have gone to be with the Lord forever. Yet, “people judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart,” (1 Samuel 16:7) so no person can have absolute certainty as to whether or not another has persisted in refusing to trust in Christ all the way to the point of death. The knowledge of one’s impending death, even when it is sudden and a person’s life goes “flashing before their eyes”, will often bring about genuine heart-searching on the part of the dying person, and sometimes words of Scripture or words of Christian testimony that had been heard long ago, are recalled and the person comes to genuine repentance and faith. We do not know. We can-not know. But God knows.
Once a believer has died, though his or her physical body remains on the earth and is buried, at the moment of death the soul (or spirit) of that believer goes immediately into the presence of God with rejoicing. After all, the Lord Jesus said to the thief who was dying on the cross next to Him, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) And the author of Hebrews says that when Christians come together to worship they come not only into the presence of God in Heaven, but also into the presence of “the spirits of the righteous ones in Heaven who have now been made perfect.” (12:23)
Yes, we are surrounded this morning by a great cloud of the spirits of the Christ-loving dead! But ours is not a grim spectacle of ghostly horrors like that of unbelievers with their spirits and powers. No. This great cloud of Christ-loving spirits surrounding us this morning are rejoicing in the Lord with us; praising Jesus with us and cheering us on to victory over every temptation and doubt! Ours is a joyful scene! A festival scene, if we could see the heavenly places with perfect clarity!

So, here it is, the day before Halloween. And, if you’ve read the article inside this morning’s Bulletin, you know that Halloween began as a Christian celebration of those who’ve died in Christ; a celebration of our hope in God’s promise of their on-going life and eternal rejoicing in the Lord’s presence in Heaven; and, a celebration of our expectation of glad reunion with them in the resurrection to come. Because our God is a god of the living not of the dead!
So, on this day before Halloween, I’d like us to consider what it’s like to live day-by-day believing that our deceased, Christian loved-ones are separated from us, but alive with Jesus?

It strikes me that a parallel experience might be when our friends or beloved-family members have gone on long trips away from us, but don’t have good cell or Internet service. (I know of one of our families who experience such things because their son-in-law serves on a submarine, and another because their granddaughter is a missionary on a very remote and undeveloped island.)
One thing I know we don’t do during such times of separation is we don’t walk around our homes or schools or workplaces talking to our absent loved-ones, asking their advice or direction. We don’t do that when friends or loved-ones have gone away on trips because we know they can’t hear us; they are far away; that would be silly to do. Likewise, I want to encourage us not to talk to our loved-ones who have died, either. Although they likely can hear us, the Lord Who has saved them and is saving us has told us not to talk to or even try to talk to the dead. Some false teachers would have us believe that we need to talk to the dead so that they can get God’s attention on our behalf. But that assumes that our friends and loved-ones love us and that God may not, which is absurd. No one loves us like the Lord! None of our friends or loved ones have laid down their lives for us as He has. No. If we’re going to pray, let’s pray only to the Lord.
One thing we likely do for friends and loved-ones who are far away is to pray for them: Asking for God’s blessings on them while we are apart and for a quick and happy reunion. But, of course, we wouldn’t pray for those who’ve died because if they trusted in Christ in this life then they are with the Lord and if they did not trust in Christ in this life then they are not with the Lord. And there is nothing we can pray that will ever change that.
So, while we may keep ourselves from praying for them, we can know that they are praying for us and cheering us on. (Which is appropriate for them to do since their prayers can still reach and influence the Lord.) We can rejoice and be comforted and encouraged by their intercessions and their applause.
I think we all tend to wonder what our loved ones are doing when they are away from us on a journey. And the same can be true of our loved ones in death: We can (and perhaps should) think about all the joys the Lord has promised believers when we get to Heaven, and we probably should think about our loved ones enjoying those blessings each day, and that when it’s our time, that we will enjoy those blessings, with our loved ones, too.
If we’ll let ourselves, thinking in these ways about our loved ones who’ve been parted from us by death can bring us to big smiles and great joy as we think about what the Lord has told us and shown us and promised us about life in Heaven during this time when death has been defeated, but not yet destroyed; during this time in-between this current Heaven and Earth and the new Heaven and Earth that Jesus will bring with Him when He returns for us, to make all things new, and when we will alive and with Jesus, and He will be alive and with us, and we will be alive together with all our loved ones who’ve loved and trusted Him, too. And we will be at home in Paradise, and God will be all and in all!

The Gospel According To Matthew 18:1-14 [NLTse]
About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
2 Jesus called a little child to Him and put the child among them. 3 Then He said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4 So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

5 “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on My behalf is welcoming Me. 6 But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in Me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.

7 “What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting. 8 So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

10 “Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in Heaven their angels are always in the presence of My heavenly Father.

12 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! 14 In the same way, it is not My heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.

Sermon
In 2004, NBC debuted a reality TV series called, “The Biggest Loser”. The show features obese or overweight contestants competing to win a cash prize for losing the highest percentage of body weight. Although it’s received a massive amount of criticism from doctors and weight-loss professionals, “The Biggest Loser” has been a hit since it first aired!
That being said, when I think of someone being called “the biggest loser”, I don’t think of weight loss. Do you?

We should not be surprised that Jesus’ disciples asked Him “who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven”. After all, they had just seen Jesus feed 5,000+ people with only five loaves of bread and two fish, walk across a lake, feed 4,000+ more people with just seven loaves of bread and only a few small fish, heal the lame so they could walk, the deaf so they could hear, the mute so they could talk, and the blind so they could see, and Peter, James, and John had just seen transfigured into all His heavenly glory and talking with Moses and Elijah. I say we shouldn’t be surprised that their minds were on who would be the greatest because Simon Peter had just declared Jesus to be the Messiah. And in response, Jesus had seemingly rewarded Peter by saying that Peter would be the foundation for His worldwide, Hell-shattering Church. I can imagine the rest of the disciples thinking, “What about me, Jesus? I think You’re the Messiah, too! What place of honor do you have for me?”

Of course, the way God thinks about things are altogether different from the ways humans think about things and His ways of doing things are altogether different from the ways humans do things. So, in response to their question about “who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven” the Lord Jesus calls a little kid out of the crowd to stand as an object lesson for them.

Matthew makes clear that this kid was a paidion, a Greek word meaning “very young child”. So, the Lord has maybe a four, five, or six year old standing with Him; a kid who can probably dress himself, find food in a cabinet and eat it himself, talk-talk-talk-talk-and-talk for himself, and lay down and go to sleep by himself (that is, if Mom and Dad chose not to tuck him in), but that’s pretty much it. Such a little one can’t help with chores, can’t work in the family business, can’t protect himself if there’s danger, and can’t take care of himself if he were to be on his own. Paidions are completely dependent upon others for everything.

And the Lord says, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like a needy little paidion, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” (“Humble” here translates the Greek word tapeinosei, which most literally means “lowly”.)
So, the Lord Jesus is saying, “You want to be great in God’s Kingdom? Be a nobody like this helpless, needy little child.” You want to be great? Be the biggest loser!

Let me start over.

The Scriptures make absolutely clear that human beings become members of the Kingdom of Heaven by an act of God’s grace: That is, when people trust in Jesus Christ, God grants them citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven. We don’t earn salvation, it is God’s gift.

Even so, the Scriptures also make clear that “being saved” – that being part of His Kingdom – will change us. (And if we aren’t changed then likely we’re really not saved.) For instance, the apostles Paul and James agree that we are saved by faith alone, and yet, if our faith does not result in any good works then our faith isn’t the kind of faith that saves.
Likewise, the Lord Jesus says that forgiving those who sin against us will become a characteristic of those whom the Father has forgiven. And He says that doing God’s will will become the habit of those who are saved. Jesus charges us: By the fruits of peoples’ lives we will be able to know whether they are in Christ or not.

Here, in Matthew 18, the Lord is revealing that those who are a part of God’s Kingdom will turn from their sins and will truly begin to think of themselves as “nobodies”. After all, God has done all the work to save them, just like Mom and Dad are doing all the caring, providing for, and protecting work in the lives of little children.

In other places around the Scriptures, this idea of thinking of ourselves as being “nobodies” is spoken of as being “humble”, it’s spoken of as “giving others more credit than we take for ourselves”, and such an attitude is shown in other places around the Scripture as “serving others, and doing what we know they would want instead of doing what we want”.
That’s how Jesus describes greatness in the Kingdom of God. [Spread my arms out wide.] Here’s God! [Point at a little speck in the air.] Here’s you and me. We are truly great only when we recognize that He is great and we are not, and yet when we trust that He is loving and good and always with us and always for us, then we are in that place where His greatness – with us and for us – makes us great, too!
….
I want to leave us this morning with an outlandish statement that the Lord Jesus then makes. In verse 5, He says, “When you make those who are “nobody’s” – losers – welcome around the church just because we know I would welcome them,” Jesus says, “it is the same to Me as you making Me welcome.”
I don’t know about you, but I want to make Jesus welcome here at Evangelical Presbyterian Church. So, I want you to think of the biggest loser you know… (Maybe it’s someone who’s a jerk. Maybe it’s someone who’s a bully. Maybe it’s somebody annoying or that person who everybody makes fun of…) Who’s the biggest loser you know?
In the name of Jesus Christ I charge you to invite them to church.
…
Worship Team, would you come forward to lead us in song?
As they come forward, let us pray…

Introduction
For those of you reading through the New Testament with me this year, you know we’ve just finished The Revelation and have begun The Gospel of Matthew. I’ve committed to preach from something we’ve read, so, here we are at the end of The Revelation. And John is given, in dreamlike visions and imagery, the long-awaited return of Jesus Christ.

Chapter 19 begins with the heavens singing God’s praises, and the herald-angel calling all to join in the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. And, as our reading begins, there is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – transplendent – coming in the clouds of Heaven…

The Revelation to John 19:11-21 [NLTse]
11 Then I saw Heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for He judges fairly and wages a righteous war. 12 His eyes were like flames of fire, and on His head were many crowns. A name was written on Him that no one understood except Himself. 13 He wore a robe dipped in blood, and His title was the Word of God. 14 The armies of Heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. 16 On His robe at His thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, shouting to the vultures flying high in the sky: “Come! Gather together for the great banquet God has prepared. 18 Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and strong warriors; of horses and their riders; and of all humanity, both free and slave, small and great.”

19 Then I saw the Beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the One sitting on the horse and His army. 20 And the Beast was captured, and with him the False Prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the Beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the Beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the Beast and his False Prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the One riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies.

Sermon – “A Tale of Two Banquets”
It will be the best of times. It will be the worst of times. Love like no other will billow in the hearts of many. And dread like no other will weigh down many others.
The return of Jesus Christ will be the rising up of many and the bringing low of many more. Some will be raised up from hardship and obscurity to seats of honor and privilege at the Lord Jesus’ Own wedding table. Others will be brought low from wealth, ease, and influence to places of horror and eternal suffering.
Which banquet are you preparing for?

There’s been a lot of talk in recent years about Heaven. Books and films like “Heaven Is For Real” and “90 Minutes In Heaven” have given readers and moviegoers a sneak-peek inside the pearly gates.
But Hell is for real, too.

About seven years ago a fellow reached out to me who had just had a massive heart operation. He’d died on the operating table, but they’d brought him back.
He’d called me, desperate to meet. When I got there he hurried me out of his home and into his car. He turned on the power, and then turned on the radio, though not too loud. And he started whispering to me, telling me he’d had a near-death experience during the time he’d been dead on the operating table. But that he hadn’t gone to Heaven. He’d gone to Hell.
(Anybody here ever read about or had anyone tell you about a near-death experience where the person had gone to Hell? It’s not as popular as the going-to-Heaven-ones.)

I wish I remembered the description he gave of what he saw and heard while he was there. But what has stuck with me in a way I will never forget was his fear and his panic: Whatever the details of what he’d seen and experienced, sitting there in the front seat of his car with the radio droning in the background, he was terrified.
I know he talked about the darkness, and maybe he even described it as being like a charcoal fire: Grey and dark, but with pockets of searing fire scattered throughout… I don’t remember the details.
The Bible confirms his horror and his dread, however. In parables, the Lord Jesus describes Hell as “outer darkness”, a place where people will “weep and gnash their teeth” (Matthew 25:30). Our Savior calls it “eternal punishment” (Matthew 25:46), so, it’s not a moment’s-worth of suffering and weeping and gnashing. This weeping and gnashing and punishment that goes on forever…
Jesus – “meek and mild” – says that Hell is like one of those horror-story garbage dumps, “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48). A place of maggots, always smoking, always burning.
Back in Revelation 14 John was given this picture: “Anyone who worships the Beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or on the hand must drink the wine of God’s anger. It has been poured full strength into the God’s cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the Beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.” (9-11)
If it is hard for you to accept the reality of Hell, that’s okay. It should be hard. If the knowledge of such anguish and horrors awaiting family members, friends, coworkers, and neighbors doesn’t sicken us then there is something missing in our spiritual and emotional sensibilities.

Paul, when thinking of his unbelieving kin, the Jews, says, “My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them!” (Romans 9:2-3) And the Father speaks of His Own sorrow at the death of the wicked: “As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?” (Ezekiel 33:11) And we hear the Lord Jesus’ agony as He cries out, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let Me. And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate.” (Matthew 23:37-38)
God has put in our hearts a portion of His Own love for people, even His love for sinners who rebel against Him. That’s why it’s hard for us to acknowledge the reality of Hell. And yet, too often, His compassion within us gets twisted so that we question His fairness and goodness. But it shouldn’t. If Hell-eternal is the loving and just God’s punishment for sin, that should make us question God, it should make us realize the enormity of the evil that is found in sin and rebellion against God, and the awesome wonder of the holiness and the justice of our God that would call forth such punishment.
No, the reality of Hell should move us to greater boldness in sharing the gospel and letting those around us know about the love and the grace of Jesus Christ.
?
Celebrating the Lord’s Supper
Expectation of a Great Feast on the Last Day began perhaps with this wonderful prophecy from Isaiah:
“In Jerusalem, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will spread a wonderful feast for all the people of the world. It will be a delicious banquet with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat. There He will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against His land and people. The Lord has spoken!” (Isaiah 25:6-8)
You find echoes of this prophecy in the Old Testament and the New, finally being fulfilled in Revelation with the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-9) and the New Heavens and the New Earth (Revelation 21:4).

“Just as My Father has granted Me a Kingdom,” the Lord Jesus said to His followers in Luke 22, “I now grant you the right to eat and drink at My table in My Kingdom. And you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (vv. 29-30)
“People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the Feast in the Kingdom of God,” He said. (Luke 13:29-30; Matthew 8:11)
“He will send out His angels to gather His chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and Heaven.” (Mark 13:27; Matthew 24:31)
“The servants who are ready and waiting for His return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, He Himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat!” (Luke 12:37)

Revelation culminates with the Marriage Supper of the Lamb:
“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. 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. 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.
“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.’” (19:6-9)

I’m saddened by the many Christians who, for one reason or another, no longer attend church. The church is flawed, they say. Or, they’ve been hurt in the church. Or, the church is filled with hypocrites. Etc… And these things are too often true, but we are not to give up on Christian fellowship.
“Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do,” the writer of Hebrews says, “but encourage one another, especially now that the Day of His return is drawing near.” (10:25)
For in our future is a seat at the Great Banquet with millions of other fellow believers. Isn’t it ironic that we would separate ourselves now from those with whom we’ll share the Feast and an eternity in Heaven? The essence of a banquet — and of the Lord’s Supper — is not food on which to gorge ourselves, but the joyful fellowship of those at the table.
The Lord’s Supper is our reminder that this life isn’t “as good as it gets.” Just as the seal of the Holy Spirit is your guarantee of future glory (Ephesians 1:13; Romans 8:23; 2 Corinthians 1:22), so the piece of bread and your portion of the cup are a token of your ticket to the Great Banquet at the end of the age.
The Lord’s Supper looks backward as a remembrance to the death of Christ for our sins. It looks to the present as a communion with the living Christ, and it looks to the future as a promise of eternal life in the presence of God.
On that day, the promise of Revelation will be realized. Jesus told His disciples that despite various appearances in one form or another, “No one has seen God at any time” (John 1:18; 1 John 4:12), that is, His essential Spirit-nature. But on that Day, the Scripture says,
“They will see His face, and His name will be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 22:4-5)

Father: So often our minds are focused on our own needs and problems. From now on, may the Lord’s Supper turn our eyes instead to the Great Banquet and the culmination of all things in You. Maranatha! Come soon, Lord Jesus! Amen.

The Revelation to John 13:1-18 [NLTse]
Then I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And written on each head were names that blasphemed God. 2 This beast looked like a leopard, but it had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion! And the dragon gave the beast his own power and throne and great authority.

3 I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast. 4 They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they also worshiped the beast. “Who is as great as the beast?” they exclaimed. “Who is able to fight against him?”

5 Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months. 6 And he spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering His name and His dwelling—that is, those who dwell in Heaven. 7 And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation. 8 And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb Who was slaughtered before the world was made.

9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. 10 Anyone who is destined for prison will be taken to prison. Anyone destined to die by the sword will die by the sword.
This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful.

11 Then I saw another beast come up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke with the voice of a dragon. 12 He exercised all the authority of the first beast. And he required all the earth and its people to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 He did astounding miracles, even making fire flash down to earth from the sky while everyone was watching. 14 And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life. 15 He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die.
16 He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. 17 And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. 18 Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.

Sermon
We’ve been reading through the New Testament as a church in 2016. (The daily readings are at the bottom of the back flap in our Bulletins.) And I have committed to preach each week from something we’ve read. We’re in Revelation, and this past week we read Revelation chapters 13-18.

The Lord Jesus has given John potent visions to show John what is to come so that he can in-turn share these things with the people of Christ’s Church. Having shown John a series of visions to help him prepare the Church for life in these End-Times times in which we live, the Lord reveals to John a vision of the coming of Christ with a dragon representing Satan and a woman representing God’s faithful Old and New Covenant people.

This week we read about a Beast-Coming-Out-Of-The-Sea, and this Beast had seven heads and ten horns, with a crown on each horn, each head graffiti-ed with names saying blasphemous things about God. (Such as “He doesn’t love you,” and “You’re all alone in your troubles and sins,” … All sorts of things that aren’t true about God but that unbelievers say about Him.)

The Lord reveals to John that these ten horns on the Beast’s heads are kings, so this Beast has come to be called “Anti-Christ”, representing all the governments and authorities of the world that have set themselves against Jesus.
John then sees another Beast come out of the earth, This second Beast has only two horns (and the vision makes clear that these horns are like those of a lamb) but that this Beast speaks like a dragon. And, so, the imagery of this vision shows a power that has the appearance of Jesus (the Lamb) but who in reality speaks on behalf of the Devil (the dragon). This second Beast is called the “False Prophet” later in Revelation 16:13.

You see, just as our Father has a Son – Jesus Christ – to Whom He’s given all His power and authority, so that to worship and trust in Jesus you are in fact worshiping and trusting in the Father and declaring Him your King, likewise, the Devil has one – Anti-Christ – whom he has given all His power and authority, and when one worships and trusts in Anti-Christ that one is actually worshiping and trusting in the Devil and declaring him your king.

And just as the Lord Jesus has sent His People into the world to preach His Word and give Him glory, likewise, Anti-Christ has sent a people into the world seeking to lead Christ’s people astray by preaching and teaching in ways that sound like Jesus but actually speaking the words of Anti-Christ and give the Devil glory.

In Chapter 17 John is shown a woman whom he sees and describes as “a great prostitute”. And this woman is called “Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.” But, like Anti-Christ and the False Prophet, “Babylon” is not really a woman but is symbolic of a city. Just as the heavenly Jerusalem represents Christ’s worldwide Church, the hellish Babylon the Great represents the Devil’s people, human society centered around Anti-Christ, the Beast.
So, what does all this have to do with us as we’ve been reading these chapters this week and as we are striving to live as followers of our King, Jesus Christ? As we are striving to preach faithfully and give our King Jesus glory? As we are striving to live together in mercy and righteousness, living humbly with our God, His faithful, adoring Church?

Well – as a church – have you heard about the latest blasphemous things our old denomination, the Presbyterian Church (USA), has been doing? Well, as you may know, we left that denomination because they had rejected the Bible as the Word of God. We left because the General Assembly had begun treating the Bible as though it contained the Word of God instead of being the Word of God, allowing pastors and elders and teachers to pick and choose which parts of the Scripture were to be believed and which parts could be ignored.

This led them to making light of divorce, premarital sex, homosexuality, bisexuality, adultery, and eventually to make light of the Lord Jesus Himself. At their most recent General Assembly, the Presbyterian Church (USA) had a Muslim imam open the Assembly by praying to Allah and asking Allah’s blessing upon their proceedings, as though Allah and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ were one and the same!

I hope you are as shocked and affronted as your elders and me! I hope you are shocked and affronted because even the most simple-minded Middle Eastern Muslim peasant-child with no education knows that Allah – the god of the Muslims – and Allah-al-Ab, the God and Father of Jesus Christ – the God of the Christians – are not the same! But it’s the False Prophet at work: Preaching and teaching and evangelizing in ways that seem faithful and wise and true – that seem like Jesus – but that, in reality, leads people away from Jesus to give His glory to the Devil!

I share all this with you because, as the Presbyterian Church (USA) continues down this blasphemous path – and makes headlines for itself and its churches nationally and locally for doing so – we are likely being seen as a part of that because we have its name, “Presbyterian”, in our name. And your elders would like to distance ourselves, as a church, from all that, if we could. Except that the truth is that this community has come to know us as “The Presbyterian Church”. So, if we take “Presbyterian” out of our name we’ll have some people around the community who’ll no longer have any idea who we are when we tell them what church we’re a part of or when we invite them to church. If our name doesn’t have “Presbyterian” in it, many won’t know the church we’re talking about. On the other hand, there’ll be some – if we take “Presbyterian” out of our name – who will hear the new name (but without “Presbyterian” in it) and say to themselves, “O, yeah, they’re talking about the Presbyterian Church.”

So, it seems we need to keep “Presbyterian”, but how do we do so and still distance ourselves from our old denomination? How do we distance ourselves from the False Prophet at work around us?

And then it came to us: We’re a part of a new denomination. When we were a part of the Presbyterian Church (USA) we were “First Presbyterian Church of Milford”. Now that we’re part of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, let’s just be the “Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Milford”!

Think about it: By adding “Evangelical”, not only do we get another word in our name that is really difficult to spell, but we get the opportunity to let people know we’re different, and for those who ask we get to let them know the euangellion – the evangel, the good news – that we’re a church that believes Jesus is God, and that we believe He died for the sins of everybody in the world who would believe in Him, and we believe He did that to bring those believers to God because God loves them – loves all the people of the world! – and wants to live with them and them to live with Him, forever! And that we believe the Bible is God’s Word, every word of it important and precious to show God’s love for us and His plan for bringing us to Himself through faith in Jesus Christ.

So, we’re going to be the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Milford. And we want everyone to come to next week’s Congregational Meeting for us all to celebrate that together, as we move ahead the same as we’ve always been, but more clearly set apart from Anti-Christ and the False Prophet and Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World…

But, what about us all individually, or as couples, or as families? Our Father is bringing judgment against anti-Christian leaders (if they’re against the Christ of the Bible), anti-Christian preaching and teaching (if it’s against the Christ of the Bible), and anti-Christian peoples (whether few or many, if they are against the Christ of the Bible). And in Revelation 18:4 Christ calls out from Heaven, “Come away from [Babylon], My people! Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her!”

So, I ask you, this morning, as I ask me: Are you watching what you know you shouldn’t be watching, are you saying what you know you shouldn’t be saying, are you doing what you know you shouldn’t be doing, OR are you not watching what you know you should be, are you not saying what you know you should be, are you not doing what you know you should be, but you’ve convinced yourself it’s okay because you’re not as bad as others?

It must not be so! We have given ourselves to Christ! We have entered into covenant – we have made a deal – with Him in baptism! We renew that covenant – we renew that deal – each and every time we eat and drink the Lord’s Supper! We have committed to be His faithful, sinless Bride! And He has committed to be our faithful, taking-care-of-us Husband!
Come away from it all, First Presbyterian Church of Milford! Come away from it all, Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Milford! Come away from it all. The Holy Spirit will help you. The Holy Spirit will help us.
Worship Team will you come forward as we pray?

Introduction
Last week our readings through The Revelation ended at chapter 6 with a vision of the Lord Jesus revealing what would happen between His ascension into Heaven and His promised return. Just as dreams can have one thing stand for something else, likewise, in the visions God gives, one thing can stand for something else.
In chapter 6, the Lord Jesus reveals these end-times events by opening the seven seals of a scroll that had been held in God the Father Almighty’s hand. When the Lord Jesus opens the first seal, a horseman carrying a bow with no arrows goes charging into the world riding a white horse. When the Lord Jesus opens the second seal, a horseman carrying a sword goes charging out into the world riding a fiery-red horse. When He opens the third seal, a horseman carrying measuring scales goes charging out into the world riding a black horse. And when He opens the fourth seal, “Death” goes charging out riding a pale-looking horse, and the land of the dead followed closely after him. When the Lord opens the fifth seal, we see all the martyrs – all those who have ever been killed on account of their faith in Jesus Christ – and we are shown these martyrs as being under the great bronze altar. (The great bronze altar was where burnt offerings were made to the Lord, and underneath the altar is where the ashes from the sacrifices would end up, all showing that the martyrs had given their lives as offerings to Christ.) And then the Lord Jesus opens the sixth seal, and there was a massive earthquake and the world broke apart, and the sun, moon, stars, and earth’s atmosphere broke apart, all while every unbeliever on the earth is trying to kill themselves instead of having to face the Lord as He’s about to return.

The Lord Jesus describes these same end-times events (but without the symbols and imagery of a vision) in Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s Gospel. Let me read it from Mark 13:5-27…
5 Jesus replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, 6 for many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. 7 And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the End won’t follow immediately. 8 Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in many parts of the world, as well as famines. But this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.
9 “When these things begin to happen, watch out! You will be handed over to the local councils and beaten in the synagogues. You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are My followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell them about Me. 10 For the Good News must first be preached to all nations. 11 But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
12 “A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed. 13 And everyone will hate you because you are My followers. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
14 “The day is coming when you will see the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing where he should not be.” (Reader, pay attention!) “Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. 15 A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. 16 A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat. 17 How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. 18 And pray that your flight will not be in winter. 19 For there will be greater anguish in those days than at any time since God created the world. And it will never be so great again. 20 In fact, unless the Lord shortens that time of calamity, not a single person will survive. But for the sake of His chosen ones He has shortened those days.
21 “Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There He is,’ don’t believe it. 22 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. 23 Watch out! I have warned you about this ahead of time!
24 “At that time, after the anguish of those days, ‘the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, 25 the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
26 Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And He will send out His angels to gather His chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and Heaven.” (13:5-27)
And so we know (because white is the symbolic color of purity and righteousness) that the white-horse rider is the good news being preached to all the nations. The red-horse rider is the wars and rumors of wars and nations and kingdoms warring against one another. The black-horse rider is the famines, with Death riding the pale horse with the land of the dead tagging along. The Lord calls us to expect persecution and suffering and even martyrdom as we stand up for truth and share our faith before local councils, governors, kings, and being arrested and standing trial, and we’ll be betrayed and hated and killed… And He speaks of the shaking and the end of this Heaven and this Earth to make room for the new Heaven and the new Earth the prophets have promised…

Further on, in chapters 8 and 9, John’s vision changes to that of seven angels blowing trumpets, what Paul speaks of in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 as the “trumpet call of God”. And where the Lord Jesus breaking open the seals showed John the end-time events just as the Lord Jesus promised (as we’ve read), the blowing of each trumpet portrays the End through the different perspectives of the unbelieving world: Natural disasters, spiritual upheaval, human excess, demonic oppression, … Whether atheist, agnostic, or believing in another god or other gods, the trumpets reveal images of the created order in absolute chaos!

And just as the sixth seal portrayed unbelieving humanity wanting to die instead of have to face the Lord Jesus at His return, likewise, the sixth trumpet displays a hard-hearted humanity unwilling to repent of their evils and idolatry, even as the Lord Jesus is on the brink of His return…

These visions of the Lord Jesus breaking the seals and bringing to pass the promises of the Scriptures and the visions of the angels blowing the trumpet call of God both are interrupted prior to the seventh seal being opened and the seventh trumpet being blown.
At the end of chapter 6, as creation is breaking apart around them, the miserable but unrepentant unbelievers of the earth are heard crying out, “Who is able to survive?” And we are given imagery about God’s angel-army marking Jesus’ followers with a special mark so that the death and horrors striking the world at the End will not shake them. And the symbolic number of 144,000 is given to represent the number of Jews who will come to faith in Jesus and be saved before the End, and the number of non-Jews (like most of us) who will have come to trust in Christ before the End is described as “a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language”. (7:9)
Likewise, at the end of chapter 9, with the hard-hearted world refusing to turn to Christ as the End comes, John receives a special revelation that he is not allowed to share, as well as a message that he is to share, but that is disturbing to him to do so. And he is given a measuring stick to measure the temple of God. And, like the first interruption – where all the faithful were marked – during this interruption all the faithful (and in the vision all the faithful are pictured as God’s Temple, we, Christ’s Church, the dwelling place of God’s Holy Spirit – we are measured and counted: Not one soul, great or small, is missed. And then for some reason, two “witnesses” are described.
These two witnesses can do the miracles that Moses was allowed to do in Egypt and to keep rain from falling on the earth like Elijah did, but who are the witnesses? If anybody tries to hurt them “fire flashes from [the mouths of the two witnesses] and consumes their enemies” (11:15), but who are the witnesses? They are called “the two olive trees” and “the two lampstands” that stand before the Lord. (Which was similar to the vision given to the prophet Zechariah about a man named Zerubabbel, and being called “the two olive trees” and “the two lampstands” meant that Zerubabbel would be filled with the Holy Spirit, and that nothing would be able to keep Zerubabbel from accomplishing all that the Lord had called him to do.) Likewise, these two witnesses would be filled with the Holy Spirit and nothing would be able to keep them from accomplishing God’s purposes. But, again, who are the witnesses?

Although many different scholars have proposed many different answers, let me have us do what we are always to do any time we are confused about an area of Scripture. So, what do we do what we are confused about an area of Scripture? … Look to other areas of Scripture! That’s right! So, I looked up “two witnesses” in an online concordance, and here’s what I got:
&#62 Deuteronomy 17:6, ”But never put a person to death on the testimony of only one witness. There must always be two or three witnesses.”
&#62 Deuteronomy 19:15, “You must not convict anyone of a crime on the testimony of only one witness. The facts of the case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”
&#62 Amos 3:3, [Witnesses against Guilty Israel] “Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?” (Of course, this passage has nothing to do with “two witnesses”. It only popped up because the word “witnesses” was in the title and the word “two” was in the passage. But it popped up and I told you I would show you what you would find.)
&#62 Matthew 18:16, ”But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses.”
&#62 2 Corinthians 13:1, ”This is the third time I am coming to visit you (and as the Scriptures say, ‘The facts of every case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses’).”
&#62 1 Timothy 5:19, ”Do not listen to an accusation against an elder unless it is confirmed by two or three witnesses.”
&#62 Hebrews 10:28, ”For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.”
(And then you come upon our passage about the two witnesses today.)
So, every time “two witnesses” are mentioned in the Bible – every time – it has to do with some form of judgment: For people to judge rightly and for God to judge rightly at least “two witnesses” are needed to “witness” to that person’s guilt.
Where does that leave us? What does that mean for us today?
Let’s first have Elder Chuck Moore come up here and read to us this important passage from chapter 11 of The Revelation…

The Revelation 11:1-14 [NLTse]
Then I was given a measuring stick, and I was told, “Go and measure the Temple of God and the altar, and count the number of worshipers. 2 But do not measure the outer courtyard, for it has been turned over to the nations. They will trample the holy city for 42 months. 3 And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days.”
4 These two prophets are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of all the earth. 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire flashes from their mouths and consumes their enemies. This is how anyone who tries to harm them must die. 6 They have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall for as long as they prophesy. And they have the power to turn the rivers and oceans into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish.
7 When they complete their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them, and he will conquer them and kill them. 8 And their bodies will lie in the main street of Jerusalem, the city that is figuratively called “Sodom” and “Egypt,” the city where their Lord was crucified. 9 And for three and a half days, all peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will stare at their bodies. No one will be allowed to bury them. 10 All the people who belong to this world will gloat over them and give presents to each other to celebrate the death of the two prophets who had tormented them.
11 But after three and a half days, God breathed life into them, and they stood up! Terror struck all who were staring at them. 12 Then a loud voice from Heaven called to the two prophets, “Come up here!” And they rose to Heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched.
13 At the same time there was a terrible earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city. Seven thousand people died in that earthquake, and everyone else was terrified and gave glory to the God of Heaven.
14 The second terror is past, but look, the third terror is coming quickly.

Sermon
So, who are the witnesses of God the Father Almighty? (Here’s a hint: According to God’s Own standards, there must be more than two of them in order for God to judge the earth fairly.) …
Well, Jesus Himself tells us.
In Acts 1:8, Jesus Christ, raised from the dead yet meeting with His people, says, “You will be My witnesses!”
His disciples had asked Him about the end-times, but the risen Christ replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (1:7-8)
We are the two witnesses. Christ’s Church is the two witnesses. By the Holy Spirit, we have been given the power to do what Moses and Elijah did. By the Holy Spirit, we have been called to preach and teach and proclaim the truth of God’s Word to all the peoples of the earth. And, by the Holy Spirit, nothing can keep any of us from accomplishing all that the Lord God has called us to do!

The reason for the long sermon is just this: We are Christ’s witnesses. We must be His witnesses. The unbelieving world wants to silence us, to kill our witness. And the Lord God shows us that there will come a day when our witnessing is silenced: Dead in the streets. And the people of the unbelieving world will rejoice at that! But that day is not today. I know it can be challenging (for some) to go out and tell others about Him Who saved us and Who leads and provides for our lives. But as long as we have breath, by the power of God’s Holy Spirit, we must keep our witnessing alive and well!
And we are Christ’s witnesses when we tell others about what Jesus has done for us and about our faith and trust in Him. And we are Christ’s witnesses when we do what the Scriptures say God says is right, even if that gets us into trouble with people around us and even the laws of the land, and when we act honestly and rightly in all our dealings. And we are Christ’s witnesses when we help others see their need for the Lord Jesus and when we help them put their faith and trust in Him, too.
I have a friend who had someone at his workplace want to show him pornography. My friend said, “No”. And when the guy asked him why not, my friend told him that he didn’t look at porn. I share that because, my friend told me later, how much he regretted not telling his co-worker that Jesus was the reason he didn’t look at porn. My friend said, “Because I didn’t mention Jesus, my co-worker just felt like I was just being self-righteous and superior. It would’ve been a great opportunity to tell him about a lot of the other changes Jesus had made in my life, too. But I blew it.”
Yeah, we are Christ’s witnesses, not just by doing right things but, by telling others about Jesus and all He has done for us and the changes He has made in us, and about our faith and trust in Him.
I remember getting pulled over for speeding and telling the police officer I was sorry for speeding and thanking him for pulling me over and encouraging me to obey the law. I remember being given 13 cents too much change at check-out and coming back to give the cashier back the extra money. I remember someone in our community who didn’t like my preaching about sexuality threatening me that some day it would be illegal to preach “the hate I preach”. And I remember telling him that I would then have to preach it in jail, and I would take my imprisonment as a sign from Jesus that He needed me there in jail to love the other prisoners and share Jesus with them. The police officer, the cashier, and the fellow in our community were all stunned by my actions, and those instances provided me opportunities to tell them about our wonderful Savior.
You see, we are Christ’s witnesses when we do what the Scriptures say God says is right, even if that might get us into trouble with the laws of the land, and acting honestly and rightly in all our dealings.
Of course, we are Christ’s witnesses when we invite others to Worship or Sunday School or Youth Group or Bible Study, too. We are Christ’s witnesses when we help our friends understand that they are sinners in need of a savior. We are Christ’s witnesses when we help those same friends look to Jesus to be that savior. We are Christ’s witnesses when we introduce ourselves as a Christian and offer to pray for someone in need. We are Christ’s witnesses when we ask Christ’s blessing on the different ones we meet. We are Christ’s witnesses whenever and however we draw peoples’ attention to Christ and their need for Him.
Don’t get me wrong, Anti-Christ, the Beast, all who stand against the Lord Jesus want to keep us quiet. Unbelievers who have great power here in the world and unbelievers who are nobodies both want to silence us: They want our witness dead! And The Revelation pictures for us a day when all Christians will be silenced, our witness dead. But that day is not today, witnesses of Christ!
And if we are faithful to the End, when He comes He will call us to Himself, even from death. And we will never have to leave Him again…

Introduction
If you’ve been reading along with us through the New Testament this year you know we’re well-into The Revelation to John.

John is imprisoned on a Roman prison-island on account of his believing Christ to be King, even over the Roman emperor, Caesar, and for preaching and teaching and sharing that faith publicly. Revelation says that John received this revelation on “the Lord’s Day” (so it is either Saturday night or Sunday morning – because John was a Jew and Jews marked days with the evening coming first, then the daytime. And the Lord’s Day was Saturday night or Sunday, the day Jesus rose from the dead).
Revelation tells us that John is worshiping: He’s “in the Spirit”, we read. So, John is experiencing a time of deep communion and fellowship with God – (right there while he’s on that prison-island, a deep time of fellowship with God) – and John is given a vision: A series of visions, really. (Revelation is a series of visions told one after the other.) And John writes these visions down.

In these visions, the glorified Jesus reveals Himself to John. Jesus speaks in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and reveals to John that He is always with His Church, walking among us. Jesus reveals to John that He is both the “One like a Son of Man” from the Prophet Daniel’s vision – the Eternal King, and that He is also “the Ancient of Days” from that same vision – One with God the Father All-mighty!
The Lord Jesus reveals to John that He has His hand of authority and blessing upon all those who proclaim His message through preaching, teaching, and prophesying. And the Lord shows John that the Word of God is always on His lips and coming forth from His mouth. Jesus reveals to John that He brought about the Beginning and that He, likewise, will consummate the End. And that His dying and having come back from being dead proves that He alone of all people can grant life to the dead and grant new life to those who are living, but since they are living their lives apart from God, might as well be dead!
The Lord Jesus dictates letters to seven churches, churches that were going through different degrees of persecution in what was then known as the Roman Province of Asia, what we now call Turkey. But there were many more churches in that region than just those seven, so we know that those churches must have been representative to the Lord: Him writing to them on behalf of all the other churches across the Empire, and now history, who were in the same situations like them. (And so churches can say, “We’re going through an Ephesian-time right now,” or, “we’re going through a Laodicean-season right now.” And you can read those letters from chapter 2 and chapter 3 to see what it means to be going through “an Ephesian-time” or “a Laodicean-season”.) (Someone recently likened our church to the Philadelphian church, which is quite a compliment in many ways. I hope that was spiritually-discerned and true. ?)
And then the Lord calls John, in the Spirit, in this vision He’s having, up into the heavenlies. And that brings us to our reading for this morning…

The Revelation 4:1-11 [NLTse]
Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in Heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” 2 And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in Heaven and Someone sitting on it. 3 The One sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled His throne like a rainbow. 4 Twenty-four thrones surrounded Him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God. 6 In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal.
In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. 7 The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. 8 Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—the One Who always was, Who is, and Who is still to come.”
9 Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the One sitting on the throne (the One Who lives forever and ever), 10 the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the One sitting on the throne (the One who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say,
11 “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For You created all things, and they exist because You created what You pleased.”

Sermon
There’s lots that can be said about the heavenly Tabernacle, which is what John’s been called up into here, but I’d like us to focus today on the 24 elders, and how they lay their crowns before God’s throne and sing Him songs and worship Him…
These 24 elders, who represent the 24 divisions of priests who took turns leading worship at the Temple in Jerusalem, also represent all of those who’ve lived by faith in Christ: Those from among the Twelve Tribes of Israel who lived and ministered and preached in expectation of Jesus’ coming, alongside Jesus’ Own Twelve Apostles and all who’ve lived, ministered, and preached the faith since.

And these 24 elders – representative of all the saints who’ve gone before us into Heaven – are dressed in white (representative of Jesus’ righteousness that covers their sins) and they wear golden crowns that, as we’ve read, they lay before the throne of God when they worship Him.
There are two types of “crowns” in Revelation: There are “crowns” that represent victory called stephanos (like the victor’s crowns given to athletes in ancient times) and there are “crowns” that represent rulership called diademos (where we get the word “diadem” and they are like the crowns kings and queens wear).
The elders wear stephanos, crowns of victory.

Overcoming, achieving victory, is a big thing across Revelation. It’s a big thing everywhere. Nobody wants to be a loser. Everybody wants to win! (Have you ever played “King of the Mountain”? “King of the Mountain” is a game played on a huge pile of dirt, usually on a construction site. And everybody runs up the dirt pile to get to the top, but only one person gets to be “king”, so to do so you have to throw everybody else off! And the whole game is everybody trying to get to the top and, once there, to stay on the top.) So, if you’ve ever played “King of the Mountain” you know that there can only be one person at the top. And with the Olympics so recently behind us, we know that only one person gets the gold.
And here we have 24 elders all wearing “victors crowns”, because “victory” to God is very different than “victory” here in the world.

“Victory” in God’s eyes is achieved when a person works hard for the sake of the gospel – at school, at work, among your family or your community, here at church. “Victory” in God’s eyes is you and I patiently enduring opposition to our faith in Christ: People making fun of us, saying and doing hurtful things to us because we’re Christians. That’s “victory” in God’s eyes. When we don’t tolerate evil going on around us, if we can help it, that’s “victory” to God.
“Victory” in God’s eyes is our striving to keep our love for Him fresh and new; striving to do what we do on account of loving Jesus, that’s what “victory” looks like in God’s eyes.

“Victory” in God’s eyes is being loyal to Jesus, no matter what; obeying Him, no matter what; no matter what our family members or friends say or do, no matter what our schools or workplaces say or do, no matter what our government says or does.

And “victory” in God’s eyes doesn’t mean always getting it right! We can have “victory in Jesus” even while we’re messing up! Because “victory” to God is repenting, too. It’s admitting that we’re sinners, it’s acknowledging our sins, it’s asking forgiveness for those sins, being sorry, and then trying again to get it right next time. That’s “victory” in God’s eyes!
“Victory” in God’s eyes is not looking to our own purity or depending on our own righteousness or thinking we can understand it all just by working, studying, or trying harder. No, “victory” to the Lord is getting our purity from Jesus: No matter how broken or how dirty, Jesus can make us pure, if we come to Him. “Victory” in the Lord is knowing that our sin became Jesus’ sin on the cross, and that now Jesus’ righteousness has become our righteousness, if we believe. And “victory” in God’s eyes is our depending on the Holy Spirit to give us understanding about the things of God: Yes, doing our part to read and study and learn from those who know more than we do, but all the time knowing that only the Holy Spirit can light up our minds and make it all “click”!

And our reward, our “crown of victory” is sitting with Jesus on His throne, eating fruit from the Tree of Life, being absolutely forgiven and given a brand, new start, living knowing we are righteous in Jesus Christ, our name written with permanent-marker in the Book of Life, God protecting us from the times of testing and troubles coming upon the world, living as citizens of Heaven with God’s name and Jesus’ new name engraved upon us…
[Pastor Lifting up the bread…]
Feasting on bread from Heaven.
[Embracing the whole Table…]
Sharing a meal with Jesus as friends.

Worship Team: Would you come forward?
“Victory” in the world only goes to those who are the strongest, the fastest, the smartest, the richest, have the most influential family members or friends, the hardest workers, and the like… But in Christ everyone who’s faithful wins. Everyone who overcomes gets the “victor’s crown”! But Jesus gets the glory, and we lay it before Him as we worship Him:

1 John 5:1-12 [NLTse]

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves His children, too. ² We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey His commandments. ³ Loving God means keeping His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome. ⁴ For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. ⁵ And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

⁶ And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by His baptism in water and by shedding His blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, Who is truth, confirms it with His testimony. ⁷ So we have these three witnesses—⁸ the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. ⁹ Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about His Son. ¹⁰ All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about His Son.

¹¹ And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹² Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

Sermon

We called ourselves to Worship this morning talking about a false teaching about Jesus that had begun being taught around the early church, and we talked about a modern parallel to that false teaching that is still being promoted today. Let me share with you some other beliefs about Jesus that are being taught today.

Jews believe Jesus was a rabbi, but nothing more than a popular teacher Who was respected by His followers and opponents alike. They do believe that Jesus had supernatural powers and that He worked miracles, but they believe His power came from the devil, not from God. Jews believe that Jesus claimed to be their Messiah, the King of Israel, but that eventually His claim was proven wrong. Although they believe that Jesus was crucified, Jews deny that He was ever raised from the dead…

We’ve already shared a little bit about what Muslims think of Jesus, but let me add some things. Muslims do believe that Jesus was conceived by God and born of a virgin. Muslims revere Jesus as one of God’s most important prophets. They believe He was a divinely wise teacher and an apostle sent by God specifically to Israel. But they do not believe He was God. Muslims believe Jesus performed many miracles even from childhood, and they even believe He ascended bodily into Heaven. And they believe He will sit beside Allah during the Judgment. But as I mentioned earlier, they deny that He was ever crucified, saying it was an illusion or that Judas was crucified instead of Him and was mistaken for Him. (There are some Muslim denominations that believe Jesus was indeed crucified, but they believe He survived the cross and continued to preach and teach and perform great miracles across a long life.)

Baha’i Faith believes Jesus was one of many manifestations of God and one of many messengers God has sent across history to gradually reveal His truth. They believe Abraham, Muhammad, Buddha, Krishna, and Zoroaster were other manifestations and messengers. All that Christianity teaches about Jesus Baha’i Faith teaches about Jesus, too, including his virgin birth, having both divine and human natures, working miracles, being crucified for the sins of humanity, and being raised from the dead. However, Baha’i Faith also believes that all of this is true for all of God’s manifestations and messengers, as well.

Hindus believe Jesus was one of the many gods that inhabit the cosmos and that have revealed divine characteristics to humanity. They believe He lived and taught superior ethics, and revere Him as a teacher, as well.

Buddhists believe Jesus was an enlightened man, that is, One Who lived His life by self-sacrifice and showing compassion to those in spiritual need. The teachings of Jesus are highly respected by Buddhists, especially His teachings about loving neighbors and demonstrating kindness and forgiveness. The Dalai Lama even speaks of Jesus and Buddha as being equally holy and enlightened.

New Age believers have a variety of beliefs about Jesus but widely agree that Jesus was a wise moral teacher. In general, New Age believers see Jesus as Someone Who completed the process of “spiritual evolution” that they believe all human beings are called to attain. (They believe such “spiritual evolution” occurs over successive generations of reincarnation.) (But, if you remember my sermon from several weeks ago, we’ve seen that the Bible makes clear that reincarnation is not true.)

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus is God’s only direct creation, that everything else was created through Jesus Christ by means of God’s power. They believe Jesus served as a redeemer and a ransom-sacrifice to pay for the sins of humanity, consider Him to be the only intercessor and high priest between God and humanity, and believe that He has been appointed by God as the King and Judge of God’s Kingdom, but they also believe that references in the Bible to the Archangel Michael and Abaddon (or Apollyon) the Destroyer all refer to Jesus, as well.

Like Jehovah’s Witnesses and some others, Mormons believe that Jesus was/is a created being; that Jesus was first created as a spirit-being along with Satan. They believe He was born into humanity because He offered Himself to God to be humanities’ savior while Satan only offered to accuse humanity of all their sins. Mormons believe that Adam lived such a perfect life that he became God the Father. Likewise, they believe Jesus lived such a perfect life that He, too, was awarded deity, just as every human being can be.

So Jews believe Jesus was a great but deluded teacher, a demon-empowered miracle-worker, and a Messiah wanna-be who died on a cross 2,000 years ago. But in order to believe such things they are calling God a liar and they do not have eternal life.

Muslims believe Jesus was sent by Allah – God – to reveal God to humanity. But they don’t believe Jesus died for sins. Muslims believe He revealed Allah perfectly to us, but that we are still in our sins and needing to be perfectly righteous like Jesus was perfectly righteous in order to attain Heaven. But in order to believe such things they are calling God a liar and they do not have eternal life.

Baha’I Faith believe Jesus was just Who the Bible says He was and is, but so are all the other divine messengers and manifestations God has sent into the world across human history. But in order to believe such things they are calling God a liar and they do not have eternal life.

Hindus believe Jesus was one of many gods inhabiting the universe and one of many saviors. Buddhists and New Agers believe Jesus was an enlightened man, right alongside the Buddha himself. But they don’t believe Jesus died for sin. And in order to believe such things they are calling God a liar and they do not have eternal life.

Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t believe Jesus was God but He was the Archangel Michael born into humanity. And Mormons believe that Jesus achieved godhood by doing good works, just as any human being might do. But, again, in order to believe such things they are calling God a liar and they do not have eternal life.

But the Bible makes clear in our reading this morning from 1 John that “Jesus is the Christ”. He was not possessed by God’s Christ for a time, nor did He earn becoming the Christ by living a righteous life. He was not merely a good man, nor even a great man! And Jesus was not just God or even some angel or other spirit-being hidden in a human body. No, the eternal God the Son was born to be the Christ. He never stopped being God, and yet at the same time He was just a man, tempted with every temptation we face, except that He never gave in to sin. He is Jesus Christ: Jesus and the Christ are one. And John says that everyone who believes these things has become a child of God.

And this Jesus Christ has been revealed in His baptism, and He has been revealed in His crucifixion. The Holy Spirit baptized Him with water and the Spirit granting Him the grace to preach and teach and work all manner of wondrous miracles. And the Holy Spirit baptized Him with fire granting Him the grace to embrace and endure the cross, dying an agonizing and humiliating death; taking the sins of the world upon His shoulders and paying the penalty for them there. And the Holy Spirit raised Him from the dead as a testimony to these amazing truths. So, God Himself has testified about His Son, Jesus Christ, through His teaching, miracles, and coming back from the dead. (And those who don’t believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, are calling God a liar since God did these many signs and wonders through Jesus Christ to point the world to Him.)

Yes, God has given us a life that will last forever, but this life is only in His Son. If you have the Son (and you have Him if you believe in Him) you have this everlasting life. If you do not have the Son (and you do not have Him if you do not believe in Him) you do not have everlasting life.

And this Jesus Christ asks you and me today to answer this question: [to the congregation] “Who do you say that I am?”

2 Peter 3:1-13 [NLTse]

This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory. ² I want you to remember what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Savior commanded through your apostles.

³ Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. ⁴ They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”

⁵ They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the Word of His command, and He brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. ⁶ Then He used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. ⁷ And by the same Word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the Day of Judgment when ungodly people will be destroyed.

⁸ But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. ⁹ The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. ¹⁰ But the Day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.

¹¹ Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, ¹² looking forward to the Day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, He will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. ¹³ But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth He has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.

Sermon

We’ve been reading the New Testament together as a congregation here in 2016. A week ago we finished reading through 1 Peter and began 2 Peter, and this past week we finished 2 Peter and started on 1 John.

These are all letters from the apostles: Peter being Simon Peter; John being the John of “James and John”, who were brothers, and fishing partners of Peter. Peter even goes so far, at the beginning of 2 Peter, to remind everyone that he’s not writing to them about things he heard from someone else. He reminds us all – his readers – that he was on the mountain when the Lord Jesus was transfigured and met with Moses and Elijah! These aren’t legends, he tells us! These aren’t fables! These aren’t even the tall-tales of a fisherman! He was there. He saw it happen. He heard God speak, “This is My beloved. Listen to Him!”

There’s an intensity about 2 Peter. After reminding everyone that he was there – a personal witness to such wonders and glory as the Transfiguration – Peter writes, “Therefore, I will always remind you about these things—even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth you have been taught. And it is only right that I should keep on reminding you as long as I live. For our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that I must soon leave this earthly life, so I will work hard to make sure you always remember these things after I am gone.” (1:12-15)

History tells us that Simon Peter was crucified by the Roman government on account of living with the Lord Jesus as his king instead of Caesar. (“Caesar” was the royal title for the emperor in that day.) But Peter didn’t consider himself worthy to die the way the Lord Jesus did, so Peter asked if he could be crucified upside down.

In 2 Peter we see that the great apostle knows that this death is near, so he writes the letter as a last message to his followers, likely focusing on that which he believes to be most important for them to know and remember in the years to come when he’s gone. And what does Peter talk about? He warns them about false teachers.

Peter says, “There will be false teachers among you.” (2:1) So, it’s not a possibility, it is a guarantee. And notice that he says, “among you.” Peter is writing to the church, so he is not talking about New Age folks blogging or the leaders of other faiths on television. He is talking about people in the local church: False teachers will be the leaders and members of our local congregations!

You see, Satan is the counterfeiter. He has a false trinity and a false gospel being preached by false ministers that produces false Christians. And Satan plants his counterfeit-believers in the same place that God plants true believers: In the church.

You may think that such false teachers and Christians would be easy to spot in the church: Boldly twisting the Scriptures and speaking lies, on the one hand, or idiotic buffoons, on the other. But it’s never been that easy.

The famous 19^th Century Anglican Bishop J. C. Ryle recorded eight “symptoms” he’d been surprised to witness about false teachers in his day. He wrote:

“1. There is an undeniable zeal in some teachers of error – [and] their “earnestness” makes many people think they must be right.

“2. There is a great appearance of learning and theological knowledge [among false teachers] – many think that such clever and intellectual [people] must surely be safe to listen to.

“3. There is a general tendency to completely free and independent thinking today [Ryle writes] – many like to prove their independence of judgment by believing the newest ideas, which are [really] nothing but novelties.

“4. There is a wide-spread desire to appear kind, loving, and open-minded [in our day] – [and] many seem half-ashamed to say that anybody can be wrong or is a false teacher.

“5. There is always a portion of half-truth taught by modern false teachers – they are always using scriptural words and phrases, but with unscriptural meaning.

“6. There is a public craving for a more sensational and entertaining worship – people are impatient with the more inward and invisible work of God within the hearts of men [and that makes them susceptible to false teachers].

“7. There is a superficial readiness all around to believe anyone who talks cleverly, lovingly and earnestly, [as false teachers often do] forgetting that Satan often masquerades himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14).

“8. There is a wide-spread ignorance [concerning the Bible] among professing Christians – every heretic who speaks well is surely believed, and anyone who doubts [them are] called narrow-minded and unloving.”

Remember, Bishop Ryle said that in the 1800s when it took a huge amount of energy and effort to influence the masses. Messages were still mostly copied by hand, and teachers had to travel by foot or horseback. There were no cars or airplanes, websites, or Facebook pages. How much worse our situation today when just about every false teacher has a Twitter account!

Even so, just about anybody can recognize the difference between a true and false teacher and a true and false believer, if you really want to.

Faithful teachers and Christians tend to point their hearers to the Bible so we can see for ourselves what they are preaching and teaching. False teachers and Christians tend to want you to take their word for whatever they are promoting, often basing their arguments or debate on sources other than the Bible, such as scientific studies or popular opinion polls or the words and writings of well-known leaders.

For the true teacher and Christian, the Lord Jesus is at the center of life, truth, and absolutely necessary for salvation. For the false teacher and Christian, Jesus may seem important, but a careful listening shows other people, leaders, and ways of life also being critical or available for purpose and fullness of life, and that in truth, Jesus is out on the margins or only one savior among many.

The true teacher and Christian preaches and teaches to show and lead others out of slavery to sin and self-condemnation. The false teacher and Christian is a slave to sin and is stuck justifying or rationalizing what they do and why.

The true teacher and believer pursues and calls others to pursue goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love in all things and at all times. The false teacher and Christian is marked by arrogance and slander. “Trained in greed” and with “eyes full of adultery”, Peter writes. Eventually it becomes clear that for them it’s all about money, sex, and/or power.

Ultimately, the Lord Jesus tells us that we can always know the difference between true teachers and false teachers and true believers and counterfeit believers by their lives: “By their fruit you will know them,” Jesus said. So, do they remind you of Jesus? Do they stir up in you love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, trustworthiness, gentleness, and self-control? Do their lives reflect these qualities? Because these are the qualities that the Holy Spirit produces and spreads in a person’s life and through a person’s influence. So, if you don’t see these qualities in them or growing in you on account of their influence, then false seeds, foreign seeds, other seeds are being sown there and “Listener and Follower: Beware!”

Of course, the very best way to know the counterfeit is to master the original. So, read and keep reading your Bibles. (Even if it’s just a headings-worth to start with each day, or, of course, join us in reading the rest of the New Testament. This week’s readings are on the inside flap of our Bulletins.) Think about whatever you are reading and put it into practice in your lives. By doing so you will grow not only in the knowledge but also in the grace, of Jesus.