Bethesda's Gate on the Sabbath, by John.

At Bethesda’s Gate on the Sabbath.
John 5:1-16

1. Here Jesus was at Bethesda’s Gate on the Sabbath. Actually we are talking about a pool called "Bethesda" in Aramaic next to the Sheep Gate.
2. The usual crowd was there. The sick and the halt and the lame, and probably everyone who passed by looked the other way, or paid no attention at all.
3. A man who had been an invalid for 38 years lay there, and Jesus beheld him.
4. It did not seem like a place where something great would happen. It was just a run-of-the-mill kind of relief from the heat of the town.
5. Every person there was had his mind set on getting well. We don’t know whether it was true that an angel rippled the water, and that signaled healing for somebody, or not, but they thought it did.
6. A vagrant breeze might have stirred the water, and perhaps someone was healed in one way or another.
7. There had to be a reason for people to keep coming, and there had to be a good reason for a man to be right there for 38 years!
(1) People lose hope easily, don’t you think?
(2) I know that sometimes it is very hard for me to believe God is going to answer my prayers.
(3) Don’t you have that same trouble? Or don’t you know someone who does?
8. People must have been healed during those 38 years!

I. Jesus know us, and He knows our needs.

1. I believe He knew that man was there. I believe He went there to find that man. I believe God was glorified by this miracle, or semeon.
2. Jesus looked at the man, and that caught his attention.
(1) Jesus asked, “Do you want to get well?”
(2) That seems to be an unnecessary obvious question, doesn’t it?
(3) I think Jesus asked it to get the man’s mind fixed on the problem!
3. The man already was focused on getting well, but apparently he could see only one way for that to happen. He didn’t intend to, but he was limiting God in his mind! There’s nothing wrong with “one way” as long as it is God’s way!
4. v8, Jesus gave him 3 commands: Get up, take up your mat, and walk.
5. This man had not walked in 38 years! But he did as Jesus told him.
6. Was belief involved in this? I think so, but the account does not say so.
(1) Believe me, people, Jesus can do anything!
(2) That means He can heal whether we believe or not!
(3) He requires us to believe in Him to receive eternal life, but the fact that He is our Creator says to me that He could save us whether we believed or not!
(4) As I said, I believe the man looked at Jesus, and he believed instantly!
7. He was immediately and completely healed!
8. That makes it necessary to say, God heals the way He wants to. It may be immediate, or it may take a while. (ill. The ten lepers, Luke 17:11. The blind man that had to wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam, John 9:7).

II. This happened on the Sabbath, v.9.

1. It seems like the Jews were always nitpickers, and they watched this man carrying his mat.
2. Their immediate reaction was, “It’s unlawful for you to carry your mat on the Sabbath!”
(1) They probably did not know who he was.
(2) They probably didn’t know he had been at the pool day and night for years!
(3) I think it is a foregone conclusion that they considered him like a piece of furniture in the house. You don’t notice it until it is moved!
3. v.11, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
(1) v.12, They wanted to know who that guy was!
(2) v13, The man did not know who it was.
4. v14, Later, Jesus found him! Oh! That is so important for us to notice! The man wanted to know who Jesus was, but it was Jesus who hunted him up!
(1) Jesus always finished the work He started!
(2) You can count it, Jesus will finish the work He has started in you!
5. v14, Jesus told him another important thing: “Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”
(1) If God saves us, and our lives don’t change, worse things may happen to us than we have ever experienced! That doesn’t mean that we will be lost. It does mean that we can experience hell on earth when we are out of God’s will! It also shows God is working (Romans 8:28) for our good!
(2) That’s why Jesus gave him the warning.
6. v15, The man did what it is natural for a Christian to do.
(1) He told everybody that it was Jesus who made him well!”
(2) That’s what God wants every new and old Christian to do!
7. We’ve told the story, now let’s be sure we get the important things.

III. The important things are:

1. It was no accident Jesus healed this man on the Sabbath.
(1) The Jews misunderstood God’s intention for their Sabbath.
(2) They put a holy day above the need of their needy brethren!
(3) In Mt. 12:12, Jesus said, “It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.”
2.. This man needed help for 38 years! And no one attempted to help him!
3. Jesus always saw what others refused to even look at, or consider!
4. The man was trying to be healed.
(1) If you see someone trying to do good things to be saved, do you help him find the right way?
(2) If you see someone who thinks he is right, and you know he is wrong do you seek a way to reveal the truth to him?
4. Jesus healed the man even though he was trying to be healed the wrong way.
(1) This man did not love Jesus!
(2) He was going the wrong way!
(3) Jesus turned him around in a moment!
(4) Does that sound strange? Jesus did the same thing with the Apostle Paul!
5. Jesus told us that we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. He told us that anyone in need is our neighbor! Jesus carried out right here what He told us to be true!
6. What’s important?
(1) People are more important than worship services!
(2) People are more important than Sabbath days.
(3) The love of Jesus crossed every boundary line humans set up. Race, Creed, Language, everything!

Conclusion:

1. We must open our eyes and look for the people who have real need!
2. When we find them, we need to call on our God to heal, save, or whatever that person needs regardless of skin color, position in society, religion, or the kind of language they use.
3. We need to visit them to show them we love them in Jesus!
4. We must put things in proper perspective.
(1) Your own relationship to God is most important.
(2) That means the relationship of others to God is also vitally important.
(3) All people are more important than any holy day observance, or any program.
5. Did you notice what this man did after he was healed? He told them Jesus did it! And that is what each of us needs to do.
6. If you haven’t gotten your own relationship with the Lord straightened out, then while we pray, you can simply say to your heavenly Father: Father, I’m a sinner. Save me! I’m giving myself to Jesus!

ECC 5/29/2005

Remember the Lord. by John

Remember The Lord
Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:15-22 (Have 3 people read these)

1. Let’s think about the Lord’s Supper, and what the different denominations believe. Please understand that I am not picking on anyone here. I’m just trying to give the facts as they are. I have no desire to hurt anyone. If I do, please forgive me! It is not intentional.
2. What did Jesus actually command His followers including us? 1) Believe. 2) Follow. 3) Make disciples. 4) Baptize, [part of “make disciples”]. 5) Love one another. 6) Abide in His Word continually.
3. Can you think of any other thing Jesus commanded us? I can’t.
4. From the early days, the church has recognized two ordinances, or commands of Jesus, to be carried out in the church on a continuing basis. (The Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, and others hold to a number of ordinances, but they have little to back up their specific doctrines in the Scripture.)
(1) The first is Baptism. (part of “make disciples.”)
(2) The second is the Lord’s Supper, Communion, or Mass according to the denomination.
5. Let’s talk about the different views churches hold about the Lord’s Supper.

I. Most denominations hold one of three views about this event.

1. The church with the largest membership worldwide is the Roman Catholic, the second is Lutheran, so let’s look at their views first.
(1) Catholic doctrine says the bread becomes the body of Christ, and the wine becomes the blood of Christ. I’m not sure, but they may predicate their belief on John 6:51 and 55. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world...For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.” Most of us think Jesus was actually speaking of the spirit, not the flesh, right?
(2) This view is called “transubstantiation.” (define)
(3) Someone in their ranks apparently saw a wonderful way to keep people coming to church every week. He taught something like this: It takes 8 days for food to be consumed and completely used up by the body. That means that God is in you all the time if you attend Mass every week. If you miss a week, He is not.
(4) That should keep you coming to church if you believe that you can be lost, right?
2. When Luther came out of the Catholic Church a historian said that he came out like Lazarus came out of the tomb in John 11. He came out wrapped in grave clothes! He said that because Luther clung to some of the Catholic doctrines.
(1) Luther’s view of the Lord’s Supper is called “Consubstantiation.” That means the body and blood of Christ are present in the bread and wine in some mystical way, but the nature of the bread and wine does not change.
(2) Luther believed that anyone who trusted Jesus was saved forever!
(3) His basic tenet appears three times in the Bible. The best known is Romans 1:17, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
3. The third view is Biblically correct as far as I can tell. It is symbolic.
(1) The body and blood of Jesus are symbolized by the bread and wine.
(2) Jesus did not command us to make a rite out of this event. He just commanded us to do it!
(3) If it was to be a rite, the Passover should be included. (They were celebrating the Passover when this occurred, and the crucifixion followed closely afterward during the Passover week.
(4) Jesus told the disciples to remember Him whenever they did this. (Passover? For them, yes. For us, we ought to think of Jesus and His payment for our sins every time we eat and drink!)
4. These are the three major views of the Lord’s Supper.
5. Our celebration at church should just help us remember Jesus at mealtime all the time!

II. Other things should come before the Lord’s supper for Christians.

1. Our relationship to our heavenly Father is more important.
2. Our relationship to Him through Jesus is paramount. Unless we come to the Father through Jesus, we never get there!
3. The things I mentioned earlier should come before the Lord’s supper, but everything in Christianity is vital to a person’s life. That reminds me of MT. 23:23, 24, “Woe to you teacers of the law and Pharisees, you hyposcrites! You give a tenth ofr your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”
4. Let me repeat those things: 1) Believe. 2) Follow. 3) Make disciples. 4) Baptize. 5) Love one another. 6) Continually abide in His Word.
5. These are more important than any physical act.
6. If we don’t do these things, we will not have much reason to remember Jesus with the Lord’s Supper!
7. All six of these things are vital to Christian life! And Christianity is not a life-style. It’s a life! (A life-style is what you choose to make it. Christianity results from a choice, but God decides what it is to be, and is, and He is the One Who gives us life.)
8. Our relationship with Him through Jesus is all-important!

III. Other questions arise about the Lord’s Supper.

1. One of the first questions to arise is, Who should take the Lord’s Supper?
(1) Everyone! Is my answer!
(2) That’s my answer because I believe there is no other God but the Lord God Who sent His Son to die for us! And everybody needs to know Him!
(3) It’s a wonderful time for you to give yourself to the Lord!
2. Should sin keep us away from the table?
(1) No! Consider I John 1:8, 9, 10! We are presently sinners!
(2) It should remind us to confess our sins to God so that He will forgive them, and He will, immediately!
3. Do you have to be a member of this church to take the Lord’s Supper with us?
(1) The SBC rules of faith and practice say that you must be a member of a church like this one.
(2) Some churches say that you must be a member of that particular church.
(3) My personal belief is that such a stand is another attempt to divide the good people from the bad people, or simply put to make it exclusive. I believe it should be open to everyone, and that the person should decide what to do.
(4) I won’t break fellowship with any Christian because they have a different viewpoint to mine!
4. If you are lost, and you take the Lord’s Supper, will it save you?
(1) We’ve already covered that, but let’s once again say, No! It is a symbolic act that should say to others that our trust is in Jesus, but it will not make us into Christians.
(2) The fact that it is open to you should remind you that salvation through the shed blood of Jesus is open to you right now, and you can become a Christian without anyone’s help by simply committing your life to Jesus and asking Him to save you.

Conclusion:

1. When we have the Lord’s Supper, we can do just about the same things that Jesus did with His disciples. We don’t need any kind of ritual, or any kind of churchly overtones, or stringent do’s and don’t’s.
2. It should be a spiritual remembrance of the price Jesus paid for our salvation, and it should show a renewed commitment to Him.
3. We should remember Jesus every time we eat or drink and remember that our heavenly home in eternity is not something we deserve, but something we receive by God’s grace!
4. If you have not committed your life to Jesus, you can do it while we pray right now.

ECC May 22, 2005

How Am I Like Jesus? by John

How Am I Like Jesus?
John 4:27-38

1. Tell the story. Jesus hot, thirsty, tired and in need of rest. Stops at the well of Sychar. The disciples had strength to go on to the city to buy food.
(1) Why did Jesus stop? Were the disciples stronger than He was?
(2) Was He exercising His authority by having them wait on His needs?
(3) Or did Jesus have something more important to do that had to be done right there?
2. There’s no doubt in my mind Jesus knew there was an adulteress here. He knew this poor woman was coming. He planned to meet her. She needed what He had to give.
3. I think we ought to be able to see clearly the driving force of Jesus’ life on earth right here in this Scripture. Let’s read vv 27-38. (Read Scripture here)
4. In v 34 Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work,” and in v 35, He said the time was short!
5. This week I have been agonizing over the question, ”How am I like Jesus?” Would you dare commit a little time right now to considering that?
6. How are you like Jesus?

I. TO DETERMINE THAT, WE MUST KNOW BY EXPERIENCE WHY GOD SENT JESUS.

1. You wouldn’t have to leave this Scripture for an answer, unless you were exceptionally hardheaded.
(1) It’s obvious here, Jesus was doing the Father’s will.
(2) It’s obvious He changed this woman’s life, not just her life style.
(3) God’s will for Jesus involved helping people know the Father, right?
(4) That’s still His work, and that’s what we are here to do today and every day we live, right?
2. John 3:16 states it so plainly, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
(1) God’s love for us caused Him to send Jesus to us so that we might have eternal life with Him!
(2) He didn’t come as an ambassador just to tell us God loves us.
a. He came to die for us so we won’t have to die for ourselves!
b. He died for our sins in our place.
3. It would be tempting for any human being who was going to die as an innocent sacrifice to say, “Hey! I’m going to die for you, so you owe me! You take care of my every whim until my time to die comes, or else I won’t die for you!
4. Jesus wasn’t just any human being!
(1) He was, and is the only begotten Son of God!
(2) He lived just like He died!
(3) His purpose never changed!
5. How much like Jesus are you?
(1) Are you living to help people know the Father?
(2) Do you expect people to reward you for your goodness?
(3) Does your commitment to the Father change from time to time?
(4) In short, can God count on you?
6. One of the most marvelous things about God’s love for us is, even when we fail, He doesn’t berate or condemn us, He just helps us get started again.
7. How much like Jesus are you?

II. TO DETERMINE THAT, WE MUST KNOW HOW HE FEELS ABOUT PEOPLE.

1. Hungry, thirsty, tired, Jesus waited for this street walking woman to tell her that God loves her.
(1) From her Jewish parent (She was probably half Jew) she knew mentally God loved her.
(2) Knowing how Jews felt about Gentiles and half-breeds, she probably had strong doubts about God’s love.
(3) Her way of making a living, selling her body, was enough to convince her she was beyond God’s love.
2. Jesus waited patiently at the right place until the right time to tell her God loved her just like she was!
3. That’s how Jesus felt about people when He was on earth, and He hasn’t changed! That’s just how He loves people now!
4. We should thank God every day there is no sin so big that Jesus won’t love us if we’ve committed it!
5. Let’s just mention some examples of the love of Jesus.
(1) Jesus loved Lazarus enough to call him out of a tomb. John 11:1ff.
(2) He loved Zachaeus enough to call him out of a tree. Luke 19:2ff
(3) He loved the man born blind enough to heal him, and enough to wait around until He could tell Him how to be saved. John 9:1ff.
(4) He loved the woman with an issue of blood enough to allow her to interrupt Him on the way to raise Jairus’ daughter, and enough to heal her even though she touched only the fringe of His robe! Mark 5:45ff, Luke 8:43ff.
6. The New Testament is filled with references to how much Jesus loves people.
7. How much are you like Him? How much do you love?

III. CAN I BE MORE LIKE JESUS?

1. Sure! But we need to get things lined out straight.
(1) You have to know Him to be like Him.
a. That takes a personal commitment.
b. A personal commitment to Him takes faith.
c. Underlying that is sincerity. You have to really mean it when you commit yourself to Him.
(2) One commitment to Jesus should be enough by our way of thinking, but it never is.
a. In I Cor 15:31 Paul said, “I die daily.”
b. He referred to the result of his commitment to Jesus!
c. In v 34, he told the Corinthians to “stop sinning” because some of them had no knowledge of God!
2. Do you know Jesus? You can’t be like Him until you know Him, and you’ll slip away into the outer darkness unless your commitment to Him is real, consistent and true.

conclusion:

1. How much am I like Jesus?
(1) How well I see the truth about myself is determined first by whether I know why the Father sent Jesus, or not.
(2) The Father sent Him to save human beings.
2. How much am I like Jesus?
(1) Everything He did showed how much He loved us, all of us, in our sins, and in our salvation.
(2) How much do you love the people around you, the people Jesus loved?
(3) That kind of love comes only from Jesus, but He will instill His love in you when you let Him.
3. Will you commit yourself to Jesus?
(1) Will you invite Him to change you?
(2) Will you invite Him to fill you with His love for other people?
(3) Will you commit yourself to Him, to follow His will, to witness to the whole world His loving, saving power?
4. The old Chinese proverb is, “The longest journey starts with a single step.
(1) Will you take a single step for Jesus?
(2) Commit your life to Him right now.
(3) Commit yourself to witness to everyone everywhere.
4. You can do it while we pray.


ECC 05/15/2005

Waterpots and Wine, John 2:1-11 by John

Waterpots and Wine
John 2:1-11

1. The Scripture sets up the scene for us. John would have been a good reporter. He gives the facts for a good news story, and that’s what this is, a Good News story! It answers the 5 “W” questions, Who, What, When, Where, Why.
(1) Who was there? The wedding party that included Mary the mother of Jesus, Jesus and his disciples plus many others important to the bride and groom.
(2) The event? A wedding.
(3) The time? Tuesday. The First Miracle Jesus performed, the formal beginning of His ministry to save the people of the world.
(4) The place? Cana of Galilee.
(5) What is the significance of it? Well, that’s what we are about to look into!
2. This is the first of six signs in the Book of John. It’s a miracle. And it was done for the people present.
3. Did I use the word, “sign?” Yes, I did. Didn’t Jesus say no sign would be given to that untoward generation, except the sign of the prophet Jonah? Yes, He did. Then why is “sign” used here in v. 11? First this sign was not for the unbelieving Jews. Second, it was for His disciples, and for all who believe after that. Third, it was to help out this bridegroom who invited Him. (God answers prayer, but in His grace and mercy, he does do things for people that they never prayed about.)
3. There are a number of possible applications we could make from this miracle.
(1) It would be easy to dismiss it as a pleasant experience for the guests of this wedding. I believe I’ve heard one minister do that.
(2) We could use it to point out that Jesus was human, and He had compassion on this poor groom who ran short on wine. Maybe more people came than he expected or perhaps the people drank more than he expected. There’s truth in that.
(3) We could use it to prove that Mary controlled Jesus even after He was grown, and that we should ask Mary to help us get our prayers answered. (People have certainly used this that way. I believe that is wrong.)
(4) We could use this as proof that God wanted and expected people to drink alcohol as a beverage, and it has been used that way, but there is little support for that.
4. Certainly there is a greater message in this event than any of these things indicate, don’t you think? I do.
5. Let’s consider this whole event.

I. This is the first act that showed Jesus’ glory. V 11.

1. Jesus already knew Who He was. There are at least two views about that, perhaps three.
(1) Philippians 2:7 tells us Jesus emptied Himself of all godliness when He came to earth. Some think that means that He didn’t know that He was the only begotten Son of God. (I believe that is wrong.)
(2) Others believe that He knew, but that He did not know the details.
(3) Still others believe Jesus was wideawake and aware that He was God’s Son even when He was a tiny baby, and that He did miracles when He was playing. One early account tells about Jesus forming a dove out of clay, throwing it up in the air, and watching it change into a live bird and fly away.
(4) I agree with the second view. I think Jesus had to give up some of His knowledge in order to be completely human, and in order for Him to suffer as a human being for our sins.
(5) Ultimately, we don’t need to know which is right. That was, and is, in God’s hands. I do believe God the Father would have told us if He wanted us to know the details.
2. The important thing for us to have in mind is that this act reveals the true nature, the true glory of Jesus our Lord!
3. (Retell the story). Isn’t that glorious?

II. Everyone involved was blessed by His act.

1. v. 9. The bridegroom received the commendation from the master of the banquet who didn’t know where the wine came from.
2. I think the bridegroom was as surprised as the master of the banquet. I don’t think he knew about the water being turned into wine.
3. V 9 He did not deserve the thanks.
4. Someone should have thanked Mary. She was the one who steered the servants to Jesus.
5. The bridegroom himself should have found out where that wine came from, and he should have thanked Jesus, but there is no record that he did.
6. God sends the rain on both the just and unjust. If you are blessed, others around you will be, too.

III. This miracle caused His disciples to put their faith in Him. (That was a great blessing to them!)

1. V 11. The disciples put their faith in Jesus right there. (That does not mean they became full-grown Christians on the spot! It means that they were now on the road to becoming the men God wanted them to be!)
2. v. 11. Ever so often someone says, “I just don’t have any faith!” That’s a wrong statement.
(1) Everyone has faith! Would you go to bed tonight if you knew you were going to die before daylight? Or would you do something else that you really wanted to do?
(2) Are you going to bed tonight? You have faith!
(3) The faith you have may be in the wrong things, but you have it.
3. The question we should ask ourselves is, “Where have you put your faith?”
3. If it is anywhere other than in Jesus, you have missed God’s way! And heaven is not your home!

IV. This whole thing is a beautiful allegory for Christians.

1. In an allegory everything stands for something else. A good example of an allegory is in II Samuel 12:1ff. (read it).
2. In John 2, the wine represents the joyful, saving power of Jesus.
(1) He is the only One Who could turn (this doubtlessly impure) water into fine, pure wine!
(2) He can do the same with you and me. He can make us clean and honorable tools to serve the Heavenly Father.
3. The servants represent Christians who deliver the Gospel message to others.
(1) It is not their message. It’s God’s.
(2) They have no special power. It’s God’s power.
(3) They aren’t really special people either. Paul referred to himself using the word, “doulos,” or bond-slave of Jesus!
4. The message is for everyone, but only those who recognize their need will receive it!
5. The guests represent all of those invited to trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
(1) It’s reasonable to believe some of the guests did not drink any of the wine maybe for religious reasons.
(2) It’s reasonable to believe there were people who were not at the banquet because they refused the invitation!
6. Whatever the reason, those who didn’t drink the wine were not blessed by it.
7. The point is that those of us today who do not receive Jesus miss out on the salvation of the Lord.

Conclusion:

1. Everything God does is miraculous. That’s why the disciples recognized Jesus as God and put their faith in Him.
2. Are we so blind that we can’t see God’s magnificent handiwork around us every day?
3. What He does is always good for us providing we accept it! A gift not received remains in the donor’s hand! The one who refuses is not blessed by it!
4. We need not be concerned about minor details in God’s Word. What we need is to realize that we have the power to become children of God! Remember what John 1:11-13 says, “He came to that which was his own (Israel), but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent, not of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
5. You have faith in something. You can have it in God’s Good News, and Jesus gives you the right to become God’s son or daughter. Are you willing?
6. You can put your trust in Him and be saved while we pray.

Emmanuel 5/8/2005