Jesus is the Door of the Sheep, by John.

JESUS IS THE DOOR OF THE SHEEP
John 10:7-10

1. The title for this message is, “Jesus is the door of the sheep.”
(1) If you are reading the NIV, vv 7,9 say Jesus is the gate for the sheep.
(2) The Greek word for “gate” here is, thura, usually translated door, but gate is also an acceptable translation.
(3) The word usually translated gate is pule. It generally refers to something large and strong like the gates of the city. It is not used at all in the
Gospel of John.
2. I like “door” here because of the connotation.
(1) Gates are generally opened and closed at certain times on a regular basis, and closed and locked when enemies are attacking.
(2) A “door” is something we generally travel through at will, opening and closing it as we please, but only those can pass through to whom God gives the right.
(3) I think Jesus may have had that idea in mind when He said, “I am the door of the sheep!” (KJV)
3. Bill Gates developed Microsoft Windows and became the world’s richest man. He popularized the use of “windows.” That seems to have replaced “door” in much of our thinking. i.e. “Windows of opportunity.”
4. I think there is a close correlation between the NT use of door, and our present use of window.
(1) Barnabas and Paul told the people in Antioch how God had “opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, “ (Acts 14:27)
(2) Paul told the Corinthians (1Co 16:9) “I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me.”
(3) 2 Co 2:12) “I...found that the Lord had opened a door for me.”
(4) Don’t these sound more like the “windows of opportunity” we speak of today?
5. But we are interested this morning with Jesus saying “I am the door of the sheep.”

I. JESUS IS THE DOOR BY WHICH WE ACCESS HEAVEN

1. What would you expect to find if I opened this door? (to the hall).
(1) One of the oldest tricks of comedy is to have someone open a door with a solid wall on the other side.
(2) That seems funny to us because doors are made to pass through, and a door to nowhere is absurd!
(3) If we’ve seen it before, it loses a lot of its punch, and it should: It’s absurd!
2. BUT, Jesus is the Door to Somewhere!
(1) W.A.Criswell’s Bible has a note on v. 7. It says Jesus didn’t say He was the door of the sheepfold because that would mean he was in charge of an organization. He is in charge of sheep and their lives!
(2) We have access to the heavenly Father through Jesus.
(3) The awesome power of God delivered in the person of His Holy Spirit comes through Jesus!
(4) Our hoped for destination is heaven with God, and Jesus is the entrance through which we must pass to get there!
3. Oh yes! He’s the Door to Somewhere, never a door to nowhere!

II. GAINING HEAVEN BY THE DOOR IS THE ONLY WAY.

1. A leader becomes a thief and a robber when he tries to provide heaven any other way. Look at vv 1,2. Only the Good Shepherd can use the door to the sheepfold!
2. God has provided all that we need in Jesus, and we have no right to try to take heaven any way except as His gift of love!
3. Even so, the world is full of people who offer all sorts of manmade, surefire plans to insure heaven, but Jesus tells us explicitly, He is the only Door to heaven. You come by Him or not at all!
4. This may be offensive to Jews. If it is, I’m sorry, but I have to tell the truth as I see it in the Bible. (This shouldn’t be any more offensive than their doctrine which rejects Jesus. They say Jesus is not the only born Son of God. If Paul believed that, he would never have been in trouble with the leaders of Israel! And he never would have spread the Good News!)
5. When we drove to Florida, we took the Florida Turnpike. In 200 miles, we paid about $15.00. A nice thing about the door to heaven is there is no turnstile where you have to pay your way! Access is free!
6. Speaking of freedom, when Jesus said “I am the door” He was saying:

III. PASSING THROUGH THE DOOR SETS YOU FREE.

1. When a preacher says that, he usually adds “from the law of sin and death!” That’s true, but did you notice His sheep go in an out to find pasture, and they find it!
2. The doorkeeper recognizes the Shepherd’s voice, and He opens the door for the sheep. (We seem to have mixed metaphors here, but not really. Let’s explain it this way. The doorkeeper opens for Jesus, and then He becomes our Door! We are one with Him. We can go in and out at will!
3. All your life somebody has told you what you have to do. You’re probably willing to admit most of the time its for your own good, but wouldn’t it be nice to move about unfettered? Wouldn’t you like to be so grown up, so adult, that nobody ever had to tell you what to do? That’s coming for the people who pass through the Jesus Door! Count on it!

Conclusion:

1. Jesus is our Door to Somewhere! Heaven is a final place, but in Jesus, we go in and out and find pasture. That’s real freedom.
2. Don’t be fooled by so-called religions and philosophies. They can not give you life! Jesus is the only One Who is in charge of Life!
3. The most marvelous thing about our Lord Jesus is He is really instant! We have instant puddings, instant frozen dinners, instant milk, but none of them are instant! They can only be considered instant when you compare them with the normal slowly prepared product! The moment you trust Jesus, you pass from death through the Door into Life! Now, that is instant, and you can do that right now! Trust Jesus!


ECC 8/28/2005

About Prophets, by John

Everyone in the U.S.A. beyond childhood is familiar with the word “prophet.” Not too many adults are very familiar with the word itself, it’s origin, and really to what it refers. I believe the only true prophets are those called by God to deliver His message to the people He created. Most anyone would surmise that the job of a prophet would be to prophesy, but that adds nothing to our understanding of the word, or to the office of prophet. Since I used the word office, I must also immediately add that men do not choose to prophesy, but prophets are called by God and gifted by His Spirit.
The word “prophecy” is transliterated from the Greek language with very little change. In Greek, the word is phonetically pronounced, “pro-FAY-tase.” It is used to translate three Old Testament words, “ro-EH,” “na-BVI” and “cho-SEH.” Roeh comes from a verb which means “to see” or “vision.” It refers to seeing what others may not have the spiritual ability to see, and therefore, to a trancelike state in which God’s message is revealed. Nabvi is probably the most used word for prophet. It comes from a word which means to speak or sing by inspiration, or to speak God’s message simply.
Abraham, Aaron, Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, and all of the prophets of the Old Testament were called Nabvi.
Choseh was used less frequently. It is derived from a word meaning “to see.” It deals with a person seeing and speaking out against the sinful actions of society in general, or an individual in particular. It is used in Isaiah 30:10. Isaiah gives the Lord’s message to the people telling them that they are rebellious and will not listen to God’s Law. The people told the prophets (choseh) not to prophesy, but to prophesy lies. I can’t think of another place that it is used.
According to 1 Samuel 9:9 Prophets (nabvi) were called seers (roeh) prior to that time, so it is natural that most of the usages in the Old Testament are nabvi.
Now let’s move to the New Testament for greater understanding. Some form of the word “prophet” is used 212 times in the New Testament, so it is a very important word to know well, and we should know some important truths about the person of a prophet. We have already said a generally accepted definition of a prophet is a person called by God to deliver a message to someone. Is that a good definition? Let’s examine it according to Scripture.
I see the end cycle of the Old Testament and the beginning cycle of the New Testament happens at the crucifixion of Jesus. Considered that way, most men and women called prophets and prophetesses in the Gospels were Old Testament prophets. They had either never seen Jesus, or they were seeing Him for the first time. In Matthew 1:20-23, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream. (Angel is “angelos” in Greek and simply means “messenger.” There is little reason for us to attach wings, haloes, etc. to them). He reminded Joseph of God’s message from Isaiah 7:14, which says that a young woman would conceive and bear a child and his name would be Immanuel (God with us).
The Hebrew word used in Isaiah could mean either “virgin” or “young woman.” The angel specified that Joseph name that child “Jesus.” Jesus means “Savior.” The angel also assured Joseph that Jesus was a child of the Holy Spirit. The Isaiah prophecy originally referred to any naturally born child after Isaiah prophesied. The message that went with the prophecy originally concerned two kings who were enemies of Israel. They would be dead before any child could be born and weaned! That would be approximately three years. In that prophecy, the mothers were married. In the application by the angel to Joseph, Mary, a virgin, fit Isaiah’s prophecy precisely.
That Scripture tells us something important about God’s prophecies. The people to whom this prophecy was given understood it exactly as it applied to them. It was fulfilled a second time when Jesus was born. The Jews of Isaiah’s day probably had no inkling that it would be. We must conclude that any of God’s prophecies may be fulfilled more than once! Beginning in Luke 2:25, Simeon and Anna meet the newborn baby Jesus. Simeon prophesied perhaps for the first time in his life, and it may have been a first time for Anna. Both of them are in the New Testament, but they were prophets under the Law before the crucifixion of Jesus. On the other hand, Philip’s four daughters in Acts 21:9 are stated to be prophetesses. Some believe this is a fulfillment of Joel 2:28, “Your sons and daughters shall prophesy.”
Paul deals with Spiritual Gifts in several of his epistles. Let’s consider I Corinthians 12 first. In verse 4, he tells us that the Holy Spirit is in charge of spiritual gifts, and in the next verses that God administers them! There may be some prophets who are not under God’s control, but they are not Christian, and they are not godly!
A good example of a lying prophet is in Jeremiah 28. Hananiah’s prophecies were lies. When the Lord gave Jeremiah a message with a wooden yoke on his neck as an object lesson, Hananiah took the yoke and broke it. He then prophesied victory over Nebuchadnezzar. That was opposite to God’s message, and God sent Jeremiah back to Hananiah with a message to him. He promised him that he would die before the year was finished. He died in the seventh month of that year.
A good example of a greedy prophet is Balaam in Numbers chapters 22-31. Balak followed the counsel of Balaam and caused the children of Israel to sin. The help he gave Balak caused him to be slain in 31:8.
2 Peter 2:1 says, “But there were also false prophets among the people just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves.” It is a dangerous thing to be a false prophet!
In verse 7, he tells us that the purpose of all of the Spirit’s gifts is the good of God’s people. Christian prophets cannot, and do not try, to call down curses on people. Nor do they judge people. Romans 2:1 applies to prophets just as much as it does to other people. When we judge, we are wrong because we are sinners ourselves.
Beginning in verse 8, the Spirit’s gifts are listed. In the order given, they are: Wisdom, Knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, different sorts of tongues and the interpretation of those tongues.
Hebrew writers and speakers always listed the most important things first and the others followed in their rank of importance. Tongues and interpretation of tongues comes last! Wisdom, knowledge and faith come first! Prophecy is fifth in the list! It is a wonderful thing to be a prophet, but wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing and miraculous powers rank higher as gifts of the Spirit. You will note that the order varies from this in the other lists as the importance of the gift changes according to the need.
Beginning in verse 12, Paul tells us that another important part of our knowledge about spiritual gifts, including prophecy, is that we are all part of the body of Christ, and spiritually we are just as closely connected as physical body parts are. Prophets do not stand alone! They are part of the body!
Since prophets are directed by God’s Spirit as they prophesy, prophets naturally have the fruit of the Spirit in their lives. Galatians 5:22-26 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” Prophet’s characters will show these fruits in their lives.
Romans 11:29 says, “For God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” When God calls a person to be a prophet, that person will always be a prophet! As a servant of God, Romans 12:1,2 says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
In Romans 12:6, a person’s use as a prophet is in direct proportion to his faith, and prophesying is first in this list. I believe that it is first here because a pastor of a church spends a lot of time preaching, and most of his preaching is prophetic according to the Old Testament words for prophecy. He sees what is wrong. He looks into the needs of the future, and his messages are filled with the Good News of Jesus, the need for confession, contrition, and forgiveness, and the need for preparation to serve the Lord both now and in the future. Whatever he does should show forth the love of Christ for His people!
Ephesians 4:11-13 gives another listing of God’s gifts. Apostles heads the list, then prophets, then evangelists, and then pastors and teachers. The sentence construction indicates that the last two may be one person, and I believe that is usually the case. Verses 12,13 tell us that all of these are to prepare God’s people for the work of Christ, to take them from spiritual infants to spiritual adults. There is a second list in I Corinthians 12:28. It is very similar to the one in Ephesians.
Taken altogether, I think we can safely conclude that a prophet is: 1) Called of God. 2) Has Christian character showing the fruit of the Spirit. 3) Looking out for the good of God’s people. 4) Humble. 5) Ready to deliver God’s message to the people to whom God wants to speak! The calling to be an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, a pastor, a teacher is irrevocable. God does not change His mind even though we sometimes may. Everything a prophet does must surely be done in the contagious love of Jesus.

A Man Born Blind by John.

A Man Born Blind.
John 9:1-41 (read 1-11)

1. Someone keeps bringing up the false doctrine featurered in this story. Stated simply, it is, Our sins cause all of our trouble.
2. Sins do result in trouble. If you break man’s laws, you pay mankind, but God’s laws are handled differently.
3. Jeremiah 17:9,10 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve”
4. II Cor. 6:17,18 says, “Come out from them and be separate says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
5. Our relationship with God is that of Father and child.
(1) Children learn as they grow. No one in his right mind expects them to be perfect all the time.
(2) When they aren’t perfect their father’s don’t shoot them, do they?
(3) If you think God does, then you think human fathers are better than our Heavenly Father!
(4) I guess the disciples were not well acquainted with the Father’s love yet, so they asked...
6. Who sinned? Was it this man, or was it his parents? They believed someone had to take responsibility for his being born blind!
7. What do you believe? When you have something bad happen to you, do you say God is out to get me!

I. This man was born blind to reveal God’s work in him.

1. Was this the worst thing that could happen to this man?
(1) No! He could have stayed blind.
(2) But being physically blind is better than being spiritually blind all of your life. The two can’t even be compared!
(3) Hell, eternal separation from God, is the final end of spiritual blindness!
2. This man endured his disability for his whole life to that point, but God gave him the gift of knowing Jesus personally for the rest of his earthly life, and for all eternity!
3. Now that is a real blessing! Amen?
4. We need to also realize that God has never promised us complete freedom from the ills of the earth!
5. Bad things do happen to good people! And God allows it!
6. Good things also happen to bad people, and God allows that!
7. Do you remember that in Mt 5:45 Jesus said, “He (the Father) causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
8. God is fair! He treats us all alike, and we should not blame our illnesses on our sins! Or God!
9. Is v 3 a contradiction to Romans 3:23? No. It just means sin did not cause this man’s blindness.
10. Our illnesses may happen for the glory of God, and if we love God, Romans 8:28 comes into play immediately! “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

II. This man may have been content blind.

1. He certainly would not be the first to see his lack of sight as a blessing.
2. Do you suppose Fanny Crosby would have written all the wonderful hymns she wrote if she had been sighted? (16 of her songs are in our hymnal, and one is repeated.)
(1) Her blindness gave her a vision of God that few people have ever enjoyed, and she spread her joy to others through her musical messages.
(2) Paul was physically blind for three days when he was converted. How do you supposed he felt about that?
a. Well, the Scripture tells us in Ph 3:7,8 how Paul felt: “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”
b. Bill Moyer’s dialogue I am about to use is not quoted, but I trust they are close. When Bill Moyer became White House Secretary, a minister friend of his asked him, “How can you serve like in a position like this when you know God has called you to preach?” Bill Moyers said, “The President called me to serve in this position.” The man who questioned him could not understand how God could use Mr. Moyer like that. Moyer is now serving as a pastor. But folks, wouldn’t you count it a great honor for any President to call you to serve on his staff in the governing of this nation? Wouldn’t you believe you could witness for Christ better in such a position?
3. Most Christians, like Paul, are ready to give up everything to serve Him any way He wants us to!
4.Seeing opened a whole new life for this blind man!
He may have been content, but I suspect he wondered at all he had missed during his blind years.

III. Meeting Christ always changes us.

1. The Jews were angry because the blind man was healed on the Sabbath! (I’ve known some preachers who got angry because someone was saved on a weekday at home instead of on Sunday at church!)
2. This man could have said he wasn’t the beggar they knew, but he said, “I am the man!” v 9. That shows a great change already!
3. His parents hadn’t met Jesus, and they hedged about the truth! “He’s of age, ask him.” v 23.
4. In v 27, he challenged the Pharisees, “Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
5. In v 30, he taunted them, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, lyet he opened my eyes.”
6. In v 34, they threw him out! That’s excomunication, folks!
7. Jesus found him and questioned him. As soon as He revealed Himself to the man, he became a disciple! You see, he had changed so much, and as yet, he really didn’t know who Jesus was!

Conclusion:


1. This man was doubly gifted. He received his earthly sight, and just a little later, he received spiritual sight and life everlasting.
2. Now think about it. Wasn’t he better off for meeting Jesus? Don’t you think he was happier with the opportunities that lay ahead?
3. If you agree, you may not be blind. You may already know Jesus. He is the One Who works miracles. Have you ever really given Him your whole life? Don’t you want to?
4. Let’s pray about that right now.

Emmanuel 8/21/2005

When Jesus Spoke, by John.

When Jesus Spoke
John 7:32-52

1. We sing: “Wonderful Words of Life’” and we know we are talking about the words of Jesus.
2. We are aware of the power of words, aren’t we?
3. I remember when Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, “I hate war. My wife Eleanor hates war.” Those words stirred a fierce patriotism in me, and made me want to help bring peace to the world.
4. At that times many people believed the nazis could do anything they set their mind to do. and many believed the Japanese could not be stopped.
5. I remember when Winston Churchhill held up his hands forming the “vee”signs. I knew they stood for victory, and that word aroused a belief in me that the Allies would win WW II! That’s the power of words!
6. Today let’s look at the Words of Jesus and how they affecterd the Jews alive at that time.
7. Some used to say that the three fastest ways of communication were, telephone, telegraph and tell a woman.
8. I’ve found “tell a man” is frequently faster than “tell a woman.” But neither is really fast.
9. When Jesus spoke, His words had to be relayed from the front of a vast crowd to the back person by person.
10. I’m sure He spoke slowly enough so that His Words could be passed from person to person.
11. Many of us would be more effective speakers if we learned to slow down instead of speed up!
12. We read some of his words in our text. When Jesus spoke, what did He say? How did He speak? What made His Words unique enough to remember?

I. His Words amazed people.

1. Why wouldn’t they?
2. The only people who could read were those who had two things.
(1) Scrolls available to read,
(2) Someone who could teach them what the symbols meant.
3. We have no reason as far as I know to say that Jesus had either of these earthly requirements, yet he could read!
(4) Turn with me to Luke 4: 16-21 (READ)
3. It was natural for the people to react as they did. We think that Matthew 13:53-57 (READ) gives a good picture of their reaction.
4. Amazement can quickly turn to resentment.
5. Their resentment caused them to question His authority to teach.

II. He spoke with authority.

1. The Scribes and Pharisees may have assumed authoritarian positions as they taught, but they did not have any direct link to God.
2. They had no more inspiration, in most cases, than the inspiration anyone who studies any book might have.
3. The prophets experienced direct inspiration from God, but the Scribes and Pharisees did not.
4. The people recognized the authority in the words of Jesus. An illustration from long ago told of two men discussing a book. One of the men was quite authoritarian in his words, “I’m certain the this is what the author meant...” When he finished the other man said quite simply, “No. You are wrong. This is what he meant...” The first man grew angry and asked the second man, “What makes you think you know more about the meaning of this book than I do? And the second man answered, “Because I wrote it.” The authority of Jesus was the authority of the author!
5. Have you dared read the Bible and discuss it with God?

III. His words pierced to the Heart!

1.If youu want someone to listen to you, talk to them about their heart’s desire.
2. Sooner or later, every person has the same heart-desire. They want to live forever!
3. Jesus spoke directly to their hearts.
4. He told them that their leaders were not leading them correctly, and that they were not going to achieve life-everlasting themselves.
5. His words caused action and reaction.
(1) We’ve already noted that some qwuestioned His authority and the truthfulness of His words.
(2) Some completely refused to accept His teachings.
(3) Many believed, and became followers of Jesus.
6. All who believed were added to lthe Kingdom of God.
7. They were given a home in heaven.
8. They were called into God’s service as His Own children!
9. Listen, Folks, they continued to hear God calling them all ltheir lives! And He will continue to call lyou, too!

Conclusion:

1. It’s true. No man ever spoke like this man.
2. He had the authority of God the Father.
3. He knew the Scripture, logic psychology and everything else He needed without ever resorting to the mechanics of learning as we know them.
4. He spoke directly to the heart-desire of all people.
5. None of the hearers had ever heard anyone speak like that, but every Christian has!
6. We don’t come to Christ because some great and wonderful preacher or teacher convinces us of the reality of God and the genuiness of Jesus.
7. We come to Him because we hear His Word, and it speaks to us regardless of who speaks it.
8. Have you heard the word of Jesus? He may speak in the smallest of voices...Listen as we praye...
Emmanuel 8/24/2005

The True Bread, by John

The True Bread
John 6:25-40

1. My wife is particular. She only likes one kind of bread! So when she send me to the store to get a loaf of bread, that’s no big deal, right?
2. The problem is, there are at least a dozen different kinds of bread there, and as often as not, I can’t find the kind she likes!
3. About three weeks ago, we studied the feeding of the 5,000 in the first part of John 6.
4. Any time God does something so great, we should start looking for a great truth to come with it, right?
5. Well, that is certainly true with this event, so let’s look at the great truth given here. Turn to John 6: 25, and follow as I read through v 40. (READ Scripture here.)

I. Jesus is the true “bread of life.”

1. That means He is the Savior of the world, right?
2. Then why are there so many other saviors of the world?
3. Satan has worked from the beginning to keep Christians from accomplishing God’s will on earth.
4. It is his work to bring division instead of unity.
5. Now that sounds like I believe in getting all of the churches together as one church, doesn’t it?
6. I don’t. But I believe churches should be named like those in Revelation, the church at Sardis, the church at Philippi, the church at Laodicea.
(1) That would present a problem in a city where there are hundreds of churches, wouldn’t it?
(2) It could be modified, such as Elm Street Church, or 5th and main church.
7. The point I want to make is that there is one true Bread, and that is Jesus!
8. All churches should cooperate with each other if they believe that, right?
9. We may differ on many things, but the one important thing is that we put Jesus on the thrones of our lives and consider Him God’s One True Bread!
10 Why is that so important?

II. Jesus told us! Anyone who eats this bread will live forever.

1. What He said is a hard saying. Some thought the early Christians were cannibals because they ate the flesh and drank the blood of Christ!
2. Jesus said that His flesh was real bread and His blood was real drink!
3. Those who heard did not understand that He spoke of the Spirit, not the flesh.
4. Apparently many today still do not understand what Jesus said.
(1) They try to make the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper the actual blood and flesh of Jesus.
(2) They think that will insure eternal life.
(3) By teaching that they manipulate people, and keep them coming to church.
a. They figure it takes about 8 days for the bread and wine to go completely through the body.
b. If you receive it every seven days, you are safe!
5. They overlook v.63, it says the Spirit gives life.
(1) Jesus goes on to say that the words He spoke are spirit and life.

III. Sometime We oversimplify some things God has said.

1. God has always made things simple, and Satan always tries to twist what God has said to us.
2. The sad thing is that human beings fall for Satan’s lies!
3. What Jesus said clearly tells us He was not talking about common, ordinary physical bread, yet, so many have believed He was!
4. I think He explained things so carefully, so that we would not be fooled.
(1) Look at v 37. The Father gives us to Jesus.
a. We have to come to Him!
b. We can’t come to him unless the Father draws us.
c. Jesus saves us!
d. Physical bread has nothing to do with it no matter who blesses it!
5. John followed the feeding of the 5,000 with this message because he wanted everyone to see the truth. The bread Jesus broke then was a graphic prophecy of His death on the cross.
6.. This was too much for many of those who followed him, and they left.
7. Their leaving must have hurt! Jesus asked the twelve if they would leave, too.
8. Simon Peter spoke for all when he said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
a. Peter’s observation doubtlessly came from the Holy Spirit.
b. It’s too bad that so many today are seeking God’s truth in so many false religions!
9. Every false religion has to have some truth, or they could never convince people that they are correct.
10. Their appeal however is always the same, “You don’t need to change! You can just believe and worship and live the way you want to!” They either offer them prosperity here and now, or later in heaven, just as the Muslim extremists promise suicide bombers so many virgins or whatever in heaven if they kill the enemy!
11. I met a woman in New Orleans who claimed to be a Baptist preacher, a Catholic priest, and a mystic. She accepted all religions, and all she wanted in return for her blessing was money!
12. We must not be fooled. The Bible is correct, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
13. That “must!” eliminates all other ways and so called gods!

Conclusion:

1. There is nothing fuzzy or inexact about God’s salvation.
2. The only life He gives is eternal!
3. The only way He gives it is through His Son, and it is a gift! It’s free!
4. Satan has sponsored and spawned all sorts of false religions because he knows God placed the desire to worship in every human heart!
5. God knows our hearts far better than Satan does, and God gives us to Jesus when we really want to receive Him as our Lord and Savior.
6. Jesus was broken on a cross and became our spiritual bread and drink!
7. Just as we cannot live without food on this earth, we cannot live spiritually without Jesus!
8. Right now you can receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and you will never starve or perish from thirst again! You will live a life satisfied by the constant giving of our Lord!

Emmanuel Community Church 7/3/2005

Jesus is the Light of the World, by John

Jesus is the Light of the World
John 8:12-30

1. We take light for granted, don’t we? It’s dark when we go to bed at night, and it’s light, or at least, the light is coming when we get up in the morning, right? It happens every day.
2. When we see it is light, we say, “Wow! It’s daylight already!” No big deal!
2. Daylight is shorter in the Winter than it is in Summer. In fact, we have had days this year that were 15 hours and 9 minutes long! Right now, today, we will have 14 hours and 15 minutes of daylight today. Daylight varies according to our latitude. Year round, day and night are the nearest to being equal at the equator.
3. When it’s dark, and we can’t see anything in total darkness, we turn on the lights, right?
4. Ho hum! There’s nothing new about that, is there?
5. There is nothing prosaic about the words of Jesus here, nothing boring! He said, “I am the Light of the World! Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
6. Jesus used a physical item to picture a spiritual phenomenon. Both come from the Lord.

I. Light is necessary for life.

1. Light and life go together, don’t they?
2. We are a carbon based lifeform, and so is all life on our planet. We require oxygen to live.
(1) Almost everything requires “free oxygen.” We get it from air, and fish extract it from water.
(2) Anaerobic bacteria get theirs from decaying material that contains oxygen. Other than those bacteria, everything else requires free oxygen.
3. But where does all this oxygen come from? God put it in the universe when He made it. Turn back to Genesis chapter 1 with me.
(1) First, God said, “Let there be light!” v. 3. (The order of creation is important.)
(2) Then He divided the water, the sea, from the sky. v. 7. (Some scientists say all life origingated in the sea).
(3) Next, He gathered the waters and produced dry land. v. 9
(4) Vegetation came next. v.11.
(5) V. 14, Night and day. (We need rest away from light.)
(6) V 20. Birds and fish. (Day 5)
(7) V 24. Warm blooded animals.
(8) V 27. Man.
4. Now what is the significance of this sequence?
(1) First, it fits with scientific observation about all of these things.
(2) Some would call this evolution, but most Christians call it God’s creation!
(3) For anything to live physically, there must be light and “free oxygen.”
(4) Human life requires both solid ground and water to produce a balanced environment.
(5) Plants come next because they utilize the light to release free oxygen.
(6) Sea life and birds come next. They balance the plant output of oxygen with carbon dioxide needed by the plants in photosynthesis.
(6) Warm blooded animals come next because they need all of these things to survive!
5. There is no real problem between science and Christianity unless someone wants to make it a problem.
6. The significance of all of this is wrapped up in Jesus’ declaration, “I am the light of the world!” Nothing lives very long without light!
7. Without the light of Jesus, we don’t live eternally at all.

II. People who have “Light” are never in the dark.

1. Some scientists worry that the sun may go out.
2. Others worry about comets and asteroids striking the earth.
3. Those of us who know Jesus realize we have nothing to fear!
4. When Jesus is our “Light,” we never walk in darkness.
5. That statement has a lot of ramifications.
(1) We can’t see anything at all in total darkness unless we have a light source.
a. Early man discovered that fire produced light. He learned to use a torch to light his path at night.
b. Probably grease spilling from cooking meat taught mankind to luse oil to make lamps and lanterns.
c. Gas lamps were much used in the early days of this country.
d. Edison produced the first economically practical light bulb with a tungsten element in 1879. Cleveland, OH experimented with carbon arc lamp street lighting that same year. The Mercury arc lamp was invented in 1903, and the neon tube in 1911. Much later Mercury and Sodium salts were vaporized to produce the street lights of today.
(2) All of these inventions resulted from things God placed at our disposal in this good earth He provided for us.
a. Mankind saw its first electric arc lights in lightning and our first chemical light in the phosphorescence in nature, lightening bugs and glowworms.
b. We aren’t creators. We are developers and users.
c. God alone creates.
6. We have developed ways to pierce physical darkness with man-made light, but God alone can provide the Way to penetrate spiritual darkness, and He did that.
7. Jesus is that way, and He promises that we will never be “in the dark!”
8. He is our light.

III. We are children of the light and the realm of light awaits us.

1. A description of heaven without light is impossible!
2. God is Light. James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
3. Revelation 21:22-27 gives a beautiful description of heaven and the heavenly light. Turn with me there.
4. Jesus is the Light. He is the Door through which we enter the light of God’s presence.
5. When we receive Him, we receive the Light of Life! (John 8:12)

Conclusion:

1. Human beings were created with vast innate abilities.
2. We’ve conquered the night with our man-made lights.
3. We cannot conquer spiritual darkness until we enter the light of Jesus!
4. The light of Jesus contains the warmth of His love for us, and when we are in Him we bask in the glory and warmth of His light.
5. Is He your Lord and Savior? He will be, if you invite Him into your life.

Emmanuel Community Church, 8/7/2005

Jehovah Word Study, by John.

Jehovah

The word, “Jehovah,” has been used to designate the name of God for many, many years, but it is not a Biblical word at all. It is a combination of two Biblical words joined together by translators. The ancient Hebrew language did not have vowels. Their alphabet letters “ are called radicals instead of consonants.” Here is an English sentence written without vowels. Try to decipher it: bht n nn t th str. It is, “I bought an onion at the store.”

Hebrew became very hard for native Israelites to pronounce as the Aramaic language began to be used extensively in the Promised Land. We believe Jesus and His disciples spoke Aramaic. We know most of Israel did after the captivity and during the occupation by Rome.

A group of extremely religious scholars called Masoretes was concerned because Hebrew was not being used among most Jews. Their name came from the word “masorah” which means “tradition.” Hebrew was in danger of being forgotten, and these scribes intended to preserve their tradition. They carefully compiled the Scripture texts including the marginal notes made by other scribes of the past. They began their work about the second century.

Like all Jews, the Masoretes believed a person who added to or subtracted from God’s word would immediately fall under the wrath of God. Revelation 22:18,19 says, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” The Masoretes used the area above and below the line of print to provide guides to pronunciation. The Hebrew text we use today contains those markings. Without them we would have a terrible time determining the correct translation.

That prepares us to see that the Masoretes are responsible for readers today using the word, “Jehovah.” It is a combination of YAHVEH and the vowel sounds of ADONAI. I am printing both words below to demonstrate what the Masoretes did.
YHWH or YHVH ADONAI >>> YaHoVaH. YHVH was also pronounced in some instances as Elohim.

The vowels of adonai placed below the radicals of YHWH produce the sound of our word “Jehovah” to English speaking people. When the Jews saw YHVH with ADONAI vowels, they did not say, “Jehovah.” They said, ADONAI! If they saw it with the vowels of Elohim, they pronounced it as Elohim, not Jehovah. The earliest translators did not have any document that dated back beyond about 1000 A.D. That meant they were looking at the Masoretes’ vowel markings, and they are the ones who translated YHVH as “Jehovah.” At that time they knew nothing of what the Israelites said when they saw it.

We all acknowledge that God is our Heavenly Father. We believe the New Testament, and we stand opposed to any who disregard it. To disregard the New Testament also means ignoring the thousands of prophecies of the Old Testament concerning the Messiah. It is plain that Jesus was and is the Messiah. If there you have any doubt about it, study of the Old Testament prophecies. Below are several that should whet your appetite to look for more.

Genesis 3:14,15. God spoke to the serpent and in the latter part of verse 15 said, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” This is the first reference to the coming Messiah sent by God the Father to save the world. It also tells us that He will be virgin born and that He will conquer Satan.

Isaiah 53:1-12. According to this chapter, Jesus was not a winsome looking man. At best, He was ordinary in appearance. He was despised and rejected by human beings. He was a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering. People considered Him condemned and afflicted by God, but the prophet knew those afflictions were placed on Him for our salvation. Jesus went to the cross just as a lamb is led to slaughter without a sound of complaint. He died for our transgressions. He was given a grave with wicked people, a rich man’s grave. He was innocent, but He took our sins on Himself. Even the prophets did not have a full knowledge of eternal life, but there is an intimation of Christ becoming the first-fruit of eternal life in the latter part of the chapter. In verse 10 these words appear, “He will see his offspring and prolong his days.” Jesus arose from the dead, and He is now in the presence of His Father making intercession for us according to I John 2: 1, “We have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”

In conclusion, we believe in the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe they are One God! This belief seems mathematically impossible to many people, but it isn’t. For instance, I have one telephone number. It is made up of a triple digit area code, a triple digit prefix and a final four digits. Altogether, it is one number. Why is it so hard to believe that we have one God Who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit?

In John 10:27-30 Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” It is impossible to separate the Father and the Son in this passage. They are, as stated in verse 30, One!

Jesus in John 16:7,13 said, “I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.... When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.” The term translated “Counselor” is “Paraclete.” It literally means “One called to stand alongside of.” Jesus in John 14:6 said, that He is the way, the truth and the life. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus and of God. That shows that He is also God.

We cannot conceive of God in three persons in our minds without equating it with our own families, but we carry that too far when we see God as being a separate Father, Son and Spirit. By faith, we can leap across that chasm to believe they are One God.