Ministry of Love

The intention of this blog is to share Biblical messages at least on a weekly basis. Any response is appreciated. I do not expect everyone to agree with my interpretation of Biblical passages. I will try to respond with love and thoughtfulness.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Don't Be Disturbed About the Kingdom, by John.

Don't Be Disturbed About the Kingdom.
Luke 17: 20-37

1. Today there is a man who has already gained a large following by saying he is Christ.
(1) He says the Bible is right, and that Jesus was born and died as it says He did.
(2) He says the Bible is right about the second coming of Jesus.
(3) Beyond that, he is wrong because he says he has returned the second time, and he is the Christ.
2. If we do not know our Bibles, or if we believe our Bibles are full of errors, such a person will mislead us.
3. I want us to think about what Jesus said about the Kingdom of God, then we may connect that to the Second Coming.
4. So let me begin by saying, don't be disturbed about the Kingdom of God.
5. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection.
(1) They believed the Kingdom of God would not come until the resurrection happened.
(2) Their question was reason enough for Jesus to teach them and His disciples about the Kingdom.
6. Let's look at a few points of His teaching...

I. The Kingdom of God is Spiritual.

1. The Pharisees could only picture the Kingdom of God as a place.
(1) That was a natural mistake. God took then out of Egypt and brought them to the Promised Land, a physical place where a lot of different people already lived.
a. It was a place where they were expected to drive out and actually destroy the residents of the land.
b. That meant it would take a lot of sacrifice on their part
aa. They would have to use sword, spear and sling!
bb. They would doubtlessly have to live on whatever their families could provide for them to eat, or what they could take from their enemies.
(2) Their traditions had not prepared them spiritually, and that is one of the great dangers of tradition!
2. In v. 20, Jesus told them they could not see the Kingdom of God by keeping a sharp watch for it.
3. In v. 21, He told them it was a mistake to listen to other people who would say, the Kingdom of God is right here! Or the Kingdom of God is right over there!
4. He finished that verse by telling them where the The kingdom of God was and still is! It's within you!
5. Years ago I listened to a radio preacher who was talking about Billy Graham preaching at that time in Madison Square Garden. I don't remember his exact words, but it went something like this, That preacher says, "Come up to New York City and get saved," but that ain't going to save you! You save your money and come up to Detroit. You come up here to me, and you get saved!"
6. The point that Jesus was making is that you have to come to Him spiritually for salvation, and you will be in the Kingdom of God!
7. God wants to be King within you!

II. Second, Our Desire Makes It Easy to Be Fooled!

1. He knew that sin would be rampant in the world just as it is today.
2. In verse 1 of this chapter, Jesus said, "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come."
3. When sin is everywhere we look, it is hard for us to see God in all His glory.
(1) Christians shake their heads because they don't know what to do.
(2) As it was in the Old Testament on many occasions, the people have no direct word from God.
(3) Even the best Christians begin to have doubts if not about the reality of God, about His reign on earth!
4. When such times arise, and I believe we are in one of them right now, people yearn for a Word from God!
5. When we seek God, Satan is quick to help us make a mistake. He provides false leadership.
6. And because we yearn for God, we are easily misled.
(1) We were eating today, and I said, "Boy! This tastes good!" My daughter laughed and repeated an old saying, "Hunger makes everything taste better!"
(2) It's true! We need to be careful when we hunger for God because our yearning may make us easily misled.
7. If you are hungering for God, look in the Bible! That's the right place to get acquainted with Him.

III. When Jesus Comes Again, Be Ready!

1. Times change, but people don't.
(1) When the flood came, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, doing everything just the way they had always done it!
(2) When God's representatives visited Lot and his family in Sodom, everything was going on as usual including their sin!
(3) In the first instance, the water must have taken days to rise over the earth, but no matter how long it took, the door to the ark was already sealed! They could not get in, and Noah had preached and witnessed to them for 120 years!!!!
(4) In Sodom, as soon as Lot left the city, fire rained down from heaven and inundated the whole land! It was instantaneous!
(5) I think Jesus used these two illustrations to say to us, when He comes, if you haven't already made preparation for the trip, you won't be able to change your mind! It will be too late!
2. The whole point is, you can get ready now! If you get ready now, you will be ready when the time comes.
3. If all you are doing is trying to avoid hellfire, you won't be ready.
4. If you commit your life completely to Jesus, you will be ready!

conclusion:

1. Offences will come Jesus said, and people who falsely proclaim a special word from God, or a special visit from God are committing such an offence.
2. The Kingdom of God is within us who trust Jesus. God is King in our hearts!
3. When we are already in the Kingdom, we need not worry about when Jesus will come, or where we may find Him. He is already with us!
4. If you wait until that day, I don't think you will make it according to this Scripture.
5. You have to make preparation in advance. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus gave us a most wonderful invitation: "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door. I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."
6. The door to heaven is open to all just like the door of the ark was in Noah's day.
7. Make your decision for Jesus before the rain starts!

Saturday, November 10, 2007

First John Bible Study, Chapter 2:1-11, by John.

First John Bible Study Chapter 2:1-11.

1. Let's start with a Recap, and perhaps we will add a little to what we discussed last week.
(1) John, the writer, was a disciple of Jesus.
(2) He was with Him all of the time.
(3) He witnessed the reality of the resurrection.
2. The early church decided that for a writing to be inspired, holy, Spirit-led and Spirit filled, the writer had to have such a personal relationship with Jesus.
(1) Wouldn't it be wonderful to be in the presence of Jesus like John was?
(2) Wouldn't it be wonderful to hear God speak directly to you?
3. Early church councils said that God's Word must meet three requirements:
(1) The author must have at least seen Jesus.
(2) His message must be accepted by most of God's people
(3) And it must agree with other Scriptural accounts.
4. John fit that description.
(1) He was a disciple.
(2) He was a leader in the churches.
(3) His writings agree with other written accounts.
4. In all three of these letters, and Revelation, He wrote to Christians to instruct them and encourage them. The Gospel's purpose was evangelistic, but also was written to give a straight account of the events in Jesus' life on earth that were most meaningful.
(1) The ones to whom he wrote 1st John were probably weak in the faith, so his purpose for writing was two fold.
(1) God wanted them to have some absolute truths to strengthen their faith, and to help them stand in the face of false doctrine.
(2) Persecution would result, and God wanted them to have a strong, abiding hope for the future.
5. We saw that Christians stand in the light of God, and that we cannot claim sinless perfection, but rather God accepts us as sinless in His sight because Jesus paid for our sins on the cross.
6. We still commit sins, and when we confess them God forgives them because Jesus is our Savior.
7. John wanted every Christian to know that God is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and we are able to live clean lives because of that.
8. To say otherwise is to call God a liar! And that implies His word has no place in our lives.
9. Chapter divisions are for our convenience only. (1) A French printer put them in the Bible some time after Guttenberg invented the printing press.
(2) Neither they nor the dates were in the original Bible. An Irish Archbishop James Usher, figured out the dates by mathematics, and added them.
(3) Neither the dates nor the chapters have anything to do with inspiration.

CHAPTER TWO.

1. V. 1: "My dear children," is the strongest term of affection and love a parent would use. It indicates how much John loved these Christians, and he loved them with the same love that Jesus loved both him and us.
2. John knew Christians can and will sin, so one purpose of his letter is to urge us not to sin!
3. If we do sin, we need to remember we have "one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ."
4. The King James and many other translations retain the Greek word "paraclete" here. I like to use Paraclete because of what it meant at that time in history. It referred to a person called to stand before the judge and intercede for an accused person on trial.
5. The Paraclete here is Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. Romans 8:26, 27 also says, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will."
6. V. 2: Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
(1) Did Jesus die just for our sins? What about the rest of the world?
(2) Jesus died for all people.
a. Everyone in the world has an open door into heaven. It's Jesus. In John 10:7,9 Jesus said, "I am the gate for the sheep." and "I am the gate." The Greek word here translated gate is "THURA." It's used a number of times by Jesus, and refers to the entrance into heaven.
b. So many erroneously say, "Well, after all, everybody is going to heaven! Jesus died for everybody."
c. The last part is true. Jesus did, but their conclusion is false. Only those who trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior will go to heaven.
d. Let's look at Ephesians 2:8,9: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast."
e. Notice the tense indicates two things.
aa. He is talking to people who are already saved,
bb. And they are still saved today.
f. Notice also that God does all the saving.
g. You receive salvation by your faith in Jesus.
h. Other than having faith, there is nothing you can do to save yourself.
i. Note from this sentence construction, even faith comes from God. You want it? Ask for it! But when you receive it, expect to change. Listen to James 2:19: "You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder."
7. V 2-5. I'm sure John was asked many times, "How can I know that I'm saved?" John begins to answer that question right now.
(1) Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world!
(2) V 3; We know we know Him because we pattern our lives after Him. (We have to change to do that).
(3) V 4; "I know Him" sounds good, but they are not magic words. To say it and not live by His commands and example shows that those words are lies!
(5) V 5; Obeying God's Words completes God's love in us. (The King James has "perfected" here. Complete is a more accurate translation.)
(6) We can look at our own lives and know that we are really in Christ! The more obedient to Him we are, the greater our confidence will be that we are His saved children.
8. V 7. Agapetoi, "Dearly loved ones" is the Greek term John used to open this section. He is writing to Christians. He is going to state some negative things that do not apply to Christians, and he wants them to understand he loves them.
(1) The old command of v. 7 has always been true.
a. In Matthew 5:43, 19:19 and 22:39, Jesus said, "Love your neighbor." That is the "old commandment."
b. V. 8, The application of the command to our "brothers" is certainly the "new" commandment. (All Christians were termed "adelphos," brothers.
(2) The newest concept is its connection with light and darkness.
a. If you love all Christians (brothers), you are walking in the light, and "the darkness is passing and the light is already shining".
b. If you hate Christians (brothers), you are not walking in light.
9. V. 9, Anyone who claims to be in the light, but hates his brother has not changed. He is in the dark! Away from God.
10. V 10, Living in the light leaves nothing to cause anyone to stumble into sin.
11. V 11, The person without light can't get into the light, has no God-given sense of direction and is hopeless (unless he accepts Jesus and walks in the light). That is his only hope! It is doubtful you can love your neighbor if you don't love your Christian brothers and sisters.

Conclusion:

1. Christians are always faced with adversity because Satan is tireless in seeking to defeat and destroy God.
2. Christians have the same strong desires that lost people have, and we can and do fall into sin because we still have a strong desire to promote our own selfish desires.
3. We sin also because of our relationship with people around us.
4. We need to realize that God is light, and all sin is dark! There is no darkness in God.
5. If we do not love our brothers, we are in darkness, lost, and incapable of coming to God "The Light."
6. The situation is not completely hopeless. The door into God's loving presence is Jesus who gave His life to pay for our sins.
7. We can accept Him as our Lord and Savior, and we will be saved by His grace through our faith.
8. If our believe does not change us, we need to go back and start over because we are still walking in darkness!
9. Trust Jesus, open your life to Him, and let Him do the changing that is necessary. In John 3:3, Jesus told Nicodemus, "No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
10. That's how drastic the change in us must be! It's like being born all over again!