An Effective Lesson in Evangelism, by John

An Effective Lesson in Evangelism
Read Matthew 28:18-20 and then Acts 3:1-10

1. We have God's Great Commission to witness to all lost people, but it seems hard for us to do.
2. Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth! We depend on Him.
3. Peter and John were going about doing business as usual. It was their habit to go to the temple and pray at 3:00 p.m.
4. I wonder how many times they had seen this man sitting there begging? We don't know.
5. The text we just read contains several spiritual truths that work just as well today as they ever did.
6. This text is an effective lesson in evangelism.
7. Many churches have learned from this and have become effective in reaching people for Jesus.
(1) It's true that some churches use these principles and don't know where they got them.
(2) Some also go beyond the reasonable limits of the lesson, and that just may not be good!
8. We need to practice what John and Peter did here, and it shouldn't be so much a conscious thing as a spiritually natural desire.
9. Let's examine their experience, and let's be aware no one taught them a thing about how to grow a church other than what Jesus spoke to them while on the earth! As the scene opens…

I. They were simply living their regular daily lives.

1. It is apparent they made a habit of going to the temple for prayer at 3:00 o'clock every day.
2. On the way, by the Beautiful Gate, they came across a forty year-old cripple begging beside the walkway.
(1) They could have crossed the street to avoid him. They didn't.
(2) They could have tossed him a few coins if they had any. They didn't.
(3) They could have said, "Blessings on you! I hope you have a good day!" They didn't.
3. There was something in their hearts that called out to them to help that man!
(1) Have you ever felt a call like that?
(2) That's the Holy Spirit calling out from your heart!
4. They could have called a meeting of the disciples to see if they couldn't find a way to help that poor man. Maybe they could get him on Social Service's list of people needing help, but they didn't.
5. They answered the call themselves! (I wonder if they didn't recall the story Jesus told about the Good Samaritan? If they did, they did not want to be like the Levite and the Priest!)
6. Folks, We should be watching! We should be alert! When anything unusual happens, the Lord may be preparing to use you to bless a lot of people!
7. Like Peter and John, during our daily tasks, or worship, the Lord may bring what appears to be a small blessing, and it leads to far greater things.

II. This man's healing led to a great revival.

1. Peter and John looked at the man, and Peter spoke, "Look at us!"
2. The man looked. He expected a gift of money!
3. Peter told him he did not have any money, but he would share what he had with him.
4. Then he said, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!" (I like the KJ ts better: "rise up and walk." That is the Greek wording.)
5. If I understand the text here, the man continued sitting! So Peter reached down with a right hand shake, and lifted the man up! ("Helped" in our text, v 7, is the same Greek word, egeiro. that Peter used when he first spoke to the man.)
6. Sometimes even though a person has heard the Gospel, he teeters on the edge of faith. He needs a hand up! Peter gave this man the lift he needed.
7. The Scripture says, his feet and ankles were strengthened immediately, and he jumped to his feet and walked about praising God!
8. By the way, when we help people, we should make clear that their help comes directly from God!
9. Suddenly these three were the center of public interest!
(1) Everybody knew that man sat there for years begging!
(2) They knew that a notable miracle had occurred.
a. How did it happen?
b. How could they receive a miracle for their own famiies, and perhaps their friends!
c. What could this mean?
d. Did these two men really represent God?
(3) This is the moment when the disciples could withdraw to a safe place, or they could advance the cause of Christ at the risk of bodily harm! They chose the latter!
10. Peter preached his second sermon! And people accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior! That's evangelism!

III. Following the Lord's will is both dangerous and rewarding.

1. We always have choices before us.
(1) Many times it is an either/or choice.
(2)We have to consider: Is it worth it to do the Lord's will? Or is it too dangerous?
(3) Peter and John thought it was worth it to serve the Lord!
2. They were arrested, tried, and released because the rulers were afraid to do anything else.
3. 4:4 tells us about 5,000 men believed in Christ because of the healing of the crippled man coupled with Peter's sermon.
4. Zechariah 4:10 says, "Who has despised the day of small things?" (5000 people were saved because one man was healed!)
(1) Sometimes that person who seems so useless, so unimportant, is a very important person because God plans to use him to bring a great revival to a lot of people!
(2) We need to take care that we don't miss serving God because we considered the job at hand too small, or to insignificant!
(3) We should hope that God will use us like He used Peter and John!
5. I trust we count everything else as worthless in comparison to serving God, as Paul said in Philippians 37-11, "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. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."

Conclusion:

1. Can you imagine a revival starting here in Bassett that would spread through all the surrounding counties? It can happen!
2. Even so, there will be danger that Satan will conspire against us and cause us suffering pain and shame! But if it is for Jesus, it will be worth it!
3. There is also always a danger that we will consider something the Lord asks us to do as too trivial to be concerned about.
4. Everything the Lord asks of us, every blessing He gives us, is vitally important!
5. God can use someone in this room to lead thousands, yes, five thousand and more to the Lord!
6. Dwight L. Moody that famous evangelist who started out as a humble shoe repairman said, "The world has yet to see what God can do with one totally dedicated man. I plan to be that man!" He led revivals across the nation and died in 1899. 107 years later, Moody Bible Institute carries on the work that started with that humble man!
7. Have you dreamed of doing something wonderful for Jesus? If you have, have you dedicated yourself totally to the Lord and asked Him to empower you?
8. Perhaps you would like to do that while we pray.

Emmanuel Community Church 1/22/2006.

What Did He Say? by John.

Acts 7:54-59

1. New Testament times were filled with trouble and persecution for Christians, and for poor people.
2. People were never really sure what a day might bring.
(1) Times of political unrest always seem to engender violence.
(2) Jesus Himself died at the hands of men who claimed to be doing Rome a service.
(3) In actuality, they served their own selfish, religious desires.
3. In the text we just read, people threw stones at Stephen and killed him!
4. Saul of Tarsus approved of what they were doing. He held the outer garments of those who did the stoning. (That kept them from getting spattered with Stephen’s blood.)
5. We know it happened, but what did Stephen say that caused them to treat him like that?
6. Was he to blame for their treatment?
7. Well, let’s pause for a few minutes and look at what he said. Vv. 51-53 (read) How didd he come to say these things? Let’s find out.

I. In Acts 6:8ff, Stephen proved to be an able man of God!

1. He was one of the 7 chosen to be deacons.
2. He was gifted by God’s Holy Spirit.
(1) V 8 says he was “full of God’s grace and power, and he did great wonders and miraculous signs.”
(2) V 9 says the Jews argued with him, and v 10 says they could not stand up against his wisdom, or the Holy Spirit.
3. That shows his ability, doesn’t it?
(1) It’s obvious that he was focused on Jesus.
(2) And our text makes it also obvious that he was willing to die for Jesus!
4. Most Christians, at least in this country, have lost that love for Jesus that makes them willing to die for Him!
5. In Iraq, Iran, India, China, Pakistan, Africa, and many other places Christians are proving that they are willing to die for Jesus! They’ve done it! And they are doing it now!
6. It’s not their choice to die, but it is their choice to die rather than give place to the devil and his worshipers.
7. Stephen was just such a man.
(1) We don’t know much about Stephen’s life before this.
a. Was he married?
b. Did he have children?
c. How old was he?
(2) We can make some assumptions, but history does not give us the details.
a. He must have been old enough to have proven both his loyalty and reliability.
b. It would seem likely that he was married, but no mention is made of any family. If there was one, it would seem natural to mention it.
(3) Whatever his situation, whatever his life expectancy may have been, he did not consider death a price too high to pay to serve God with love and devotion.
8. He was an able man of God!

II. I’m sure he thought his death was possible.

1. In Mark 13:9-11 Jesus said, “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.”
2. Stephen may have heard Jesus say that. He could have been in the crowds that thronged about Him, or he may have heard it from the apostles.
3. When I used to read this, I would think, “Wow! What a preacher Stephen was! I wish I could preach like that! Now, I realize it was the Holy Spirit’s words, and Stephen delivered them faithfully!
4. A minister today must faithfully deliver the Holy Spirit’s words without flinching or worrying about the outcome!
5. Stephen should have been aware that death was a possibility because he knew Israel’s history.
6. Jesus summed up Israel’s history when He said, (Mt 23:37) “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.”
(1) Israel gained fame by refusing to hear the prophets sent from God, and by killing them.
(2) Stephen knew Israelite history! He is bound to have known that his own death was more than just a possibility.
7. Still, he did and he said exactly what God wanted him to do and say!
8. He had the quality everyone of us should have! Obedience!
(1) The world has a saying, “Let the chips fall where they may.” (That’s unchristian.)
(2) That was not Stephen’s attitude. His attitude was to do what God told him to do regardless of personal cost!
(3) I’d still like to be like Stephen, wouldn’t you?
Rae Helm sent me some Irish jokes. One went like this: A priest in Ireland went into a pub and walked up to a man at the bar and said, “Would you like to go to heaven?” The man answered, “Yes! Sure, I would, Father!” “Then go over and stand next to that wall.” He approached a second man and asked the same question. Just as quickly the second man acknowledged that he would, and the priest told him to go stand against the wall. He approached a third man and asked him the same question. The man said, “No! I wouldn’t, Father!” The priest was astounded! “You mean to tell me you don’t want to go to heaven when you die?” “Oh! Well sure I do, Father! I thought you were getting up a group to go right now!”
9. The possibility of facing death is something we can accept easily, but to expect it to happen immediately is another thing entirely, isn’t it?
10. I feel sure that Stephen was sure’s that God would bless him alive on earth, or in heaven with Him.

III. Stephen’s death made history!

1. Stephen enjoyed success as a Christian.
(1) He served meals to the widows in the church, and that was quite a responsibility.
(2) He was elected and ordained a deacon of God!
2. Stephen’s life was good, but it was at the time of his death that he really stood out in everyone’s minds and still does.
3. He preached a powerful sermon in the best sense of prophecy.
(1) People today think prophecy only concerns the future, but that’s a narrow and small part of prophecy.
(2) The major part of prophecy is telling people what they are doing to displease God!
(3) Prophets may prophesy about something a 1000 years, a 100 years, or just 10 years down the road, but people don’t get worked up enough to kill them for it!
(4) What can get a prophet killed today is exactly what got Stephen killed. He told them what they had done, and he told them what they were doing right then that was wrong!
4. He let the chips fall where God wanted them to fall! And he paid for it with his life!
IV. Even Stephen’s death was prophecy.

1. It fulfilled the prophesies of very religious people killing Christians. That is still happening all over the world today!
2. Look at Acts 7:57, These men were so religious, and they believed they were so right, that they covered their ears to keep from hearing the truth!
3. In the name of God, they rushed on Stephen, dragged him out of the city, and stoned him!
4. They thought they were serving God!
(1) If you had been there and asked them, why are you doing this? I’m sure they would have told you they did it for God!
(2) If you had asked them at any time after that, they would have told you that they were doing God’s work!
(3) There are still people Satan has tricked into believing they are doing God’s work when they kill Christians!
5. One of the great things about Stephen’s death is, it opened a tiny crack into the hereafter that mankind had not seen before.
(1) Stephen was at the point of death, in great pain and actually agony. In v 56 he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
(2) That is the only real glimpse of heaven God has given to us.
a. John saw into the heavens while he was in a trance induced by the Holy Spirit.
b. But here, Stephen is in this world surrounded by enemies, and God opened heaven for him to see his Savior standing to receive him!
6. Stephen’s death made history at that moment!

Conclusion:

1. I was given to understand in elementary school that as soon as a person stopped growing, he started dying. That has stayed with me all these years.
2. My goal in life became being the person God wanted me to be when I put my trust in Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
3. I’m glad I haven’t been called on to die physically for Jesus the way Stephen was. I probably would not do well.
4. Spiritually, we should all die to self and selfish desires when we trust Jesus. That is selfish desires should certainly be second in our lives.
5. We should pray to stand true for Jesus regardless of the price required by Satan and the world!
6. We should seek God’s will and follow it to the end.
7. Death at an early age may be a requirement. It could be a requirement at an advanced age.
8. But death to selfishness is always a requirement! Otherwise it would be untrue for the Bible to say, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” and “You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to.” I Cor 6:19,20; 7:23,24.
9. We may not make the late news on TV, but that’s not important.
10. It is important to please God, to inherit the eternal life He offers us through His Son Jesus, and that we live in harmony with His will.
11. The place to start is by putting your trust in Jesus and committing your life to Him.
12. If you’ve done that, it may be time to ask yourself, “Am I willing to go all the way to heaven with Jesus even if it means doing it now?

Emmanuel 15, 2006

Just How Important Is It to Love God? by John.

John 14:15-31

1.Just how important is it to love God?
2. I ask this question for three reasons:
(1) First you need to ask yourself and other people how important it is.
(2) Many Christians have left their first love, and now they don’t show any real love at all. It’s much too easy to just go through the motions of worship, and say, “I’ve done my duty.”
(3) The third reason is, I plan to answer it from this text and a few others.
2. Too many people say they belong to Christ, but their lives say they do not.
3. Somewhere I read this statement, “Your actions speak so loudly that I can’t hear what you are saying.”
4. Jesus told us to recognize people by their fruit. That includes the fruit of their lives, their minds, and their lips!
5. Someone gave a reason for tthe importance of that, “Your feet always take you where your heart is!”
6. Let’s look at these verses and note that Jesus used the word “love” 8 times and the word “obey” 4 tiimes in these verses.

I. True Love has good consequences.

1. True love results in our obedience to Jesus and of course, to our Heavenly Father. V. 15.
(1) For us to say we love God and that He is our Savior and Lord according to the Bible is an outright lie!
(2) First of all, there is no doubt at all in what Jesus said. If we love Him, we will obey Him! There is no room for disobedience!
2. When we love and obey Him, Jesus promises us the gift of God’s Holy Spirit (called the Counselor here). V. 16.
(1) Jesus asks the Father to give the Spirit to us.
a. The Holy Spirit is a very personal gift! .
b. The Father does the giving.
c. When He does, that’s the moment the Creator God becomes our personal Heavenly Father!
(2) The gift of the Sprit is forever!.V 16.
3. There are many who claim Jesus as Lord and Savior (as we said at the beginning of this message) who do not obey Hi s commands.V. 17.
4. The results are totally different for them.
(1) They do not obey. They do not love (because their love is shown by their obedience).
(2) They do not receive the Holy Spirit, and God is not their Father!
(3) That means they are lost!
5. No matter what the turth is...

II. The World Always Wants Another Explanation.
1. Judas was the one disciple who didn’t love Jesus. (How do I know that? He was disobedient!)
2. With all the teaching, and the constant companionship he had with Jesus, he failed the obedience test.
3. Yet, Judas was one of the group of disciples. He was accepted as a disciple. He was considered good enough to be the group’s banker.
4. He was the one who asked Jesus why He didn’t show Himself to the world. V 22.
5. We have well-intentioned people in our churches today who wonder why God doesn’t make people trust Him!
6. In v 23, Jesus told Judas He and the Father would come to the individual who loves them, and They would make Themselves known to him!
(1) We are under a misapprehension that we have to search for God. We don’t. He comes to us when we put our trust in Him, and He makes His home with us!
6. In v 24, Jesus restated the truth. Those who do not obey don’t because they do not love Him!
7. He adds that the words we have been talking about came directly from His Father!

III. Love Brings More Blessings!

1. We’ve already talked about the Counselor, but up to this point Jesus had not told them that the Holy Spirit would teach everything to those who belong to God.
2. Now He also tells His disciples that the Holy Spirit will help their weak minds! He’s the One Who reminds us of all the things we have learned! And He does it when we need it! Luke 12:11, “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”
3. V 27, He gives us His Own Personal peace.
(1) When the world gives us something, we had better look out! There are always strings attached to everything the world gives!
(2) Jesus doesn’t give like that. His gifts are always free of conditions!
4. Now He orders us to stop being troubled and fearful.
(1) We have everlasting life right now.
(2) We have God with us right now!
(3) We are sealed by God’s Spirit for all eternity! Ephesians 4:30 says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
5. There is nothing Satan or the world can do that will undo what God has done and is doing!

IV. The Disciples’ Imperfect Love Helps Us.

1. In v 28 Jesus reminded the disciples that He had told them He was going away, but that He would return to them.
2. In the last part of that verse, He told them their love was not yet as strong as it would be.
(1) They were grieved that He was going away.
(2) They had pinned all their hopes on Him! And now He was leaving!
(3) They probably wondered what to do next. How would they make a living? Did they have to go back to their old lives?
3. Jesus told them that if their love was strong enough, they would be glad He was going to His Father because His Father was greater than He was!
(1) That would be their natural reaction, wouldn’t it?
(2) If your children have to leave for a better job somewhere far off, it may make you sad, but aren’t you also glad?
4. Jesus told them ahead of time, that’s prophecy, so that they would believe when it happened! V. 29.
5. V 30 is interesting because apparently Satan doesn’t know everything. Jesus said He wouldn’t speak much more with them because Satan was coming. The inference is that He did not want Satan to hear what He taught the disciples.
6. He finished that verse saying, “He has no hold on me.”
7. V 31 tells us that God was, and is, counting on the crucifixion of His Son to show the world that Jesus loves His Father and always does exactly what He commanded Him. Ooops!!! Did we miss a point here? Is Jesus saying we should love Him and obey Him just as He loves His Father and obeys Him exactly? Well that is what He is telling us exactly!

Conclusion:

1. Do you love God? If you don’t you are not His child. He adopts us into His family when we truly love Him.
2. Do you say you love God, but you live in disobedience to Him?
3. The news of the Bible is, you don’t love God and you aren’t His child unless you obey Him!
4. Well meaning people make that mistake all the time. It’s not a shame to be wrong, but it is a shame to waste your life by not loving Jesus just the way He loves His Father.
5. Put your trust in Jesus, turn your life over to Him and He will truly save you for all eternity.
6. His Holy Spirit will seal you for eternity, then He will teach you what you need to know, and He will bring to your mind what God has taught you when you need it!
7. How important is it to love God? You cannot live very long without it!

Emmanuel Community Church 1/8/2006

The Character of a False Prophet by John House

Mt 23:37; 24:4:14;Ezekiel 13,14..

1. Just as there have always been religions, there have also always been false prophets.
2. Thwarting the works of God is Satan’s delight.
3. In addition to that, human beings are easily persuaded to become false prophets.
(1) Many really desire to be real prophets.
(2) They think they can do it on their own.
(3) It’s surprising how many people think they can use some magic word, or in some way force God to do their bidding.
(4) Steve Martin played the lead as a tent revivalist in a movie some time ago. He performed fake healings. When he was faced with a person really being healed, he quit preaching. He could not measure up to the real thing! That’s always true. The false fades away when faced with the true!
4. In the text we read, Jesus warned us that false prophets were coming. He also said that they would proliferate as time went on.
5. But false prophets were not new. They go back to Genesis 3. Satan told Eve that they would be like gods when they ate the forbidden fruit! That was a false prophecy, and it did not happen! Instead of being like gods, Adam and Eve were forced to leave the Garden of Eden!

I. Let’s look at some other O.T. false prophets.

I. When Moses stood before Pharoah, Pharoah had his own prophets to face Moses.
2. When the Children of Israel were in the desert, and King Balak called on Balaam to curse them. Balaam did as God told him, but later Balaam taught king Balak how to persuade Israel to sin. That is being a false prophet, too.
3. When God caused a drought in the land of Israel, Ahab tried to find Elijah to kill him. When Elijah was sent by God to face Ahab, Ahab had 850 false prophets with him.
4. Some of the most poignant accounts of a prophet being mistreated are found in Jeremiah. The false prophets were popular with the people, and they told Jeremiah to leave. He continued to prophesy. They beat him and put him in prison. Later they threw him into a cistern full of mud where he stayed an ethiopian eunuch persuaded King Zedikiah to get him out.
5. Ezekiel 13 and 14 talk about false prophets. It will be good for you to read it for yourself.

II. How do you recognize a false prophet?

1. First ask yourself why they are prophesying.
(1) Some prophesy for personal gain. Many of those in the Old Testament were sycophants, “Yes” men, the personal pets of the kings.
(2) When Billy Graham was asked how to tell a false radio/tv preacher from the real, he told the reporter to ask, ”Do they ask for money?”
2. Second, does what they say really honor Christ?
(1) God does not give prophecies that dishonor His Son.
(2) Neither does He give prophecies that contradict the direct teaching of the Bible!
3. Third, are the miracles they perform real?
(1) The pastor of Wynn Baptist Church in Arkansas was handing out tracts in Little Rock’s poorest section. It was a requirement for one of his college courses, and of course, was good training. While he was there, a man dressed in a white suit came along. He handed out tent revival invitations to
rummies, and with each invitation, he told them he would give them $5.00 if they came to the service that night and got healed! Of couse, there was nothing physically wrong with them. My friend realized it was a scam to get Christians to attend and give their money, and he did achieve fame.
(2) There are always people who think it is all right to use evil methods to accomplish good!
(3) It’s not godly. There is no evil in God!
(4) You have to ask, is what they are doing really Christian? Or is it Christian in name only?
4. In Ezekiel, God told the Israelites that His prophecies would be fulfilled in the very near future.
(1) That*means we need to ask, How long do they say it will be before their prophecies are fulfilled?
(2) It’s true some are for the distant future, but in every case I’ve studied in the Old Testament, there was a fulfillment for the people then living. Ill. Isaiah 7:14 comes to mind. The birth of Jesus fulfilled it about 800 years after it was given, but it was also fulfilled in about three years after it was first given! It had real meaning for the people to whom it was given, and God’s prophecies always do.
(3) We need to be wary of prophecies that are scheduled for some distant, future time.
5. If a prophet fails any of these tests, then watch out! He may be a false prophet!

III. The Greatest Prophet of all time is Jesus.

1. He prophesied his own death, and He told us that it was necessary. He told us it would be at the hands of His Own people. He pointed out a number of prophesies in the Old Testament that applied to Him.
2. He prophesied the persecution of His disciples,
and He told them why it would take place. It happened almost immediately, and it will happen
again and again until God sends Jesus back to take us all home with Him!
2. The reason prophecy is so hard for us is that in many ways much of it was fulfilled almost immediately.
3. That causes us to ask ourselves, was this just for the time right after Jesus left the earth, or was it for a later time. i.e. Was the antichrist emperor Diocletian, or Nero, or some other Roman emperor? Or are we waiting for another antichrist?
(1) Some say there is no antichrist. All of that referred to the past. A well-known, highly respected minister I knew years ago told me, “There isn’t going to be a second coming. That’s already happened.”
(2) Some were certain that Hitler was the antichrist. Others thought Musselini was.
(3) All of those who made such statements had to do some fancy footwork to avoid saying they were wrong!
4. What does the Bible say about this? I John says, (Read I John 2:18-23).
(1) John used “the” in front of “antichrist.” That meant he was not referring to someone in the far distant future, but to people in his own time, people he knew!
(2) John knew that antichrists would appear in future times, too, and he was trying to prepare Christians for them.
In I John 2:24, he tells us exactly what we need to combat the antichrists. (read it)
(3) You have believed the good news about Jesus, and you’ve committed your life to Him.
5. Your faith, if it is real, will sustain you, and the Father and the Son will dwell in you until you stand
in their presence in heaven!
(2) I John 2:25 tells us eternal life is ours.
(3) Jesus prophesied that before He went to the cross.
6. Jesus is the greatest of all prophets.

Conclusion:

1. Of all the false prophets in all of history, not one can come close to the perfection of Jesus.
2. All of the real prophets speak when God tells them to speak, and they remain silent when God tells them not to speak.
3. Christian pastors are prophets, but if that is all they did, many Sundays there would not be a sermon.
4. Christian pastors are also teachers, and when they are not prophesying, they are teaching God’s word.
5. False prophets and antichrists are around right now. We need not fear them. All they can do is make us uncomfortable, perhaps kill our bodies, but they cannot destroy both body and soul the way God can.
6. Our trust is in God. Jesus bought our salvation and we receive it by faith. We need never fear what anyone in the world can do.
7. All of your fears can be handled by putting your trust in Jesus, and you can do that right now.

Emmanuel Community Church 1/1/2006

Christmas and Religions by John House

Christmas Sunday, 2005
Deuteronomy 6:3-9, John 3:16

1. We had our Christmas program last week, so even though this is the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus, I want us to consider Him from a different viewpoint.
2. I want us to consider the difference between Christianity and the religions of the world.
3. In order to do that, we need to consider that Christianity and religion are not synonyms.
(1) Essentially religion is our attempt to find, or manufacture a god.
(2) Christianity is an act of the One and Only God. He reveals Himself to all mankind in a Saving Relationship. Once established that relationship is ongoing.
4. If we understand that difference, we are ready to look at the religions of the world. We cannot look at all of them today, so we will look at one with a long history and with a large following.
5. Let’s consider Buddhism. (If you find this an interesting study, tell me, and we will consider other religions in the next weeks.

I. Buddhism about six hundred years before the birth of Jesus.

1. The information I am using came from a number of sources. The dates were gathered from a little desktop encyclopedia that I’ve had for forty or fifty years.
2. Around 590 b.c., Siddhartha Gautama ruled a portion of India. He got fed up with luxury, and renounced it. He was “enlightened” at the city of Buddh Gaya while he sat under a Bo tree.
3. He was 29 when he assumed the title Buddha.
4. He established a system of phlosophy and ethics closely related to Brahmanism (a branch of Hinduism).
5. Buddhism is based on 4 assumed truths: 1) Existence is suffering; 2) The origin of suffering is desire: 3) suffering ceases when desire ceases; 4) the end of desire is to follow the “noble enlightened path.”
(1) This sounds sharp and good, but is it?
(2) I don’t think so. It eliminates laughter and affectionate love among other things.
(3) Would you want to live without those things?
6. The “noble enlightened path” has 8 goals. They are: 1) right belief; 2) right resolve which involves renouncing all fleshly pleasure and to harm no living creature; 3) right speech; 4) right conduct; 5) right living: 6) right effort; 7) right contemplation; 8) right ecstacy.
7. The final goal is to reach “Nirvana.”
(1) Reaching the final goal is almost never considered likely, if possible, in one lifetime.
(2) That means you may have to be reincarnated a number of times!
(3) I don’t think I want to be reincarnated even once!
8. Buddhists are famous for their belief in reincarnation.
(1) If they have done well, they return from death as a higher form of life, probably nobility or something.
(2) If they did badly in life, they returned as a lower form of life,, maybe even a bug, or a germ.
(3) This, of course, results in respect for all forms of living things. (Don’t step on an ant! It might be an ancestor! Don’t hate a criminal, he could also be kinfolk from another life!)

II. Let’s make some observations about Buddhism?

1. There is almost no hope for the future.
(1) They believe they will return to a new life, but it may be worse than before.
(2) At best, it is an perhaps endless cycle in which the person just keeps on being “reborn” into this same old world of hopelessness.
(3) It they do well, their end certainly doesn’t appeal to me. It’s Nirvana. Nirvana means complete annihilation!
(4) That certainly does not hold out any real hope for the future, right? It makes you think, “Why was I ever born?”
2. It is basically a religion of self-denial.
(1) Most religions involve a work ethic.
(2) If you do good works, you get rewarded.
(3) The only reward in Buddhism is that you may return to life after death as a better person.
3. You see Buddhists do not have a savior.
(1) No one died to pay for people’s sins.
(2) There is no great god who loves them.
(3) Essentiall there is just a set of rules to live by!

III. It is wonderful to be a Christian.

1. We have one great God!
2. He loves us, and He sent His only born Son Jesus to die for us, to pay for our sins with His Own life on a cross!
3. We have relief from guilt the moment we put our trust in Jesus our Savior!
4. We have hope for the future because our Savior Jesus has already entered into eternity with His promise to us. (John 14:1-3).
(1) He is making a wonderful place for us in the very presence of His Father and ours.
(2) It’s a permanent place where taxes, mortgages


and death will never intervene.
(3) It’s a place of JOY! There will be no more tears of sorrow and anguish like we have here on earth.
(4) And Jesus Himself is coming again to receive us into heaven and into the new life we have with God!
5. Buddhism has little to offer. Christianity offers everything to sinners like us! It is wonderful to be a Christian!

Conclusion:

1. There are an awful lot of religions in the world today, and there are just as many philosophies of life.
2. There is only one hope for mankind. It’s Jesus!
3. He, His Father and ours, and the Holy Spirit are all one God!
4. Just as Jesus told us in John 3:16, God the Father loves us, and He sent Jesus to die for us.
5. When we accept Him as our God and our Savior, all of the good things of eternal life and the world to come are ours immediately.
6. We have hope for the future, but we also have immediate forgiveness and cleansing from all sin.
7. We immediately receive eternal life that cannot be taken away or lost in any way.
8. We have the sure knowledge that we can face anything in this world because we belong to God!
9. We know that we will not return to this earth to make another dreary journey with no hope for the future.
10 When we leave this earth, as the song says, We will be “Safe in the arms of Jesus! Safe ever more.

ECC, Christmas, 12/25/2005