CLASS:
JOHN-1 John 1 and 2
The Word of Life
- John did not say he was telling about what he had (a) heard, (b) seen, (c) thought of, or (d) touched with his hands. 1 John 1:1 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- God is (a) light or (b) darkness. 1 John 1:5 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- What if persons claim to be without sin?
If a person has sinned, what should he do? 1 John 1:8-10 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ - How can an individual know that he knows Jesus? 1 John 2:3-11 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- Name the condition of a follower of Christ who hates his brother. 1 John 2:9-11 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- Everything in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life-comes from ______________________________ 1 John 2:16
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ - Can a person deny the Son and have the Father? 1 John 2:23 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Good morning. We are in first John chapter one, let’s begin with a word of prayer, our gracious father in heaven. We thank you for this day that you’ve given to us grateful for this life that you’ve blessed us with. We’re mindful of those who are dealing with difficulties in their lives, whether they be physical or emotional or spiritual, pray that you give them the comfort and strength that they need.
Through those hard times, we pray for those who still remain at home. And, uh, we pray that they will continue to have safety and good health. And we are so grateful for their willingness to continue participating in, uh, being a part in this congregation and the worship, uh, that we offer to you on a weekly basis. Lord,
we pray that you help us to be an encouragement to them. And to all those that are around about us, always strive to Put God first to strive, to look to you in a sincerity and in strength and in understanding and willingness to be obedient to you all the rest of our days, we pray for this city and we pray for this area.
We pray for this country that they might make wise decisions that they might make choices that lead to the further into the gospel, that we might be able to teach people and evangelize and spread the gospel throughout the world. And that people will be willing and open to hearing that gospel being obedient to the truth and receiving the salvation of their souls through the obedience of that gospel.
We pray for all the many good works that are going on throughout the brotherhood and especially those that we support here at Collierville. We pray that they remained faithful and steadfast sound in the faith and that they will always have open doors of opportunity and fruitful vineyards in which to labor. We pray that as we go through this time of study, the things that we study will be beneficial to our hearts and our minds.
We might grow closer to you in faith, and a knowledge might grow in grace. And in understanding all this, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. John begins this letter. This will be kind of the middle of the letters that John writes by way of length. You’ve got John, you’ve got the book of revelation. You’ve got first, John,
and then second and third, John, that are all that are both just a chapter long. So this one’s kind of in the middle, but it begins with really the assumption that you’ve already read the book of John. If you haven’t read the book of John and you come to first, John, you’re going to wonder why he’s talking about the things he’s talking about because he begins off of the exact same premise of the things,
which he’s already said, which he’s already told them, which they’ve already understood, but he reinforces these things that, which was from the beginning. He says, chapter one, verse one. Oh, and you read that, which was from the beginning. If you’ve read John, you know, the very beginning of John begins in the same place in the beginning was the word.
And the word was with God. And the word was God, same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. That, which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled concerning the word of life.
You go on there. And John chapter one, and you read that in him was two things. John describes in John chapter. One, two things that were in him, light and life. John chapter first, John chapter one is going to begin by talking about the word of life. And he’s going to go talking about that life for a little bit,
and then he’s going to transition to light. Okay? So the, these have parallel thoughts. He’s bringing these things forward to discuss what he’s going to discuss in this book. Now, a couple of additional details, the passages you need to really, really, really focus on to connect John and first John or John chapter one and John chapters, 14,
15 and 16, because as Jesus speaks to these apostles, they’re in the upper room and he prepares them for what’s coming. He prepares them for his betrayal. He prepares them for his departure. He sets a number of things before them, where he says, for instance, if you love me, keep my commandments. You’re going to have that idea in first,
John, over and over and over again, John chapter 15, he says, you are my friends. If you do whatsoever, I command you again. We’re going to have all of these thoughts brought forward into this book. So he says that, which was from the beginning, which we have heard. John wants to make it clear as he begins this letter,
that he is, he is writing this as a personal eye witness testimony of a man who really did walk the earth. Because by this point in the first century, there were already those who were claiming that Jesus never came in the flesh. There were already those sex and, and others among the Jews and among the, the Christians and those who had kind of departed from the church and departed into waywardness that were already saying things like the flesh is inherently sinful.
And if Christ is, God, God can’t be in the flesh because God can’t have sin. And since sin is inherently sinful, therefore Christ couldn’t come in the flesh. Therefore he was a spirit was not flash. John opposes that premise and opposes everything about it by emphasizing first and foremost that this word, this word of life they heard. Now, if it were just words,
if it were words, plural, not the word. Okay? If he weren’t talking about Christ and we’re just talking about an abstract thing, a gospel message, he might be able to say they heard it. He’d have a harder time saying they saw it. He hadn’t even harder time saying they handled it. His description forms for us, this reality,
he’s talking about not some thing, but someone, he says that, which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we’ve seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled concerning the word of life. The life was manifested and we have seen and bear witness and declare to you. He says, I stand I right here as a witness,
as an eyewitness. And we make this testimony to you for this reason that you are declared to you, that eternal life, which was with the father and was manifested to us that which we have seen and heard, we declare to you that also, or that you also may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with the father and with his son,
Jesus Christ. John says not only was there a person that we witnessed, that we heard that we looked upon that our hands have handled. But in addition to that, he says that that person, that word of life was eternal life manifested to us. God, put on this earth in the form of Jesus Christ, not someone who had existed for a long time,
not someone who like one of the angels who’d, who’d been around from the early beginnings. Not even as the Jehovah’s witnesses claim. The first created being because that’s what they claim. Jesus Christ is the first created being not that he’s not God, no, God manifested eternal life in Jesus Christ. Coming to this earth. He says, we saw the one who was in the beginning.
We saw the one who created everything. We saw the one who upholds all things by the word of his power. If we borrow the language from Hebrews chapter one, he says, we saw him and we touched him and we heard him and we looked upon him and he was manifested to us for this reason that we might have fellowship with the father, go to John chapter 17.
John chapter 17 is Jesus is in the upper room. This is the very last thing that occurs before they leave the upper room. And they go into the garden of guest’s eMoney. Jesus spoke these words and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, father, the hour has come glorify your son, that your son also may glorify you. As you have given him authority over all flesh,
that he should give eternal life to. As many as you have given him. And this is eternal life that they may know you. The only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent the knowledge of God and the knowledge of Christ form the foundation and the basis for our eternal life. If we don’t know God, the father, and if we don’t know Christ,
the son, we don’t have eternal life. Go back over to chapter 14, chapter 14, verse one, let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me, in my father’s house are many mansions. If it were not. So I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and receive you to myself. That where I am there, you may be also. And where I go, you know, and the way you know, Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going and how can we know the way Jesus said to him? I am the way the truth and the life,
no one comes to the father, except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my father also. And from now on, you know, him and have seen him. Philip said to him, Lord, show us the father. And it is sufficient for us. Jesus said to him, have I been with you so long?
And yet you have not known me, Philip. He who has seen me has seen the father. So how can you say, show us the father? Do you not believe that I am in the father and the father in me? The words that I speak to you, I do not speak of my own authority, but the father who dwells in me does the works,
believe me, that I am in the father and the father in me or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves. Jesus is he is speaking to the apostles is they are preparing a, as he is preparing them for this end, that is coming of his time on this earth. And his being brought on trial and his being put on the cross and his dying and going into that tomb.
He reminds them, he declares to them. When you know me, you know him, and if you don’t know me, you don’t know him. There is this connection between Christ and the father that they are inseparable. And yet they’re at the end of that passage that we read said, if you can’t get over it and I’m going to, I’m going to paraphrase it.
If you can’t get over the fact that you’re seeing someone in the flesh and understanding he is eternal God in the flesh, then at least believe me for the works that declare what I say to be true. And so Phillip says, show us the father. And he says, you’ve seen him because you’ve seen me. So now let’s go back over to first.
John chapter one, this entire letter is focused around one central theme. Obedience to God brings about a fellowship with God. You can’t have fellowship with God without obedience, but with obedience, you can have not only fellowship with God, but the complete knowledge of your fellowship with God. This book is a rebuke to anyone who claims to be a Christian and says,
I hope I’m saved. They need to go read first. John, if, if someone has the mindset, I’m not really sure that I know they need to go read first, John, because that’s the entire premise of this book is he writes to these Christians. It says not only can, you know, with a complete guarantee, having read this from a personal eyewitness,
that Jesus Christ came to this world, but that when you know him, you know, the father and that when you know the father, you know, you have eternal life and it’s as basic as that, John keeps going back to that over and over and over. We’re going to see it again and again and again. So let’s go into verse three.
He says the eternal life was, uh, which was with the father, was manifested to us that which we have seen and heard, we declare to you that you also may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with the father and with his son, Jesus Christ. And we just read in chapter 14, Jesus saying, I dwell in the father and the father dwells in me.
We read in chapter 17, that I’m with a father. And he is with me. We read the rest of chapter 17. We see Jesus drawing forward. That when you do the things, which he says, you have the fellowship with the father that he has. And when an individual who never saw him in person and never came in contact with him in person,
here’s the words that the apostles would teach. They also could have fellowship with the father. Just the same as those who walked with him in person. Just the same as those who heard him in person. Okay? So there’s no separation of fellowship. Oh, I heard Jesus in person. I was with Jesus in person. I have a greater fellowship than you.
Nope. Jesus said the fellowship comes through the gospel. The fellowship comes through the message of eternal life. He says that you may have fellowship with us and that we may have fellowship with God, the father and the son, anytime you’re talking about fellowship in your mind, what you ought to do is picture a triangle because you’re talking about fellowship between two Christians.
The only way those Christians have fellowship is if God is also in fellowship with both of them, if God is not part of the fellowship, it doesn’t matter what kind of relationship those two Christians have. Because if one of them isn’t connected through God, they don’t have a connection to the other person at all points in time for there to be fellowship. God must be part of that equation.
And if at any point you have a Christian over here and a Christian over here. If any point they stop having fellowship with God, the father, and one of them remains in fellowship with God, the father, they’re not in fellowship with one another. Now, whether or not they recognize it or not is a completely different thing. But you, you will hear congregations talk about,
well, we know that brother, his way word, we know that individual, he, he, he is not living right, but we’re just, we’re giving it time. We’re not going to withdraw fellowship from you don’t have any fellowship with him. Not in the biblical sense. Why? Because he stopped fellowshipping with God. The moment he stops fellowshipping with God,
you don’t have any connection to him. Now there’s still responsibilities and commandments for a congregation to be able to show that an individual has fallen away and to be able to, uh, do the things in Mark. One who is, who is way where all of those are necessary. But the reality is the fellowship is gone. The moment that person is no longer in fellowship with God,
because we only have fellowship with one another through God. So as you kind of picture this, this triangle there’s Christ, there’s the father. There’s us. The only way we get to anybody else in our fellowship is through God, the father and Jesus Christ. If we don’t first connect to them, we don’t connect to anyone else. Here’s a good way to explain it or think about it.
Uh, there, there was a day in time, at least as I understand it, where you picked up the phone and the very first thing you connected to was who the operator, without the operator, who could you connect to? No buddy, unless it was a party line, all right, we got to make exceptions for the rural areas. But under that,
excluding the party line under that idea, if you picked up the phone and the operator, wasn’t sitting at their desk, who could you call nobody without the operator, you had no connection to anybody else. God’s the operator. And if someone goes out side, their little house and cuts those phone lines, what are they no longer connected to the operator?
Well, that’s what people do in their spiritual lives. When they depart from the truth. When they go into sin, when they have an idea about themselves, like John will describe here at the end of the chapter, I have no sin. John says, when you reach that point, or when you depart, when you leave fellowship with God, the father it’s as though they cut those lines and the operator may try and get a message through,
but what’s it going to hit every time? Nothing because they’ve cut the lines. So what does a person have to do? If they’ve cut the lines, they got to go fix them. See, unlike the, the telephone example, when you cut the lines in this situation, you’re the only one who can repair them telephone. Company’s not going to come out and fix the lines.
Preacher’s not going to come out and repair the lines for you. It’s not going to happen. Not possible. Preacher might come out and inform you. You have cut lines. You need to fix this. Elders might come out and study with you and say, listen, there’s a problem. And you have to resolve this. But the elders and preacher can’t fix the lines.
The only person who can is the person who cut fellowship with God. Now, if someone says that person over there who has cut fellowship with God, I am still in fellowship with them. The only way they can still be in fellowship with them is if they also cut fellowship with God. Absolutely, absolutely. And so this is where, you know,
we, we, we have things that we, it as we’ve studied scripture and everything, we kind of lump a lot of things together in the word fellowship. But what John is talking about here is the fellowship of eternal life. Okay? He’s talking about a spiritual connection between God, the father that brings eternal life. And here’s another way to illustrate that.
It’s the way Jesus, did you have a vine and through the vine comes eternal life. What happens when you cut the limb from the vine? It dies. Well, what if another limb over there says, well, wait a minute. I’m still in fellowship with that limb. The only place they’re going to be in fellowship is on the burn pile,
but neither one of them will have eternal life flowing through them because they’re no longer connected to the vine. Now, can they be grafted back in all? Absolutely. And Jesus talks about that. Jesus illustrates that. And as a matter of fact, illustrates the Gentiles being grafted in to the vine. And so here, Jesus talks about the Jews who are going to be removed from the vine and an outcast and burn.
And yet the Gentiles are going to be grafted in. But if you don’t have connection to the vine, you don’t have life. So then notice what we read. All these things are, excuse me. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. One of the other ideas, one of the other words that you’re going to see come up and he just start making a list.
Uh, you’re going to see the word love a lot. You’re going to see the word a joy come up. A number of times, you’re going to see the word know, K N O w about 27 times in verse John in five chapters, you’re going to see fellowship and obviously Christ and the father quite often as well, but then notice what he says.
He says, we write to you that your joy may be full. This is the message which we have heard from him and declare to you. Yeah, I can’t let that one go. Before we go back over to John chapter 17, because that’s one of those statements. It’s very easy to just kind of read it and, and breeze through it.
But there’s more to it than that. John chapter 17, verse six, I have manifested your name to the men whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours. You gave them to me and they have kept your word verse six. Now they have known that all things which you have given me or from you, or I have given to them,
the words which you have given me, and they have them and have shirt have known Shirley that I came forth from you. And they have believed that you sent me go down to verse 17, uh, sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them in the world. And for their sakes,
I sanctify myself that they also may be sanctified by the truth. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they all may be one as you father are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us. When he keeps saying the word one, he means the same thing.
John means by the word fellowship. He says that they may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. So when John writes these things, he says, we write these things to you, that your joy may be full. And this is the message which we declare to you. It’s the message we received from him because Jesus said,
I took the words that God, the father you gave to me and I gave them to them. And they took the words that Jesus gave to them. And they declared them to somebody else. The moment you take an individual and they take the word that came from the father and they take the word that came from the sun and they take the word that came from the apostles and the prophets.
And they substitute their words for God’s. You cut the vine because it is the truth that was flowing down, that line of communication. And when they substituted their words for the truth, they substituted. The one thing that could save a soul. There are times when baking, cooking, you find you ran out of a supply. You just found out you needed as you read the recipe and you go it’s okay,
because I can substitute that for this. And it will be okay. And sometimes it is. And sometimes the person who eats the first bite goes, something’s not right. Something’s not right. It might be just a little bit off. I mean, it might still be edible, but something’s not right. Texture is wrong. And the consistency is wrong.
The taste something is off. Why? Because the original ingredients, the thing they expected that was made up of those original ingredients, isn’t the anymore it’s been changed. He says, this is the message which we have heard from him and declare to you that God is light. And in him is no darkness at all. Fundamental attribute of God. God is light and no darkness can exist in him.
And we’re not just talking about light in the sense of sunlight. We’re talking about true light. We’re talking about goodness righteousness, that which is pure, that which is Holy God is completely, perfectly pure. Holy righteous, just, and there’s no tainting of him. There’s no. Uh, what was the old country song? 99, 98.3% pure love,
or what? 99.8%. You know, there was an old country. So I don’t remember what it was, um, that, you know, Ronnie Millsap sang it. So one of y’all will rubber hood what it was, but Rodney Millsap sang a song about pure love, but, but he used the statement that nothing was a hundred percent pure in life.
You know, it was the closest that you could get to pure was 90 whatever percent. Okay. And so he just declared his love to be pure love, but it was, you know, 98 point, whatever. Anyway, um, it works better when everybody knows the song. So that’s not God though God’s not 99.9 (999) 999-9999, 9%. Good.
God is a hundred percent good. And zero point infinity evil. This is the message there’s we have declared from him and declare to you that God is lightened in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. One thing to remember as we go through this section is John is talking about a pattern of life.
John is not talking about an individual who has faults and sometimes sins. When he’s talking about walking, he describes walking in the light or walking in darkness that is a continual choosing of a path. And he says, you can’t walk in darkness and have fellowship with light, but he’s going to clarify what he means that he’s not talking about the fact that we will ever be perfect,
that we will ever be 100% pure good in this life. He makes it clear. That’s not what he’s saying. He says, if we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ,
his son cleanses us from all, or yes, cleanses us from all sin. As we walk in the light, as we daily, make the choice to be obedient to God. As we daily strive to purify ourselves as we daily strive to be Holy as he is Holy first, Peter chapter one, verse 16, John’s saying I’m not declaring to you that you’ll be sinless.
I’m declaring to you that you’ll be washed in the blood of the lamb. You go over to the book of revelation again, John first, John, second, third, John revelation, there. They’re all, they’re all connected. And you see the lamb that was slain. You see the blood of the lamb. You see the saints who die for the name of Christ being handed robes that are washed white in the blood of lamb.
And you see that declaration you overcame. And so you are handed a white robe, something that declares your purity, your holiness. Now he says, if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. Notice again, you have fellowship where in the light you have fellowship in Christ. You have fellowship with the father.
You have fellowship in light, but what if you leave the light? No I’m fellowship anymore. You also in that fellowship have the cleansing of the blood of Christ. If you leave the light, what do you also leave the cleansing of the blood? But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ.
His son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. And the truth is not in us. John, the apostle, the one who was there sitting beside Jesus in the upper room, the one who was there at the foot of the cross, the one who was there, who Jesus declared to him. This is your you’re now the son of my mother.
And she’s now the one who belongs to you, John, the apostle who writes concerning Christ in such a touching and emotional and connected way that he won’t even mention his own name. And John, as an older man, still writes and says, if you say you have no sin, you’re a liar. And the discussion. So he’s not talking. When he says walk in the light about sinless perfection.
He is talking about one who stays in the light. He goes on to say, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. And the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful. And just to forgive us, our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is not the idea that as a Christian,
we fade off into darkness and then we get forgiven and we fade back in the light and we fade off in a darkness. We get forgiven. And every single time we make a single error. We go off into darkness. We have, that’s not what this is talking about. As a person who is walking, the light continues to seek God’s forgiveness continues to confess his sins to God,
continues to do what’s right. They don’t ever leave the path of right. They don’t ever go out of the blue light and into the darkness. The person who declares, I have no sin and I have nothing to confess to God. Do you remember the prayer of the Pharisee? Jesus gave the two prayers. The one was from the center and he first and foremost declared himself to be what a sinner and the other was from the Pharisee who declared himself to be everything God wanted him to be.
And which prayer did Jesus say was heard, and which prayer was not the prayer of the center. We don’t need to be confused about who we are and how we struggle. We don’t need to be deceiving ourselves into thinking. I don’t struggle. If you don’t struggle are dead. Congratulations. You’re done with this life. If you’re still breathing, congratulations,
you still have time to struggle. But if you start to convince yourself, you don’t need God. That you’re good enough that you do enough. You need to walk yourself right back to what Jesus said in Luke. When he said, when we’ve done everything we’ve been commanded to, to, we are still unprofitable servants Because the master doesn’t owe us anything,
but he loves to give us righteousness. And there’s another term you’re going to see throughout this book. He is righteousness. He cleanses us from all unrighteousness, which by the way, leaves only what righteousness behind. If all unrighteousness is stripped away by the blood of Christ, continually cleansing us of our sins. As we continue to confess our sins, as we continue to meet God in recognition,
we need God. Then the only thing left behind is the righteousness. I’ve always thought one of the easiest ways to clean the house is just plow the thing under then you’re done. You don’t have to go back and clean it again. If it doesn’t exist, you don’t have to clean it by life has given me a look. They’re like, yeah,
that is kind of how you looked life. But the object of cleaning something is to leave behind the thing that needed to be claimed to leave behind the thing that was important enough to be cleaned and to leave it clean. How many times growing up was I instructed to go clean the bathroom and clean the sink, the mirror only for my mother to walk in and go,
why are there still spots? Why are there, if, if it were clean, the spots would be gone and it would look like a clean mirror. It doesn’t look like a clean mirror. So you didn’t clean it. Oh yes I did. No you didn’t because there’s still spots on it. So our lives, as we go through life and we make choices,
sometimes we’re going to make the wrong one and sometimes we’re going to sin and sometimes we’re going to do it intentionally. But do we have the ability to ask for forgiveness and is God going to say, you know what? Um, I’ve hit my quota seven times seven. That’s all I need. I don’t have to forgive you this time. You remember the Peter asking that?
And Jesus said, how many times? 70 times seven, there’s a, there’s a connection there with God, because seven is the number of perfection. The number for God. If you go read the book of revelation and 10 is the number of completeness, God and completeness, Jesus is telling Peter, when you forgive the way God does, you don’t ask when too many times is too many times.
So start forgiving the way God does. Now. He says, if we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar. And his word is not in us, my little children, these things I write to you so that you may not sin as, as we’re not going to necessarily stop out a chapter break where we’re out of time. But I want,
I want you to see that what he just said about sinning, confessing, being forgiven is also his statement that says, and that’s why you choose not to sin. I’m writing to you this not so that you just go, Oh great. I can send it as much as I want to, and God will forgive me. But instead so that you go,
I never want to sin, but I know I have forgiveness from a God who is just and faithful. Alright, we’re going to cover the questions on Wednesday as we conclude chapter two, hopefully we’ll see. There’s a lot in chapter two. Um, but thank you for your attention. We’ll cover the questions that class,
I believe it’s time to begin our service and we want to welcome those of you that are visiting with us.
It’s our pleasure to have you here today. If you did not get your communion, it’s back on the tables before you entered the auditorium, or as you enter the auditorium, we encourage you to go back now and pick those up. We do have a few announcements. We want to share with you how we do would like we would like to have our visitors fill out a attendance card if you don’t mind.
And you can either drop that in the what on the table, in the, in the back there, or leave it in the seat or give it to one of us. And we were certainly appreciate that. So we have a record of you being here. If we knew our, remember our sick Dorothy and Rodale Wilson, also Joan Springer, and it was good to see Sylvia pass here.
She’s still having problems with her back. And also Pam shafing is having difficulties with her back. Uh, don’t forget that August nationwide gospel meeting going on, and there are flyers on the table there in the four year. Uh, we would encourage you to pick one of those up. And if you’d like to participate and listening to those sermons, the pantry item for Potter children’s home is great jelly.
And we certainly want to encourage you to bring that in it. If you’re like me, I’ve got to go back and get a few other ones that I kinda missed. And they’ll be here August the 30th to pick up our Cohen cans and the commodities that we’ve gathered here at the church. Building our gospel meeting with Keith Cozort is going to be escaping you for August the 30th through the September the second.
So, uh, keep that in mind and invite your friends and neighbors to come and be here for them. Uh, I have a thing. Thank you. Note from one of the little girls at a Potter children’s home, she said, thank you. Uh, love Olivia. And it’s a real young little girl. If you see, she wrote it in crayon and I’m on a post that on the bulletin board there that we have for Potter,
but all of those young people are very loving. They really appreciate what the church is doing for them. And of course we appreciate what the Potter staff is doing for those children. And we’re glad that we’re part of that and encouraging them as we can. So keep them in your prayers. And I know they would appreciate that. We would like to discuss just a moment about social distancing.
Uh, this is for your safety and we, we certainly hope that you would consider it. It’s not something that we’re going to twist your arm though, but hopefully each one of us knows how important it is when we come into the building. But even before class, we would suggest that you not Lauder in the four year there. And like we always love to do and visit with one another and have that conversation.
And I know that’s going to be hard to do with this congregation because we’re always very loving and want to talk to each other. But if you would just come on in and have a seat for Bible class, and then after Bible classes over, we would encourage you to, uh, go ahead and get your communion and go to your seats for worship service and not Mingo.
Uh, and that’s, it’s all of this is a very difficult and we know that, but for our own safety, uh, we believe that’s the right thing to do. And when services are over, we would encourage you not to hang around too long. And that’s unusual. We always say, stick around, let us see you or visit with you.
Uh, but we’d rather just go ahead and exit the building as soon as possible. And we believe that would be the safest thing for all of us to do. And hopefully we’ll all try to do that. And I know sometimes we’re going to have a very difficult time doing it, but please help us in that way. I order for services. Michael Dale will be directing our songs,
service, uh, terror Sanderson has our opening prayer. The lower supper, Eric Halverson will be leading that. And then Aaron Cozort will be brings the lesson. And then Jay Shafir will have our closing prayer, the center and child worship our opening song this morning. We’ll be number 508, a wonderful savior five zero eight. It’s going to be up here.
All of them are up here today. Oh, wonderful. Savior is Jesus mine. Oh, no wonderful savior to me. He hired as my soul and a cleft in the rock rivers. A pleasure. I see, he heard my song and the cleft of the rock. Nah, shadows, uh, dry, thirsty. And he had it’s my life in that<inaudible> covers me there with his<inaudible>.
Oh, wonderful savior is Jesus. My Lord. He take it’s my burden. Oh, Hey. He holds me up and I shall not be moved. He gave with me string as my dad. Hey,<inaudible> Nash. Uh, dry, thirsty.<inaudible> he high? That’s my life in DASA.<inaudible><inaudible> with this<inaudible> with numberless blessings. Each mom,
any crowns and with is gone nasty. Ah, I see thing in my raps. Oh, glory to God.<inaudible> dry. Thirsty. He<inaudible><inaudible> me with his,<inaudible> nice to meet him in clouds of the sky. His perfect is wonderful.<inaudible> he? My song of the rock, the shadows dry thirsty. He<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> song.
Your opening. Prayer will be number 801 where no one stands alone. Eight zero one.<inaudible> with my<inaudible> and my<inaudible> and uh,<inaudible> Oh my<inaudible>. Oh,<inaudible><inaudible> A father who art in heaven. We thank you for this beautiful first day of the week and opportunity to, we have to assemble around that table and study that word and sang songs.
Praise until you. We pray that the things that we learned here today will help us to become stronger Christians and to do more service. And I am not in that kingdom here in Collierville. We thanked him for the church here in Collierville. We pray that you would help us to make it grow and a better congregation to serve you. They, we pray that you would be with those that have been mentioned today that are sick and unable to be with us.
We pray that you would strengthen them and be with those that are taking care of them. We talked to you for the teachers here at Collierville with Nike, for Aaron and his family and the other teachers. We pray that they will always strive to teach the truth. We pray that you would be with the leaders of our country and of the world where you pray that you would soften their hearts and give them to wear them to do the things that should be done in this country that are going so badly and wrong,
where you pray that you’d be with each of us and to keep us safe. We pray that you would go through with the further exercise of this day with us, and to help us to understand the things that we do learn here today. You’re standing. We pray in Christ’s name, amen. To prepare our minds for the Lord’s supper will be number 382.
Why did my savior come two or three eight, two? Why dad and my savior come to<inaudible> he<inaudible>. He gave his crash us lie for me, for me, big us. He loved me. So<inaudible> uh, uh,<inaudible> uh<inaudible>. He, uh, helped me, uh<inaudible>. He gave his precious life for me, for me be a<inaudible>.
Jesus comes us<inaudible><inaudible> with him through and<inaudible> B a C a loved me. So he, uh, helped me. So he, uh, me, uh, he<inaudible> his precious life for me, for me, the, uh, he, uh, helped me. So The apostle Paul instructed the Corinthians in his first letter to Corinth that as they assemble on the first day of the week,
they should commemorate the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that same instruction applies to us. So as we prepare to commemorate his death, let us go to our Lord and prayer. God, our father in heaven, we come to you at this time, thanking you for having sent your son Jesus, to live amongst us here on our earth and to teach us.
But most importantly, to sacrifice his body for us, as we prepared to take this bread, which represents his mangled body that hung on that cross help each and every one of us to remember that fact of what he sacrificed and what you sacrificed for us. The center here on earth, we pray this through your son, Jesus name. Amen. Let us continue in prayer.
God, our father in heaven, we come to you thanking you again for your son and for the blood that he shed so that our sins may be washed away. So we may have that opportunity to live with you. Any eternity in heaven, as we prepared to partake of this fruit of the vine help each and every one of us to remember that fact that it represents the blood that he should for us,
the center, we pray this through your son, Jesus name. Amen. We’d also like to take this time as an opportunity to give back God our father in heaven. We thank you for the blessings that we have from you. When we truly understand that each and every one of us, everything that we have is from you and through you and because of you.
And as we prepare to give back a portion of that, that we have been so greatly blessed with. We ask that you help each and every one of us do it with a cheerful heart. We also ask that you help the men of this congregation do when we’re making decisions on how to distribute these funds, that we do it in a manner that is worthy of your name.
And that helps to spread your great name to those amongst this earth that have not had the privilege of knowing you yet. We pray this through your son, Jesus name, amen. Before the lesson will be number 695, none of self and all of the, if you’re able to Stand for this song, please, number 695. Oh, the pain and saw<inaudible> said two GS us.<inaudible> when I<inaudible>.
Yeah, he found me. I be bleeding.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> NA uh, and uh, The scripture reading before, well be Luke six, Luke chapter six, 24 Through 26, Luke chapter six, verses 24 through 26. But woe unto you that are rich for you have received your consolation woe unto you that are full for he shall hunger,
woe unto you that laugh now for ye shall mourn and weep woe unto you. When all men shall speak well of you for, so did their fathers to the false prophets. You may be seated. Good morning. We are going to diverse just a little bit from the, uh, from the study of Zechariah. And we’re going to do a little bit of,
of studying in some other areas. And then we’ll come back to Zachariah thing in two weeks, but, uh, take your Bibles if you will. And open them to the book of Luke, Luke chapter six, this is Luke’s record of many of the things that were also contained in the sermon on the Mount. Some have suggested that this is a parallel account and some have suggested it’s not a parallel account because there are things that Luke can includes in here that,
that Matthew did. And there things, Matthew includes that Luke didn’t. Uh, one thing I know about teachers and preachers is if they’ve said it once, they’ll probably say it again and that we should not imagine that was not true about Jesus, the message that he preached in the sermon on the Mount Matthew chapter five, six, and seven was probably included in bits and pieces in other lessons and other occasions,
and not just a single time where he stated those things. So perhaps Luke is giving a parallel account. Perhaps he is giving a, another occasion where Jesus summarized many of these same ideas, but we begin in verse 24 with a series of woes. As we want to look at this idea, four woes, that destroy selfishness. I appreciate the song that Michael picked out for the song before that we just sang the song before the lesson,
as it describes that transition, it describes that path of an individual who begins their understanding of who Jesus Christ is. And they’re yet still focused entirely on self. They’re still focused entirely on doing what they want, but slowly but surely as time goes on, as they understand more clearly. And ultimately as they reach that true and full understanding of what God has done for us,
they finally remember, and they finally realized, and they finally learn none of cells And all of the Jesus will write or excuse me, will speak to his disciples. And he will say to them as Luke writes, but woe to you who are rich for you have received your consolation woe to you who are full for you, shall hunger, woe to you who laugh now for you shall mourn And weep these three woes.
We’re going to notice in parallel with one another, instead of taking each one as a single light. And we’re going to notice these three as a single item, and we’re going to draw them together because they carry with them within themselves. A parallel thought when Jesus speaks to the rich, and he says, woe to you, who are rich, does he mean everyone who has any form of wealth?
I don’t believe he does because contextually speaking, that’s not what he means. He is describing the rich person in a view of someone who is rich, that has a connotation and has an understanding with it. It, When he describes those who are full, is Jesus pronouncing a woe upon every individual who has ever sat down to a table and had sufficient food to eat and then ate it.
I hope not Because if so, all of us have experienced a lot of woes in our lives, But no, that’s not it either. Okay. When he pronounces a woe against a person who laughs is he condemning one who stands there in a situation and sees a child do something that is completely absurd and begins to laugh? No, no, he’s not.
As I mentioned, these three are parallel thoughts, one who’s rich, one who’s full and one who Who’s laughing And each one carries with it. A pronouncement of that, Whoa, he says to the one who is rich, you’ll receive no consolation. We’re going to go into that word in just a moment. He says to the one who is full,
you will be hungry. He says to the one who laughs you will mourn Begin with this idea of a Whoa, because what is a Whoa, well, the word, if we just take it from the Greek means grief grief to you is really the expression woe to you, a warning, an exclamation of grief, but it also has a connotation and has a connection to an old Testament idea.
And that was the idea of God taking Israel to the Mount of blessing and cursing. When God took Israel to Mount eval and Mount Garrison and set before them, the law, he said before them, the blessings that came by obeying the law, when they would adhere to him, when they would adhere to his word, when they would obey what he said and love him with all their heart,
with all their soul, with all their strength in all their mind and love their neighbor as their selves, then they’d receive the blessings. And yet when they focused on themselves and when they focused on their loss and when they focused on what they wanted instead of what others needed and when they went away from him and into idolatry, and when they departed from the commandments,
then he said, you’ll receive the curses. Those were the woes. You have this same idea here in Luke, chapter six, notice a few verses before it, he lifted up his eyes, verse 20 and said to his disciples, bless it. Are you poor for yours is the kingdom of God. Bless it. Are you who hunger now for you shall be filled blessed.
Are you who weep now for you shall laugh. Bless it. Are you when men hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and cast out your name as evil for the son of man sake, rejoice in that day and leap for joy for indeed, your reward is great in heaven for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets, but Whoa too,
Do you? Ah, So he’s setting not just a, a position of every rich person, every full person, every person who’s ever laughed, but instead a contrast, he setting a contrast Of blessings and cursings of blessings and woes. And As a matter of fact, each one of these blessings has a Whoa. Each one of these items has a positive and a negative.
What we’re focusing on is the negative because in the negative you see exhibited what Jesus is really going after the mindset and the sin behind all of them is selfishness. Notice what we read as we notice a few passages about this first one, woe to you who are rich first and foremost, as we examine this idea of being rich, we want to see it in view of the last part of the wo.
He says woe to you who are rich for you have received your consolation. That word consolation gives us a little bit of understanding. A little bit of knowledge, a little glimpse into what it is. Jesus is saying. The word consolation means imploring. It means to bring comfort. It is the word para Khalisa<inaudible>, and it’s closely akin to a word<inaudible>,
which is to call beside it is the word that they would use in the noun form for an advocate, a lawyer, when you were in trouble and you needed help, you would call a side, you would call an advocate and he would stand with you before the judge. This is the one who is imploring. You have received your comfort. Jesus says to the one who is rich.
Now the one who has achieved these riches is achieved. This great wealth you have received your comfort. Now there are other passages where in the book of Luke, Jesus will explain this a little bit more. Let’s go over to Luke chapter 12 and Luke chapter 12, we begin in verse 13. Then one from the crowd said to him, teacher tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.
But he said to him, man, who made me a judge or an arbiter over you. And he said to them, take heed and build aware of covetousness for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of things. He possesses a man comes out of the crowd and says to Jesus teacher, baster rabbi make a determination in this case because my brother is not sharing the inheritance with me.
But Jesus changes. The focus. Jesus changes the emphasis of what this person wants to the problem in this person’s heart. Because while he has the master teacher in front of him, while he has God in his presence, while he has the opportunity to ask any spiritual thing, he might want to ask, he asks for money. And his concern was for financial things.
So Jesus turns to the crowd. You notice it said in verse 14, he said to him singular, but then verse 15. But he said to them, he’s changed who he’s talking to. He warns them about covetousness. He warns them about a desire for what belongs to another in him saying that, by the way you have him judging the man’s case,
the man came seeking what he claimed belonged to him. But Jesus accused him of desiring what belonged to someone else, because that’s what covetousness is. If the man was desiring only what was rightfully his, that wouldn’t be covetousness, but he desired what belongs to someone else, but then consider as well. He says that a man’s life does not consist in what he possesses.
And then he said a parable, the ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself saying, what shall I do since I have no room to store my crops? So he said, I will do this. I will build, or I will pull down my barns and build greater. And there I will store all my crops and my goods.
And I will say to my soul soul, you have many goods laid up for many years, take your ease, eat, drink, and be marry. A rich man. This man is described as rich before the harvest. This man is described as wealthy before the events that Jesus describes. And yet when this wealthy man sees exponential increase in his wealth,
where is his entire focus? Inward? His entire focus is only himself. Jesus is presenting a view of a man who has no thought for others who has no thought for recognition of others. I imagine let’s ask this question. Do you think the rich man planted all of his vineyards himself? It’s unlikely. Now we’re not told, but let’s just conceive of this.
How does someone generally become rich? They become rich by being able to bring together others and have many workers who go out and produce what it is that becomes theirs. So here is a man who most likely has vineyard workers who most likely has people who work in the field yet is anywhere here in this passage, the thought and the mindset that he is going to restore a greater portion to those who labored to produce what he has.
No, there’s no thought for others, but there’s also no thought. Most importantly, for the one who gave him what he had. And that’s where Jesus triggers in on this individually. But God said to him, verse 20 fool. This night, your soul will be required of you. Then who’s will the, those things be which you have provided.
So as he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. Now you turn back over to Luke chapter six and carry together the connotation and the message of Matthew chapter six, where Jesus also talks about money and talks about being rich towards God and laying up treasures, where they belong. Now you have the picture of the rich person. You have a picture of a person who has received their constellation because in their riches,
that was the only thing they desired. Their mind was not on God. Their heart was not set on him. Actually. I want to take you to one other passage. I want you to see one other passage before we come back to Luke chapter six and that’s in Luke chapter 16, Luke chapter 16, verse one, there was a certain rich man who had a steward and an accusation was brought to him that this man was sorry.
That’s the wrong, the wrong parable. Let me go to verse 19. There was a certain rich man that’s they were both about a certain rich man. I just grabbed the wrong one. Verse 19. There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. Now notice the picture of this rich man. Number one,
he’s rich. Number two, he’s clothed and clothed, abundant lays clothed in his riches. And number three, he’s full we’ve brought over two of the things from the, from chapter six, woe to him who is rich woe to him who is full. All right? I said, all three of these are parallels. Let’s bring them together. There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores who was laid at his Gates desiring to be fed with the crumbs, which fell from the rich man’s table. Jesus paints a picture here of a man who was laid. He was placed here. Jesus, didn’t say here was a man who came daily to lay at the gate. We find here a man who was placed here by others.
This is a man who has been put aside from society. This is a man who is unwanted and on cared for. This is a man who doesn’t have someone who is a gentle soul. Who’s part of his family who loves him deeply and cares for him and comforts him and takes care of his sores and helps him and binds him up. No, this man has been placed here because just in,
as you see here, the refusal of the rich man to do anything about it, you also see the refusal of anyone else to do anything about it. Notice what we read. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried even in death.
The rich man’s riches paid for luxury Lazarus died. And what do we read about his body? Nothing. When you had an individual who was without possessions, without money who had, who was homeless and they died, then they were quite often just varied in graves that were communal property. You might remember that when Judas threw the money back at the high priest,
they, they refused it. They wouldn’t take it. But then they wa they went and bought the Potter’s field. That was quite often used as a burial place for others who had no burial place. This man went to a common grave. The rich man was buried before we go any further, want to remind us about a man who was homeless. There was a man who walked this earth,
who was homeless. And he ate at other people’s tables and he drank what other people provided. And he slept in other people’s beds and he journeyed around and he had no possessions to speak of. And when he died, he had no tomb. But when he died, Joseph placed him in his tomb because a homeless man walked this earth and his name was Jesus.
So wait a minute. Why would you describe Jesus as a homeless person? Because Jesus did. There was a man who came to Jesus and said, let me be your disciple. Let me follow. After you. Jesus said, foxes have holes. Birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. We read about Jesus in the house of Peter.
We read about Jesus in the house of Lazarus and Mary and Martha. We read about Jesus in the house of affairsy. We read about Jesus everywhere, but his own house. And why do you think that is? Because he didn’t have one. There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. And laying at his Gates right outside his door was a man who would have been satisfied with the crumbs that fell from his table.
And some might say, well, he should have asked for them. It’s interesting. We might apply that to Lazarus, but I don’t think we can. I don’t think we can accuse Lazarus of just being too, too ignorant, too lazy to woeful, to even ask for help. Because that picture of desiring is there, here you have Lazarus and he is desiring to be fed.
And one of the things, you know, this isn’t is this isn’t covetousness. This is not Lazarus outside the wall, outside the gate, looking in and wanting everything. The rich man has. No, that’s not what it is. This is a man desiring the least that anyone could give to have enough to survive another day, but he doesn’t receive it.
And he dies. And the rich man dies. So it was the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man died and was buried and being in torment in Hades, he lived at his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, father Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water.
And cool. My tongue for, I am tormented tormented in this flame, but Abraham said, son, remember that in your lifetime, you received your good things. There’s your picture of consolation. That is the exact picture that we are to get from Luke chapter six, woe to you who are rich for in this life, you have received your consolation.
Abraham says to him, son, remember that in your lifetime, you received your good things. And likewise Lazarus received evil things. But now he is comforted. There’s your word, constellation as well. And you are tormented. Whoa, do you, who are rich? What are you who are full four? You will receive no consolation in eternity, no comfort.
And you will be hungry, but he says woe to you who laugh for you shall mourn. This is said in stark contrast to the morning described in the previous verses of chapter six, he says again, in verse 20, blessed are, you are poor for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed. Are you who hunger for you will be filled blessed.
Are you who weep now for you shall laugh. These two ideas blessed are you who weep now and bow and woe to you who laugh are set in a context of one time. And we remind ourselves there was a time there was a time in the Roman world. There would be a time in the future of the lives of the Christians, where they would be put into the Coliseum where they would be trotted out with wild animals,
where they would be put in the midst of the games for the enjoyment of those, watching them die. And Jesus would say woe to you, who laugh woe to you who find joy in this life, but you have missed. He Turnell joy. You remember over in first, John, we studied it in the adult Bible class this morning. And first John chapter one,
John would write to these Christians and he would write to them about Christ and he would write to them about fellowship and he would write to them about eternal life. And he would write to them verse four. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. And yet he will write to Christians who are seeing their fellow brethren die. How can their joy be full?
And they’re weeping be simultaneous because their reward is not in this life. And their joy is not in fleeting moments of laughter three parallel ideas. What are you who are rich? What are you who are full woe to you? Who laugh when you ought to be giving to others? The chapter six verse 27, all the way through chapter six, verse 49 has a connotation and a single thought all the way through it do for others.
Do for others. Give do for others. If we had time, we’d go through the entire thing. But Jesus is saying, you’re rich because you’re focused on yourself. You’re full because you’re focused on yourself. You’re laughing because you’re focused on yourself and your reward is all you have right now because there’s coming a day where you are rich will be poor.
You are hungry or full will be hungry. And you who laugh, will mourn. And then we read verse 26 woe to you. When all men speak well of you, Jesus here doesn’t mean you have been a good employee and a good husband and a good father and a good person that your entire life and everyone who meets you and knows. You says that,
man is somebody who is a good man. That’s not what he’s talking about. He’s talking about a person who everyone says good things about, and the person is always waiting to hear them. He’s always ready to be told how good he is. He’s always anxious to hear just how much he’s done, just how wonderful he is. Just how much he is appreciated.
And with that comes a willingness to do anything. To hear it. John, in first, John chapter two, warns these Christians about the lust of the eyes, but he also warns them about the pride of life. He says woe to you when all men speak well of you for, so did their fathers to the false prophets. Why were these men false prophets?
Why were these men in the old Testament? Those who would prophesize wrong things would prophesize things that were not from God would prophecy. Things that were unholy and unrighteous because of what it got them turned to Jeremiah chapter five, Jeremiah chapter five beginning in verse 30, we read an astonishing and horrible thing has been committed in the land. The prophets prophesy falsely and the priests rule by their own power.
And my people love to have it. So, but what will you do in the end? I love it. When God asks an open ended question that makes you understand judgment’s coming. He said the profits, they prophesied falsely, which means they prophesy of themselves. They prophesied their own words. Instead of gods, they promise I falsely and the priests,
the ones who were supposed to be the mediators, the ones who were supposed to stand between God and man, the ones who were supposed to add to seek forgiveness of those who have done wrong and offer sacrifices for those who’ve done wrong. They’re ruling that God give the priests a ruling capacity. No, he gave them a judging capacity, but not a ruling capacity,
but they’re ruling by their own power. No concern for God. No thought for him, no care for him at all. And the people love it. The people want it that way. And these priests and these profits are more than willing to give the people what they want. I turned to Isaiah chapter 30, Isaiah, chapter 30 in verse eight.
Now go write it before them on a tablet and a no, and noted on a stroll that it may be for a time to come forever and ever that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children who will not hear the law of the Lord who say to the seniors, do not see, okay, here we get the picture. Now, boom aware,
Whoa to you. When all men speak good of you. And yet the people speaking are people who won’t hear the word of God. People speaking are people who will not listen to what God has to say. The people speaking and saying good things of you are people who will not tolerate God’s word, but they’ll gladly commend you for yours. He says,
Whoa, to the Sears, or he who say to the Sears, do not see. And to the profits do not prophesied to us. Write things, speak to us, smooth things. Prophesies, deceits, God says, get out of the way. Turn aside from the path because the Holy one of Israel to seize from before us here, we have the picture of one who’s rich because he’s,
self-interested one who’s full. Instead of sharing what he has with someone who needs it. One who is in a position of not only being rich and not only being full, but having no cares. You know, sometimes you’ll laugh when you’ve just had all. You can take, you just laugh instead. But generally speaking, you laugh when you’re not overburdened with care,
you laugh. When you’re not overcome with sorrow, you laugh when you’re in a position where you can. And yet you’re staring at those who are suffering and you’re laughing and they’re weeping. And he says, and woe to you, who all men speak good of you because all you do is tell them that what they’re doing is okay, Jesus condemns this self interested,
rich people, and they’re pocketed self interested profits who won’t dare cross the rich person for fear of being cut off from their riches. But in contrast, he sets the blessings in contrast, he says, bless it. Or you verse 22 when men hate you. And when they exclude you and revile you and cast out your name as evil, they won’t even say your name.
They don’t want to hear it for the son of man’s sake. Okay. There was the key because the rich man is interested in himself and will do nothing for someone else for Christ’s sake. And the full person will only see to their own needs and will do nothing for anyone else for Christ’s sake. And the laughing person sees only to their own joy in their own interest,
in their own emotions and will care. Nothing for someone for Christ’s sake and the preacher and teacher and prophet who will prophesize good things to evil people will do it only for himself and not for Christ’s sake. And Jesus says woe to you because you will not give up yourself for God. You will not trade you for him. And he presents us with a choice.
Where are we at? Are we only self-interested? Are we only concerned about ourselves? Are we somewhere in that song that we sang a few minutes ago, more of you and less of me, less of self and more of you, or are we in a position where we’ll say, Oh, I’ll speak the truth. No matter the cost I’ll speak truth to power,
no matter what the cost I’ll be excluded by my family. If it means being obedient to my God, I’ll say what needs to be said. If it’s what needs to be heard, I’ll do everything I can until I have nothing left to do it with. If that’s what’s called upon me to do by my God, I’ll feed and I’ll share and I’ll help.
And I’ll lift and I’ll strengthen as long as I have a breath left in my life for Christ’s sake because I don’t matter anymore. Paul said it this way. Paul said I’ve died, but Christ lives in me. The rich man, the full man, the man who had plenty, the man who laughed the man who would prophesize false things. He was still very much alive.
And he thought he was very much in control, but we better aware because the same thing can happen to a church revelation. Chapter three, John wrote to the church at Laodicea, the spirit writing through John and said, you think that you’re rich and you think that your clothes and you think that you’re well. And you think that you have eyesight and you’re poor and naked and blind and destitute.
We better be careful because it’s not just individuals that can become part of this. Whoa, but congregations too. We need to be careful to be interested in God. Instead of interested in self. If you’re outside the body of Christ this morning, you’re outside of the place where salvation is found you’re of the place, where there is comfort and hope and eternity promised to you.
But you can have that. You can change from being in the category of one who has a woe against you to one who has a blessing, because you can die to yourself. You can die to sin and you can be raised to walk in newness of life. You can do that by hearing the word of God and believing that Jesus Christ is the son of God.
You can do that by repenting of your sins and confessing the name of Christ and being immersed in water, buried in water for the remission of your sins. Having that old person put to death, that new person rising again, no longer interested in that old man and his lust and his desires and his wants, and his hopes for this life, but interested in eternity.
But remember Jesus said, foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. And he warns people who will be his disciple. Count the cost. No. What? It will cost you to be a disciple of Christ. If you’re here this morning and you’re outside of the body of Christ,
or if you’re a member of the body of Christ and you’ve become wayward and brought shame and reproach upon the church in a public way, you have the opportunity to be restored. You have need of the invitation. Why not come as we stand in, as we sing,<inaudible> take his yoke boy. He is me.<inaudible><inaudible> heavy Laden Lee<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> The song before the closing prayer will be number 650,
send the light number six, five, zero There’s a car comes ringing or they’re restless wave<inaudible>. There are so close to rescue. There are so close to<inaudible>. We have heard Macedonian<inaudible> and<inaudible> and cries.<inaudible> Heavenly father. We’re indeed grateful for this privilege. We’ve had to assemble and worship. We pray that our worship to you has been in spirit and truth and a sweet savor.
As we prepared to depart, we want to remember those among us that are ailing. We pray your healing hand will be placed upon them. And they once again, maybe restored to their much wanted health. As we also prepared to depart, we ask that you bless each of us, according to our several needs, forgive our sins as we repent and turn from them and bring us all back at the next appointed hour.
It’s in Jesus name, we pray. Amen.