Is Truth Relative or Absolute? by John.

Is Truth Relative Or Absolute?
John 14:6; Ephesians 1:1-14

1. In John 18:37 Jesus before Pilate said, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."
2. Pilate derisively said, "What is truth?" (John 18:38).
3. Do you have trouble knowing what truth is?
4. Webster has a number of definitions for the word, and some of them use the word "true" to define "truth." That's not too good.
(1) Words are ideas put into communicative sounds that other people can understand, right?
(2) When a word, or words, match a particular reality, we think of that as true, or truth.
5. But truth is more than words. We probably can't express the meaning of the word "truth" too accurately, but the Bible gives the meaning quite well.

I. The Character of Truth Is: It Is Absolute!

1. In John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." When He was praying in John 17:17, He said, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth." (refers to the quality of God's Word.)
2. Biblically, "truth" is a word that describes one of the strongest traits of God's personality. John 14:6 says so.
3. Philosophy, in schools today, teaches that there is no such thing as absolute truth and people accept that as the final word!
(1) To say "There is no absolute truth!" Has an educated, authoritative sound, doesn't it?
(2) It may be an educated statement by this world's standard, but not by the Biblical standard.
(3) It denies what Jesus said in John 14:6, and makes Jesus either a liar, ignorant or both. Will you believe the Bible or will you believe some unchristian philosophy instructor?
(4) Other teachings seem to have paved the way for that view.
a. The teaching of evolution as being contrary to the Scripture is, I think, a trap of Satan.
b. Christians fell into that trap with their eyes wide open!
4. Must we always take Scripture literally?
(1) Well, was the earth created in six days?
(2) Archaeological "facts" seem to indicate it was not.
(3) But only if you discount the power and ability of God.
5. I say, we should take Scripture literally most of the time.
6. But there are necessary exceptions. Some deal with metaphors. For instance, the first part of Psalm 18 is metaphoric, and the second part is history as it happened.
ill. For instance, Psalm 98:8 says, "Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy;" Have you ever seen a river clapping its hands? Of course, not! Isaiah 55:12 says, "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." Did you ever hear mountains and hills sing? Did you ever see trees clapping their hands? Maybe the trees borrow hands from the river???
7. It is ludicrous to interpret poetry as simple prose! These are poetic concepts! And God intended for us to use the good sense He gave us to get the meaning as He meant it to be.
8. Philosophy comes from two Greek words. The first means "love" and the second means "wisdom."
(1) The Bible talks about wisdom frequently. James 1:5 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."
(2) Psalm 111:10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise." ("him" refers to God.)
9. Apparently most Philosophy professors think truth has many different sources, and truth is different for different people.
10. With that idea entrenched in philosophy professors' minds, Confucius, Mohammed, Buddha, godless scientists, religious zealots and scads of others all have their own "truth" and are on an equal with, or a level above, Jesus.
(1) It follows that they see numerous conflicting truths present in the world!
(2) That leaves a person with no idea what, or who, to believe.
(3) The end of that dilemma is at best agnosticism, and at worst, atheism.
11. The sad "truth" is it puts everyone at odds with the God Who created them, and their ultimate end is destruction!
12. The Bible is talking about that when it says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." (Proverbs 14:12).

II. Absolute Truth Frees Us.

1. Jesus said that. John 8:31,32 says, ":If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
(1) Oh? He didn't use the word "absolute?"
(2) Of course, he didn't! Truth, in itself, is absolute.
(3) There was no reason for Him to say "absolute" because there was no such thing as relative truth!
2. So what is the value of Philosophy's relative truth?
(1) People developed the idea of relative truth because it fitted their desire. They wanted to include everybody in the world in one big, happy family.
(2) On the other hand, the Bible says people without Jesus go to hell.
(3) If Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and all of the other religions of the world have their own truth, then everyone can be happy! (Or can they?) Everyone can go their own way, and everyone will end up in the same happy, eternal state of being.
a. Of course, for those who believe in reincarnation, and those who believe in Purgatory, it will take longer for them to get there, but they will all get there sooner or later! (According to their adherents).
b. I see a problem here! That genre of belief is anti-Biblical, and anti-godly!
c. Religion and Christianity are not the same thing!
3. God has given us all a conscience.
(1) If there is no absolute truth, then there is nothing that is really sin! (I can see how some people appreciate that!!! Can't you?)
(2) What's sin for one person may not be sin for another person, and that conflict eventually rules out anything as being sin.
(3) We believe men think up these complex religions with all of their rituals, but I don't believe we are smart enough to do that, do you?
I Timothy 4:1,2 says: "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron."
(4) Ungodly teachings are generated and inspired by demons!
(5) Did John House say that? No! The Bible said it!
4. Relative truth has no earthly or eternal value!
5. The only God Who promises freedom from the penalty, the power and the presence of sin is our Heavenly Father! The God of the Bible!

III. Absolute Truth Changes Us.

1. I've heard atheists say, "I'm free! I'm free of all religions!" But are they?
2. Let's consider that for a moment in a logical way.
3. Christianity promises to free us, so what is it the atheist is freed from?
(1) It must be his conscience! (Jesus would have freed him anyway). (2) For the atheist to say he is free from religion is like a person
being bitten by a dog and then crying out, "He didn't bite me because I don't believe dogs are real!"
4. The religions of the world all teach that a person can be better, or at least more religious, than he is.
(1) They have to go through certain steps, or reach certain plateaus, in order to reach their spiritual goals. Sadly to say, many churches claiming to teach the Christ of the New Testament tell their members the same sort of thing. (You have to be a member of this church. You have to be baptized in water. You have to speak in tongues. The list goes on and on!)
(2) All of these religions are do-it-yourself projects! Not Christianity!
5. Only Christianity tells us that God loves us, and God provided a way for us, and that Way is Jesus.
6. Only Christianity tells us that we will be changed by putting our trust in Jesus! Only Christianity tells us we will be all new!
7. We are new creations in Jesus! II Corinthians 5:17,18 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ..."
8. There are no steps in Christianity! But neither is there an end to change as long as we are on earth. We grow more like the Savior all the time, and then when we go to meet Him, we will be changed into His likeness! We will be shaped to fit into the presence of the Almighty God! And we will be with Him where He is!
9. While we are here, His Spirit makes His home within us. He is our constant Companion, our Teacher, our Guide!
10. No religion teaches anything like what God promises in Jesus!

Conclusion:

1. Listen! Schools teach that there is no absolute truth, but they only teach that because they don't know Jesus like we do!
2. You don't have to fuss with them about it, but you can be, and I hope you are, aware that the violence, crime, and probably most if not all of the disease in the earth, comes from people who do not believe in the One True God.
3. God does not call us to fight with unbelievers about our beliefs. We do need to pray for unbelievers. We need to pray for our country. We need to pray for our schools! We need to pray for ourselves, that we will stand true to our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus!
4. We are free! Relax and enjoy the freedom you have in Jesus!
5. You've changed since you met Jesus, and you will continue to change for the better until one day you will be like Jesus because you will see Him as He is!
6. None of the so-called religions of the world can say the things God led me to say in this message!
7. I'm not mad at any religion, or at any people who belong to other religions. I hurt for anyone I see going away from God, and that's true for people who make up this church.
8. I am aware that I am but a dim candle compared to my Lord and in comparison with many of my brethren, but that is not an issue here.
9. The issue is, will we hang back, or will we stand at the leading edge of the battle for the lives of others? It's the Lord's battle, but our place is standing with Jesus, and we are to be absolutely true to Him!

Emmanuel Community Church 2/19/2006

Predestination, A Little Understood Doctrine by John.

Predestination, A Little Understood Doctrine.
Ephesians 1:3-14, Romans 8:28-37
1. Paul used the word "Predestination" in some form only four times in Romans and Ephesians.
2. He used it twice in each of these Books.
3. Christians as a whole generally steer clear of talking about Predestination. Do you wonder why we don't talk about it much?
4. I believe there are at least three reasons:
(1) Most of us know little about predestination, and therefore we do not understand it very well, so it makes us uncomfortable to talk about it.
(2) We do know people differ in their opinion about it, and in the past, their feelings were strong enough to divide denominations.
(3) We may also be aware of some of the strange teachings concerning it. Ill. One of the most interesting to me is: the two-seed-in-the-spirit predestinarianism. Those who hold, or held, that doctrine believed everyone was born with either a "good seed" or a "bad seed." The "good seed" people became Christians, lived good lives and went to heaven when they died. The "bad seed" people remained lost, lived sinful lives and went to hell when they died. They believed they could not be converted, or changed. They were locked into the group in which they were born. (They followed John Calvin's teaching).
5. I think that group has died out completely, but I may be wrong.
6. There are a lot of lost people who believe "Que sera, sera!" or "Whatever will be, will be" as in the song Doris Day made popular many years ago.
7. Predestination is not complex, and it is a word we will run into now and again. We need to know about the doctrine since it does refer to how God has done things.
8. Ever so often someone asks me if I believe in Predestination, and I always say, "Of course, I do. It's in the Bible!"
9. First, let's consider "destination."

I. All Mankind Has a Final Destination.

1. Last Sunday I reminded you that the Bible says people in their natural, sinful state are hell bound.
2. I based that on a number of things.
(1) For instance, I Corinthians 2:14 says, "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."
(2) Romans 3:9 says, "What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin."
(3) Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
(4) Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
3. Now, people, that's where you are if you are not in Christ!
4. Your destination is hell, but that's not the end of the line!
5. Satan is going to be imprisoned for a thousand years. (That is an apocalyptic number, and it may refer to a period of time we can only guess at, but it is certain). Revelation 20:3 tells about that.
6. Then in Revelation 20:10, we read, "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
7. Revelation 20:14,15 give the final destination of lost people. "Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
8. People, no one wants to reach this final destination that God has decreed for all who refuse Him! It's an everlasting lake of fire that God prepared for the devil and his angels.
9. It was not prepared for mankind, but God will send you there if you determine before hand that you want to spend your life with Satan! That's your destination!

II. Now, Let's Consider "Predestination."
1. We frequently speak of God as being Omnipotent, omni-present, and omniscient. That means He is all-powerful, present everywhere at every given moment, and that He knows everything, no exceptions! He knows the past, the present and the future.
2. I think we need to add another adjective to the attributes of God that we don't usually consider. He is always completely prepared!
3. Predestination is obviously the word, "destination," with the addition of the prefix, "pre."
4. It's a good word to describe this whole thing. I believe God planned all of this before Satan sinned the very first time!
5. Of course, we do not know when that was, but it was before the creation of human beings. We know that from Genesis 1-3 because Satan was there in the serpent.
6. Paul used the word, Predestination, in more than one form twice in Romans and twice in Ephesians.
7. Ephesians 1: 9-14 is all about Predestination, and the term is used once in v. 5, and again in v. 11.
8. People go astray when they think about Predestination because they fail to connect the word with its context.
9. In vv 3,4, the writer blesses God. The reason for pronouncing that blessing is that God has blessed us.
10. Let's borrow some of the questions news reporters use.
(1) What happened and to whom did it happen? Answer? He blessed us and chose us!
(2) When did He plan this? Answer, before the foundation of the world God planned all of this in great detail.
(3) How did He plan to bless us? Answer, He intended to bless us by cleansing us of our sin and adopting us as His children.
(4) Why did He do it? Answer, He did it because He loved us.
(5) When does this blessing take place? The moment we trust Jesus for our salvation and make Him the Lord of our lives!
11. Does this seem to contradict anyone's idea of Predestination?

III. Predestination Works with Free Will.

1. John Calvin believed in "Unconditional Predestination" and "Irresistible Grace." Jacob Arminius believed in "Free will."
2. If he, Calvin and I had lived at the same time, we would have had a three-way argument about these beliefs.
(1) Calvin's first indicates a person has no choice of destination.
(2) His second indicates a person "predestined" to salvation cannot do anything to avoid being saved because grace is irresistible!
3. Arminius believed a person's will determined it, so he could be saved or lost more than once.
4. If any of these were true, why would Joshua say, (Joshua 24: 15) "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. "
5. Why would Jesus tell the rich young ruler, (Mt. 19:21) "If you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
6. Why would Jesus say, (Luke 11:8) "I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God."
7. We have choice, and once we choose Jesus, we receive eternal life.

Conclusionn:

1. Before time began, God knew what Satan would do, He knew what mankind would do, and He planned accordingly.
2. His knowledge is so complete, and so flawless that everything that happens simply is used to accomplish His will!
3. He loved the people He made.
(1) That did not take away their responsibility for obeying Him.
(2) But He did not base our salvation on acts, but on faith.
(3) All He asks of us is that we put our trust in His Son, listen to Him and live for Him.
(4) That takes a lot of determination on our part, but whatever is lacking, He will provide if we really want to be saved.
4. He predestined that every single person who put his trust in Jesus will be saved!
5. He predestines all who refuse His Son will be eternally lost.
6. They will endure eternal destruction with Satan in the lake of fire!
7. That's the reason the Scripture says, "I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." (I Cor. 6:2).
8. God decided who will be saved before He made mankind. All who put their trust in Jesus are predestined to spend eternity with God in heaven!

Emmanuel Community Church 2/26/2006

History Does Seem to Repeat Itself by John

History does seem to repeat itself.
Isaiah 1:1-20

1. We live in amazing times.
(1) Just this week I received pictures of a new computer shaped like a fountain pen. It can be clipped into a shirt pocket to record a conversation with someone. It will give a visual and audible record that can then be projected on to a screen for viewing.
(2) Drs. and other scientists are reversing their positions on many things almost daily.
2. There's a newly discovered planet beyond Pluto. It's about 4 times as big as earth. They haven't given it a name yet, but it is another planet. Can you imagine the technology required to see something that far away? Our technical abilities change almost daily!
3. History doesn't change, but some people do rewrite it to suit themselves, and history does seem to repeat itself, doesn't it?
4. Most people may never consider it, but the single most repeated item in history is change, and it seems to be constant.
5. We read these first 20 verses of Isaiah today because they tell us that some things apparently do not change! Or at least, they repeat.
(1) In the beginning, everyone believed in God. Adam and Eve walked and talked with God. After the Fall, people didn't have a personal relationship with God. They believed He existed, and that He created everything, but they were not close to Him.
(2) It didn't take long for people to stop believing in God, and by the time Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were kings of Judah, I'm sure there were more disbelievers than believers.
(3) That's not to say that most people believed there was no God, but that most people did not believe in the One True God.
6. When you look at Judah in that period, you don't have to stretch your imagination much to think the Bible is talking about today!

I. In vv 2-4 God States Judah's position.

1. He created mankind as well as the animals of the planet.
2. God pictured them as His children whom he raised, and now they have rebelled against Him.
3. Isn't it strange that oxen recognize their masters and donkeys know where they get their food, but human beings don't?
4. Human beings don't realize that their Creator owns them by right of creation.
(1) I can almost hear someone say, "Well, He may have created Adam and Eve, but not me!"
(2) Even if that was true, if you own a dog or a cat, and that animal has little ones, don't they belong to you?
(3) Their life spans are short, and you may own the descendents of your original pet for several different generations, right?
(4) Don't you see that it is right for God to be your Owner and Master?
5. Our position by creation is that we belong to God! We should recognize Him as our own Lord and Master!
6. Our present age is much like this age we read about in our text. People refuse to recognize God as He is!

II. In vv 5-9 God shows the futility of their rebellion.

1. In v 5, He asks them why they should be beaten anymore, and why they persist in rebellion? I've heard parents ask their children just about the same question, haven't you?
2. God told the Jews that they are seriously injured.
(1) Their wounds could cause their deaths!
(2) They are hurt, and they haven't even had first aid!
(3) Enemies have conquered their land!
a. Their cities are only the charred remains left by their enemies!
b. Their enemies have stripped their fields clean.
c. They are utterly defenseless even against the weather!
3. All of this is saying that they are hurt, hungry, in need of medical care, and they don't even have the protection of shelter from the weather!
4. They would cease to exist if it was not for the pity of the Lord!
5. In v 9, Isaiah speaks up, "Unless the Lord Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah."
6. Isaiah is speaking to us, people! Rebellion against God is completely futile! Without His blessing the future of mankind and this nation is bleak indeed!

III. In vv 10-16, God tells us Religion is a blind alley humans like to pursue!

1. God calls Judah "Sodom" in v 10.
(1) Let me digress here for a moment. If the sin of Sodom was homosexuality as many fundamental Bible students say, then God called the whole nation of Judah homosexual!
(2) Obviously Judah was not homosexual.
(3) Sodom's sin was their desire to humiliate strangers, and probably anyone else. This was probably not a first act of this kind for them.
(4) Rape of conquered people, males and females alike, was practiced for that purpose. A people with broken spirit would not be likely to give their conquerers much trouble.
(5) With one word, "Sodom," God told Judah that they possessed Sodom's character. (That's the opposite of the character of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53.
(6) That meant they deserved the same treatment Sodom got!
(7) Only God's promise to David, and His love for the people He had made into a nation kept Him from treating them the same way He treated Sodom!
2. Now God talks about their religion, and what He said applies today, too!
(1) V 11, Their sacrifices meant nothing to God. He found no pleasure in them.
(2) V 12, He asked them who told them to trample God's courts?
(3) V 13, He wanted them to stop bringing their offerings and their burning incense was detestable to Him.
(4) Vv 13b, 14 He could not bear their special day celebrations. He hated them!
(5) V 15, When they prayed He would hide His eyes from them, and no matter how much they prayed He would not listen!
3. People, if religion is all you have, God will not answer your prayers and your future is barren.

IV. In Vv 17,18, Even before Christ, God gave them a way out.

1. First, they had to clean up their lives, stop doing wrong and start doing right.
2. Doing right included being just, encouraging the oppressed, defending the cause of the fatherless, and pleading the case of widows.
3. James echoed these words in James 1:27, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
4. God gave them the opportunity to look forward in time to the coming of His Son as their Savior, but Judah refused to do it, and they suffered God's wrath as a result.
5. We look back to lthe cross now, but the opportunity is still there. The question is, will we obey the Lord, or not? The way is open to us.

Conclusion:

1. Vv 18-20 contain an invitation, a blessing, and a warning.
(1) One of the most wonderful invitations in the Bible is in v 18.
"'Come now, let us reason together.' says the Lord. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.'"
(2) Helen Keller was blind, but she had remarkable spiritual insight. She said something to the effect that security in this world is impossible, but in v 19, God says that when you obey Him security is an eternal reality.
(3) V 20 warns rebellious people that destruction awaits them if they continue on their own course! ill. When I was a youngster, some service stations had signs up that said, "Free air." The Red Front Station run by Mr. Burger was the first to have free air in our town. An old farmer came in with his right front tire low. He asked if it was true that the air was free, and Mr. Burger told him it was, and started to put the air in for the farmer. The farmer stopped him, and told him he would do it himself. Mr. Burger said, "Okay...But have you used compressed air before?" The man told him he had not, but that he knew what he was doing! He held the air hose to the valve and then with his other hand he made up and down motion like he was using a hand air pump. Mr. Burger tried to warn him, but he just kept going, and in a moment the tire exploded like a stick of dynamite!
The old farmer ended up buying a new tire and tube. Doing it his way cost him! Proverbs 14:12 says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death."
2. Today this nation looks like it is playing the same losing game with God that Judah played, and I believe Isaiah's message to Judah is exactly what we need right now.
3. The way to conquer sin in your own life is for you to place your life in the hands of Jesus. Honor Him as the Lord and Savior of your life. He has already conquered sin, and He gives you the victory!
4. I repeat the invitation God gave in our text...
"'Come now, let us reason together.' says the Lord. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.'"

ECC 1/29/2006.

Teachers and Priests Against Jesus by John.

Teachers and Priests Against Jesus.
Luke 20:1-18

1. It is a shame to say, but religion is one of the most used excuses for the murder of God's people.
(1) When a statement like that is made, Bible students usually immediately think about Stephen, but he was not the first.
(2) In Israel, prophets were stoned to death because they didn't agree with the false prophets.
(3) Even Saul, the first king tried to kill David because he recognized David as his successor and as God's chosen man.
(4) After David died, the kings who followed him seemed to prefer idols they could see and control to the One True God they could neither see nor control. They may not have thrown a stone, but they backed the people who did kill the prophets.
2. When God sent His Son Jesus to Bethlehem and Jerusalem, the Jewish Scribes, Pharisees and Herodians were in power. Rome was the conqueror of Israel and actually controlled everything.
(1) The Jews had already lost their preeminence as the actual rulers of the nation.
(2) They were determined not to lose more.
(3) They hated Jesus because He was popular with the people, and that made Him a threat to their position and power.
3. They devised a plan to get rid of Him, and it involved questioning His authority. (This is always true of Jesus...)

I. He Put The Jewish leaders to Shame with His Words.

1. You know how people get together and try to figure out all of the angles before they confront a mutual enemy, don't you? (You do if you keep up with politics.)
2. These Jewish leaders held a conclave.
3. They were well educated and knew the art of argument and debate, but they under estimated this Stranger from Galilee.
(1) It was natural that they did.
(2) They right up-to-date on his background, and carpenters were not known for formal education or debating skills.
(3) It was natural for them to think Jesus was a flash in the pan who could not compete with their intelligence, experience and education!
4. They decided on a straightforward, blunt attack, "Who gave you this authority," or as we would say: Who told you that you could usurp our authority in teaching the people!!!
5. Jesus turned the tables on them by indicating that He would answer their question if they answered His.
6. He asked them, "John's baptism--was it from heaven, or from men?"
7. They retired for another caucus.
(1) "If we say 'from heaven,' he will ask, 'Why didn't you believe him?'"
(2) "If we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us.'"
(3) They finally decided to say that they didn't know.
8. Jesus exercised His right by telling them He wouldn't answer them either.
9. He could have had a long, drawn out argument with them, but He chose to shut them up, and He did.
10. Instead of arguing, He told the people and their leaders a parable about a landowner. His revelation stunned them.

II. His Story Prophesied His Own Death on the Cross.

1. It begins in v 9. A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some men, and he went away for a long time.
2. We would call these men "sharecroppers" because the landowner was supposed to get part of the crop.
(1) When I was a little boy in Mississippi, every time I heard that term, it was used to put someone down. People talking would say of another, "He's nothing but a sharecropper!" I thought it was a curse word.
(2) When I got a little older, I discovered that a lot of the sharecroppers were really nice, in fact, they were probably a lot nicer than many of the land owners!
3. The sharecroppers in Jesus' parable progressed in sin just as described in Psalm 1:1. "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of the mockers."
(1) Sinners first walk together, then stand together to talk, then sit and mock those who obey God.
(2) Do you see that progression into evil here?
a. First, people dabble in sin.
b. Then they progress into willful disobedience.
c. Finally, evil becomes the character of their lives!
d. Their first act was bad enough, but they became much worse as time went on!
4. Look at what they did...
(1)They beat the landowner's servant, and sent him home empty-handed.
(2) He sent a second servant, and they treated him the same way, but they also dishonored him. (That shows progression).
(3) He sent a third servant. They treated him the same way, and they wounded him. (Still more progression into evil).
(4) Last, he sent his own son, and they killed him thinking that the land would become theirs. (Evil grows worse with every act!)
5. All of this story was historical except for the part about the last servant. That part prophesied Jesus' death!
6. The Jewish leaders knew they were the "husbandmen" in Jesus' story.
7. The crowd was horrified, and cried out, "may genoita!" May it never be! (These are the same words Paul used in Romans at least ten times and translated in the KJ more than once as "God forbid." Actually, the "may" is a negative, and the genoita is a form of the verb "ginomai." It's more meaningful for us to say, "Let it never happen!"
8. In v 17, Jesus looked directly at the leaders and said, "Then what is the meaning of that which is written" (Ps 118:22) "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone"?

III. He Clearly Stated Mankind's Failure, and these Leaders are included.

1. Self-seeking is the opposite of God-seeking.
2. These leaders could not accept Jesus for two reasons:
(1) He did not fit what they were taught and accepted as true, and...
(2) He did not fit what they themselves were teaching others at that very time.
3. Jesus is the Capstone. (Gk. kephalan goonias - head/corner)
(1) The builders rejected Him, and now He is the Head, or Keystone, of the archway!)
(2) Anyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces!
(3) Anyone on whom it falls will be crushed!
(4) The Jewish leaders knew He was talking about them. Failing to accept Him, they fell on the Stone, and that Stone would crush them!
4. It's bad to be wrong, but it is a whole lot worse to be wrong and to lead others into your sin!
(1) Jesus said, (Mt23:15) "Woe to you Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are!"
(2) He also said, "If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."
5. The whole world needs to turn away from selfish desire, and to turn to Jesus. That's what the world lacks!

Conclusion:

1. In order for the world to become godly, there are three things that must be considered:
2. First, Jesus did come in the flesh. He died for the sins of mankind. He is the Rock, the Capstone, the Cornerstone. the Keystone of the arch.
3. Second, God the Father is giving us time to repent right now, but there is no promise about tomorrow. Time could end at the end of this sentence I am speaking!
4. Third, Just as surely as Jesus did come, He is coming again. He will receive to Himself all who trust, commit their lives to Him and seek to obey Him. Those who have not, and do not, receive Him are falling on the Rock, and at that time, the Rock will fall on them.
5. It's not too late, but every minute that passes brings His second coming closer! This is the time to make your decision for Jesus.

Emmanuel Community Church 2/5/2006