I am currently in a series of messages on the Holy Spirit. As last week, I am going to talk to you about the basics of the Spirit today. In my upcoming messages, we will explore the various gifts of the Spirit.

Speaking of last week’s message, you may remember I referenced Jesus’ words in John 16:7 in that sermon. I want to now return to that verse. “But I tell you that I am going to do what is best for you. That is why I am going away. The Holy Spirit cannot come to help you until I leave. But after I am gone, I will send the Spirit to you.” Contemporary English Version.

Then too, I talked to you about Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

In order for the Lord’s work to really be accomplished on the grand scale that God intended, Jesus had to go and the Spirit had to come.

Think with me, how many converts did Jesus gain during His thirty-three years of ministry here on Earth? This would have been a good question for the game. Actually, just a handful:

• Eleven of His disciples.
• A thief on the Cross.
• Zaccheus,
• As well as a few more scattered souls here and there. The Word points out that many of those who did believe on Him turned away from Him when His teachings started hitting too close to home.

And yet, again, fifty days following His resurrection 3,000 people accepted Christ when the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost. The church then took off like a rocket.

• Prior to Pentecost, the disciples were fearful and unsure. Following Pentecost, they were bold and courageous — even at the cost of their lives!
• Prior to Pentecost, the disciples were without focus. After Pentecost they turned the world upside down for the Lord.

What made the difference? Without a doubt, it was the coming of the Holy Spirit!

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS STILL MAKING A DIFFERENCE TODAY
Every Christian tradition has a birth date. For instance, the Roman Catholic Church traces its beginnings back to when Jesus told Peter, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) The Roman church says that at that time Jesus appointed Peter as the first Catholic Pope thus instituting the Church. If that view is accepted, the Catholic Church began around 32 CE. Others believe, myself included, that the church didn’t get its start until the time of Emperor Constantine in the early fourth century. Any way you slice it, the church is old – very, very old.

The Protestant movement can be traced back to October 31, 1517. That is the day when Martin Luther officially split with the Roman Catholic church. As a result of Luther’s actions, the Great Reformation took place. Out of the reformation came the reformed churches, the Lutherans, Baptists, eventually the Methodists and so on. The reformation is also old – very, very old.

Next came the Pentecostal movement. It is by far the youngest of the major traditions. It’s birth came about in 1901 as the Holy Spirit fell on the students at a tiny Bible college under the leadership of Charles Parham in Topeka, Kansas.

Later the Pentecostal revival spread to a little mission on Azusa Street in Los Angeles, California. That move of God ran from 1906 to 1908 under the leadership of the African American preacher William J Seymour. As you can see, the Pentecostal movement is quite young – barely a hundred years old.

Nonetheless, today, the Pentecostal movement is growing by leaps and bounds. Notice this chart. It shows the percentage of global Christians that presently claim to be Spirit-filled.

Next, I want you to notice the main protestant denominations listed by size. According to a report by the Pew Research Center, dated December, 2011, the largest of the groups is now the historically Pentecostal denominations. Then if you add in the number of independents and non-denominationals from the bottom of the list that claim to be Pentecostal, then the percentage of groups that are Pentecostal is huge! And all of this growth has taken place in only 100 years.

Let me tell you something about the Assemblies of God. I realize that I rarely mention our denomination. But I believe that a sermon like this begs to have something said about what God is doing in our fellowship. While the Assemblies of God does not push membership as does many other denominations, we still have nearly 3 million members – plus adherents — in the United States. In addition to this, the Assemblies planted better than one new church every day last year here in the US.

Historically, we consider ourselves a missions organization. As such, we are much larger overseas than we are here at home. It is now said that we have better than 64 million adherents worldwide. In fact, in Africa alone, about 2,500 people are finding Christ and becoming part of Assemblies of God churches each day. More than 155,000 people were baptized in the Holy Spirit, and 14,245 churches were planted there during 2009. The Assemblies of God is a Pentecostal denomination.

Let me spring another term on you – charismatic. Charismatic Christianity began in the late 1950s. Charismatic Christians believe many of the same things as we who are considered traditional Pentecostals and behave in many of the same ways but they feel no need to separate from the non-Pentecostal denominations to which they belong.

One commonly cited source estimates that there are currently some 120 million participants in the global Catholic charismatic renewal. This number includes about 14 million charismatic Catholics who attend weekly charismatic prayer groups.

Then there are significant numbers of other charismatic Christians who typically identify themselves as Baptist and charismatic, Lutheran and Charis-matic, Methodist and Charismatic and so forth.

The book, The Spirit Said ‘Grow,’ states that Pentecostal/Charismatic Christians now form the second largest Christian group in the world, outnumbered only by the Roman Catholic Church.

Pentecostals have now infiltrated all of the 150 major non-Pentecostal groups and denominations. In addition to this, Pentecostals can now be found in at least 230 nations of the world. One-fourth of all of the world’s full-time Christian workers are likewise Pentecostal-Charismatic.

Finally there are on growing number of Pentecostal/charismatic Christians around the world that are independent. While they do not want to be aligned with any particular group, they are typically Pentecostal/charismatic in their spirituality and practice.

Finally, according to the Pew Research Center, there are about 279 million Pentecostal Christians and 305 million charismatic Christians worldwide.

Why did I feel it important to share this information with you? Last week I alluded to the prophesy of the Old Testament Prophet Joel. In that word from God, Joel noted that in the last days God was going to “pour out His Spirit on all flesh.” God is obviously fulfilling that prophesy right before our very eyes. His Spirit is being poured out on peoples of difference races, different denominations, different genders, as well as on those who are young and old. He has even poured out His Spirit on people such as you and me.

I HAVE ANOTHER CHART FOR YOU. THIS ONE DEALS WITH DOCTRINE

 

As you can see on the chart, I have nine Pentecostal denominations listed. Of the nine, eight are the same color. Not only are the eight the same color, they are also very much alike in their belief systems. Granted there are some differences, but not enough to squawk about.

Then there’s the ninth denomination. The United Pentecostal Church. The eight aqua colored denominations, are Trinitarian in belief. In other words, we believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we baptize in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The United Pentecostal Church, are called oneness or Jesus only.

• They reject the idea of the Trinity. There is only Jesus: Jesus is God, Jesus is Jesus, and Jesus is the Holy Spirit.
• Due to this, they baptize in water in the name of Jesus. They reject any baptism that is not in the name of Jesus. They also hold to the idea that without water baptism in Jesus’ name, one is unsaved.
• They are the only one of the major Pentecostal denominations that believe in order to go to heaven you have to be both baptized in the Holy Spirit as well as speak in tongues. They do not leave any room for compromise.
• They are also very strict when it comes to clothing, hair, and other matters of deportment.
• Because they use the term “Pentecostal” in their name, many times people lump all Pentecostals into that group. That is unfortunate.

As I pointed out last week and again today, the Assemblies of God believe in and practice speaking in tongues. However, we do not see tongues as being a requirement for salvation or fellowship. I have known of some wonderful saints of God who did not have the Pentecostal experience. In my opinion, that fact has no bearing on whether or not those people go to heaven. The United Pentecostals differ with me here.

Only recently I was told for the umpteenth time that someone outside our
church told someone else that New Life Assembly of God believes that one has
to speak in tongues in order to be saved. I find it humorous that there are those who are not a part of us who feel that they know more about what we believe and practice than we do. Oft-times they are wrong.

I want you to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth:

• We believe in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
• We believe that Jesus Christ is divine, the Holy Son of the Living God.
• We believe in salvation through faith in the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
• We believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ.
• We believe in the Holy Trinity.
• We believe that the Bible is the inerrant and authoritative Word of God.
• We believe in speaking in tongues.
• We believe in divine healing.
• We believe in the Spirit-filled life.
• We believe that the gifts of the Spirit as found in the Bible are still for the church today.
• We believe that Jesus Christ is coming again to receive His church unto Himself.
• We believe that there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun.
• We believe that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8.

I know that we have folks that attend here that do not see eye to eye with us on each of these points. I have no problem with that. In fact, those people help keep me on my toes. I like that. Nonetheless, New Life Assembly Of God is Pente-costal. However, we are not oneness Pentecostal. There is a big difference.

In closing, Jesus says in Luke 11:13, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Have you asked? “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (Acts 19:2)

I am rapidly becoming a skeptic.  Hardly a week goes by but that either Marilyn or myself receives a notice that we have won something, or that some valuable free gift is enclosed in the bulk rate envelope. I am smart enough to know that businesses can’t and won’t stay in business very long if they just send valuable free gifts to complete strangers in the mail. There has to be a catch somewhere. Right? Right. We have all heard over and over again, “There is no such thing as a free lunch.” Well maybe we should add to that:

• There is no such thing as a free large screen television,
• A free car,
• A free dream vacation to the Superbowl, or
• A free I-Pad.

Again, the skeptic in me asks, “What’s in the fine print?”

Now can you think of even one exception? Well to be honest, I can. Jesus noted in

Luke 11:13, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Here the Lord offers a free gift, one of the very best gifts of all, and it is freely given to His children. What is that gift, you ask? It is the Holy Spirit of God.

This morning I want to begin a new series of messages. Over the next several weeks I want to talk to you about unwrapping your spiritual gifts. I will be dealing with some of the gifts of the Spirit found in 1 Corinthians 12.

However, this morning and next Sunday morning, as a lead in to the series, I want to give you a primer on the Holy Spirit. I feel that before you can understand the Gifts of the Spirit, you really need to understand the Spirit behind the gifts. Since this is a primer, for some of you, this will be material that you have no doubt heard before and that you already know. For others, though, this will be new news.

WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?
To answer that, let me first ask, when did you receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? I accepted him in August, 1961, at the Rainbow Tabernacle church, in Wichita, Kansas. The church was in revival. I was but a young teenager at the time. My mother came to Jesus in that same service. So, again, when did you receive Jesus into your heart?

This is a quiz — When do you think the disciples received Christ?

a.         On the Mount of Transfiguration

b.        While praying in the Garden of Gethsemane

c.         At the resurrection of Jesus Christ

d.        On the Day of Pentecost

e.         None of the above?

In my opinion, the answer is “e”, None of the above.

Let me direct your attention to John 20:22, “And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”

This is it. This is where it happened. At this point Jesus breathed new life into Peter, James, John and the others and they experienced what Jesus in John 3 called being “born again.” In Genesis 2:7 we read, “The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” In both Hebrew and Greek, the word for “breath” also means “spirit.” The breath of God here in Genesis brought about physical life. The breath of Jesus Christ in John 20:22 brought about spiritual life.

Prior to this life-giving moment, the Holy Spirit had dwelt with the disciples in the person of Christ, but now the Spirit would be in them. In the same way, the Spirit moves in and makes us His temple when we come to know Jesus.

So back to the question, “Who is the Holy Spirit?” He is the One who brings us to salvation. At salvation, He comes to live in us.

Then too, I see Him as being a part of the so-called Holy Trinity. Let me explain. The Bible teaches us that God is comprised of three persons:

• God the Father
  • God the Son
  • God the Holy Spirit

Notice how this is brought out in these two passages of Scripture:

Luke 1:35 records the angel Gabriel announcing the Savior’s birth to the virgin Mary. Gabriel said, “The Holy Spirit (God the Spirit) will come upon you, and the power of the Most High (God the Father) will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God (God the Son).”

For my second example I want to use Matthew 3:16-17, “As soon as Jesus (God the Son) was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God (God the Spirit) descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven (God the Father) said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’” 

We call these three, the three in one. For the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three gods, but rather one God. 

Nature is full of examples of three in one:

The apple

• Peel
• Flesh
• Core

Nevertheless, these three parts of the apple make up only one apple.

The egg

• Shell
• White
• Yoke

Again, these three parts of the egg make up only one egg.

We fit into this ILLUSTRATION as well. Each one of us are made up oF:

• Body
• Soul
• Spirit

These three parts though, again make up one human being.

Deuteronomy 6:4 states, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” Yes, He is one God.

So the Holy Spirit is as much a part of God as is God Himself. In fact, the Holy Spirit is God just as Jesus is God. He is not a created god, not an angelic god, not an inferior god – but God!

He possesses all of the characteristics of deity including:

• He is eternal
• Unlimited in wisdom and knowledge
• Everywhere present at the same time
• All powerful
• Holy
• Complete
• Unchanging

Some of the names of the Holy Spirit as found in Scripture are:

• The Spirit
• The Holy Ghost
• The Spirit of Truth
• The Spirit of Wisdom
• The Spirit of God
• The Spirit of Promise
• The Spirit of Grace
• The Helper
• The Counselor
• The Comforter

Now I want you to notice the fact that while they are equal, each member of the Holy Trinity possesses different responsibilities:

• I pray to the Father
• Through the Son
• By the Holy Spirit.

I want to break this down. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He taught them to direct their prayers to God the Father – “Our Father in Heaven, Holy is your name….”

Next, Jesus instructed His followers to pray in the Name of Jesus. It is that name that grants us authority. It is that name that grants us access. How can a puny little human being like myself hope to approach Almighty God? I come to the Father saying, “I know Jesus. He is my Savior. He told me that I could come before you; that you would honor my request so I come to you in Jesus’ name.”

Finally, the Apostle Paul teaches us in Romans 8 that it is the Holy Spirit that is our helper in prayer.

Next,

• The Father forgives
• By way of the blood of Jesus
• Due to the conviction or the work of the Holy Spirit.

• The Father sent
• The Son went
• And the Spirit abides.

Well, leaving that, I want us to NOW LOOK AT THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

John 16:7 sets the stage, “But 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.”

Some other translations put this in part:

• “It is for your benefit….”
• “it is to your advantage….”
• “It is a good thing….”
• “But I tell you that I am going to do what is best for you. That is why I am going away. The Holy Spirit cannot come to help you until I leave. But after I am gone, I will send the Spirit to you.”

No doubt, it had to be hard for the disciples to comprehend how in the world anything could be better than having the living breathing Son of God — Jesus Christ of Nazareth – the Promised Messiah — right there in their midst.

They had watched Him as He healed the sick, cast out devils, raised the dead, forgave sinners and more. What could possibly be any better than that? Nonetheless, Jesus was telling them that not only was He going, but that it was for their good or advantage that He was in fact leaving. 

How could this be, they wondered? While Jesus was here on Earth, He was limited by His fleshly body:

• He had to eat, to drink, to rest like any other man.
• He could only be in one place at any one time.
• Then too, He also had a date on a cross that He had to keep.  As a sin offering, He had to die.

While Jesus was God, He was also very human. It was that robe of flesh that limited Him.

However, the Holy Spirit would not be robed in flesh and thus it would not know such limitations.

• The Spirit would be as limitless and powerful as God Himself.
• It would not grow tried or weary.
• It would not need food to eat and water to drink.
• It could be here, there, anywhere at the same time.
• It would and could never die!

While the disciples struggled to see any possible good in the Lord’s leaving, we can clearly see the advantages that the Holy Spirit’s coming has brought to the church.

Notice now Acts 1:3-5 (Contemporary English Version), “For forty days after Jesus had suffered and died, he proved in many ways that he had been raised from death. He appeared to his apostles and spoke to them about God’s kingdom. While he was still with them, he said: Don’t leave Jerusalem yet. Wait here for the Father to give you the Holy Spirit, just as I told you he has promised to do. John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Here Jesus shares some of His very last words prior to His ascending back up to heaven. Again He reminded them that He was going to send the promised Holy Spirit, but until the Spirit came, they were to merely sit-tight. To wait in the city of Jerusalem.

Let me remind you, it was just prior to this encounter that Jesus had given the disciples the Great Commission to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. With such a great task in view, it certainly stands to reason that they needed to get started right away. Right? Wrong. They were told to wait.

As many of you know, I am a Type A personality. As such, I hate to wait. Convenience stores were created with people like me in mind. “But Pastor, you can save money if you go to Woodmans or Wal-Mart.” I know. But if I wanted to go on a 20 mile hike, I would join the army. I want to be in and out not in two minutes, not two hours! I hate to wait.

Are you aware of the fact that if you lived on St. Paul Island in Alaska and got the urge for pizza, it would take three days for the pizza to arrive? It would be just my luck that it would be cold my then too! I hate to wait!

I understand this is a true story. A group of travelers were being forced to wait for their airplane, which was late due to another flight being canceled. The would-be passengers looked horrible and were in a surly mood.

Finally an angry customer pushed his way to the front of the line, slammed his ticket down and said, “I demand to be seated on this flight right now and I must be seated in first class”.  The flight attendant, trying to be nice said, “Sir, we will get to you as soon as possible, but until then you must wait in line like everyone else”.

“But, ma’am,” he replied, “do you have any idea who I am?” Without hesitation, she smiled, picked up her microphone and said, “We have a passenger here at the gate who does not know who he is. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to gate 17.” I am obviously not the only person who hates to wait.

Regardless, sometimes God’s plans include some down time. When He makes us wait, though, He always has the big picture in mind. When He told His disciples to wait here in Acts 1, He was taking the necessary steps to set them up for success. Acts 1:8 says in part, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you….” He knew that having the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives would be the difference maker.

Remember, the promise of power was being directed at the very same men who:

• had fled at the first sign of danger in the Garden of Gethsemane.
• had forsaken Jesus when he was being led away to be crucified.
• had been in hiding and were afraid to show their faces.
• Then too, Peter had denied Christ three times while Thomas was filled with doubt.

And yet Jesus was going to send these very same fellows out into the world to witness to the fact of His death, burial, and resurrection. And He goes on to state that they would begin their mission in Jerusalem – the very same city where Jesus had been crucified just 40 days earlier. In the meantime, they had to wait.

Acts 1:14 then takes us through the next ten days. It says, “They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.” In obedience to the Lord’s command, they stayed in Jerusalem.

• They stayed and prayed.
• They prayed together.
• They all prayed – women, men, everyone present prayed.

The total number of people waiting in the upper room was about 120 according to verse 15

What an excellent thing to do while one is waiting on the Lord. If you are waiting on the Lord for some specific answer, why not wait and pray at the same time? That strategy worked great here in the Book of Acts! It will yet work great today.

Please notice Acts 2:1-4 with me, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

Five things concerning the coming of the Spirit stand out in this passage.

FIRST, THE TIMING

Pentecost marked the end of the spring harvest. As such, the Feast of Pentecost was one of the three great pilgrimage festivals which required Israel’s attendance at the temple. Due to this, Jerusalem was literally packed to capacity with people from all over the Roman Empire.

Josephus, the Jewish historian who lived at this time, tells us that oftentimes the city of Jerusalem which normally had a population of 150,000 would grow to well over a million during such a feast.  The writer Luke records that people were there from the north, south east and west. Or to put it another way, the writer notes that there were at least 16 different language groups present.

Also, it had been just 50 days since the crucifixion of Jesus. The event was still on people’s minds, judging from Peter’s sermon later on in this chapter.

 

THE SOURCE

The coming of the Holy Spirit was not of any human endeavor. The gift came from heaven. 

• It was God.
• It was powerful.
• It was sudden.

THE TWO SYMBOLS: WIND AND FIRE

Since the word “spirit” can also be translated “wind”, does it not make all the sense in the world that the coming of the Holy Spirit would be accompanied by a sound “like the blowing of a violent wind.” The sound definitely let everyone know that God was in the building.

But He didn’t stop with the sound of the wind. The Spirit also came with fire. While a little wind will put out a little fire, a great wind will only intensify a great fire. And, friends, this was one GREAT fire!

In Matthew 3:11 John the Baptist noted, “I baptize you with water for repent-ance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

This was it – Spirit and fire combined!

Both the sound of the wind as well as the tongues as of fire symbolized the coming of the promised Holy Spirit.

 

THE RECIPIENTS

I think it is safe to say that the Spirit did not come on just a part or on just a holy sampling of the 120 gathered believers. No, the tongues like fire rested on “each” of them and they were “all” filled with the Holy Spirit. 

The New Living Translation says in part, “And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit….”  That is pretty clear, isn’t it?

 

THEY ALL SPOKE IN OTHER TONGUES

Notice verse 4 once again, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

Some people use the term – “unknown tongues” in reference to the languages spoken here. However, the languages spoken here were far from unknown. While those speaking did not understand what they were saying, the gathered assemblage certainly under-stood what was being said.

Acts 2:7-8, 11 continues, “Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?’” “…we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!’

Listen to a portion of verse 11 from a variety of translations:

• “we all hear these men telling in our own tongue what great things God has done.”
• “we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
•  “… the magnificent acts of God.”
• “… the excellencies of God.”
• “…  the triumphs of God …!”
• “… the wonders of God!”
• “we all hear these men telling in our own languages about the mighty miracles of God!”

Those speaking in other tongues were not talking gibberish, they were worshipping God in a way and on a dimension that they had never worshipped Him before!

Speaking of speaking in tongues, I want to note that the Bible goes on to say elsewhere:

• “They shall speak with new tongues.”
• “I would that you all spoke with tongues.”
• “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.”
• “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God.”
• “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself…”
• “Tongues, then are a sign…”

As those early disciples, I too pray in other tongues. In fact, I spent some time yesterday worshipping the Lord in my prayer language. I see tongues as:

• something good…
• something to be desired…
• something of God…
• something with a divine purpose.
• A sign of the Holy Spirit’s presence.

Verse 12 adds, “Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ‘What does this mean?’”

Literally, nothing like this had EVER happened anywhere before! It was totally and completely unprecedented. The onlookers wanted to know, what on earth is happening?   

Peter, yes the same Peter who had denied the Lord three times only weeks earlier, started preaching. As he did so, he directed their attention to an Old Testament prophesy found in Joel 2. In the prophecy, Joel predicted that the Lord would visit his people; indeed, He would come and live with them. Then, as the prophet puts it, “afterward” (after this visitation) “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.” Peter then announced to one and all that what they were witnessing was the fulfillment of that 800 year old prophesy. God was pouring out His promised Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:41-42 states, “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Here we see the results of the coming of the Spirit  — three thousand people received Christ. And not only that, but we can see that their lives were also dramatically changed.

What a day!

• Three-thousand people believed in and accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
• Three thousand received forgiveness of their sins.
• Three thousand people went back to their homelands: to the East, West, North and South, bearing the good news of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

Later in Acts we see that the fire of Pentecost spread like a brushfire in dry grass on a windy day. It spread through the Roman Empire and Asia Minor to all nations.

Years later the Apostle Paul was to write in Colossians 1:6, “All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing….”

I find it interesting that the key to the success of the Apostles in the Book of Acts was the full and abiding presence of the Holy Spirit! Notice:

• “Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 4:8).
• Stephen — “full of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 7:55).
• Barnabas – “full of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 11:24).
• “Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:9).

This strong emphasis on the baptism with the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts is by divine design.

Any faith that neglects the Spirit-baptism is incomplete and pre-Pentecost.

• Without this baptism there would have been no Book of Acts,
• no Church of Jesus Christ,
• as well as no adequate enablement for victorious living and effective Christian service.

I want to close out this message with A statement from the pen of Dr. Jerry Vines (long time pastor of the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville as well as the former President of the Southern Baptist Convention). Vines said that the average Christian and the average church are somewhere bogged down between Calvary and Pentecost. They have been to Calvary for pardon, but they have not been to Pentecost for power. Bethlehem means God With Us. Calvary means God For Us. But Pentecost means God in us.

I believe that the average Christian is much like the Ephesians believers in Acts 19:2 when the Apostle Paul came to them and asked, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They replied that they didn’t even know that there was a Holy Spirit. Many Christians do not understand the role of the Holy Spirit and they have not appropriated the power of the Holy Spirit in their own personal life. Have you?  Have you unwrapped the precious gift of the Spirit?

 

 

 

 

 

Once again I want to deal with the seventh commandment — “You shall not commit adultery”(Exodus 20:14). This will be the final message on my series on the Ten Commandments.

FOR MY FIRST POINT TODAY, I WANT TO STRESS THAT AN AFFAIR CAUSES CHAOS
Through the years I have counseled literally thousands of people in thousands of counseling sessions. Out of all of those sessions, the one that stands out in my mind as being the most difficult and challenging was one where a husband was cheating on his wife. The wife and children attended the church I pastored. The fellow did not attend church anywhere. Anyway, he decided to tell the children that he was leaving their mother and was going to go live with another woman. He asked me if he could tell them in my office with me being present. I was to be there in case the children needed their pastor.

At the same time he broke the news, he broke their hearts. They cried. They climbed all over him like little monkeys begging him to change his mind. He would not budge. Finally, I asked the mother and children to move to another office. I then proceeded to tell that father that if I had I hurt those small children to the extent that he had hurt them, he would have killed me — and he would have been justified, in my opinion, in doing so. But then I reminded him, that I did not have it within my power to hurt those little kids in the same way nor on the same level as he had hurt them. The hurt that he inflicted would be a toothache that would not quickly heal. Nothing I said mattered. He walked out of that building into the arms of the other woman. I will never ever forget that meeting.
Adultery causes chaos.

Another one. After John found out that his wife was having an affair, he took his rifle and went out in a field across from the house from where his wife’s boyfriend lived. He then coldly waited for the other man to walk out his door. He later told me that his intent was to kill him. Fortunately for all concerned, the other man, the father of four children, did
not leave his house that night. He lived to face another day.
Adultery causes chaos.

Jim was in the Air Force. He knew and I knew that his wife was having an affair with the postman. She readily admitted the sin to me in my office. I tried everything within my power to bring the affair to an end. Frankly, I was afraid that someone was going to get shoot.

One day the airman came home from work early and unannounced. As soon as he walked in the door, he found the postman’s pouch as well as assorted articles of clothing on the kitchen floor. The trail of evidence led to the bedroom. Jim found the fellow hiding in the closet – undressed. Jim called me and wanted me to tell him what he should do. He wanted to kill the man. I told him to let the man dress and leave. I would be there in a few minutes.

Shortly the two of us were over at the other man’s house talking to him through the front door. Oddly enough, he denied everything. His wife was sick that day and had stayed home from work. She came out of her bedroom as we were talking. His denials were for her ears. Jim and I left the house and went directly to the local post office. The brother was less than two years away from retirement. After Jim and I talked to the postmaster that afternoon, the mailman was fired. The end result was, the affair did come to an end that day.

Adultery causes chaos.

While most affairs are – believe it or not — about sex; they are more about betrayal. A person who is having an adulterous affair is leading a double life.

• Did he really go out of town over the weekend due to work, or was it to meet the other woman?
• Did her car really break down causing her to be home late that night, or was she secretly meeting him?
• Were the unexplained calls on the cell phone really wrong numbers, or were they calls from some lover?

Who knows? When a person steps over the line that separates fidelity from infidelity, he or she immediately breaks trust with his or her spouse. Then too, as David in the Bible proved when he had his affair with Bathsheba, a person will resort to any means – including lying and deceit – and in David’s case, murder — to cover up an adulterous relationship.

Adultery causes chaos.

Adultery is bad. It is a violation of the Seventh Commandment. Jesus calls it a sin.

SO HOW CAN ONE KEEP FROM FALLING INTO ADULTERY?
I want to share with you seven things that if followed, will go a long ways in keeping you from giving in to sexual sin. These are not in any particular order. Nor do I give each of them the same amount of importance or space. However, when the seven guidelines are put together and observed, they do help to affair-proof one’s marriage.

1. ESTABLISH SET BOUNDARIES
I define boundaries as sensible ways to keep oneself from situations that might lead to compromise and temptation. Think of boundaries as being a fence around your marriage.

Greg Smalley of The Center for Relationship Enrichment notes, “If you want to affair proof your marriage, it’s important to draw a line and then stay a safe distance behind it. For each person the safety line will be different. Some people will not be able to take business trips or work late with a co-worker of the opposite sex. Others may not be able to meet a certain person for lunch or to work-out at the gym. Whatever the situation, determine where you need to draw the line. Since everyone makes mistakes, having room before you fall over the edge can be the difference between a compromising situation and losing your marriage.”

Dennis Rainey in familylife.com makes a similar point. He says, “Remember that nobody falls off a cliff if they’re standing 40 feet away. You need to make your marriage relation-ship such a priority that you don’t come anywhere near the edge.”

I know that I have shared some of this with you before, nonetheless, I want to go over a few of the boundaries that I have established for my own life. I repeat, these are MY boundaries. More than likely, they are not yours. Several of them may indeed not work for you. I understand that. I simply submit them to you as an example of what I mean by personal boundaries.

• I try never go out to eat alone with a member of the opposite sex. Restaurants are far more intimate than is an office. (When was the last time that you heard of inviting someone to the office for a date? No, couples go out to eat or out for coffee.) The addition of even one extra person greatly minimizes any potential for intimacy.
• I am careful about what I talk about when I am with a member of the opposite sex. For instance. I will never put down my wife when I am talking to another lady. Frankly, I try to never put down my wife period. Then along this line, I am not a sex therapist. Therefore, even in counseling sessions, I try to steer clear of intimate conversations. While I can and do deal with moral issues in my office, I refuse to get into sex therapy issues. I prefer to refer.
• I avoid being alone in a car with a woman other than my wife or my daughters.  The close physical proximity and inability to leave one another creates a perfect environment for mischief. One of the worse affairs that I ever had to deal with as a pastor involved an older gentleman and a younger lady who rode together to church by themselves on Sunday nights. They were usually late returning home, and, believe me when I say, it was not due to the church services running long.
• I do not do something for another lady that I would not do for my wife. I enjoy telling this story. A number of years ago a fellow tried to help my mother-in-law on with her coat. The fellow was known for his reputation with the ladies. She stopped him immediately. She said something to the effect that: “When you start helping your wife with her coat, then you can start helping me with mine.”

Okay, I just gave you several of my own personal boundaries. What are some of the boundaries that you have in place to protect you; to protect your marriage?

2. WORK AT YOUR MARRIAGE
I will let this video clip explain what I mean.

http://seeds.churchonthemove.com/drama/the-ultimate-marriage

Okay, what’s the secret to the ultimate marriage? WORK!

3. NEVER ASSUME YOU’VE HOME FREE
An older marriage counselor was asked, “What is the most difficult year of marriage?” How would you answer that question?

• Is it the first year?
• Is it the year the children come along?
• Is it the infamous seven-year itch?
• The counselor did not give any of those stock answers. Rather he said, “The most difficult year is always the current year.” I think there is a lot of truth to that. The point is, any relationship is always at risk.

I have here a news piece from The Telegraph in London. The dateline was Wednesday, January 18, 2012. The headline: 99-year-old divorces wife after he discovered 1940s affair.

An Italian couple is to become the world’s oldest divorcees, after the 99-year-old husband found that his 96-year-old wife had an affair in the 1940s.

The man was rifling through an old chest of drawers when he made the discovery a few days before Christmas. Notwithstanding the time that had elapsed since the betrayal, he was so upset that he immediately confronted his wife of 77 years and demanded a divorce. Guilt-stricken, she reportedly confessed everything but was unable to persuade her husband to reconsider his decision. She wrote the letters to her lover during a secret affair in the 1940s, according to court papers released in Rome this week.

They have five children, a dozen grandchildren and one great-grand child.

Julie Ferwerda, who herself suffered a near lapse into adultery, wrote in a piece entitled, “Infidelity in Marriage”, My experience taught me that no matter how sincere our faith or how pure our intentions, an affair can happen to any of us. None of us will ever reach a level of spiritual maturity where we can relax and trust our flesh. Scripture warns us that “the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41) and that Satan lies in wait to trip us up (1 Peter 5:8). If King David, the “man after [God's] own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14), fell into adultery, can we consider ourselves immune to the temptation?

I agree. To say, “It could absolutely never happen to me”, is a little arrogant. I think
we’re all capable of sin.

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:12 (The Message), “Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.”

4. MAKE YOUR REMARRIAGE FUN
Albert Stauderman tells of a young business woman who was approached by a real estate agent who wanted to sell her a home. “A home?” she says. “I was born in a hospital, educated in a boarding school, courted in a car, married in church. We eat in restaurants, spend our mornings playing golf, and spend our afternoons playing bridge at the club. Evenings we go to movies, and when I die I’m going to be buried from a funeral home. I don’t need a home; all I need is a garage!”

I really do not know where the lady was coming from. Maybe she was just trying to be funny. Then again, maybe, she was venting some frustration at a life that had become just a long, tedious string of events; a never ending carousel ride on the merry-go-round called monotony. A marriage that had gotten stuck on “autopilot or cruise control.”

While I do not mean to be negative, I have come to the conclusion that many if not most couples today do not find marriage fun or exciting.

• They don’t spend money on their marriage.
• They have stopped building memories between just the two of them.
• Many marriage partners no longer even engage in conversation.

They are consumed with making it through the day, to the end of the month, all the while hoping for something better next year.

Gary J. Oliver, Ph.D, Executive Director of The Center for Relationship Enrichment and Professor of Psychology and Practical Theology at John Brown University, has pointed out that sexual temptation increases as the satisfaction in the relationship decreases. In other words, the lower the relational happiness the greater the temptation to medicate through some kind of addictive behavior (e.g., sex, alcohol, work, etc.).

Proverbs 5:17-19 (Contemporary English Version) fits here. The wise Solomon wrote, “Save yourself for your wife and don’t have sex with other women. Be happy with the wife you married when you were young. She is beautiful and graceful, just like
a deer; you should be attracted to her and stay deeply in love.”

I want to touch on two words that are found in this text. The first word is “happy.” The word conveys the idea of pleasure, of spontaneous emotion or extreme happiness. The husband is to be happy, to feel like singing and dancing at the thought of his wife.

The second term, “stay deeply in love” is translated “ravished” in the King James version. Again, the writer is talking about being “intoxicated” with your wife. Enjoy her. Take delight in her. Drink deeply of her love.

Such delight in a marriage does not just happen. It takes effort. Due diligence. Therefore, I want to urge you to do something thoughtful for your spouse every single day. This could be a love note, a phone call, or a gracious compliment. What does your spouse enjoy doing? Make it a point to do that together at times.

• Go to a concert.
• Take a hike.
• Go to a mall and then out to eat.
• Go golfing.
• Watch an old movie together.
• Have a date night.

Ask yourself – what did you enjoy doing as a couple back when you were dating. If possible, do it again. Have fun.

Dave Carder, in his book entitled Close Calls: What Adulterers Want You To Know About Protecting Your Marriage, wrote, In order to have time for yourselves, you have to steal it from your children. Yes, you read that right! Children are born narcissistic and egocentric, and they will take all the time, all the energy, all the money you have and still not be satisfied. You can only build a personal relationship between the two of you when you are alone with each other. Having fun together will help prevent the close call of finding fun with someone else!

5. GET REAL
Please notice, Proverbs 2:16-19 from The New Living Translation: “Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman, from the flattery of the adulterous woman. She has abandoned her husband and ignores the covenant she made before God. Entering her house leads to death; it is the road to hell. The man who visits her is doomed. He will never reach the paths of life.”

Proverbs 7:13-19 adds, “She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said…. I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you! I have covered my bed with colored linens from Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. Come, let’s drink deep of love till morning; let’s enjoy ourselves with love! My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey.” The passage warns against the seductress who goes after her prey with stolen kisses and touches. Certainly, the passages pertain both to the male and well as a female.

I clipped this from a question/answer column in Redbook by Dr. John Gray, the author of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus:

The question: My husband and I have been married 10 years. We’re very close to five other couples, spending weekends and vacations together. On one of these trips I got into a fight with my husband and stalked off. Harry, the husband of a close friend, followed to console me. He gave me a little kiss — and sparks flew. He’s called me a few times since, but I keep avoiding his hints that he come over. That kiss made me feel like a teenager — yet I’m happily married! Why am I so confused?

Answer: This guy is a friend — but to whom? Not to you. He caught you in a moment of intense vulnerability, and now he thinks he can cash in on it. And if he thinks a fling with one of his wife’s closest friends won’t hurt her, he’s as arrogant as he is insensitive. He’s also no friend to your husband. He broke a cardinal… rule: Never pursue another man’s wife.

Tell him thanks but no thanks. Then ask yourself whether you were stirred by that kiss because you felt disconnected from your husband. If the answer is yes, make reestablishing the connection a priority. This could require joint counseling, which may bring up resentments and hurts on both sides. But once you break through these emotional blocks, you may rediscover why you fell in love with him.

Earlier in this message, I mentioned a lady by the name of Julie. She wrote an article in Discipleship Journal about a time she almost had an adulterous affair. She wrote, “Then I met a man — a gorgeous, smooth, successful man, while on vacation. He pursued me with the most romantic words and behaviors a woman could stand without melting. It was just like Hollywood.

Suddenly it dawned on me: The attention he was giving me wasn’t about me. It was about sex and lust and greed. I wasn’t special to him: I was just another potential con-quest. He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, using attention and flattery to get what he wanted from me. The Apostle Paul described similar men in Romans 16:18: “For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.”

Hey, doesn’t that sound a whole lot like what I just read a moment ago from the book of Proverbs?

Again, get real. The quick thrill isn’t worth the cost.

Before I move to my next point, I want to share a piece from Jim Bakker’s book, I Was Wrong. Baker at one time headed the largest Christian television network in America. He also ran a Christian resort center. Then he had an affair. Baker wrote: I knew that what I was doing went directly against everything I believed as a Christian. I had never cheated on my wife in all our years of marriage. Jessica Hahn, however, seemed quite comfortable with the situation. I simply abandoned myself to the moment. We did not make love; we had sex. When it was over, I quickly left the room, and in a daze, hurried to the elevator and pressed the button marking the eighth floor. The winter afternoon sun was already beginning to slide down on the horizon as I stepped inside my room. I was horrified. Oh, God! What have I done? I had not considered the consequences of my absurd attempt to make Tammy Faye jealous. I had not even paused to think of the potential ramifications of my actions while I was giving in to the temptation of having sex with a woman other than my wife. I had simply reacted. I had opened the door to attack on the ministry I headed, my family, and me personally. Worse yet, the devil had not made me do any of it; I had done it of my own stubborn will. I disrobed and immediately stepped into the shower, turning the water on as hot as I could stand it. I never felt so dirty in all my life. Maybe if I make the water hotter, it will wash it all away, I thought.

6. KEEP YOUR HEART AND MIND PURE
Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -think about such things.”

In Matthew 15:17-19 Jesus adds, “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean’. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.” Jesus here lists adultery as being symptomatic of an evil heart. In fact he puts the sin in the same company as “murder, slander, theft, and false testimony.”

Is it any wonder therefore that Job listed as one of his boundaries, Job 31:1, “But I made an agreement with my eyes not to look with desire at a girl.” I will read the passage again from two additional translations:

• “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust upon a young woman.”
• “I made a solemn pact with myself never to undress a girl with my eyes.”

Would you be willing to make a similar pact?

Saints, it is important that we watch what we watch, that we listen to what we listen to, and that we think about what we think about. We should not allow anything in our lives that would pollute our affections and our thoughts.

Why is this point so important? The answer to that question can be found in Ephesians 4:27 which warns us, “…do not give the devil a foothold.” The word translated foothold here refers to ground or space. One commentator says that the phrase actually refers to giving the devil “no leeway… no room to move.”

Any time we allow the evil one any place in our lives, regardless of how big or how small, we can fully expect that that area will be exploited by the devil. Just a little ground:

• One little lie,
• An illicit peek,
• One overnight stand,
• One forbidden kiss…
• One – Satan is always happy with just one!

Why is the devil happy with just one? Because he knows that if he is patient, one will oft-
times lead to two, then to three…. However, the downward slide can be traced back to that initial act of allowing Satan a foothold or opportunity in the life.

The key is resist the devil! Period! Don’t even let him get his foot in the door. Ephesians 5:3 therefore states, “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” If you will watch the beginnings, the endings will take care of themselves.

7. ADULTERY IS A SIN AGAINST GOD
After King David had been rebuked by the Lord due to his affair with Bathsheba, he confessed,“Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (Psalm 51:4). When Joseph of the Old Testament refused to be seduced by Potiphar’s wife, he said, “How … could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9).

Why is adultery a sin against God, you ask? It is a direct attack on His established order of things:

• Adultery is an attack on true marital love.
• Adultery is an attack on the husband and wife.
• Adultery is an attack on the children of the marriage.
• Adultery is an attack on society.
• Adultery is an attack on the church.
• Adultery is an attack on the purity of marital sex.
• Adultery is an attack on the Ten Commandments
• Adultery is an attack on conscience.
• Adultery is an attack on reputation.
• Adultery is an attack on innocence.
• Adultery is an attack on the body.
• Adultery is an attack on everything that is holy.

Then too, adultery could result in an unplanned pregnancy and the creation of an eternal soul outside of the safe confines of the home.
If is therefore no wonder that the Lord warns “God will judge those who commit sexual sins, especially those who commit adultery” Hebrews 13:4 (God’s Word translation).

HAVE YOU COMMITTED ADULTERY? Are you guilty of some sexual sin?

• The Bible lets us know that God forgave David of his great sin.
• Jesus likewise forgave a woman in the Gospels who had been caught in the very act of adultery.
• He granted His love and grace to a woman at a Samaritan well in John 4. She had had four husbands and was at the time that Jesus talked to her, living with a fellow aside from marriage.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 gives a list of sins – including adultery. The people of Corinth were guilty of each of the vices listed, yes including a number of sexual sins. It is in this context that we come to verse 11 which says in The Living Bible, “There was a time when some of you were just like that but now your sins are washed away, and you are set apart for God; and He has accepted you because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you.”

Friends, again and again the Bible shows us that there is forgiveness of sins – even the sin of adultery – in Jesus.

I WANT TO CLOSE WITH THIS. True story. One evening a woman was driving home when she noticed a huge truck behind her. The truck was uncomfortably close. She stepped on the gas to gain some distance from the truck, but when she sped up the truck did too. The faster she drove, the faster the truck drove.
Now scared, she exited the freeway. But the truck stayed with her. The woman then turned up a main street, hoping to lose her pursuer in traffic. But the truck ran a red light and continued the chase.

Reaching the point of panic, the woman whipped her car into a service station and
bolted out of her auto screaming for help. The truck driver sprang from his truck and ran toward her car. Yanking the back door open, the driver pulled out a man hidden between the front and the back seats.

The woman was running from the wrong person. From his high vantage point, the truck driver had spotted a would-be rapist in the woman’s car. The driver did not intend to harm the lady, rather he wanted to save her even at the cost of his own safety.

In like fashion, many people run from God’s commands yes, even the Seventh Command on adultery. Little do they realize, though, that they are running from the wrong thing.

• His Word is not meant to harm, but to protect.
• His commands are not given in spite, they are given in love.

The Lord truly knows what is best for us, and as such, He tells us, “Do not commit adultery.” No, not now; not ever.

The news account read — Frustrated wife puts gamer husband up for sale on Craigslist. Guys, be careful how involved you get with this season’s awesome crop of video games. Your wife may try to sell you off. Kyle Baddley learned this the hard way earlier this month, when his wife Alyse got frustrated by his constant Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 playing and offered him up to the highest bidder on Craigslist.

“I am selling my 22 year old husband,” the ad read. “He enjoys eating and playing video games all day. Easy to maintain, just feed and water every 3-5 hours. You must have Internet and space for gaming. Got tired of waiting so free to good home. If acceptable replacement is offered will trade.”

The ad, of course, was a joke. But that didn’t stop people from replying. One woman offered to retrain him. Another guy said he was willing to trade spots with Kyle, noting that he was both house-trained and preferred books to games. “We didn’t think we would get any responses at all, but we’ve gotten so many,” Alyse said. “Someone even offered a blue bag of Skittles.” Some people, though, took it a bit too seriously. One person suggested she use the free time to go out on her own, while others wrote that they were concerned about Alyse’s relationship with her husband.

Among the unconcerned was Kyle’s mother. She not only encouraged Alyse to run the ad, she helped her write it. Kyle, it seems, has learned his lesson and has pulled back a bit from his Modern Warfare 3 playtime.

Have you ever thought about listing your spouse on Craig’s List? Do you think you could get more than a blue bag of Skittles for him or her? I would certainly hope so.

This morning I want to begin a short two-part series on the Seventh Commandment – “You shall not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14. These last two messages will wrap up my series on The Ten.

In the year 1623, Baker and Lukas published a Bible in England that has since become known as “The Wicked Bible”. It was called this due to a printing error. The publishers inadvertently left out the little three-letter word “not” in the seventh commandment. The commandment went from “Thou shalt not commit adultery” to “Thou shalt commit adultery.” The printers were heavily fined by the High Commission and the whole edition destroyed. However, I understand that before the error was discovered by the High Commission, that particular edition was a big seller.

Along this line, I have it on good authority that when Moses returned from Mount Sinai and his meeting with God, he said to the people, “I’ve got good news and bad news. First, the good news. I talked Him down from 21 to 10. The bad news is He won’t budge on number 7.”

Of all the Commandments, number 7 – the prohibition about adultery — is no doubt the most difficult one to address. It is not by accident that I moved it to the end of the series. I would be terribly surprised if people didn’t stay home today simply because they did not want to hear a message on this topic. Hey, I understand.

• First of all, it is complicated. The commandment concerns marriage, sex, and faith.
• Next, it is a private thing. The popular logic is, what takes place in the privacy of one’s bedroom between consenting adults is no one’s else’s business.
• Then it is a relational thing. As a pastor, I have known a good number of people who have violated this commandment. They did it. They know they did it; I know they did it. And they know that I know that they did it. Do you know what I mean?
• Many of these folks have made things right with God; they have repented and have moved on with their lives. I would not want to be seen as throwing their past in their faces. I count some of these folks close personal friends.
• Adultery is hard to talk about also because it is so often traumatic and damaging to everyone involved. The children who must live through the experience of having an unfaithful parent, are sentenced to carry the burden of knowing that one of their parents betrayed the other parent. That is something that they will have to deal with for the rest of their lives.
• Finally, like any sin, this one results in some pretty dire consequences. It is never fun to preach on the judgments of Almighty God.

Nonetheless, there are ten commandments – not 9, ten. If I am to finish the series, I have to cover the Seventh Commandment. I will do so at this time.  By the way, I will be talking about sex this morning. If the topic offends you, then I encourage you to go home and get rid of your television.

WHAT IS ADULTERY?
According to Unger’s Bible Dictionary, adultery is “the willful violation of the marriage contract by either of the parties through sexual intercourse with a third party.” (From The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, copyright (c) 1988.) Or to put it another way, a person commits adultery whenever he or she engages in a sexual act with someone other than their spouse in violation to their marriage vows.
In the original Hebrew, the word adultery meant spoiling that which was pure. If meat has been contaminated with some other substance, say sawdust, that meat is rightly called “adulterated.” Something of an inferior quality has been added to it. It is no longer pure. A marriage becomes adulterated and is no longer pure when a third party is brought into it.

The writer of Hebrews in the New Testament had this thought in mind when he wrote, “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” Hebrews 13:4
I will now read a portion of that same verse from several translations:

• “and let the marriage bed be undefiled….”
• “and the marriage bed unpolluted….”
• “and keep the marriage-bed unstained.”
• “and husband and wife should keep their marriage pure. God will judge as guilty those who take part in sexual sins.”

The ideal that is being expressed here is, adultery and other forms of sexual sins pollute, defile, stain, or render adulterated or impure the marriage bed. God will have none of that. Therefore, the passage goes on to point out that God will judge the adulterer:

• He is the perfect and true witness, for He knows exactly what happened.
• He knows what goes on behind closed doors.
• He knows who sleeps with whom.

Therefore, He is saying that He reserves the right to deal with this particular vice Himself.

HOW COMMON IS ADULTERY TODAY?
Personally, I do not know of a time when marriage and the family has been under any greater attack than what it is facing today. I mean, who in their right mind would have imagined that we would live in a day when one can go to the internet and find web-sites that are for married people who are looking to have an affair? There is even one site where, if you buy their premium package, they will guarantee that you will have an affair or they will give you your money back. How sick is that?

According to surveys, about one in every five Americans, and two in every five people worldwide, have extramarital affairs. Due to the fact that some people will not answer such a question honestly, the experts believe that the real figures are some-what higher than what the survey shows.

Along that line:

• The global high-tech pornography business rakes in more money than the entire automobile industry. Think about that.
• According to Bay Area NBC News, “A lot of married people — about 80 percent in the process of a divorce — are using a social network such as Facebook to cheat, says a survey of divorce attorneys.” A recent headline, “Money and intimacy are losing their status as the top reasons for divorce in the U.S.” Studies say Facebook is responsible for one in five divorces in the United States according to the Loyola University Health System.
• Holly Hein in her book entitled Sexual Detours notes…

• Eighty percent Eighty percent Eighty percentEighty percent Eighty percentEighty percent Eighty percent of those who divorce during an affair regret the decision. of those who divorce during an affair regret the decision.
• Over 75% who marry partners in an affair eventually divorce.
• The divorce rate is much higher among marriage partners in an affair.
• The average affair lasts two to four years. I have heard of them lasting much longer than that.

I know I have shared this story before, but it has been several years. Some of you haven’t heard it. A preacher was delivering his sermon when he noticed that several people in the congregation were yawning sleepily. In an effort to wake everyone up, he said in a loud voice, “You know, some of the happiest days of my life were spent in the arms of another man’s wife. This morning I am going to confess to you who the woman was.” Sure enough the congregation woke up with a loud gasp. The interest was so intense they hardly dared breathe as they waited for the revelation. After a long pause, the pastor added, “Of course, that woman was my mother.”

As luck would have it, another preacher was visiting the church that morning. As he listened, he was quite impressed by the effect that the illustration had on the audience. He committed it to memory and decided that he too would use it someday in one of his own messages.

Finally, the day arrived. It was Mother’s Day. His wife was seated on the front row along with her mother. Sure enough, in the middle of the sermon he noticed that some of the faithful were beginning to nod off. As if on cue, the pastor belted out, “You know, some of the happiest days of my life were spent in the arms of another man’s wife. This morning I am going to confess to you who the woman was.”
Sure enough. The story caught everyone’s attention including that of his wife and his mother-in-law. At that moment though the punch line left him. He forgot it completely. Hoping that if he said it again, the missing piece would come to him, he repeated, “You know, some of the happiest days of my life were spent in the arms of another man’s wife.” By this time his wife was turning several shades of red. His mother-in-law was obviously more than a little upset. The congregation was now sitting on the edge of their seats.

Still nothing. Finally, he blurted out one last time “You know, some of the happiest days of my life were spent in the arms of another man’s wife… and for the life of me, I can’t remember who she was.”

WHY IS ADULTERY WRONG?
ADULTERY DESTROYS FAMILIES
While the Seventh Commandment is no doubt seen by some as a negative – just another “Thou shalt not…” — it is rather another example of God’s great love. This commandment is meant to serve you and your family. It is a barrier between you and those who would come to violate your love, your home, your children, and your faith. It is a meant to serve as a fence between you and that which would destroy you. And let me assure you, nothing destroys a family faster than adultery. Did I say, “nothing”? I mean nothing.
In the beginning, God created family. The family went on to be a unifying thread in Bible history. Adam had a family. Noah had a family. Abraham had a family. Isaac had a family. Jacob had a family. God designed and blessed the family; He is committed to it.

It was within the context of the family that God choose to identify Himself with His people. He revealed Himself as the Father, and the Hebrews as His children. Later on in the New Testament, He portrayed the church as being His bride. Then too, He pictured the church as being made up of brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. It is within the scope of relationship that we come to understand the awesome privilege we have as members of the “family of God.”

Again, adultery destroys families. Someone has observed that on the backs of the family rests the church, the school, the government and almost everything else that we hold dear. Should the family unit fail, then these other institutions will also topple given time. Understanding this, the ancient Israelites considered adultery to be a serious threat, so they punished adulterers swiftly and harshly.
Adultery also defiles the marriage. God set the standard for marriage in Genesis 2:24: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” A man and a woman exchange vows before God and man. Then too, they exchange rings and they say such things as “till death do us part.” Then they go on to consummate that union when they join their bodies sexually and the two “become one flesh.” That love relationship thus encompasses the whole person:

• It is emotional.
• It is social.
• It is spiritual.
• It is financial.
• It is physical.
• It is legal.

Again, we are talking about a covenant between God and two people. As such, marriage may be the most important human institution ever devised.

It is only as one fully understands this that the awfulness of adultery becomes plain:

• The act of adultery severs all these bonds.
• Adultery smashes the deepest and most intimate levels of trust,
• shatters the covenant promises, and
• breaks down the walls of privacy and exclusivity that protect the heart of marriage.

It is, in short, an abomination.

Hollywood has made adultery appear so romantic, exciting, fulfilling, and even funny. The image makers surround it with laughter, beautiful music, and sumptuous settings. At the same time, they carefully airbrush away the inevitable shame, deceit, betrayal, and ugliness.

Pastor Ron Mehl in his book, The Tender Commandments tells of a time when he spoke to a man who was having an affair. I will let Mehl tell the story in his own words: The fellow confessed that he was having the affair because, “he had finally found a woman who loves me and cares about me.” This woman was young and vivacious; someone he could really talk too. And his wife? Well, frankly, pastor, he said, my wife isn’t what she used to be. She’s always tired.

Knowing this man and the kind of attitude he had, I felt freedom to be very frank. You say your wife is always tired? I asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “She never wants to do anything anymore.”

“I have an opinion about that,” I told him. “Let me tell you why she’s always so tired. Number one, it’s because she’s had to serve you and put up with your ingratitude and bad temper through all these years. And number two, it’s because she’s had to bear, care for, and raise your children almost single-handedly, because you were never around to help. Anyone could get weary, and tired with that kind of assignment. It makes me tired just thinking about it.”

The man didn’t have a clue. You and me, we have the benefit of seeing the story from the outside without all the drama and emotions that are often woven into such situations. As such:

• We have the opportunity to see the selfishness that is a part of an affair.
• We can see the disregard for a hard-working wife.
• We can see the deceit that Satan uses to blind the eyes of those who are being used and abused by him.
• We can also see how the devil is behind the destruction of the family and that he will stoop very, very low in order to accomplish his evil plans and purposes.

Do you want to destroy our family? All you have to do is go have an affair. You can tell me later if it was worth it.

SEX CREATES; ADULTERY DESTROYS
I believe sex is good. Like marriage and family, sex is God’s idea. He designed it and called it good. Notice Genesis 1:27-28, 31, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it…31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”
I do not want to shock anyone’s sensitivities here, but the phrase, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth…” is about procreation.

It is not as if God created the first human beings and did not think of a way for them to reproduce themselves. He created them “male and female.” In fact, ladies you are going to like this, God created Adam male before Eve even entered the picture. God already knew that the brother couldn’t make it on his own. Somewhere down the road, on one very special day, God knew that He was going to bring Eve – female – into Adam’s life. Only then would he be complete.

From the very beginning, sex was a part of the divine plan. Thus He created the male and female with all the parts that they needed in order to make babies. Notice Genesis 2:22-24, “Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ’woman,’ for she was taken out of man.’ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”

David Hazony in his book The Ten Commandments adds, “The sexual urge is inherently creative. It exists in order to make new life, to replicate God’s creation of man on the sixth day. When we share it with someone we love, we are doing more than giving each other pleasure, we are joining together in the most sublime and miraculous act of creation that a human being is capable of. Certainly not every act of intimacy is aimed at having children. Yet there is no getting away from the fact that the nature of sexual intimacy is still inherently procreative—on some deep level, sex will always be about making babies.”

• In sex, as I just read, we create life – another human being.
• In sex we establish our claim to the future. A piece of us will live on in the generations to come in our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and so forth.
• In sex we make something that is eternal; someone who has an everlasting soul – someone who will outlast the stars.

Please do not think me sacrilegious in what I am about to say, but I see martial sex as being something sacred and holy. It is a piece of the creative power of God that He passed on to us.

As such, sex is not something that came about after sin entered the world. The desire to procreate is every bit as fundamental and natural as the desire to eat, drink, and to flee from danger.  Sex is to be an outgrowth of the love that exists between a husband and wife. It is therefore presumably no accident that our species, alone of the higher animals, has intercourse face to face.

While sex creates, adultery destroys.

As you can see, I have a roll of duct tape here. Do you realize that Dust Tape has been around since the Second World War? There are several books on the market that detail hundreds of uses for the stuff.

• Who needs to spend money on a luggage rack when you have duct tape? Tape those puppies down with complete confidence that your valuables are secure.
• Strapped for cash? Need to have your couch reupholstered? The quick and cheap way to handle that is to use Dust Tape. No doubt, you have some in your garage.
• Have you ever developed blisters on your feet while hiking? Band-aids are oh so juvenile. Instead use Duct Tape. It is the tape that sticks and keeps on sticking.
• Does your automobile need some body work? Instead of going to going to see Theron Dosch over at the DeDenter Shop, just use Duct Tape. No doubt, your car will become the talk of the neighborhood.

And for you young parents, here is my favorite use of all – an instant baby sitter. Just tape your child to the wall and go. The little tyke is not going to go anywhere!

Duct Tape does have a certain weakness though. When you use it on something – such as this bowling ball — you need to leave it alone. If it is left alone, it will it adhere to that item for a long, long time. However, if you decide to remove it and then reapply it, it will no longer have the same strength that it did at first. Eventually, the tape will lose its “stickability” and will no longer work.

Sex is like that. It is meant to form a lasting bond between a husband and wife. It is designed to unite one man to one woman for life. However, when it is given to this partner and that partner, it gets to the point that it no longer does what it was originally designed to do. The bond no longer holds. It becomes good for nothing — an object of shame and disgust.

Richard Foster in his book Money, Sex and Power says, “Sex is like a great river that is rich and deep and good as long as it stays within its proper channel. The moment a river overflows its banks, it becomes destructive, and the moment sex overflows its God-given banks, it too becomes destructive.”

Let me give you an example of the destructive force of immorality. I have here in my hand a deck of cards. I have used these cards numerous times in marital counseling. I simply have the couple build a house of cards. They process slowly until they are able to have maybe two or three floors in place. I then bump the table with my hand in order to knock down the house of cards.

I then ask the two people to build another house from the cards. This time, though, I keep on bumping the table. Obviously, they cannot build another house.  The point? I tell them that marital trust is like a house of cards. What may take a life-time to build can be destroyed in a moment of weakness. Finally, I teach them that to rebuild trust after a moral failure takes much more work as well as a great deal more time. The bond is broken. Trust is an inevitable casualty of an affair.

Finally, the excellent book entitled Ten, the author J. John shares, “My friend Dr. Chris Bignell, who specializes in sexually transmitted diseases, recently summarized the situation for me. “People risk their physical (and psychological) health for adultery and immorality. Sexually transmitted infections are common and have a disproportionate effect on the health of women. They are a major cause of infertility, ectopic pregnancy, chronic pelvic pain, and cervical cancer.”

According to the Center on Disease Control, “By age 25, half of sexually active adults get an STD. Having multiple sex partners also raises your risk.”

The best way to ensure you never catch a sexual disease is either not to have sex, or only to have it with someone who has only ever had sex with you. From the health point of view alone, it would be impossible to invent a better system than a lifelong exclusive marriage. God (surprise, surprise) knew what he was doing.

Solomon therefore shares in Proverbs 5:15 (New Living Translation), “Drink water from your own well— share your love only with your wife.”

In my next message, I will talk about some of the spiritual issues that accompany adultery. I will also talk about how to affair-proof a marriage.

AS I CLOSE, my wife and I used to pastor in beautiful Rapid City, South Dakota. Our governor at the time was a fellow by the name of Bill Janlow. Janlow served four terms as governor and then went on to serve in congress. Tragically, Congressman Janlow resigned from Congress after he caused a fatal traffic accident due to his having ran through a stop sign. He eventually served 100 days in jail due to his role in the accident. I brought all of that up today because the former governor died of cancer this past week. He was 72. Back in November Janlow was interviewed. According to the USA Today, Bill said during the course of the interview, “If I had it to do over, I’d so everything I did, but I’d stop at a stop sign.”

The man was a good governor; a popular leader. However, he also ran a stop sign. That momentary lapse in judgment was to forever change his life. It certainly ended his promising and successful political career, It also resulted in another person losing his or her life.
Today I submit to you that the Seventh Commandment is one of God’s stop signs. The Lord has placed it in your path in order to get you to stop and think. To keep you from danger. To keep you on the straight and narrow. To keep you from the wicked ways of adultery.

A quiz:

1. Of the Ten Commandments, which one is not repeated in the New Testament?
2. The Lord specifically tells us to “remember” one of the ten. Which one does He tell us to remember?
3. Some of the commandments take up only four or five words. One commandment covers nearly one hundred words. Which one?
4. Of all of the ten, which of the commandments is the least acknowledged today?

The answer to each of these four questions is the same – the Fourth Commandment.

The commandment can be found in Exodus 20:8-11. It goes like this, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.

For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

Today I want to make the case that you, me, each and every one of us, still need to have a Sabbath.

Of the seven days of the week, which one is the true Sabbath?

• If you think the answer is Monday, please raise your hand.
• Tuesday?
• Wednesday?
• Thursday?
• Friday?
• Saturday?
• Sunday?

And the correct answer is? Well, it depends.

• The Muslims observe Friday as their Sabbath. I was in Cairo, Egypt a little over a year ago. It was amazing how that city of 18 million people basically shut down on Fridays.
• The Jews observe Saturday as their Sabbath. As true as that is, it really doesn’t tell the whole story. The actual Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday and continues until sundown on Saturday. So, you see, the Sabbath actually takes up parts of two days. However, Saturday is the Sabbath.
• And, as you know, most Christians observe Sunday as the Sabbath.

As Christians, I think it is fair to ask, why do most of us worship on Sunday when we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that that Saturday is the seventh day? That Saturday is the day God rested – the Sabbath?

Simply, because it was on the first day of the week that the Lord Jesus Christ arose from the dead. Sunday became the day that the church set aside to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In effect, Sunday became the church’s Sabbath.

Notice, Matthew 28:1, “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.” Then skipping down to verse 5, “The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.’”

Mark 16:9-11 adds, “When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.”

It was also on the first day of the week that Jesus revealed Himself to the apostles for the second time one week later. John 20:19, “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’”

• The church was founded and the Holy Spirit descended on the Day of Pentecost, which was on the first day of the week.
• According to 1 Corinthians 16:2 as well as other verses of Scripture, the disciples as well as the early Christians met on the first day of the week.
• I must add, it was on a Sunday that the Lord visited the Apostle John and gave him the book of Revelation while John was in exile on the isle of Patmos. Revelation 1:10, “On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.”

I want to stay on this point for another moment, if I may. The book The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, written some time before the year 100 A. D., speaks of the Lord’s Day and refers to it as a day of holy meeting and the breaking of bread. Finally, Peter of Alexandria wrote somewhere around A. D. 300, “We keep the Lord’s Day as a day of joy because of him who rose thereon.”

Understand this. Sunday worship is one of the many proofs of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. To what else could you contribute Sunday worship – instead of Saturday — if not for the resurrection?

WHAT ARE THE PURPOSES OF THE SABBATH?
A DAY TO REST

The word “Sabbath” comes from the Hebrew word “shabbat,” meaning to cease or desist. The primary meaning is to stop working, punch the time clock and go home.

What is your day off? Do you ever go shopping, clean the house, do the laundry, fix meals or drive some distance on that day? The ancient Jews would have none of that. I have here a partial list of activities which the rabbis considered off-limits on the Sabbath:

• Writing,
• Squeezing a sponge,
• Cooking,
• Moving wood from the wood pile to the house,
• Lighting a fire, or
• Carrying a handkerchief.
• A man could not peel a fruit.
• A woman could not kneed her bread dough.
• A boy could not wash his dog.
• A girl could not braid her hair.
• An old man could not tie a knot in a string.

Today, some orthodox Jews pay non-Sabbath observant kids to come over and turn on and turn off their lights. Turning on and off lights is considered work.

As many of you know, my wife and I have made two trips to Israel. One of the things that stands out in my mind from both trips are the elevators. Many hotels have both “Shabbat Elevators” as well as regular elevators. A Shabbat elevator stops at every floor. Why? The conservative Jews consider pushing an elevator button “work”. Again, they do not “work” on the Sabbath.

• What if no one wants on or off on a particular floor? It doesn’t matter; the elevator is going to stop at every single floor!
• What if your wife is going to have a baby? The elevator stops at every single floor.
• You have to go to the bathroom really, really bad and you are needing to get to your room on the top floor? It doesn’t matter; the elevator is still going to stop at every single floor!
• You have a plane to catch? The elevator stops at every single floor.

Can you imagine a Type A personality (me) riding a Shabbat elevator?

Also, under the Law of Moses one could only walk a certain distance on the Sabbath. The prescribed distance was called, “A Sabbath day’s journey.” The Sabbath day’s journey was probably somewhere around 1000 yards – or a little over a half a mile. Eventually a certain rabbi ruled that the 1000 yards thing was only for a one way trip. So, the amount was doubled to include the distance to return home.

Genesis 2:2-3, “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had
done.” I want you to get this. The command not to work had nothing to do with whether or not the job was difficult or not difficult. Rather, the command was based on the fact that God rested and in addition, “God rested from all the work of creating….”
Back to the elevators for a moment. The pushing of an elevator button is not hard work, but it does result in the creation of an electrical circuit. Therefore it is prohibited.

Having said that, I want to now take you to Matthew 12 where Jesus healed a man who had a shriveled hand. The Bible tells us that the man’s hand was completely restored to wholeness. The problem was, this creative miracle took place on the Sabbath. As a result, the religious fuddy-duddies were really steamed. In fact, Matthew 12:14 states, “the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.” The healing was a creative act just like opening the eyes of the blind man in John 9 on the Sabbath was a creative act.

Moving on, I feel as if I have to ask, did God rest on the seventh day because He was tired? Notice Psalm 121:2-4, “My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip– he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” God, who is unlimited in power, did not rest because His was tired or worn out. Rather God wanted His rest to serve as an example to you and me. He rested so that we could see that it is okay to kick back, take off our shoes, drink a lemonade, and simply relax.

I have up on the screen five entirely different items. Think. Which one or ones need a time to rest?:

• Dirt
• Shoes
• Bowling pins
• Yeast
• Music

Actually, the answer is all of the above.

Ladies, you are probably already aware of this. If you wear the same pair of shoes each and every day, they will last, on average, six months. On the other hand, if you buy two pairs of shoes, and alternate them between days, you will be able to get two years worth of wear out of them. I have here a quote from the David Roberts Shoes of Distinction website: “One tip to remember is that all shoes need time to rest after being worn, so never wear a shoe day after day as you will shorten its life quite considerably. Try to
rotate your shoe selection giving the worn shoes time to rest….” Ladies, you now have a legitimate reason to go out and buy yourself an extra pair of shoes.

Bowling pins also need time to rest. I called one of the bowling allies here in Janesville to confirm this. A manager told me that each alley has its own routine. In most places, the establishment pulls all of their bowling pins from service every other week and places them up on a shelf. The business then alternates them with another full set of bowling pins from out of storage. Bowling alleys have discovered that if the wooden pins don’t “rest,” they lose their vitality, and won’t bounce around as much or be as “alive.” All of that flipping and knocking around works a hardship on the pins. This eventually takes its toll. But if you give them some time off and set them in a corner, they’ll come back stronger with more life than ever. Believe it or not!

Then too, every farmer knows that his or her land needs time to rest. God even ordered a Sabbath for the land. According to the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament, the land was to be set-aside for rest one year out of every seven.

A baker will confirm that in order for yeast to rise, it has to first be given time to rest.

Finally, what would music be like without the little rests that are built into each score?

GOD BUILT THE NEED FOR REST INTO THE WHOLE OF CREATION.

Just to be honest with you, most of us are not doing a very good job when it comes to this issue of rest.

We have somehow managed to turn even our leisure time and vacations into stressful activities. Would you like to guess what is the number one comment that I hear when someone returns to church after a vacation? “I came back home to rest.” The person goes on to tell me that the family drove 5000 miles in seven days, saw 25 relatives, went
to three amusement parks, visited the Statue of Liberty, and ate at 15 different McDonalds. It almost appears as if we are trying to find out how much stuff we can pack into the least amount of time.

Lawyer and pastor Jim Buchan confirms, “It is ironic that our society, so addicted to pleasure and ‘leisure,’ knows so little of what it means to rest. We are often more tired after the weekend is over than before it started. We come back from our vacations feeling as if we need some time to rest.”

Speaking of rest, I want to point out that in the last one hundred years, we’ve cut down on our sleep time. I read a portion of an article a while back that reported that we now average 90 minutes less sleep at night than people did a century ago. Also a recent survey found that we now average 7 hours and 12 minutes of sleep a night, down 25 minutes from just a decade ago. Many people average less sleep than that.

According to Richard Swenson, M.D., “The healthiest lifestyle comes equipped with four gears.

1. The first is park for the contemplative times. This gear is to be used for rest and renewal. It is the gear we use to recharge our batteries. This is where we do much of our thinking about values and spirituality, as well as much of our Scripture study and prayer. It is the gear we plan to use as we pick up a novel and head for the hammock, or as we sit on a stump and watch the wildlife.
2. The second gear is low. This gear is for relationships, for family and friends. This gear prevents us from being distracted and nervously moving on to the next activity while still in the middle of a conversation. This is the gear we use when the children ask for a story or a back rub. Or when they ask about the death of pets, or sex, or God. No hurry here: just quality.
3. The third gear is drive. This is our usual gear for work and play. This gear uses lots of energy, and the faster speed feels good because it is productive. It gets us from place to place quickly. This is the gear we use when we mow the lawn or exercise.
4. The fourth gear is overdrive. This gear is reserved for those activities that require extra effort. If we have a deadline coming, we kick into this gear. If we are playing a basketball game, we call upon overdrive to energize us. This is the gear most families use getting ready for church.”

The doctor then continues, “Unfortunately, many in our society do not shift down from over¬drive. Our cars are not meant to race at high speeds continuously—the engine would burn up. Neither are our bodies or spirits. Yet to slow down for some is unthinkable and
for others, impossible.”

Many Americans live full speed ahead. They work hard, they play hard, and they even Sabbath hard.

Near the end of his reign, ENGLAND’S KING GEORGE V was asked what he would do if he could do whatever he pleased. He replied that he would take his biggest car and drive as far as it would take him. There he would find a little farmhouse, and in the farmhouse there would be a small, clean, whitewashed room, furnished only with a bed and an open fire. He would lie down on the bed and he would look at the glowing coals of the fire, and the flames playing blue about them—and he would rest. For once in a royal lifetime he would rest.

An old Indian proverb says, “You break the bow if it’s always bent.”

Jesus pointed out in Mark 2:27, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Therefore, learn to relax. Shift down to low every once in a while. Take a day off. Spend some time enjoying your hobby. Take a walk with your spouse or a child. Go visit an old friend. Also, I want to urge you to take a vacation – a real and restful vacation. Fish. Do some scrapbooking. Hike or bike in the mountains. In other words – take time to stop and smell the roses. God wants you to rest every seven days.

A DAY OF WORSHIP
The Bible says:

• “Remember that the Sabbath Day belongs to me.”
• “Remember the day of worship by observing it as a holy day.”
• “Remember to keep the Sabbath holy.”
• “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”
• “When the seventh day comes, it is a day of rest, consecrated to the Lord thy God.”

The word holy indicates that the day is set apart for the Lord. Just like the Bible is the Holy Bible because it is set apart from other books, and Communion is Holy Commun-ion because it is set apart from other meals, so it is that the Sabbath is holy. It is set apart from the rest of the week. It is a day that is to be consecrated to God.

Now I want us to return to the creation. On which of the seven days did God create Adam – the first human being? On the sixth day. And on which of the seven days did God rest? The seventh day. The Sabbath was the final day of creation, but it was man’s first day of existence. The case could be made that God created Adam on the sixth day so that the first thing that Adam could do was to simply spend a day in the presence of the Lord in worship.

• He worshiped before he worked.
• He fellowship with God before he named an animal,
• He walked with God in the cool of the evening before he ever tended the garden.

God cleared His calendar, so to speak, because He wanted to spend time with Adam; He likewise wants to spend time with you and me.

Someone once described the Sabbath as a time when God and the individual dwell in each oth¬er’s solitary company, “as king and his queen.” Of all the Ten Commandments, only the Sabbath is truly intimate and per¬sonal.

Listen to Isaiah 58:13-14 (New Living Translation), “Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the LORD’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly. Then the LORD will be your delight. I will give you great honor and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Building on these words of the Prophet Isa-iah, the ancient rabbis said that the Sabbath was to be “a delight.” They saw the Sabbath as not only a day when we rest from our labors, but also a day of enjoyment.

One thirteenth-century Jewish text declares that each person “should prepare for himself a pleasant spot to recline, furnished with embroidered pillows and beddings from all those available in his house. . . . The house should be prepared with multiple vessels for the needs of the Sabbath, and an attractive place to recline should be readied for every member of the household.” We are to be comfortable, to rest, even to sleep. “Sleeping
on the Sabbath,” one rabbinic teaching goes, “is a delight.”‘

For many of us, the Sabbath is merely an extension of the rest of the week. Let me encourage you to attempt to break that cycle.

There is a story I like about a wealthy American entrepreneur who went on a hunting safari in Africa. He chose a seasoned guide and hired some locals to carry the necessary gear. Aggressive and driven, the business mogul always wanted to move faster. Every day he pushed and drove his bewildered safari team from morning to night, until they could hardly stand.

Finally the porters refused to go any farther. They found a shaded area and they sat down and rested. The American tycoon, used to instant obedience, was furious. “Get up!” he yelled. “Push on!” But they all just sat there, not even meeting his eyes. The impatient man stormed at his guide, “What’s happening here? Why won’t they move?” The guide replied, “They must stay here all day. They won’t move, no matter how much you shout and bully. We have been going too hard and fast, and now we must let our souls catch up with our bodies.”

The Sabbath is a day that is meant to let our souls catch up with our bodies. Let the Sabbath be a time when you make matters of the spirit a priority.

• Attend church. Worship.
• Remember God’s goodness. Remember where He has brought you from and what He has brought you through.
• Set aside some time for solitude; for quietness.
• Think of the day as a time when you reconnect with God; a time when you nourish your soul.
• Take time to fellowship with other believers.
• Read a good book; an edifying book.

High on my list of favorite scriptures are Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Jesus invites us to come to Him. He gives rest. His rest. Satisfying rest. Rest for the troubled soul.

Before I close this message, I want to quickly cover two additional issues.

CAN A PERSON HAVE ANOTHER DAY BESIDES SUNDAY AS HIS OR HER SABBATH?

The answer is yes. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 14:5-6, “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord.”

There are people in this room who have no choice but to set aside some other day as their day of rest. I have had people tell me that due to their work schedule their day of worship is Wednesday. I understand. It is not the day that we ought to worship, but rather we worship Him who is the Lord of all days.

When missionary Mary Slessor spent three lonely years in the bush country she frequently got the days of the week mixed up because she had no calendar. Once she was found to be holding worship services on a Monday. On another occasion, a Sunday, she was discovered hammering away while up on the roof. That time she thought it was Monday! No one is going to argue that Mary Slessor’s services were any less valid because they were held on Monday, or that she was in any sense breaking the command-ment because she was working on the Sunday.

I believe what is important is that we have a set time to rest each week. Then too, that we have our “holy” day, whatever day of the week that is. A day when we wait before God, worship Him, and meditate on His Holy Word.

WHAT IF A PERSON HAS TO WORK ON THE SABBATH?

That is a very common question.

I want to now share with you two passages of Scripture that relate to this issue. As you listen, I want you to pick up on what is called “the greater good” argument.

Luke 13:15-16, “The Lord answered him, ‘You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?’”

Luke 14:5-6, “Then he asked them, ‘If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?’ And they had nothing to say.”

Even though it is preferable that one not have to work, sometimes the ox falls into the well. Then too, Jesus showed by His actions and compassion, the greater good is to heal one who has been sick.

If you are ever forced to decide about working on the Sabbath, ask yourself, “Is the ox really in the well?” In other words, is there a certain necessity in your having to work? A greater good?

The military, the police, doctors, firefighters as well as a whole host of other professions have to be on the job 24/7/365. In each of these cases, the ox is in the ditch. In case you haven’t noticed, yours truly works on Sunday. In fact, it is indeed a rare Sunday that I am not working. The same holds true for the rest of the pastoral staff. I believe the Lord understands. Don’t you?

At the outset of this series, I stressed that each of these commandments is meant to be an expression of love from God to you. When it comes to the Sabbath, He stresses your need for rest and worship. Why? Again, He cares about you and your physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. He cares that you get the rest of the week.

According to Professor Howard Hendricks of Dallas Theological Seminary, there are 100 or so people in Scripture who could be counted as leaders. Kings. Queens, Governors, judges, priests, and the like. Hendricks then points out that some two-thirds of these individuals did not finish well.

• Samson certainly suffered through a tragic end-of-life collapse.
• King Saul, the first king of Israel, would be on my list of failed finishers.
• King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, did not make it to the finish line either. 1 Kings 11:4-5 (New Living Translation) records, “In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the LORD his God….” Verses 9-10 continues, “The LORD was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the LORD … He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the LORD’s command.”
• Hezekiah survived a near brush with death only to stumble later on in life.
• Judas — need I say more?

However, not all is lost. Let me remind you of how the Apostle Paul finished the race. He was in prison due to his faith. The executioner’s blade was at the ready. Soon the apostle’s head would be separated from his body. As all of this was taking place, the brother put himself through what might be called an end-of-life assessment. The results of the evaluation can be found in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day–and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

IN THIS PASSAGE PAUL GIVES US THREE SECRETS TO FINISHING WELL.
First, the apostle declares, “I HAVE FOUGHT THE GOOD FIGHT.”
One has to question whether or not the brother had at one time or another gone a few rounds in the ring. In another passage, as we will see in a few minutes, Paul spoke of shadow boxing. Here the word fight speaks of a determined wrestler or boxer.  However, he didn’t just fight a fight, he fought a GOOD fight. I too have gone a few rounds in my day. And in the process I came to understand the difference between a GOOD fight and a BAD fight. What is that difference? In a good fight you win, in a bad fight you lose. I have never fought a good fight and lost.

Paul, again, fought a good fight.

• Governmental powers tried to bring him down, but they failed.
• The religious establishment of the day tried to take him down, but they failed.
• The devil and his evil hordes tried to take him down, but they failed.
• Even conflict within the various churches tried to take him down, but they too failed.

If didn’t matter what came his way, he prevailed!

The word “good” likewise speaks of a worthy fight; an honorable, commendable and noble fight. To illustrate, I want to reread a passage that I shared with you in a recent sermon — 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 (New Living Translation), “I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys.

I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not.
I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.”

If you are into watching sports, you have no doubt heard some announcer go on about how such and such an athlete left nothing on the field, that she gave her all, that the team put forth 110% effort. That is a picture of the Apostle Paul. He could face God unashamed. He had fought a NOBLE fight; a worthy, commendable fight. Again, he left nothing on the field.

The Living Bible says here, “I have fought long and hard for my Lord….” Notice now, “I have fought….” The statement is in the past tense. He knew that his time in the arena was drawing to a close. The game was in the fourth quarter. The last half of the ninth inning was at hand. The bell signaling the end of the twelfth round was about to ring. Every game has an end. The same is true of the game of life. As such, Paul knew he was to soon be released from this life to go dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever.

Next, the apostle noted, “I HAVE FINISHED THE RACE.”
If you know anything at all about racing, then you know that it is easy to begin a race but hard to finish. Paul didn’t just start, he carried though all the way to the finish line. Notice how some other translations put this:

• “I have finished my course….”
• “I have come to the end of my journey….”
• “I’ve run hard right to the finish….”
• “I have finished my career….”
• “I have finished the work I was to do….”

Some time back a fellow suggested to his very famous friend that he should allow someone to write his biography while he was still alive. The friend absolutely refused. His reason? “I have seen so many men fall out on the last lap.”

Does the name Joe Paterno ring a bell with you? Paterno coached the Penn State Nittany Lions for 46 years. He holds the record for the most victories by an NCAA Division I football coach. He coached five undefeated teams that won major bowl games and, in 2007, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Paterno was fired in November after the arrest of one of his long-time assistant coaches on child sexual abuse charges.

Then let me remind you of:

• OJ Simpson
• Roger Clements
• Barry Bonds
• Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich
• Charlie Sheen
• Mel Gibson
• Paris Hilton
• Michael Jackson
• Pastor Ted Haggard,
• Harold Camping, the radio evangelist who predicted the end of the world would occur on Saturday, May 21, 2011.

Each of these people have failed to finish well. Some of them dropped out early in the race, others on the last lap. But each of them stumbled short of the finish line.

IMPORTANT POINT. FINISHING WELL REQUIRES A CERTAIN DISCIPLINE. Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 9:25-27 (New Living Translation), “All athletes are disciplined in their training. … So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should.”

The apostle is saying here that he disciplined and controlled his life —just as would an Olympic athlete.

• He controlled what he ate and drank.
• His body did not tell him what to eat and drink, rather he told it. He was in control of his appetites.
• He kept watch on what he did with his body and mind.

Notice Hebrews 12:1 (New Living Translation) here, “… let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

Just as a runner wouldn’t think about running encumbered with heavy clothes and weights, a Christian who is intent on finishing well would not think of trying to run while weighted down with sin. This includes:

• The habitual sins that trip us up.
• The petty sins that we ignore.
• The acceptable sins that we excuse.
• The attitudinal sins that slow us down.

Again, the child of God is to “strip off” such things.  Most of those that I can think of both in and out of Scripture that failed to finish well failed due to some habitual sin in their life.  Next, Paul was focused. Philippians 3:13-14 (New Living Translation), “… I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Paul never allowed a person or a thing to sidetrack him. He knew where he had to go and he knew how he was going to get there. He didn’t take the finish line for granted. He took finishing well seriously.
In his book, Go the Distance, Ed Rowell, Teaching Pastor at the People’s Church in Franklin, Tennessee, shares a powerful story on his personal struggle during a marathon race.

As he prepared for the 1983 Marathon in Kansas City, Missouri, Ed wasn’t concerned whether he’d finish the race, he had already completed four marathons. He was concerned with improving his time. His ultimate running goal was to compete in the Boston Marathon. To do that, he needed to get his time under three hours and ten minutes — nine minutes faster than his personal best.
At the starting line, Ed was cold. But he knew that the 50-degree weather and light drizzle would actually benefit him once he got moving. When the gun sounded that early October morning, Ed had no idea how much that race was going to impact his life. He started well, but as he did a mental assessment early into the race, he was surprised at how much he was laboring. Using mind over matter, he purposed himself to go on. Not only had he been training his body, he had practiced mental conditioning techniques to help him push through the wall—the mental barrier that tells a runner they can’t take another step.

But by mile 12, his will evaporated. He stopped running and started walking. After a hundred yards, he ran again. But it didn’t last. For some time he alternated between walking and running.  Then it happened. The early stages of hypothermia began to set in. The constant drizzle and the low temperature are to a runner’s advantage, because it alleviates the problem of dehydration that hot weather runners face. But it isn’t to the advantage of walkers, because they don’t generate sufficient body heat to offset the environment.

The race organizers had vans circling the course looking for runners who were injured or ill prepared for the race. Twice, one of those vehicles stopped to see if Ed wanted to ride to the finish line, twice he ignored them and started to jog.  The third time they came by, Ed was shivering uncontrollably, but he still shook his head “no”. “We’ve got warm blankets and hot chocolate” the young woman said. Finally, Ed got into the van and immediately began sobbing. It was a defining moment in his life.

Later, he was ashamed when he met up with his friends who finished the race and he had to tell them what had happened to him.
Why did it happen? I’m not sure that even Ed knows the answer to that question. But I do have an idea. I think it happened because Ed was in such great shape that he took finishing the race for granted. He was concentrating on bettering his time, the weather, other things and not the finish line.

Today, Ed lives with the pain of the unfinished race, but he learned something from it. He said, “The pain of dropping out will linger long after the pain of perseverance has passed.”  As I pointed out a moment ago, Paul stayed focused on the finish line. Because he didn’t give up, he also knew the joy of finishing the race.  Before I move to my next point, I want you to notice that Paul did not say that he had won the race. Rather he said that he had “finished” the race. Hear me, please. Finishing well is what counts. You see, everyone who finishes this race – wins.

Finally, he added, “I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH.”
If a Greek athlete were to have read this phrase, he would have understood Paul to be saying that he had kept the rules of the game. He didn’t take any shortcuts. He didn’t hit below the belt. He didn’t cheat in any way.

If a Greek businessperson were to have read this phrase, he or she would have under-stood Paul to have said that he had kept the terms of the contract. He had read every-thing down to the fine print and had obeyed it all.

If a Greek Christian were to have read this phrase, he or she would have understood Paul to be saying that he had kept the faith. He guarded it against compromise. He guarded it against error. The faith that had been passed on to him by the Lord was the very faith that he passed on to others.

Think about this for a moment. A few minutes ago I told you about some of the sufferings that Paul had encountered due to his faith in Jesus. I alluded to the terrible trials — the times that he could have dumped the faith or laid it aside and ignored it. But he never did. Paul kept the faith through it all:

• Though both the good and bad,
• through thick and thin,
• in freedom and in imprisonment,
• and as his life was winding down, he kept the faith even in the face of death.

One of my uncles quit church, left the faith, over the fact that his pastor, for whatever reason, failed to shake his hand. I have seen others desert the faith over sillier things than that. Imagine standing before God beside the Apostle Paul and telling the Lord, “I
quit the race because….” You can fill in the blanks. See if you can come up with something that would impress God; something that would have moved the apostle to say, “Wow, given that, I too would have given up on Jesus!”

Many of you have seen the amazing short movie The Butterfly Circus. I know that Pastor Ben recently showed the film to the youth group. Here is the story line: During the height of the Great Depression a renowned circus led by its ringmaster toured the devastated American heartland. The circus was a big hit everywhere it went. During one of their many travels the circus troupe discovered a fellow who had been born without either arms or legs. Will was a part of a carnival sideshow. After a powerful encounter with the ringmaster, Will came to believe in himself and to hope that maybe his life could amount to something after all.

The Butterfly Circus is a great movie. You can find it on You Tube. It only runs for 23 minutes. By the way, the creators of the movie are currently working to make it into a full length feature film.  The man who plays Will in the movie is named Nick Vujicic in real life. He is a committed Christian. I have here a clip of Nick’s testimony. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaIbym0hYtY&feature=player_detailpage

Today Nick travels the world as a motivational speaker and evangelist for Jesus Christ. You might also like to know, his hobbies include: golfing, fishing, and swimming. Nick is determined to finish well regardless!

TODAY WE CELEBRATE THE START OF A NEW YEAR. Many of you will begin a diet. Others will vow to join a health club or gym. Some will resolve to pray and read the Bible more. All of that is good. However, let me challenge you to run the race of faith well this year.

• Fight the good fight.
• Finish the race.
• And keep the faith.

Friends, how are you running? In order to finish well, you have to run well.

Matthew 1:19-25, “Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’–which means, ‘God with us.’ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”

Some of the most difficult discussions my wife and I ever had during the time that our daughters were growing up were over who would continue to raise them in the event of our deaths. Some of the things that we prayed about and considered were:

• What was the Lord’s input on the matter?
• Where would the girls want to go if they could make the choice themselves?
• Would we allow a relative to have them if that person was not a Christian?
• Who could afford to take on two extra mouths to feed?
• Would the family be good to as well good for Michelle and Marci?
• Were they too young; too old?
• Where did the people live? We wanted to be sure that the grandparents could visit the girls on occasion.

Just to be honest with you, while we did pick some people out, and we did the necessary paperwork, we never did come to see eye-to-eye on the issue. As you can see, the matter is rather complicated.

If you have a young child or young children and you haven’t made that decision yet, I want to encourage you to do so soon. It could turn out to be one of the most important decisions that you will ever make in life. I am just thankful that Marilyn and I were able to raise Michelle and Marci until they reached adulthood. Praise the Lord!

Can you imagine God having to make such a decision?  Who would He choose? How would He choose?
He not only knows the number of hairs on our head, He also knows how many beats are left in our heart.

• He knows our character.
• He knows our values.
• He knows our capabilities.
• He knows whether or not we can be trusted.
• He knows the stuff that go on in our head.
• He knows what we do in the dark. He knows.

Knowing that, who do you think God would pick to raise His child?  Well, as you know, the Lord did have to make that decision. He chose Mary to be the mother and Joseph to be the stepfather. He chose the two of them to raise Jesus – the very Son of God.

Several years ago, in a Christmas sermon, I shared with you some personal thoughts on why God choose Mary. Today I want to do the same thing with Joseph. I want to look at several reasons why, in my opinion, God choose him to be the one who would raise His Son.

JOSEPH WAS AN ORDINARY MAN
It just stands to reason, God could have picked out any number of people to be the guardian of His Son:

• A king – that would have been a natural.
• A priest. I would have certainly thought that such a choice would have made a great deal of sense.
• A doctor? Of course. After all, Jesus was the Great Physician.
• A lawyer? Yes, again for Christ is the mediator between God and man.

But when the creator of the world picked out the stepfather for His Son, He chose a carpenter. Someone from out of the masses. Someone who was acquainted with wood. Someone who had calluses on His hands.  This Joseph lived and worked in the town of Nazareth. Nazareth was located among the hills, about halfway between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean. It was here that
Jesus grew up. Nazareth was His home for nearly 30 of His 33 years.

• If I can use today’s terms, Nazareth was on the other side of the tracks.
• The people of Nazareth were the hillbillies of Israel.
• They had a funny accent.
• They were considered ignorant and unlearned.
• Warren Wiersbe’s Bible Exposition Commentary points out that Jesus, the son of Joseph, “came from the wrong city, Nazareth of Galilee. He was not a graduate of their accepted schools. He did not have the official approval of the people in power.” Jesus grew up in a home that “knew the feeling of poverty.”

The Message translates John 1:46, “‘It’s Jesus, Joseph’s son, the one from Nazareth!’ Nathanael said, ‘Nazareth? You’ve got to be kidding.’”  Again, Mary and Joseph were ordinary people:

• Mary still had to carry the baby a full nine months. She didn’t get any time off for good behavior.
• They did not get any special privileges when they got to the inn of Bethlehem. Everyplace but a cave where the innkeeper sheltered his animals had a no vacancy sign.
• Unlike the shepherds, they did not get serenaded by a choir of angels.
• Unlike the wise men, they had no star to guide them as they made their way to Bethlehem.
• Joseph did not have a halo ringing his head.
• No one stopped Joe and asked for his autograph.
• Children did not break out in the Hallelujah Chorus when they walked by.
• The Jerusalem Post did not have a reporter there to capture the event for the ages.

Mark 12:37 says of Jesus, “The common people heard him gladly.”I am convinced that one reason the people heard Him gladly was due to His being one of them. He was from a common family, a common town and in some strange way, He was common Himself. After all, He was just “Joseph’s son, the one from Nazareth!”

JOSEPH WAS A MAN OF GOOD STANDING
Matthew 1:19 tells us that “Joseph her husband was a righteous man…”
Other translations describe him as being:

• Just,
• Noble, and
• Godly.

Can you possibly imagine God giving the care of His Holy Son over to the care of a reprobate? No. The very fact that Joseph was God’s choice had much to say about the kind of man Joseph was.
As a righteous man…

• Morality mattered to Joseph.
• Character mattered.
• Integrity mattered.
• Faith mattered. He was a follower of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
• Then, he was also a local businessman. Again, his standing in the community – his reputation — mattered to the brother.

Then along came Mary. Notice Luke 1:26-27 (New King James Version), “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.”

I want to introduce a new word to some of you. The word is betrothed. Other translations use the word “pledged”, “promised”, or “engaged.” These are good words; betrothed is the better word.  At the time the events here in Luke took place, Mary and Joseph were betrothed. To the Jewish people of that day, a betrothal was halfway between an engagement and a marriage.

• The betrothed couple was called husband and wife.
• If they decided to break-up, they would have to get a divorce.
• And yet they did not live together. In fact, they were not to have any real contact with one another for the entire betrothal period – usually one year.
• According to Deuteronomy 22, if a woman became pregnant while betrothed, she was guilty of adultery. She was also guilty of breaking one of the Ten Commandments. The penalty was death by stoning.
• At the end of the year, the bride would go to her house and the bridegroom would come and take her to his house and the marriage was consummated.

It was during this betrothal period that Mary became pregnant. Out of wedlock pregnancies back then were scandalous. Tongues would wag and sometimes heads would roll. As a result, the Bible records that Mary went to live with her cousin Elizabeth some 85 miles away. Elizabeth was pregnant at the time with John the Baptist. According to Luke 1:56, “Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.” She returned to her own home – not to the home of Joseph.

Now I want us to return to Matthew 1:19-20, (Contemporary English Version), “Joseph was a good man and did not want to embarrass Mary in front of everyone. So he decided to quietly call off the wedding. While Joseph was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, the baby that Mary will have is from the Holy Spirit. Go ahead and marry her.”
Matthew 1:24 adds, “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.” Apparently Joseph broke with tradition. He found out where Mary was, went to her, and took her to his house to be his wife — even though the customary one-year waiting period had not passed.

The Bible is careful to point out that while the two of them were now married and living together as husband and wife, Mary was still a virgin as was Joseph. Matthew 1:25 (Contemporary English Version), “But they did not sleep together before her baby was born. Then Joseph named him Jesus.” The New Living Translation says here, “But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.”

Although some in church history have attempted to deify Mary as the “Queen of Heaven,” and Joseph as the “perpetual virgin father,” the Scripture does record that after the birth of Jesus Joseph and Mary consummated their marriage. Later on the couple had a number of children. Matthew 12:46 states, “While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.” Mark 6:3 adds, “’Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?’” Two of Jesus’ half brothers figured in the early church—James, leader of the church in Jerusalem, and Jude, writer of the book that bears his name.

I know I have spent several minutes here. I was building a case that “Joseph … was a righteous man”; He was a “good man.” He simply did things in the right way. He did not put his own physical wants and needs ahead of God, God’s Word, or ahead of Mary. As such, God could trust Mary into his care; God could trust Jesus into his care.

I want to ask you guys a question. Given today’s liberal attitudes about premarital sex and living together apart from marriage, do you think God could find a Joseph in today’s culture?

JOSEPH WAS AN OBEDIENT MAN
Matthew 1:24 (The Message), “Then Joseph … did exactly what God’s angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary.”
I am sure that obedience did not always come easy for Joseph. Imagine the questions that swirled through his mind:

• What were people going to say?
• What was he going to tell his parents; his friends? (Maybe he could tell them that Mary was still a virgin and that God was the child’s father.)
• How would all of this affect his business? His reputation?
• What about the baby? Since He was God’s child, would He be Superman, or what?
• What if he were to accidentally harm the child. Would he be toast?
• Would the Child ever need to be disciplined? If so, how?
• What about Mary? She and God were pretty tight. What if Joseph were to become angry with her; what if we he were to say something mean and hurtful? Toast again?

Nevertheless, you not find one single instance in all of this where Joseph disobeyed God.  His life, Mary’s life, were lived out in obedience to God’s perfect will. Their first and funda-mental thing was to love God and to serve Him with all their heart, mind, soul and strength.  For those of you who are parents let me say, there is no more important gift that you can give to your child than to model right from day one a simple obedience to God. If you model obedience to God and His Word at home, at work, at play, wherever, you set before him or her an example of how he or she is to manage his or her life at home, at work, at play or wherever.

Without obedience, Joseph would have ended up being … just Joseph. Just another forgotten man from Nazareth.

JOSEPH WAS OPEN
Several years ago I asked you this question. Let’s see if you remember the answer. How
many ways can God make a human being? Give up? Four.
1. By natural means; a man and a woman.
2. Without the aid of a man and a woman as in the case of Adam. Creation birth.
3. With the aid of a man but without a woman as in “rib-birth.” Eve.
4. A woman without a man, as with Mary and Jesus. Virgin birth.

Now, another question. How many people would you guess have lived on Planet Earth since creation? By the way, today’s population is slightly over 7 billion. Well according to the people at the Population Reference Bureau, Earth’s combined population is somewhere around 108 Billion. That’s a whole lot of folks.

How many of the 108 billion were born by way of a virgin birth? The answer is one.  Joseph couldn’t go over to Barnes and Noble and buy a copy of Virgin Birth for Dummies. He couldn’t follow someone else’s example. No one had walked this way before. He was moving through uncharted territory.  I operate off of a Franklin Covey Day Planner system. Then I have at least one back up. I al-ready have things on my calendar for 2013. Spontaneity, in my book, is overrated. When I plan for a trip, I want to know:

• Where I am going?
• When should I expect to get there?
• Where will my wife and I be staying?
• Do we have reservations?
• How much it is going to cost?
• And what are we going to do while we are in that area?

It is important to me that we on time. Dependable. Prepared.

With those thoughts in mind, I want to direct your attention to Micah 5:2. The Old Testament prophet wrote 700 years prior to the birth of Christ, “But you, Bethlehem …, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” The religious leaders of that day knew that the Messiah had to come from Bethlehem. The common folk were well acquainted with this fact as well. Certainly one would think that Mary and Joseph knew that their son had to be born in ancient Bethlehem. So, pray tell me, why did they lollygag around in Nazareth?

Then too, Mary and Joseph couldn’t just go out and hop in their Jeep and be in Bethlehem in a couple of hours. No. The distance from Nazareth to Bethlehem was somewhere in the neighborhood of 75 miles. The two and a half of them had to make the long trip on foot and on the back of a donkey. Furthermore, Bethlehem was some 2300 feet above sea level. This meant that much of the trip was uphill. So the trip was indeed long, very difficult and tiring. It was going to take the weary couple several days to reach their destination.

Without meaning any disrespect, Mary and Joseph could easily tell that the child could be born at any time. Why didn’t they go ahead and start on their journey? How many of you think it was Mary’s fault? How many of you blame Joseph for the delay?

In the end, it took a decree by Caesar Augustus, the head of the entire Roman Empire, to motivate Mary and Joseph to finally make their way to Bethlehem. The emperor required every male to return to their hometown in order to be counted in an empire-wide census.  Joseph’s hometown was Bethlehem.  This simply shows us the length God will go to fulfill His Word. Commentator and pastor Harry Ironside wrote, “God had set the whole world in motion—millions of people going to their own cities … in order that one prophecy in the Old Testament might be fulfilled on time… that Christ might be born in Bethlehem of Judea.” God will move empires if necessary to make sure His promises are fulfilled.

• An unplanned pregnancy
• Angels
• Dreams
• A seven hundred year old prophesy
• Rumors
• The trip to Bethlehem
• Shepherds
• Stars moving across the sky
• Dignitaries from the East dropping in for an unannounced visit
• The trip down to Egypt

Things really got crazy. Joseph had learned to go with the flow. He was flexible/open.  While I prefer my way, I understand that God doesn’t always do things according to the book. Noah could tell you a thing or two about that. As could Moses, David, Daniel as well as a whole host of others.

Some of you here this morning do not have everything in life all wrapped up in some tight, neat little package. It would be an understatement to say that you do not have everything figured out. Joseph is your patron saint! Yet our inability to have things all together does not limit God in the least. That’s one of the great things that comes out of this story. God does some of His best work in the least likely people and in the most unexpected ways.

Remember this, my friends. While everything seemed to be spinning out of control for Mary and Joseph, God actually had everything in control and things were moving according to His divine plan.

SO, WHAT KIND OF PERSON DOES GOD CHOOSE?
He chooses people like Mary and Joseph. And knowing many of you as I do, I dare say that God also chooses people like you and me.

Life is filled with questions. Agreed? Some questions make us laugh while others make us scratch our heads. Here are a few of the more zany questions that I’ve come across:
1. If you throw a cat out a car window, does it become kitty litter?
2. If corn oil comes from corn, and olive oil comes from olives, then where does baby oil come from?
3. If a man is standing in the middle of the forest speaking and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?
4. How do they get deer to cross the road between those yellow road signs?
5. Why is it called a “Drive Through” if you have to stop?
6. Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?
7. If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes?
8. Is it true that cannibals don’t eat clowns because they taste funny?
9. If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge into one company…would they become Fed UP?
10. If Toyota and Chevrolet merged and made a car, would they call it a Toylet?

The Apostle Paul in Romans 8:31-39 presents us with a series of four very important, very powerful questions. Two weeks ago I dealt with three of his questions in the first message in this short series. Can you remember what those three questions are?

• Verse 31: “IF GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?”
• Verse 33: “WHO WILL BRING ANY CHARGE AGAINST THOSE WHOM GOD HAS CHOSEN?”
• Verse 34: “WHO IS HE THAT CONDEMNS?”

This brings me to the fourth question — Romans 8:35, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?”

Then verses 38-39 provides us with the answer, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Please allow me to repeat one of my favorite stories. I know that I have shared it once or twice including in a recent radio broadcast. Richard Exley, pastor and author, tells of a time he was touring the Sunday school area In the church that he pastored. He decided to drop in and listen as a teacher taught one of the pre-school classes. As he walked into the room, he heard the teacher ask the kids:

• “Children, does Jesus love you when you are nice?” Their little faces lit up as they shouted out in one accord, YES!!!
• “Does Jesus love you when you obey your parents?” Again, a loud enthusiastic “Yes!!!”
• “Does Jesus love you when you share with your brothers and sisters?” Once again, “YES!!!”
• Then with a serious voice she asked, “Does Jesus love you when you spill your milk?” Pastor Exley said that the room fell silent. It was as though someone had snuffed out the sun; as though all of the joy had been sucked out of the room. Slowly and softly one little tow-headed boy named Jason answered for each of the other children as he said, “NOOOO, Teacher. Jesus doesn’t love us when we spill our milk!!!”

Pastor Exley said that he felt as if he had been hit in the stomach. Where, he wondered, did these tiny little tykes get such flawed theology? Was he responsible? The parents? Who?

The pastor then listened as the teacher asked the question a second time, “Children, does Jesus love you when you spill your milk?” This time the children didn’t even bother to look up or respond. And we can understand why. Because, in a child’s world there is only one unpardonable sin – spilling one’s milk!!!

She asked the question again, but now she answered the question for the class. In a firm and loving voice, filled with hope and grace, she answered, “Yes, Yes, Jesus does love you when you spill your milk; especially when you spill your milk.”
Friends, I am not talking to a group of pre-school children. Our issues are bigger than spilt milk. So I ask you:

• Does Jesus love you when you have an automobile accident?
• Does Jesus love you when you forget to say your prayers?
• Does Jesus love you when you fail to give in the offering?
• Does Jesus love you when you lose your job?
• Divorce your wife?
• Say a bad word?
• Break one of the Ten Commandments?

Again, that is the essence of the Apostle Paul’s fourth question here in Romans 8. Listen to Paul’s question again. This time I am going to read it from a variety of translations and versions:

• The New Century Version, “Can anything separate us from the love Christ has for us?”
• The New Living Translation, “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love?”
• The Bible In Basic English, “Who will come between us and the love of Christ?”
• The Living Bible, “Who then can ever keep Christ’s love from us?”
• And now I want to share the entire verse from The Message, “Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture.”

Don’t get me wrong. The Lord is not pleased when we sin. He hates sin. He died due to our sins. He doesn’t like it when we mess up anymore than our earthly parents like it when we break their rules. However, that is not the issue. The issue is God’s love. Does God contin-ue to love us when we spill our milk? And my final answer to that question is YES!!!

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Romans 5:8. Paul says, “But God shows his great love for us in this way: Christ died for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8, New Century Version).
Others may love you because:

• You’re a member of the family (and they HAVE to love you).
• You’re a generous person.
• You’re a brother or a sister in Christ.
• You’re fun to be around.
• You did something nice for them.
• You’re rich or famous.
• You’re so cute.

But, not God! God loves you regardless!

Recently I ran across a sermon entitled “For The Love Of God” by Pastor Ray Scott. I want to adapt and share a portion of that message with you: “God loves you simply because He WANTS to love you … He CHOSE to love you … He DECIDED to love you. God loves you because “God is love” (1 John 4:16).

Listen to what God told Israel (who was at the time a most unlovable bunch), Deuteronomy 7:7-8 (The Message), “GOD wasn’t attracted to you and didn’t choose you because you were big and important—the fact is, there was almost nothing to you. He did it out of sheer love, keeping the promise he made to your ancestors. GOD stepped in and mightily bought you back out of that world of slavery, freed you from the iron grip of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” We’re all familiar with HUMAN love. There’s “puppy” love, Grandparent love, “first” love, a love for the arts, a love of chocolate, and much more. We have all kinds of friends … “fair-weather” friends, “long-distance” friends, “new” friends, “old” friends, “former” friends, “close” friends. This is HUMAN love, and HUMAN love is fickle, sporadic, temp-orary, and conditional. BUT, God IS love, and His love is unconditional, constant, and perfect. You can’t influence God’s love, because God IS love.

We look at some people … they have money, a good job, good health, live a good life, have a good family and marriage. We think, “God must really love them … look at how much He has blessed them!” Or, we look at others … they have problems, are sick, poor, have lost their job, or are plagued with family or marital problems. We think, “God must not really love them … look at all the problems they have!” NONSENSE! Forget those thoughts. Circumstances have nothing to do with God’s love. When everything seems to be going wrong, God still loves you. When everything seems to be going right, God still loves you. If you want a gauge of God’s love … a yardstick to measure His love … don’t look at circumstances, look at the cross!

Jeremiah 31:3, “The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with loving-kindness I have drawn you.” What do we need to do to EXPERIENCE God’s love? Just RECEIVE it. Why? Because … nothing can separate you from God’s love. You have never lived a day, a minute, a second, when God didn’t love you.

• You may have hidden in shame from God, like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden … but God still loves you.
• You may have deserted Him like the disciples, when they fled when Jesus was arrested … but God still loves you.
• You may have denied Him like Peter, when they asked him about his relationship with Jesus … but God still loves you.
• You may have doubted Him like Thomas … but God still loves you.

In it all, through thick and thin, good times and bad times … God still loves you! You never leave His mind, His thoughts, or His sight. He sees the worst in you, and loves you anyhow.

• When you sit at the bedside of a loved one who is racked with pain or disease … God still loves you.
• When you sit at the graveside after losing one who has touched your heart and life … God still loves you.
• When you weep because your financial burdens seem too heavy to bear … God still loves you.
• When you see your family torn apart, or your marriage heading for disaster … God still loves you.
• When your heart aches because of a great sin you’ve committed, and you feel that God could never forgive you … God still loves you.

God could never love you any more than He already does. And, God could never love you any less than He already does. We think that God will love us more if we cuss less, drink less, or sin less. We think that God will love me more if I pray more, study my Bible more, attend church more, as well as live a better life. While these things might be an indicator of your love for God … they don’t impact or change God’s love for you one bit. Friends, if you do not remember anything else about this sermon, please try to remember this — God’s love isn’t based on YOU … it’s based on God. Again, it is not based on who you are, but rather who God is. God is love.

NEXT, THE APOSTLE GIVES US A LIST OF THINGS THAT CAN DRAW INTO QUESTION GOD’S LOVE
THE FIRST ITEM ON THE LIST IS “TROUBLE.”
The word TROUBLE as used here speaks of affliction, emotional upset, and anguish. It is used of a person who is under heavy pressure — like grapes in a wine press. The word “trouble” means “squeezed or placed under pressure, especially emotional stress.”
No doubt many of you remember the movie “Forrest Gump”. If you do you may remember this particular scene:

(CLIP FROM FORREST GRUMP — DEAR GOD, MAKE ME A BIRD…) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq5NWgSa0iA

Little Jenny was in trouble. Big trouble. The kind of trouble that the Paul had in mind here.

Trouble today can be an abusive relationship, illness, bereavement, prodigal children, or even poverty. To be sure, the Bible does not promise us that God will make us a bird so we can fly far, far away from our problems. If it did, then everybody would become a Christian — just to avoid accidents, trials, heart attacks, cancer or whatever. Instead, God offers us His love and presence in the midst of all of life’s difficulties.

I want to share with you a story of victory over tragedy. Some of you may know the story of Carol Schuller, daughter of Robert Schuller of Crystal Cathedral fame, and of how she lost her leg in a motorcycle accident. In Positive Family Arvella Schuller, the mother, shares this incident: “Recently Carol accompanied us on a cruise to Hawaii. On the last day of the cruise, she informed us that there was going to be a talent show that night and she wanted to take part. My husband Bob and I were surprised that she wanted to share. She felt that she had been stared at all week often in pity. But that night she stood up and spoke. ‘You’ve watched me walk this ship this week, and I don’t walk too well,’ she said. ‘I have a limp and my leg looks funny. Well, I was in a motorcycle accident and I almost died.’ Then her voice broke and she could not go on. The entire audience quieted down. We could have heard a pin drop. She continued. ‘I cannot walk as well as most of you. But that is not really so important. More important than the way I walk is Who I walk with.’ Again her voice broke and there was a strange hush in the room. ‘Since I was in the ditch alone with my Lord, from that time on I knew I would never be alone again,’ she said. ‘Does He walk with you?’”

His love gives us the necessary strength to overcome whatever comes up against us — including trouble.

NEXT, PAUL ALLUDES TO “HARDSHIP.”
The word hardship as used here is very similar to “trouble.” It speaks of anguish, strain, agony; not knowing which way to turn or what to do. In the original language it speaks of being “boxed in; or to be in a bind or tight squeeze.” Every way out is seemingly closed down tight. The person is in such a fix that he or she does not know which way is up.

I am not a good swimmer. Don’t get me wrong. I can swim. I did take lessons. However no one ever suggested that I try out for the Olympics. Due to my lack of talent, I prefer to swim under water rather than on top of the water. Back when I was an young teen, I was swim-ming and, as usual, I was swimming several feet below the surface. I was almost out of air so I decided to come up in order to catch a breath.

What I failed to tell you was, the swimming area was crowded that day. There were people everywhere. Then too, people were laying on tubes, mats, anything that could float. When I came up, I came up under a rather large mat. Someone was on it. I knew that I had to get to the surface in a moment or else I would be in big trouble. The experience was very frighten-ing, to say the least. I was seemingly boxed in; I was in a real bind. Finally, in a last act of des-peration I was able to get around the mat and break through to the surface. That is akin to what the writer had in mind here in Romans 8.

The Psalmist once described people who were in such a predicament as being at their “wit’s end” (Psalm 107:27).
And yet, even in such a hard place God’s love is steadfast and sure! Paul says that even hardship cannot separate the child of God from the love of God.

THE THIRD THING PAUL MENTIONS IS “PERSECUTION.” IN THIS SAME VERSE HE ALSO ALLUDES TO “DANGER AND THE SWORD.”
The idea here is that the follower of Jesus Christ is abused, ridiculed, mistreated, ignored, neglected, harassed, attacked, or injured. The word “persecution” means “to hotly pursue or follow after something.” In this case, the prey is the child of God.  Persecution and danger have long hounded the saints. Yet these things have never triump-hed over the church — they never have; they never will!

Ignatius, an early church father, said, as he was facing death due to his faith: “Let fire and the cross, let wild beasts, let all the malice of the devil come upon me; only I enjoy Jesus Christ. It is better for me to die for Christ, than to reign over the ends of the earth. It is part of a brave combatant to be wounded, and yet to overcome.”

The enemies of the cross have sometimes confessed they were baffled and overcome by the invincible courage of those who suffered for the cause of Christ. Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:16-18, “At my first defense, no-one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. BUT THE LORD STOOD AT MY SIDE AND GAVE ME STRENGTH, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed…. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever.”

The Lord stood with Paul in the midst of it all. The Lord’s love was not suffocated by the evil hatred of Paul’s enemies!
I like this story. It comes from Campus Life magazine: Debbie Dortzbach, missionary during the Ethiopian famines, was kidnapped by soldiers of the Eritrean Liberation Front. She was beaten and made to run miles of rugged mountain terrain in 104 degree heat while pregnant; she watched her fellow nurse killed. However, after twenty-six days of captivity she summed up the experience by saying: ‘My overwhelming impression is not the fearsome parts — the machine guns pointed at me, the scary nights in a hut with three ELF soldiers, the wild animals. The one outstanding memory is a lesson I learned. In the United States, or even working in the mission hospital, I had crowded out time alone with God and the Bible. Other activities seemed more urgent and pressing. But for 26 days I had no props and no supports. Afraid, alone, I had to trust in God and wait on His answers. I learned that God is enough. Even in desert mountains, surrounded by potential murderers… God is enough.’”

PAUL’S LIST THEN GOES ON TO INCLUDE: “FAMINE” and “NAKEDNESS”
The idea here is, to be without food and having no way to obtain food. To be naked means exactly what it says and more. It means to be stripped of all clothes and earthly comforts; to be bare, having all earthly possessions taken away.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:27, “I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.”

“DEATH NOR LIFE”
By definition this means to be exposed to the most severe risks; for one’s very life to be in peril.

I want to capture several lines from 2 Corinthians 11:23-26. Here the Apostle Paul writes, “ … I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received … the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.”

To appreciate the list of hardships found in Romans 8 you have to understand that the apostle had faced nearly everyone of them personally. Pardon the cliché, but he really had been there; done that. Therefore he could write from experience, None of these things “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

“ANGELS NOR DEMONS”
At this particular time the Jews had a highly developed belief in angels. Everything had its angel. The Rabbis said that there was nothing in the world, not even a blade of grass, that did not have its very own angel.

While I doubt this to be true, it does show again how the people of Paul’s day viewed angels. Is speaking to the culture of his day, Paul was saying that even the angels – the good angels — can not negate the love that God has for His children.

Then Paul shifts to the fallen angels — demons. Here he speaks of the powers and forces of hell. And yet, again, the point is, evil and fallen spirits are no match for the awesome love of God in Christ Jesus!

Think about this. Satan and his evil hordes would like nothing more than to move you from the Kingdom of God to the kingdom of darkness. Believe me when I say, they would if they could. The truth is, though, they can’t. Even the angels and demons cannot separate you from the love of God.

“NEITHER THE PRESENT NOR THE FUTURE”
Here the writer sums up all the measureless dimensions of time — things present and things to come. Regardless, time is irrelevant when it comes to the love of God. Even when this old world has passed away and time is no more, God’s bond of love will remain the same.

“NEITHER HEIGHT NOR DEPTH”
Here Paul speaks of all the limitless proportions of space.

The Psalmist David wrote in Psalm 139:8-10, “Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”

Go up, up and up some more and even there you will still be able to experience God’s love. Go down, down, down to the depths, and there again you will still not be separated from the love of God. Even there His right hand will hold you secure.

“NOR ANY POWERS”
In other words:

• No voodoo or witch doctor,
• No curse or spell.
• No force in this world or the next,
• No, not even any other power or miracle worker — can separate the saint from the love of Christ!

Then in one last sweeping phrase, he declares, “NOR ANYTHING ELSE IN ALL CREATION WILL BE ABLE TO SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD THAT IS IN JESUS OUR LORD.” One commentator noted here: “You can think of every terrifying thing that this or any other world can produce. Not one of them is able to separate the Christian from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ. Of what then shall we be afraid?”

It almost seems as if the apostle wants to sweep every possible thing into his net and summarize it all by saying, “Nothing, no nothing at all can separate you from God’s vast reservoir of love!”

• God’s love is greater than time and space,
• His love is greater than angels and demons,
• His love is greater than life and death,
• His love is greater than trouble, hardships and persecution.
• God’s love is greater than anything and everything!

LISTEN TO THIS SONG: (“HE’LL HOLD YOU” – SELAH)

An older fellow — around 90 years of age — was asked by a pastor, “My dear friend, do you love Jesus?” The old man’s deeply wrinkled face lit up with a smile that some 67 years of serving the Lord had imparted; and grasping the preacher’s hand with both of his, he said, “Oh! I can tell you something better than that.” “And what is that, the pastor asked? “Oh! Sir,” he said, “JESUS LOVES ME!”
In those 67 years he had no doubt faced a little of everything Satan could throw at him, but he had come through it all victoriously. And now — over 90 and possibly facing death — his testimony was simply of the Lord’s never-failing love for him!

I WANT TO CONCLUDE WITH THIS FINAL THOUGHT:
Maybe a year ago a pastor from Michigan came out with a book entitled Love Wins. The book created a great deal of controversy and contained a number of grievous errors. Since the introduction of that book, I do not remember hearing one other preacher preach on God’s great love. Saints, we must not throw the baby out with the bath water.

• People need to hear and know that their heavenly Father loves them.
• Child of God, you need to hear and know that God loves you.
• Sinner, in spite of your sins, you need to hear and know that God loves you as well.

And yet, although Jesus is willing that non perish, you can still chose to perish. You can chose to walk away from this great and eternal love. The Scriptures are careful to point out that love offered can be love refused!  God is for you, my friend. Are you for God? Have you accepted Him and His great love? Do you know Him?

Recently I discovered an interesting website. You can find it at Topverses.com. The creators of the site took some 37 million online Bible references and ranked each one by popularity. What verse would you guess ended up being the most referenced Bible verse in all of Scripture? Well, if you guessed John 3:16, you are right. That verse had over twice the references as the second most popular verse – John 1.1. Then came John 14:6, Matthew 28:19, and Romans 3:23.  By the way, The top 10 chapters were in order of popularity:

1. 2 Peter 1
2. Psalm 1
3. John 2
4. James 4
5. Romans 12
6. Isaiah 53
7. John 3
8. Romans 1
9. James 1
10. Acts 1

My favorite chapter did not make the cut. I am speaking of Romans 8. I did a Google search and found that I have referenced Romans 8 some 233 times in my sermons in the years that I have been your pastor. The chapter merits as well as receives a great deal of attention.

Romans 8 begins with “no condemnation” and ends with “no separation.” In between, there is “no defeat.” The chapter shows us that we need not fear the past, present, or future because we are safe, secure, and satisfied in the grace and the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Having said that, I want to take a couple of Sundays and cover Romans 8:31-39 with you. I will break the sermon down into four great questions:

• Verse 31: “IF GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?”
• Verse 33: “WHO WILL BRING ANY CHARGE AGAINST THOSE WHOM GOD HAS CHOSEN?”
• Verse 34: “WHO IS HE THAT CONDEMNS?”
• Verse 35: “WHO SHALL SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST?”

We will cover the first three questions today.

QUESTION 1 – ROMANS 8:31 — “IF GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?”
Someone scribbled that question on the walls of the men’s room at a Kansas truck stop. Someone else replied, “The Kansas Highway Patrol!”

So, friends, back to the question — “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Some other translations put this:

• “Since God is for us, who can be against us?”
• “With God on our side like this, how can we lose?”
• “If God is for us, what does it matter who may be against us?”
• “With God on our side, who can be against us?”

The overall message of the Bible can be summed up in many ways. However, I do not know of a better formula than the one Paul spells out for us here. In fact, if there is one message which reverberates through Scripture from start to finish, from Genesis to Revelation, it is this message — GOD IS FOR US; GOD IS ON OUR SIDE!

I now have a You Tube clip that I want you to watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZlXWp6vFdE&feature=player_detailpage

As the father in the clip was there for his son, so it is that God comes as a Father to us. One of His functions/names is Paraclete which means “one who comes along side to help.” Again, He is for us. He is at our side. He is there to help us make it across the finish line.
The following true story is taken from the May 1986 issue of Guideposts magazine: “I’m 16 years old, and ever since I was a young girl my parents told me that God is always watching over us. I believed this, but I couldn’t really say that my experience had proven this to be so. Maybe it will when I get older, I thought. One winter night an unexpected sound woke our household at 3:00 am. My father dashed down the hall, sniffing the air. My sister and I scurried to our bedroom door. When Dad came back upstairs he said, ‘I don’t understand it.’ He breathed a sigh of confusion, then returned to his room. I couldn’t go back to sleep. I went to my parents’ room and said to my father, who couldn’t sleep either, ‘Are you sure? Did you check — ?’ ‘Yes, Tracy, I checked everything,’ said Dad. I started back to my room, but as I reached the door my mother suddenly cried out, ‘The coffee pot! I think I left the coffee pot on at church.’ Earlier that evening my mother had served coffee at a church gathering. Now, in an instant, Dad was gone. Mom and I waited at home. I could tell Mom was terribly afraid that she might have been guilty of burning down the church. Ten minutes later my father returned. He let out a relieved sigh and said, ‘Now I understand. The pot was on — burned empty and beginning to smoke.’ And what, a half hour earlier, had waked us? The smoke alarm in our own — smoke free — house.”

Do you have an explanation for such things happening?
1. Coincidence?
2. Luck?
3. Or God?

I choose the third answer. I believe that He is far more involved in our affairs, in caring for us and protecting us than we can ever imagine. Only in Heaven will we fully come to understand the real extent of His care and His provision.

Someone has observed, “If God is AGAINST us, it really does not make very much difference who is for us. And if God is FOR us, it does not make any difference who is against us.” Amen.

But pastor, what about all of the bad stuff that happens? Hey, I understand bad stuff. I have experienced bad stuff. I preached an entire series a while back on why bad stuff happens to good people. However, let me be honest with you. I have problems deciding just who qualifies as a good person. I’m not always good. Are you? When I do the math, I come to the conclusion that I get a lot more good in life than I deserve and a whole lot less bad. I also conclude that in spite of the bad stuff, God is truly there for me.

It is on the basis of the fact that God is for us that the Apostle Paul then poses the next three questions:
QUESTION NUMBER 2 – ROMANS 8:33 — “WHO WILL BRING ANY CHARGE AGAINST THOSE WHOM GOD HAS CHOSEN?”

Please allow me to share this passage again. This time I will read it from The Voice: “Can anyone be so bold as to level a charge against God’s chosen? Especially since God’s “not guilty” verdict is already declared” (Romans 8:33).
In effect, the verse is asking:

• Who has the legal standing necessary to bring a charge against a saint of God?
• Who has jurisdiction?
• Who can indict or arraign before the Father one whom the Lord has purchased by His own death on the tree; one whom the Lord Jesus Christ has declared “not guilty”?

CAN THE DEVIL LEVEL A CHARGE AGAINST ME? AGAINST YOU?
Let face it; he certainly tries, doesn’t he?

• Who do you think you are calling yourself a Christian?
• Do you really think God would accept someone like you into His family?
• There are people in hell who lived better lives than you.
• Remember that lie you told? Your temper? What about THAT habit?

Has the enemy of your soul ever pointed his bonny finger at you and shouted out some awful accusation?
I know that I have told you before, I labored under such condemnation as a young teen, I thought that the only way I was going to make it to heaven was if I died in my sleep while I was having good dreams. Between the teachings of a very strict church and the accusations of the devil, I just knew that my spiritual goose was as good as cooked. The devil loves making us feel guilty!
Notice now, Zechariah 3:1-2 says, “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, ‘The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you!’” Here we see a righteous man – Joshua the high priest — being accused by the devil before God.

Revelation 12:10 also notes: “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say…. ‘For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.’”

Question. What was Joshua the high priest doing while Satan was leveling charges against him? What were the saints here in Revelation doing during the time the accusations were taking place? We don’t know. The Bible doesn’t really say. Evidently though, the people didn’t try to defend themselves. In both cases, it appears as if the defendants are content to be quiet while the Lord takes up the battle for them.

But pastor, what were these folks accused of?
1. We don’t know.
2. The Bible doesn’t say.
3. God doesn’t dignify Satan’s charges by giving them place in the Word of God.

Rather than respond to the devil by saying, “You don’t say”, or “please tell me more”, the Lord merely rebukes the devil and sends him away.

You see, Satan has no place when it comes to him bringing charges against the people of God. The Complete Biblical Library Commentary adds here, “No forgiven sin can ever be held against the forgiven since God has justified them. Satan, the ‘accuser of the brethren,’ may try to harass, but that which God has forgiven He will never remember against us anymore.”

WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE WHO ACCUSE US?
A number of years ago I was praying about a certain situation. My prayer concerned a brother in the church who had committed some terrible sins. As I prayed, I told the Lord all about what the individual had done dutifully listing the fellows sins one by one. I then continued on by telling the Lord just how much trouble the brother had caused the body of Christ.

At that point I felt the Lord stop me. He then let me know that He was well aware of the person’s shortcomings and mine too, for that matter. He then proceeded to let me know that Instead of accusing the person before the Lord, I was supposed to be interceding on his behalf. I got the message. I do not — we do not — have the liberty to play the role of the “Accuser of the brethren” even in prayer.

Hebrews 4:13 notes, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

The Psalmist adds in Psalm 139:1-4 (New Living Translation) “O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.”

God, again, knows the truth about you and me. He does not have to depend on some simple human being to update Him on what we are up to. He knows our ways, our thoughts, our affections, our failures, our sins, our hopes and our dreams. We are not going to tell the Lord anything about anyone that He hasn’t known all along.

The Scripture is clear, we are to “pray for those that despitefully use us.” We pray FOR — not AGAINST! We are to “bless and curse not.”
So back to Romans 8:33-34 (New Century Version), “Who can accuse the people God has chosen? No one, BECAUSE God is the One who makes them right. Who can say God’s people are guilty? No one, BECAUSE Christ Jesus died, but he was also raised from the dead, and now he is on God’s right side, begging God for us.”

Why can’t people accuse you? Three reasons:

• It is Jesus who died for you
• It is Jesus who rose for you
• It is Jesus who is at the Father’s right hand right now crying out on your behalf.

Until someone else steps forward and can prove that they love you as Christ has loved you, then no one has the standing to accuse you before the Father. No one!

WHAT ABOUT GOD?
Let’s be honest. If anyone has reason to charge us with wrong, would it not be the Lord? And yet, the Father cannot/does not bring a charge against us either, for He is the very one who has acquitted us.

• For Him to accuse us then would mean that His blood was not sufficient.
• His salvation was a failure.
• We are still in our sins.

Yes, His Spirit notifies us when we do wrong. The Father can even discipline us as an earthly father corrects his child. However, the Lord does not “charge” us. The words “charge” or “accuse” as used here means: “to criminate, to call in question, to come forward as an accuser.” Again, that is the role of the enemy of our souls, not the savior of our souls.

Romans 3:23-24 states, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” God is painfully aware of our failures and yet in the same breath in which He alludes to our sins. He declares us to be justified. That means that God “accounts us as righteous”, that He sees us “just as if we had never sinned.”

This is a true story. A young man and his father were deer hunting in the wilds of Oregon. It was early evening, and they were thinking about returning to camp when a noise exploded in the brush nearby. Before he even had a chance to lift his rifle, a small blur of brown and white came shooting up the road straight for the dad. It all happened so fast, the older man hardly had time to think. He looked down and there was a little brown cottontail — utterly spent — crowded up against his legs between his boots. The little thing was trembling all over, but it just sat there and didn’t budge.

Now this was really strange. Wild rabbits are frightened of people. It is almost impossible to believe that one would come running right up to your feet and sit down, but that is exactly what happened here.

As the father was puzzling over this, another player entered the scene. Down the road –maybe twenty yards away — a weasel burst out of the brush. When it saw the man with the rifle — and its intended prey sitting at his feet — the predator froze in its tracks, its month panting, its eyes glowing red.

It was then that the older man understood he had stepped into a little life-and-death drama in the middle of the forest. The cottontail, exhausted by the chase, was only moments from death. This tall strange man was its last hope of refuge. Forgetting its natural fear and caution, the little animal instinctively crowded up against him for protection from the sharp teeth of its relentless enemy.
The hunter did not disappoint his new found friend. He raised his powerful rifle and deliberately shot into the ground just underneath the weasel. The animal seemed to leap almost straight into the air a couple of feet and then rocketed back into the forest as fast as its legs could move.

For a while the little rabbit didn’t stir. It just sat there, huddled at the man’s feet in the gathering twilight while the man gently spoke to it:

• “Where did he go, little one?
• I don’t think he’ll he bothering you for a while.
• Looks like you’re off the hook tonight.”

Soon the rabbit hopped away from its protector into the forest.
My friends, where do you run in time of need?

• Where do you hide when the accuser pursues you like a relentless weasel, seeking your destruction?
• Where do you turn when your energy is spent… when weakness saps you and you feel you cannot run away any longer? You run to Jesus. You are safe in Him.

He is the one who justifies, not the one who condemns.
He is the one who saves, not the one who destroys.
He is the one who guards, not the one who kills.
He is the one who defends, not the one who accuses.

Proverbs 18:10 (New Century Version), “The LORD is like a strong tower; those who do right can run to him for safety.” In short, the righteous run to, not away from the Lord.

QUESTION NUMBER 3 – VERSE 34 — “WHO IS HE THAT CONDEMNS?”
In verse 33 Paul asked in effect, “Who is it that can press charges against me?” Here in verse 34 he asks, “Who would go to the witness stand against me?”

One of the great stories in the Bible is the familiar account found in John 8:1-11 of the adulterous woman. Here is how several translations detail her sin. She was…

• “…caught in the act of adultery.”
• “…doing a sex sin.”
• “…caught in bed with a man who wasn’t her husband.”
• “…caught committing adultery.”

As a result of her transgression, the law mandated that she be stoned to death. The religious leaders already had ammunition in hand when they brought her to Jesus. They then inquired: “What then do You say?”

• What’s the verdict, Jesus?
• What should we do?

Jesus, as you remember, then knelt down and starting writing something in the sand. What do you think He wrote? While I can’t be sure, I do think I know.
1. Names of girlfriends,
2. Lies that had been told,
3. Items that had been stolen,
4. Laws that had been violated….

On and on He listed one sin after another. Sins which these same religious leaders were guilty of committing themselves.
He then stood up and challenged, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). Then He stooped a second time and began to write again — more sins, very secret sins. The Bible then records that they all, beginning with the oldest, walked away, leaving their rocks behind. John 8:10 (New Living Translation) declares, “Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, ‘Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?’” She answered in verse 11, “’No one, sir.’”

By His own words, Jesus could have condemned her; Jesus could have stoned her. He was indeed the only one there that day who was without sin. And yet, verse 11 adds, ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’”

Jesus does not stand in the seat of condemnation. Romans 8:1 promises: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Saints, we can rest on the truth of these verses! God is not about to condemn the very ones that He has forgiven!
Let me take this one step farther, when the Father looks at His Son, He sees “a Lamb looking as if it had been slain, standing in the middle of the throne…” according to Revelation 5:6. This seems to indicate that the scars of the cross are still visible. Thus, the evidence of His saving work at Calvary is ever before the throne. Jesus therefore says, “Father, the charges have no basis; Mike’s sins are under the blood. See the scars? I died for him. His sins are no more! He is mine and I am his. There will be no condemnation.”

Therefore, it is fair to ask,

• “If God is for us, who is against us?”
• “Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?”
• “Who is he that condemns?”

NOTICE WITH ME THIS CLIP FROM THE MOVIE “THE BEAR”.

You may feel just as weak and vulnerable as did that little cub. But the message of Romans 8:31-39 is, we are not alone. There is one greater than all of our enemies who stands with each and every child of God. Yes, since God is for us, since God is at our side, who can possibly be against us?

I want to close out the message with an illustration from the commendatory Mattoon’s Treasures:

• “When Noah was building the ark, he was in the minority, but He and God won.
• Joseph was in the minority when he was sold into slavery in Egypt, but he ended up being victorious.
• Elijah was in the minority when he confronted the prophets of Baal, but he and the Lord won the battle of the day.
• David was in the minority when he confronted Goliath, but won the fight with the Lord’s help.
• Gideon and the Lord won the battle with the Midianites even though there were 300 men against tens of thousands.

You may be in a situation today where you might be in the minority. Realize you are in the majority with God. That’s a confidence booster. God is for us. He is on our side. This is how Tyndale, the man who greatly influenced the KJV, translated this passage in 1534… ‘if God be on our side: who can be against us?’
Since God is for us…. Let us pray.

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? Did you have plenty to eat? Did you say grace over the meal? I’ve never seen an episode of the television show “The Simpsons”. Never have; never will. In one of the episodes, though, I read that the family was sitting down to eat when Homer asked Bart to give thanks before the meal. And Bart prayed, “Dear God, we paid for all this stuff ourselves, so thanks for nothing.” Some people may laugh at that line, but I think it reveals a real problem that many people have. They enjoy the blessings of God but fail to recognize God as the source of those blessings. As a result, they never stop to say simply “Thanks.”

By way of contrast, I am thinking of a family that was preparing to eat their annual Thanksgiving feast. As the family was seated around their table, everyone from the oldest to the youngest took turns expressing their gratitude to God for His many blessings. When they came to the 5-year-old, he began by looking at the turkey and expressing his thanks for the turkey, saying although he had not yet tasted it he knew it would be good. After that, he began with a more predictable line of credits, thanking his mother for cooking the turkey and his father for buying the turkey. Leaving that, he said, “I thank you for the checker at the grocery store who checked out the turkey. I thank you for the grocery store people who put it on the shelf. I thank you for the farmer who made it fat. I thank you for the man who made the feed. I thank you for those who brought the turkey to the store.” Over the course of several minutes, he traced the turkey all the way from its origin to his plate. And then at the end he solemnly said “Did I leave anybody out?” His younger brother, who by this time was more than ready to eat, volunteered in reply: “Yes, God.” Solemnly and without being flustered at all, the 5-year-old said, “I was just about to get to Him.”

Thanksgiving is meant to be a time when we stop and thank God for His many blessings and provisions. As such, we can choose to be like Bart Simpson and fail to be thankful to God in any sense of the word, or we can be like the little boy who was thankful for anything and everyone – including God.

The Bible contains a story of ten men who had every reason to be thank-filled. And yet … well let me tell you the story. You can find the account in the New Testament, in Luke 17:11-19. I want to break the passage down phrase by phrase.

Luke 17:11-19, 11 “Now on His way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.”
Why do you think Jesus was going to Jerusalem? Was He going there to do some shopping in the various markets? Was he going to the Temple to worship? Did He have some friends there that He simply wanted to hang with for a while? Actually the answer is none of the above. Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem to die. As He was making His way to the city:

• People were bringing babies to Him so that He might bless them.
• A rich young dude stopped by and he wanted to know how he might find eternal life.
• A blind man was wanting to be healed. He was screaming at the top of his lungs, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”
• Then there was a tax collector by the name of Zacchaeus – he too took some of the Lord’s time.
• I must add that it was also during this period that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
• Then while all of this was going on, Jesus was pouring Himself into His disciples.

As you also know, His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday was only days away. The Cross was less than two weeks out. The point? Jesus was a busy man. He had some pretty serious stuff on His mind. Hear, me. the Lord’s plate was full!

While here, please notice that Jesus was traveling in hostile territory. Several years ago I was asked to preach on a Wednesday night at an Black inner city church in Chicago. Before the service, the pastor wanted me to go with him to see one of the churches that his church had planted. I have to admit, I had never been in that part of Chicago before. The pastor parked his car and we walked across the street to the little store-front house of worship. To be honest, I don’t think I have a prejudiced bone in my body. Nevertheless, for me to say that I was uneasy in that environment would be an understatement. People were looking at me as if to say, “Come on man, what are you doing here?” The pastor laughed and told that the locals were not use to seeing white folks in that part of town. I knew that without his having to tell me. I also knew that they were not going to see this white guy back in that area any time soon!

What I experienced there that evening may have been something akin to what Jesus experienced in this story. His was traveling Town-Line Road on the border of Galilee and Samaria. The Jews and the Samaritans didn’t like each other. Not even a little bit. The Samaritans were considered “half-breeds”. They were part Jew; part Gentile. These people had such a distain for each other that the Jews actually make it against the law for one of their own to associate with a Samaritan.

And yet Jesus purposefully situated himself on a road where He would encounter some-one from Samaria.

Verse 12, “As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, ‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us!’” I want to talk to you for a moment about leprosy. Nearly two years ago I dealt with Luke 5 where Jesus touched and healed a man with leprosy. In that message I pointed out that leprosy is still very much a problem in today’s world. One person is officially diagnosed with the disease every fifty seconds. Seventy percent of today’s new cases are on the Indian subcontinent. Between 100 and 200 new cases are diagnosed in the United States each year. Today leprosy is called Hansen’s Disease.

Anyway, leprosy usually starts with a small patch of skin that turns white. At the same time, the area affected by the disease becomes numb. The leper cannot even feel a needle piercing the spot nor can he or she feel a burn or a cut. The patch then begins to spread over the entire body. The disease often gravitates to the face, so the infection is impossible to hide. Lepers were called “the walking dead.”
Listen to Leviticus 13:45-46 (Contemporary English Version), “If you ever have leprosy, you must tear your clothes, leave your hair uncombed, cover the lower part of your face, and go around shouting, ‘I’m unclean! I’m unclean!’ As long as you have the disease, you are unclean and must live alone outside the camp.” The Bible speaks of both men and women who had the disease. Most lepers ended up begging in order to survive. To make matters worse, the rabbis taught that leprosy was sent by God in order to punish certain sinners.
The psychological consequences of leprosy were as serious as the physical. A noted doctor from a leper colony once wrote, “The leper is sick in mind as well as body. For some reason there is an attitude to leprosy different from the attitude to any other disfiguring disease. It is associated with shame and horror, and carries in some mysterious way a sense of guilt, although innocently acquired. Shunned and despised, frequently lepers consider taking their own life and some do.”

So back now to Luke 17. One can only imagine where these ten men were on the pecking order.

• First, the men were all lepers.
• Then too, they were no doubt beggars.
• Next, the group was made up of both Jews and Samaritans.
• Finally, judging from what they had been taught, even God didn’t want to have anything to do with them.

Bro – how low can you go???

Somehow these men had caught wind of the fact that Jesus was headed their way. As a result, they got up and headed in His direction. When they found him, the Bible says that the men “stood at a distance….” Due to their condition, a leper had to stand at least fifty yards away from other people. Another source said that they had to stay at least 100 paces upwind.

When the men found Jesus, they didn’t talk about the weather, politics or the Packers. Rather, they cried out as with one voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

Let me read between the lines here for a moment. In chapter 18 – the next chapter over – we find in verses 15-16, “People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have Him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the
children to Him and said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them….”

Then later on in that same chapter a blind beggar hears that Jesus is passing by and so he also repeatedly cries out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Verse 39 records, “Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’”

Given these two instances, let me ask you, is it not reasonable to suspect that maybe the disciples or others nearby turned to the ten lepers, rebuked them, and also told them to be quiet? Nevertheless, in their desperation they repeatedly called out across the distance, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

And Jesus did have pity on them. Once more Jesus showed that he was concerned about the very ones that society devalued, shut out, and rejected. Here at this very divine moment Jesus revealed again His affection for the poor, afflicted and oppressed.

Let me emphasize, the lepers had no idea where Jesus was going. They didn’t have a clue about His trip to Jerusalem or of His date with the Old Rugged Cross. They didn’t ask how He was feeling or if He was tired or even exhausted. They didn’t inquire to see if He had time for another interruption. Frankly, the lepers did not care. All that they were concerned with at that moment was their own need for healing.

Luke 17:14, “When he saw them, he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed.”
I want to show you something here that is easy to miss.

• Jesus didn’t lay hands on these men. He didn’t touch them in any way.
• He didn’t anoint them with oil.
• He didn’t pray over them.
• Nor did He heal them instantly – on the spot.

Rather, He simply said, “go show yourself to the priest.” That’s it. The healing took place as the lepers obeyed Jesus’ instructions. They were cleansed of the disease “as they went.” Jesus in this case healed them from a distance.

Put yourself in these fellow’s shoes for a second. No touch, no words, no nothing – just go. How would you have responded to that? Then too, when the Lord sent them on their way, every last one of them still had full-blown leprosy. They could see it. They could smell it. They could feel it. They could have easily been tempted to say, “Nothing has changed.”

But that is not how faith works. Faith is trusting and obeying God even if you don’t have any visible, physical evidence supporting your decision. As a result of their faith, all ten of them headed off to see the priest. And as they were going…,

• as they were in the process of obeying,
• as they were shuffling on down the road…

THEY WERE HEALED. Notice, it wasn’t until they stepped out in faith and obeyed Jesus, that they experienced His healing power.
Why did they have to go to the priest? The Old Testament law demanded it. Leviticus 13 notes how a Jewish priest could declare a person to be clean or unclean. These ten men knew they were unclean; they had already been declared to be lepers. Now they needed to be declared clean; cured.

I have had people ask me time and time again if they should go back to their doctor after the Lord has healed them of this or that. Based on this passage of Scripture, I think the answer is yes. The Lord’s healing power can certainly stand up successfully to the scrutiny of the medical profession!

Years ago, I heard a quote about faith I’ve never been able to forget: “Faith is coming to the edge of all you can see and feel and taking one more step into the darkness–trusting that God will either catch you or teach you how to fly!” I like that; don’t you? Is God speaking to you today? Is He saying something to you in your daily time with the Lord? What are you waiting for? Step out in faith and obey Him, and only then will you experience His mighty power.

Bill Hybels tells about an interesting experience after a baptismal service in his church. He writes: “I bumped into a woman in the stairwell who was crying. I thought this was a little odd, since the service was so joyful. I asked her if she was all right. She said, ‘No, I’m struggling.’ She said, ‘My mom was baptized today. I prayed for her every day for almost 20 years. The reason I’m crying is because I came this close to giving up on her.

• At the 5-year mark I said, “Who needs this? God isn’t listening.”
• At the 10-year mark I said, “Why am I wasting my breath?”
• At the 15-year mark I said, “This is absurd.”
• At the 19-year mark I said, “I’m just a fool.” But I just kept trying, kept praying. Even with weak faith I kept praying. Then she gave her life to Christ, and she was baptized today.  I will never doubt the power of prayer again.”

The lady was oh so close to giving up. However, in spite of all that she saw and heard, she pressed on and on and on! And in the end she received her miracle. Doubt quits; faith continues!

Luke 17:15-16 (The Voice), “One of them, the instant he realized he had been healed, turned and ran back to Jesus, shouting praises to God. He prostrated himself facedown at Jesus’ feet, ‘Thank you!’ ‘Thank you!’ Now this fellow happened to be, not a Jew, but a Samaritan.”

The man was a what? A hated Samaritan. By implication the other nine were Jews.

• Think about it, the woman at the well in John 4 was a Samaritan woman.
• The story of the Good Samaritan was about, of course, a good Samaritan.
• Now, again, we find a Samaritan is the one person who does the right thing.

To me the message in all of this is, Jesus tends to bring out the best in the worse.

• He makes a deliverer out of a murderer – Moses
• He makes a prophet out of a slave – Daniel
• He makes an honest man out of a thief – Zacchaeus
• He makes a worshiper out of a harlot – The woman in Luke 7 who washed the Lord’s feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair
• He makes a disciple out of a foul-mouthed hot-head – Peter
• He makes an apostle out of one who had persecuted the church – Paul
• He makes a pastor/songwriter out of a slave-trader – John Newton
• He makes a preacher out of a gang leader – Nicky Cruz
• I could use several of you as examples here, but I won’t.

Oh, my friends, there is no end to the stories of people like this Samaritan who have been transformed by the amazing transformational power of Jesus Christ!

Verse 15 goes on to note that the man “shouted out” his praises to God. The Greek term that is used here speaks of a very loud voice; a great voice. In other words, the fellow put everything he had into it. He wanted saint and sinner alike to know – he was no longer unclean – he had been healed!

I can just see the brother as he realizes that he is no longer a leper:

• He goes running and leaping down the street.
• As he does so, he realizes that babies no longer cry when they see him; women no longer have to shield their faces from him.
• He can embrace his family.
• He can go into the temple.
• He no longer has to cry out, “Unclean, unclean” everywhere he goes.
• He does not have to keep his distance.

In short order, the brother went from being a leper to being a leaper!

And so he fell facedown at Jesus’ feet crying one time after another, “Thank you Jesus! Thank you!” Have you ever had one of those overwhelming “Thank you Jesus” moments?
Luke 17:17-18, “Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’”

We do not know what happened to the rest of the group. In all likelihood, they went on to the temple in order to show themselves to the priest. Then, maybe, they were thinking of their families and after leaving the temple they ran off to see them. The Bible doesn’t say.
Do you think the nine were thankful for their healing? I have no doubt but that they were thankful; overjoyed. How could anyone not feel thankful after being healed of such an awful disease? Being thankful is not the issue. The issue is that they failed to express their gratitude to Jesus. To somehow express their appreciation to the one who had granted them this awesome miracle!

No other healing in all the gospels shows man’s utter ingratitude to God as powerfully as does this one. And yet, this was without a doubt one of the most amazing healings in all of Scripture. Think about it. MY FRIENDS, THERE IS A TREMENDOUS GAP BETWEEN FEELING GRATITUDE AND EXPRESSING GRATITUDE.

SO, WHY DO YOU THINK THE NINE NEVER RETURNED TO SAY “THANK YOU” TO JESUS?
Charles L. Brown offers these nine reasons in The Newsletter Newsletter:
1. One waited to see if the cure was real.
2. One waited to see if it would last.
3. One said he would see Jesus later.
4. One decided that he had never had leprosy.
5. One said he would have gotten well anyway.
6. One gave the glory to the priests.
7. One said, “O, well, Jesus didn’t really do anything.”
8. One said, “Any rabbi could have done it.”
9. One said, “I was already much improved.”

Let me add one more reason to the mix. The Oxford Dictionary lists more than 50 words in the English language compounded with ‘self’ which have a negative meaning. For example: self-advertisement, self-applause, self-assertion, self-pity, self-gratification, self-indulgence, self-glorification, and so on.

In my opinion, the reason that the men failed to return and offer thanks is simple, they were so wrapped up in self that they didn’t see the need nor did they see the purpose of offering thanks to Jesus. In their way of thinking, they had other things; more important things, on their minds. In short, they were clueless!

Like back then, so many people today have a sort-of entitlement mentality. It almost seems as if they believe that God owes them everything that they receive from Him.  So allow me to do a takeoff of the Bart Simpson mentality, “God we did all of this ourselves, or we deserve all of these blessings, so thanks for nothing.”

Luke 17:19, “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.’” By coming to Jesus, the man received something greater than physical healing: he was also saved from his sins. Listen to the last part of the verse from several translations:

• “Your faith has saved you.”
• “Your faith has healed and saved you.”
• “your faith has cured you.”
• “Your faith has made you healthy again.”
• “Your trust has saved you.”

The man received a complete healing – body, soul, and spirit healing. While it is wonderful to experience the miracle of physical healing, it is even more wonderful to experience the miracle of eternal salvation. Again, this fellow had experienced both.

THE BIBLE COMMANDS AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
The Apostle Paul wrote, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (I Thessalonians 5:18). That is, again, God’s will.

Help me now. I need to have you think of five things that you are thankful for; really thankful to God for today. Let me help you. Psalm 68:19 (New King James Version) says, “Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation!” What are some of those benefits?
1. Life
2. Salvation
3. Freedom
4. Family and friends
5. Maybe a job or some sort of income
6. Your church
7. Another year of life
8. Your health
9. Food, clothing, shelter
10. A healing
11. The many blessings that are ours as Christ followers

Look around you.

• When was the last time one of your loved ones died of starvation?
• When was the last time you gave up eating to make sure your children had food?
• When was the last time you had to go some distance in order to find a source of clean, safe water?
• When was the last time one of your children or grandchildren was kidnapped and sold into the sex trade?
• When was the last time that you had to suffer, I mean really suffer, for your faith in Jesus Christ?

Chances are you have never experienced these things. Unfortunately, these are grim realities for many people in various parts of the world today.

The list of God’s blessings and benefits could literally go on and on and on!

As in the days of Jesus Christ, I believe God is still saddened by how few people actually express thanksgiving to Him. Too often, like the nine lepers, we are content to enjoy the gift but we forget the Giver. We are quick to pray but slow to praise.  As an aside, let me encourage to make a habit of saying “thank you” to those around you. Train yourself to say “thank you” for the little things and then saying “thank you” for the big things will come naturally.
Dare to say “thank you” when:

• Someone opens the door for you.
• Someone compliments you.
• Someone fixes a meal for you or washes a load of laundry for you.
• Someone gives you some of their time or wisdom.
• Someone prays for you.
• Someone sends you a nice note.
• Someone lets you cut in front of them in line.
• Someone stops so you can turn out on the street.
• Someone buys you a gift.
• Someone forgives you or apologizes to you.
• Someone is kind to you.
• Someone puts in a day’s work for you.
• While here, let me encourage you to also thank a soldier or a police officer.

Think now. Do you owe a “thank you” to someone.

The Masai tribe in West Africa have an unusual way of saying “thank you.” Translators tell us that when the Masai express thanks, they bow, put their forehead on the ground and say, “My head is in the dirt.” When members of another African tribe want to express thanks, they sit for a long time in front of the hut of the person who did the favor and literally say, “I sit on the ground before you.” Those Africans understand well what thanksgiving is and the importance of being truly grateful.

SO HERE IS THE WRAP. The account of the ten lepers should teach us that an ungrateful attitude is a deep character flaw. That ingratitude sticks out like a sore thumb.

So, where do you land? I trust you are like the one out of ten that returned and gave thanks to the Lord.