Today we finish our series on the Apostle’s Creed. We need to ensure our faith is built on the Rock - Jesus, the Word of God, otherwise we will be tossed by every wind of doctrine that sweeps across the Earth in these dangerous times we live in. We finish with our belief in eternal life. Feel free to join in...
1.I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
2.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
3.who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.
4.Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
5.He descended into Hell. On the third day he rose again from the dead.
6.He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
7.From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.
8.I believe in the Holy Spirit,
9.the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,
10.the forgiveness of sins,
11.the resurrection of the body,
12.and life everlasting.
Amen
Ever since the Lord banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, Mankind has been searching for the key to eternal life. We thirst for it. In many cultures there are stories of the Fountain of Youth, where anyone who drinks or bathes in it will remain eternally young.
This is the fountain of youth believed to be discovered in 1513 by Ponce de León at St Augustine in Florida. Unfortunately we can’t ask Ponce about it because he’s dead. Obviously didn’t work for him.
In the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indiana and his father Henry go searching for the Holy Grail - the cup from the Last Supper. If anyone uses the cup to drink the holy water in the cave where it is kept, they will gain eternal life, something which the knight guarding the Holy Grail has already done and been alive for 700 years.
After having watched the Nazi collaborator Walter Donovan disintegrate before his eyes for having “chosen poorly”, Indiana must select the correct Holy Grail from amongst many other more ornate ones to save his father who has been shot. He takes a drink from the holy water fountain.
We are all relieved when the Knight tells Indiana he has chosen wisely.
Arizona-based company Alcor offers cryonic preservation to its members - the option to freeze their bodies after death, with the intention of being revived when future technology makes this possible.
“A fulfilling life doesn’t have to end. When todays medicines give up, cryonics takes over”. Only USD $200k for the body and USD $80k for the brain. But is it that good value for money for such a brain?
Thankfully, scientists have never been able to discover the key to eternal life. In our sinful state, this would doom mankind to hell on Earth. We can barely live in peace for 70 years, let alone eternity.
But yet, we thirst for it. Water is essential to life and the Bible uses water as a symbol of divinity and eternal life from Genesis to Revelation.
Genesis tells us the situation on Earth in the beginning.
Genesis 2:7-17
then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
Notice the garden is in the east, ie east of Israel. And the first river is the Pishon, a river that does not exist today.
And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Where is the Garden of Eden?
Many people have tried to locate the Garden of Eden but no-one will be able to of course because God has banished us from it and put an Angel to guard the entrance. So you Indiana’s out there, don’t waste your time !
However, the Euphrates and the Tigris are still there so we know the approximate location is the Middle East. The other 2 are less clear but there are clues in the Bible that lead some to speculate that the Gihon ran down the Jordan to the Dead Sea and out through the Red Sea and the Pichon ran to the Nile. In this map we can see there are potentially 3 sources for the rivers. One at the Persian Gulf, one in Turkey and one out in the Mediterranean.
Jesus will surely be the one to reveal and re-establish the Garden when he returns and if I was a betting man, my guess is Jerusalem is the centre of the Garden of Eden.
It is thought that the Garden of Eden had a mountain. In Ezekiel the Lord talks to Satan saying;
Ezekiel 28:13-14
You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.
And that’s interesting as many of the jewels I’ve highlighted in green are in the description of the Heavenly City in Revelation as is the tree of life.
Revelation 21:19-20
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.
Everything must come from something. The jewels in the Heavenly City are the same we find on Earth. The Earth is a recent construction. But the elements it was made from are ancient from eternity.
The Bible wraps up the story with a beautiful picture that as it was in the beginning, so shall it be in the end. Paradise returned.
Revelation 22:1-2
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
The vision of the heavenly city and the elements including water and precious stones link eternity to the creation at the beginning and the new Earth at the end. Missing is the Tree of Knowledge.
The Creation is another reason to believe in eternal life. We know the beginning (from eternity) and we know the end (into eternity) But what about now in this life? Where do we find eternity in this corrupted, fading world, where as Bob Dylan sung « Everthing is Broken ».
When I started preparing this message a few weeks back, I thought of the woman at the well how she indeed found eternal life in the present. Even though the World is broken and our bodies are dying, we can have eternal life now. The Fountain of Youth has already been discovered and you do not have to pay USD 280k for it. Last week Len Buttner referred to this very passage so it is very timely !
John 4:1-29
Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
If we want to find eternal life, we need to keep the welcome mat at the door. Many people have shut the door to Jesus because they think he’s their enemy.
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
If we want to find eternal life, we need to have our mind and heart open to the possibility that there is more to this life than what we can see.
Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
Not all our traditions may be helpful to finding Jesus. Is there anything in our traditions that are distracting us from making room for Christ this Christmas ?
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”
The woman had found Jesus, she had discovered eternal life and her first reaction was to go tell everyone. That is how every new believer reacts, some of us older ones need to drink from the well again !
Recall from the Creed message on the Virgin Birth that Water is a symbol of of the Holy Spirit, of Divinity - and further John noted that at the Cross, blood and water came out which prove Jesus’s divinity and the 3 together prove Jesus is the Son of God.
For there are three that testify, the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three are in agreement
1 John 5:7-8
Water is essential to life and in the beginning, God created a river to flow out of Eden to water the garden. This watered both the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life. Both looked good and the only way to discern the poison fruit from the good fruit was to listen to what God said. To believe, to have faith in the Lord. The Devil is the counterfeit MASTER. It looks and even tastes like the real thing but it is poison fruit and sometimes the only discernment we have is what the Bible says. You shouldn’t have to think too hard which counterfeits the Devil is using to tempt Mankind today.Man ate the fruit from the bad tree and from that moment was doomed to die. The Earth became cursed.
In Revelation we see the the curse nearing completion as the river Euphrates drys up.
Revelation 16:12
The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east.
When that great river Euphrates created in the beginning begins to dry up it is a sign of the Earth dying, the very end time described in Revelation. And did you know that the River Euphrates is indeed drying up today which is ringing alarm bells for those who are paying attention.
This world is dying and this is the time to « choose wisely » The cup is not the Holy Grail. Jesus is the Holy Grail.
The World is alluring and many choose the World’s Cup to try to satisfy their thirst.
But Jesus is the source of life and he offers living water to us all as to the woman at the well.
The topic for this week is anxiety. We have seen an increase in mental health issues in NZ, even more so since Covid. Looking from the outside you may wonder why in such a beautiful country. But it’s amazing how even a small negative thought can set off a chain reaction downwards. What is the cure for anxiety? Jesus addresses the question in Luke 12. It was a toss up whether to do a video this weekend or hear from me so we went with the professional 😉Now I want you to notice in the passage how it switches between Jesus talking to the Disciples and Jesus talking to the Crowd.
Luke 12:1-59
v1-3
In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.
The world as you see it may not be as it seems. Even more plainly stated the grass is not greener on the other side of the fence. The people you look up to probably don’t have it all together, so it’s better to listen to Jesus. Here Jesus is speaking to his disciples before he speaks to the crowd.
v4-5
“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!
It might seem strange that Jesus begins his message on anxiety by telling us that there is indeed something to be very afraid about but his point is it’s only one thing. The fear of the Lord. We worry about so many other things on any given day. I bet you could list at least 10 things you are worried about today. It might be someone travelling, it might be about what to cook for dinner, it might be our weight, it might be a loved one who’s in trouble, it might be the cost of living, it’s possibly all of those things ! Shall we write a few on the board? And then we shall write “fear of the Lord” which Jesus says is a valid fear. But then he calms our fears about daily life.
v6-7
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
He is saying don’t worry about daily life, God will take care of us. He will provide for our daily needs. I saw a great quote the other week “God is in control but He doesn’t expect you to lean on a shovel and pray for a hole”. Sometimes God gives us the treasure, sometimes the shovel. Whatever, God provides for our daily needs.
Then Jesus gives 2 valid examples of the fear of the Lord.
v8-10
“And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
What is the antidote to the fear of the Lord?
v11-12
And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
The antidote to fear of the Lord is Faith. We are not to be anxious about things, God our Father will take care of us. We are to overcome our fear of witnessing and step out in faith trusting in the Lord because he will also give us the words we need.
Then the passage switches from the disciples to the Crowd.
v13-21
Someone in 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 arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
What is that Jesus says to someone in the Crowd. He refers to the Law - Do not Covet. “Take care and guard against all covetousness” Jesus says. Wanting what your neighbour’s got. Ultimately it ends in War as we see in the Ukraine today, as we see in the Divorce courts, as we see everywhere throughout our World today. Thou shalt not covet. People in the World don’t fear the Lord nor his Commandments. They worry about things instead particularly money and whether they’ll have enough in their pension when they retire. This is what the man from the Crowd was worried about. But any moment God may take your life, then what will all these possessions you seek be worth to you. Not even one cent. The only thing that matters is having a rich relationship with God. Jesus shocks the man by telling him that his earthly possessions will mean nothing in Hell.
Then he turns his attention away from the Crowd
v22-32
And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Basically Jesus says to his Disciples, forget about possessions, our Father knows our needs and he will provide for us. Jesus goes further;
v33-34
Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
We know it’s true but we have so little faith. We want to stay in control. We’re not convinced that God has our best interests at heart. We think he’s waiting to punish us. But that’s the message to the Crowds, not to the Disciples. What do we spend our money on? How much do we give to God? In the Old Testament, God only asked for 10%. In the New Testament, he looked for a joyful giver. But notice that it isn’t a sacrifice. It’s an exchange. An exchange for Heavenly Riches. And we should be very happy indeed knowing our pension in Heaven is growing !
Now is not the time for easing into retirement, sitting back and enjoying the fruits of our labour. That’s the message we’re getting from this foolish world. I waste time looking at my bank account like a fool. Don’t waste time, Jesus says
v35-40
“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
This brought a question to Peter’s mind. Hang on a minute, it was the man in the crowd who asked the question, why are you talking to us about punishment, I gave up everything to follow you !
v41-48
Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?” And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
So there is a catch. That’s scary Jesus. That’s right Peter, that’s the fear of the Lord. That’s something you should be concerned about. The standard for the Christian is actually higher. The fear of the Lord isn’t meant to paralyse us like the foolish servant who buried his treasure in the ground. The fear of the Lord is a healthy fear to motivate us to godly action.
Jesus continues speaking to Peter and the Disciples;
v49-53
“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
As a preacher I listen to says, God is a divider, Satan is a uniter. We cannot expect even our families to be supportive of us when we follow Jesus but the fear of the Lord is the only thing to be worried about.
Then he switched his attention finally back to the Crowd.
v54-59
He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’And so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
There is a tremendous irony that the world prepares earnestly for the future here on Earth but pays no mind to the world to come. They prepare for tomorrow by listening to the weather forecast, they prepare for family events and they prepare for their retirement with Kiwisaver but are they preparing for the world to come ? Not a chance. Don’t be like the World !
He tells the Crowd in so many words that they’d better get right with God or else they’re heading for eternal punishment. Imagine Jesus telling that to our diverse, all inclusive World today. No wonder the World hates Jesus. The real one that is.
So let’s some up what Jesus is saying. He’s saying don’t worry about things, about our future, whether we will have enough to eat. Our Father will take care of us. Don’t worry about about people either. They can’t take or even hurt your soul, the real you.
Fear only the Lord. Build your relationship with him. Then you have nothing at all to worry about.
Ray Comfort, the well known New Zealand evangelist from Christchurch living in America wrote this week of recent research conducted by Dr. George Barna revealing that at least one-third of senior pastors in the United States believe we can earn a place in Heaven by being a good person. Other pastors said that moral truth is subjective, fornication is “morally acceptable,” and biblical teaching on the slaughter of babies in the womb is “ambiguous.”
As Ray said, these findings reveal that these pastors are not regenerated by the Holy Spirit otherwise they wouldn’t reject the Word of God so badly.
They are teaching what the world believes rather than what Jesus taught. They, therefore, believe in a different Jesus and preach another gospel:
2 Corinthians 11:13-16
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
The 10 commandments - how many do you know?
I have 2 markers one for the positives and one for the negatives. We’ll use the coding for DC wiring, RED is positive and BLACK is negative. This is why Accountants will confuse you as they think being in the black is positive 😂
A lot of people would have trouble listing the 10 - see how many you can get from the list. Will you score more than 4? I hope so!! At least that would be a pass ; ) In Summary;
You shall have no other God’s before me.
You shall not make idols
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honour your father and your mother
You shall not murder
You shall not commit adultery
You shall not steal
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour
You shall not covet
Now if you remember, God wrote the 10 Commandments on 2 tablets of stone himself. Some people believe that there were 5 on each. Some people say they were duplicate versions with all on one and all on the other as in when you make a legal contract, one for each party.
However, remember how Jesus summarised the law by explaining the 2 parts in Mark 12:28-31
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
I personally agree with the film The 10 Commandments starring Charlton Heston where God wrote the 1st 4 on one tablet and the last 6 on the 2nd tablet. There is good reason to believe this since the 10 are basically divided into 2 groups - the first 4 relate to God, and the last 6 relate to People.
So I’m going to put the 5th Commandment on the other side and it’s one that comes with a promise, listen carefully all ages while you have time;
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
Exodus 20:12
With the other positive commandment, the 4th,
God says in Exodus 31:13
“You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you.
So the Lord closes off the first 4 by saying that keeping the Sabbath is a sign, a conclusion if you like to those which are about our relationship to God. The 4th also acts as an introduction to the remaining 6 as Jesus also said that the Sabbath was made for Man and not the other way around. God is very kind isn’t he?
Now I want to ask you another question. If I took a commandment from each of the 2 groups and went out to the general population and surveyed people, which ones do you think they would agree with? For example
From God's List : "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy" - Agree / Disagree
From the People's List : “You shall not steal" - Agree / Disagree
I would be pretty sure that most people would completely disagree with the ones that relate to God and would agree with (and remember) the ones that relate to people.
But I want to give further evidence on why this is how they are divided.
I want to share with you from Matthew 19:16 - 21. Please listen carefully...
Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honour your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbour as yourself.’ ”“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?
Jesus tested whether the man truly loved God as he claimed.
” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sellyour possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
At this point the man’s heart sinks as he realises he falls short of the requirement of the Law.
Jesus subtly but powerfully told the man he is God (v17) “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
Then, when asked which commandments to keep, which ones did Jesus say? That's right - only the ones that relate to people. Jesus didn't mention ANY from God's list (v18-19). Since Jesus is God, doesn't that tell you how loving and kind Jesus is to not even mention the laws which people break every day that hurt and offend him. Think how hurt and offended you are when people break the laws from the people list against you!
The man knew something was missing. Jesus answer was to sell everything "then come follow me" (v21). The thing that was missing was the man had no relationship with God! Jesus wanted the man to come and follow him and in doing that he would fulfil the remaining 4 commandments from God's list!
WOW!!! - that’s amazing isn’t it ?
In the Old Testament, right after giving the 10 Commandments to Moses, the Lord goes into great detail to define the tabernacle and the ark and the clothing that the priests were to wear and they are all exceptionally beautiful and made from the finest quality materials.
The Law itself is glorious and tells us something about the beauty and holiness of the Lord as it came from Heaven itself down to Mount Sinai. But there is a problem isn’t there. We fail to live up to it and if we are honest with ourselves like the rich young lawyer was forced to be, it only serves to remind us of that fact that we are bad people. When Ray Comfort witnesses to people, he gets them to confess one by one that they have broken at least 4 commandments normally out of the peoples list. And based on their confession, he asks them what the judgement should be - Heaven or Hell and there can be only one judgement… Hell.
Paul teaches that we are all lawbreakers and guilty before Almighty God our Judge.
Romans 3:9-31
What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, andare justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
This is where the Governments and Churches of our time are failing, they are not upholding the law. In fact, laws that have been in place for generations are being overturned because they believe that man is essentially good when the Bible, as we have just read, says the opposite. For example, the Western Governments think that to win the war on drugs you must legalise them and not add to the addicts pain.
The Police are underfunded and there are calls to defund them.
This overturning of the law is a sign of the coming Antichrist. The Bible says that there will be a time of great rebellion (against the law) and then the man of lawlessness will come.
Daniel 7:25
He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
But the King James Version says something different in verse 3 that implies the Church is caught up in this same rebellion in the end times. It says;
2 Thessalonians 2:3
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Notice that this time of rebellion against the laws of God is associated with a time of falling away. The Church will not win converts by being cool and just like the World. In fact as we also reject God’s Laws, the opposite will happen and Christians will fall away from the Faith and open the doorway wide to Satanic deception in the Church.
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Isn’t that exactly what we are seeing now ?
This time of rebellion against the laws of God that we are in is proving to be a time of great delusion and fantasy. Here in New Zealand, the change of laws allowing people to change their identity on their birth certificates, that so called marriage between 2 people of the same sex is the same as marriage between a man and a woman, that gender is between the ears not the legs and so on and so on. It is amazing to see this scripture being fulfilled before our eyes. Wake up ! We can see this delusion worldwide on a scale never seen before.
The Bible says the real reason they reject the truth is because they want to carry on with their sin and now God is allowing them to be convinced by lies. Can they even be saved ? Who can save you out of this delusion, this madness. Only Jesus - the Way, the Truth, the Life. Jesus is coming soon!
Conclusion, even though this is hard Labour, we must struggle and uphold God’s law. We acknowledge we are all weak, we are all sinners but we are grateful for the mercy of God shown to us by Jesus dying on the Cross for our sins. But we can never throw our the Law. Grace is meaningless without the Law.
Ray Comfort, the well known New Zealand evangelist from Christchurch living in America wrote this week of recent research conducted by Dr. George Barna revealing that at least one-third of senior pastors in the United States believe we can earn a place in Heaven by being a good person. Other pastors said that moral truth is subjective, fornication is “morally acceptable,” and biblical teaching on the slaughter of babies in the womb is “ambiguous.”
As Ray said, these findings reveal that these pastors are not regenerated by the Holy Spirit otherwise they wouldn’t reject the Word of God so badly.
They are teaching what the world believes rather than what Jesus taught. They, therefore, believe in a different Jesus and preach another gospel:
2 Corinthians 11:13-16
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
The 10 commandments - how many do you know?
I have 2 markers one for the positives and one for the negatives. We’ll use the coding for DC wiring, RED is positive and BLACK is negative. This is why Accountants will confuse you as they think being in the black is positive 😂
A lot of people would have trouble listing the 10 - see how many you can get from the list. Will you score more than 4? I hope so!! At least that would be a pass ; ) In Summary;
You shall have no other God’s before me.
You shall not make idols
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honour your father and your mother
You shall not murder
You shall not commit adultery
You shall not steal
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour
You shall not covet
Now if you remember, God wrote the 10 Commandments on 2 tablets of stone himself. Some people believe that there were 5 on each. Some people say they were duplicate versions with all on one and all on the other as in when you make a legal contract, one for each party.
However, remember how Jesus summarised the law by explaining the 2 parts in Mark 12:28-31
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
I personally agree with the film The 10 Commandments starring Charlton Heston where God wrote the 1st 4 on one tablet and the last 6 on the 2nd tablet. There is good reason to believe this since the 10 are basically divided into 2 groups - the first 4 relate to God, and the last 6 relate to People.
So I’m going to put the 5th Commandment on the other side and it’s one that comes with a promise, listen carefully all ages while you have time;
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
Exodus 20:12
With the other positive commandment, the 4th,
God says in Exodus 31:13
“You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you.
So the Lord closes off the first 4 by saying that keeping the Sabbath is a sign, a conclusion if you like to those which are about our relationship to God. The 4th also acts as an introduction to the remaining 6 as Jesus also said that the Sabbath was made for Man and not the other way around. God is very kind isn’t he?
Now I want to ask you another question. If I took a commandment from each of the 2 groups and went out to the general population and surveyed people, which ones do you think they would agree with? For example
From God's List : "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy" - Agree / Disagree
From the People's List : “You shall not steal" - Agree / Disagree
I would be pretty sure that most people would completely disagree with the ones that relate to God and would agree with (and remember) the ones that relate to people.
But I want to give further evidence on why this is how they are divided.
I want to share with you from Matthew 19:16 - 21. Please listen carefully...
Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honour your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbour as yourself.’ ”“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?
Jesus tested whether the man truly loved God as he claimed.
” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sellyour possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
At this point the man’s heart sinks as he realises he falls short of the requirement of the Law.
Jesus subtly but powerfully told the man he is God (v17) “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
Then, when asked which commandments to keep, which ones did Jesus say? That's right - only the ones that relate to people. Jesus didn't mention ANY from God's list (v18-19). Since Jesus is God, doesn't that tell you how loving and kind Jesus is to not even mention the laws which people break every day that hurt and offend him. Think how hurt and offended you are when people break the laws from the people list against you!
The man knew something was missing. Jesus answer was to sell everything "then come follow me" (v21). The thing that was missing was the man had no relationship with God! Jesus wanted the man to come and follow him and in doing that he would fulfil the remaining 4 commandments from God's list!
WOW!!! - that’s amazing isn’t it ?
In the Old Testament, right after giving the 10 Commandments to Moses, the Lord goes into great detail to define the tabernacle and the ark and the clothing that the priests were to wear and they are all exceptionally beautiful and made from the finest quality materials.
The Law itself is glorious and tells us something about the beauty and holiness of the Lord as it came from Heaven itself down to Mount Sinai. But there is a problem isn’t there. We fail to live up to it and if we are honest with ourselves like the rich young lawyer was forced to be, it only serves to remind us of that fact that we are bad people. When Ray Comfort witnesses to people, he gets them to confess one by one that they have broken at least 4 commandments normally out of the peoples list. And based on their confession, he asks them what the judgement should be - Heaven or Hell and there can be only one judgement… Hell.
Paul teaches that we are all lawbreakers and guilty before Almighty God our Judge.
Romans 3:9-31
What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, andare justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
This is where the Governments and Churches of our time are failing, they are not upholding the law. In fact, laws that have been in place for generations are being overturned because they believe that man is essentially good when the Bible, as we have just read, says the opposite. For example, the Western Governments think that to win the war on drugs you must legalise them and not add to the addicts pain.
The Police are underfunded and there are calls to defund them.
This overturning of the law is a sign of the coming Antichrist. The Bible says that there will be a time of great rebellion (against the law) and then the man of lawlessness will come.
Daniel 7:25
He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
But the King James Version says something different in verse 3 that implies the Church is caught up in this same rebellion in the end times. It says;
2 Thessalonians 2:3
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Notice that this time of rebellion against the laws of God is associated with a time of falling away. The Church will not win converts by being cool and just like the World. In fact as we also reject God’s Laws, the opposite will happen and Christians will fall away from the Faith and open the doorway wide to Satanic deception in the Church.
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Isn’t that exactly what we are seeing now ?
This time of rebellion against the laws of God that we are in is proving to be a time of great delusion and fantasy. Here in New Zealand, the change of laws allowing people to change their identity on their birth certificates, that so called marriage between 2 people of the same sex is the same as marriage between a man and a woman, that gender is between the ears not the legs and so on and so on. It is amazing to see this scripture being fulfilled before our eyes. Wake up ! We can see this delusion worldwide on a scale never seen before.
The Bible says the real reason they reject the truth is because they want to carry on with their sin and now God is allowing them to be convinced by lies. Can they even be saved ? Who can save you out of this delusion, this madness. Only Jesus - the Way, the Truth, the Life. Jesus is coming soon!
Conclusion, even though this is hard Labour, we must struggle and uphold God’s law. We acknowledge we are all weak, we are all sinners but we are grateful for the mercy of God shown to us by Jesus dying on the Cross for our sins. But we can never throw our the Law. Grace is meaningless without the Law.
Today we continue on in our series on the Apostle’s Creed. We need to ensure our faith is built on the Rock - Jesus, the Word of God, otherwise we will be tossed by every wind of doctrine that sweeps across the Earth in these dangerous times we live in. By the time we’ve finished, you will know the Apostle’s Creed by heart. This week we look at the Communion of Saints. Feel free to join in...
1.I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
2.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
3.who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.
4.Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
5.He descended into Hell. On the third day he rose again from the dead.
6.He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
7.From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.
8.I believe in the Holy Spirit,
9.the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,
10.the forgiveness of sins,
11.the resurrection of the body,
12.and life everlasting.
Amen
If you remember when we started looking at the Apostle’s Creed we compared the Hill Song Creed with the Catholic Creed and we found problems in both. The first problem in the Catholic Creed is the use of the capital “V” on the Virgin Mary because the Catholic Church gives her a divine status and the second is what we’ll discuss today - the communion of saints. There is a problem with the Catholic Church doctrine in that it’s like being served up with the whole fish on your plate for dinner. You have to cut around the head and tail and be careful to pick all the bones out otherwise you’ll choke to death. It is not a relaxing experience!
The first thing to notice that catholic has a little « c ». This is not the creed of the Catholic Church. The Apostle’s Creed belongs to all Christians. Catholic in fact means universal, which is to say all Christian’s everywhere, whether on Earth or in Heaven.
The Church is not just down here but in Heaven where it is far more glorious. More singing, greater worship, more prayer, more love for one another and for the Lord. This thought alone is enough to make us excited for coming to Church on a Sunday.
The second thing is that it is the communion of saints not the Communion of the Saints. The difference is subtle but indicates something more organic and continuously growing i.e. the Body of Christ rather than an event like our weekly Communion for example.
The third thing to know is that the Catholic Church believes the saints are made up of;
1.The Church Militant (Saints on Earth)
2.The Church Penitent (Saints in Purgatory)
3.The Church Triumphant (Saints in Heaven)
We reject Purgatory as heretical as that would mean that Jesus’s death was not sufficient to pay for our sins in full. It would also mean we would have to be punished for our sins after we die before entering Heaven which is works based, not the Gospel which is good news for sinners! Purgatory does not exist.
The communion of saints (communio sanctorum), when referred to persons, is the spiritual union of the members of the Christian Church Militant and Triumphant, living and the dead, but excluding the damned. They are all part of a single “mystical body", with Christ as the head, in which each member contributes to the good of all and shares in the welfare of all.
This week I broke my tooth and that’s gone forever - I won’t grow another one. When a Christian dies, they are not like an old broken tooth of no further use, they are alive in Christ and still functioning as part of the body just as we’re also connected to and still able to serve the Body down here. This might be a bit of a crude illustration but that is unlike a non-believer who is separated and thrown in the rubbish like my old broken tooth.
After my brother died, we went out for dinner with some old friends from the Youth Group and we recalled stories of when we were young. I told them it was strange, but I felt different, that I now had a real connection to Heaven as my brother is there. Not just like a place in a story you have read but more like another country he has moved to and I will go to see him. More than that though, there have been several times since when things happen in my life that seems like something Colin would have arranged. So, I do believe that people in Heaven can pray for us and help us down here.
However, the Bible does warn us about communicating with the dead and it’s not something we should be doing.
‘Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.
Leviticus 19:31
And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?
Isaiah 8:19
The practices of Spiritualist Churches in communicating with the dead is strictly forbidden by Scripture and the practice of praying to the Saints by the Catholic Church is also crossing the line.
The official position of the Catholic Church is that you can ask a saint in Heaven to pray for you just as we ask someone to pray for us down here. But it’s too easy to cross the line and start praying to the saint instead of to Jesus. It’s too easy to believe, as many Catholics do, that saints in Heaven have more direct access to God than us down here but that actually contradicts Scripture.
Worse than that, it can open you up to familiar spirits which are against God. These are evil spirits that have knowledge of your dead family and will try to deceive you and lead you away from Jesus.
No saint can take Jesus’ place:
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
1 Timothy 2:5
There is no one else who can mediate with God for us. Since Jesus is the only mediator, Mary and the saints cannot be mediators. Further, the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ Himself is interceding for us before the Father:
Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:25
With Jesus Himself interceding for us, why would we need Mary or the saints to intercede for us? Whom would God listen to more readily than His only begotten Son? Romans 8:26-27 says the Holy Spirit is also interceding for us.
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
With the second and third Persons of the Trinity already interceding for us before the Father, why would we need to have Mary or the saints interceding for us?
After Halloween which belongs to the Devil, it is followed by All Saints Day on November 1st and All Souls Day on November 2nd.
The Christian celebration of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day stems from this belief that there is a powerful spiritual bond between those in heaven (the "Church triumphant"), and the living (the "Church militant"). In Catholic theology, the day commemorates all those who have attained the beatific vision in Heaven. In Methodist theology, All Saints Day revolves around "giving God solemn thanks for the lives and deaths of his saints", including those who are "famous or obscure". As such, individuals throughout the Church Universal are honoured, such as Paul the Apostle, Augustine of Hippo and John Wesley, in addition to individuals who have personally led one to faith in Jesus, such as one's grandmother or friend.
In France, La Toussaint which is derived from 2 words “Tous” meaning “all” and “Saint” meaning “Holy” or “Saint”. All Saints is a public holiday celebrating honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are known or unknown. It is also the day when people go and visit the graves of the departed already in Heaven. Not to be confused with the following day which is All Souls Day - the day to pray for all the church penitent souls in purgatory - a damnable heresy.
The concept of the communion of saints is linked with Paul's teaching, as in Romans 12:4–13 and 1 Corinthians 12:12–27, that in Christ Christians form a single body.
For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
Romans 12:4-13
PCC has not implemented a formal membership like other churches, however every believer here today has a gift from the Holy Spirit and a role to fulfil at PCC. To say that you don’t have a gift is to call God a liar.
So if you remember the parable of the talents, it is really super important that you don’t bury your gift for the sake of the Body and ultimately for your own good.
CORE VALUE
what’s most important to us
1.We emphasise the “Body of Christ” Ministry and Mission with Jesus Christ as the Head…..
2.…..each member exercising individual spiritual gift/s for the building of the Body and the Communication of the Gospel
Matthew 22:36-40; Matthew 28:18-20
CORE PURPOSES
what we want to achieve
1.every member exercising their gift/s within the church and in the mission field
2.every member encouraged and affirmed to utilise their gifts
3.every ministry / mission led by a called leader/s
4.every ministry / mission fulfilling our Core Value (or part of it)
If you are wondering how you can practically use your gift in the Church, it is our role as Elders to help guide you in that so please come and see us!
“What who me ? I’m not a Saint !” you might be thinking…
The New Testament word ἅγιος (hagios) translated into English as "saint" can refer to Christians, who, whatever their personal sanctity as individuals, are called holy because they are consecrated to God and Christ. This usage of the word "saints" is found some fifty times in the New Testament.
Understanding we are Saints now is something that is sometimes hard to get our head around. We don’t have to wait 50 years after we have died for the Pope to declare we have been beatified. We will experience the reality of being Saints now if we walk in the light because of the blood of Christ.
1 John 1:7
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.
It is impossible to be a saint on your own, you need the Church, you need the communion of saints to survive the Christian life. So you need to walk in the Light!
The persons who are linked in this communion include those who have died and whom Hebrews 12:1 pictures as a cloud of witnesses encompassing Christians on earth. In the same chapter,
Hebrews 12:22-24 makes an amazing statement about Christians on earth;
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.
Do you ever think about that when you’re in church on a Sunday? Has Paul ever tuned in to our service…
We can’t talk about the communion of saints without mentioning the Book of Life. Every member of the Body of Christ has their name written in the Book of Life. That is the true Church Membership. Jesus said that having your name written in Heaven is really something to celebrate.
Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
Luke 10:19-20
There is no more important book than the Book of Life! Having your name recorded in there is priceless. That guarantees our safety on the Day of Judgement.
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
Revelation 20:12
Just like if you try to enter New Zealand without having your name listed on Department of Immigration’s register, so will it be for everyone whose name is not written in the Book of Life. That is our passport into the glorious heavenly city
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Revelation 21:27
Tomorrow is the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen was a confessing Christian; therefore, we can know she has joined all the other Saints in Heaven today as we have communion with them and worship the Lord together. Tomorrow’s funeral will be a day of rejoicing in Heaven so we should not be too sad down here!
We’ll finish with Paul’s prayer in Ephesians
For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Today we continue on in our series on the Apostle’s Creed. We need to ensure our faith is built on the Rock - Jesus, the Word of God, otherwise we will be tossed by every wind of doctrine that sweeps across the Earth in these dangerous times we live in. By the time we’ve finished, you will know the Apostle’s Creed by heart. This week we affirm that Jesus is the only (begotten) Son of God. Feel free to join in...
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.
Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into Hell. On the third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen
As we read in Genesis and in the first statement of the Creed, right from the beginning it is established that there is ONE true God.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
In the Old Testament, God was separated from the people because of his holiness. God had given the law to Moses at the top of Mt Sinai and then Moses went down and gave it to the people.
But then something amazing happened !
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
John 1:14-17
Remember John was born first so to say « he was before me » is to indicate that Jesus is eternal, divine.
But to say he is begotten of the Father is to also say that the ONE true God became the Father of a man in the same way that the Bible says Abraham begot Isaac. God became flesh.
So Jesus is fully man and fully God.
We are adopted sons and daughters of God but Jesus is the ONLY begotten Son of God.
In the New Testament, he is Emmanuel - God with us. What amazing love we see that the Father sent his only dearly loved Son to save the World knowing what was going to happen echoing what He had told Abraham to do back in
Genesis 22:2
Then He said, “Take now your son, your only Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.
Once upon a time I was just Robert. Then I became a father and that changed my life. You can’t imagine the instant love you feel for your child the moment they are born. It changes your World. Surely then any parent can relate to the concern they feel when their child grows up and goes out into this dark and dangerous World. God the Father knew the murder plot would begin the moment his dearly loved Son started preaching Truth to this wicked World.
In his famous first recorded Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was up the Mountain with the people giving the law to them directly instead of indirectly like through Moses. And he gives them the Law, the Truth;
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:17-19
By saying this Jesus was teaching what Moses taught but able to relate to the congregation like a pastor does not unseen in a thick cloud as on Mount Sinai when he spoke to Moses alone;
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
No other leader of a major religion has claimed to be Lord ! Going further, Jesus said people will say to him “Lord, Lord”.
Lord means 1 : one having power and authority over others: a : a ruler by hereditary right or preeminence to whom service and obedience are due.
Putting the 2 together and saying “Lord, Lord” is like saying Lord God or Lord of Lords.
Jesus disassociates himself from those who practice lawlessness and says he doesn’t even know these people. Grace is meaningless without the law. That is the error of our government. They throw out the law to give grace to all but instead they encourage lawlessness and prepare the way for the Antichrist.
Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Matthew 7:13-29
No wonder the people were astonished at his teaching !
Think about what Jesus is saying here. Now Jesus is saying those who obey his teaching are building their life on solid rock. That’s a massive claim.
Jesus talks about obeying his teaching and doing the will of his Father. He thereby claims to be the Son of God.
Follow any other religion and you are following a false prophet, building your life on the sand. Read about Mohammed, Buddha, Joseph Smith, and many other false prophets, these were not men who even qualified as teachers according to Scripture. For example, someone is not qualified for the position of Pastor or Elder unless they have one wife, are not known to be a drinker nor a lover of money. That rules out Mohammed & Joseph Smith who had multiple wives - at the same time !
Did you know that there are no moral absolutes in Buddhism so the 10 Commandments do not apply to a Buddhist. They are above the law. That is the bad fruit of Buddhism.
Jesus said he is the only one who can get us to Heaven;
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 14:6
Jesus said he is the only way to Heaven.
And in the New Testament, this theme of ONE is repeated.
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Ephesians 4:4-6
Is it even logical that there are many ways to God, that « all roads lead to Rome » ?
If you accept that there is a Heaven;
There must be a Spiritual Realm
There must be an invisible you, your soul
Then is it logical that all religions are basically the same since that would mean;
Heaven cannot be a perfect place (otherwise you wouldn’t be there)
Heaven would be a place for everyone no matter the heinous life they lived.
Hell would not exist
God would not be Holy or would not exist
No one would « own » and take care of Heaven
The argument breaks down. It does not make any sense that unrepentant wicked sinners will go to Heaven. Their destination is Hell.
But just as there is One Lord, One Christ there is also One Antichrist Spirit speaking lies through many false prophets
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
1 John 4:1-3
We will cover this point in more depth another time when we look at the different religions and cults and what they teach about Jesus Christ. Some are very deceptive in what they teach but all deny that Jesus came as God in the Flesh. This is the main thing to be on guard against especially within the Church. They sneak in, watch out !
Remember again the Sermon on the Mount;
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves."
« The most common name for God used in the Greek is kyrios, which means “Lord.” Combining its use in the Old Testament (when translated from Hebrew to Greek) and the New Testament (written in Greek), the word kyrios for “Lord” appears more than 6,000 times!
The word kyrios originally meant “power” or “might,” but over time it came to mean “lord” or “master.” When the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew to Greek, it used kyrios for “Lord” wherever the words YHWH or Adonai occurred in the Hebrew text.
The Jewish writers of the New Testament, who were likely raised reading Scripture in both Hebrew and Greek, similarly used kyrios whenever they referred to Yahweh and Adonai. Further, they used kyrios in a radically new way, declaring that Jesus also is Lord.
Now we’re going to solve an algebraic equation. Something that I learned this week is that in Joel in the Old Testament it originally states;
“Everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh will be saved.”
Joel 2:32
Yahweh was translated into Greek to say kyrios and then into English as Lord
So when Paul says;
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
And then goes on to say;
For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Romans 10:13
Paul is using kyrios in this passage to refer to both Jesus and Yahweh as Lord, declaring that both are the one true God. This is why the Creed states this foundational truth calling on the name of Jesus
Jesus is Yahweh is Lord!
Therefore;
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
Bow to him today and worship him! Jesus is your Lord and your God!
Lord God, we worship you with wonder for your mysterious and majestic plan of salvation. In our amazement and awe, help us to trust you and to call on your precious name.
There’s a lesson in golf, when you’re not hitting the ball well, to check the fundamentals. You can do this while you’re playing. A famous player Ben Hogan said there’s only 5 - grip, stance, waggle & swing plane, start downswing, swing path. When things seem confusing or are not working it’s good to « go back to basics ».
This week, I can’t remember why, I was reminded of 1 Corinthians 15, what the Gospel is. I found there’s more there than the basic message, if you want a passage to explain to someone what you believe, and you can’t remember the Apostles Creed, or anything I’ve told you, go to 1 Corinthians 15 !
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Come forward for Communion if you need prayer this morning.
And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
Matthew 13:10-17
A couple of weeks back, I was up in the middle of the night as I usually am, thinking about the parable of the pearl of great price. I thought back in my life to a lot of things of real value that have happened. Places, people, events, things purchased, unique experiences. Some have cost a lot of money but not all. The best of those experiences are Impossible to put a value on. I’m very thankful for them.
The pearl of great price comes right after my favourite parable;
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Matthew 13:44
In the story which contains so much meaning for me personally, the man appears to be going about ordinary life and accidentally he finds a treasure which he then impulsively decides to sell everything he has to buy. Then he hides it again !
A few people who become Christians weren’t even looking for Jesus but suddenly to their surprise, by the grace of God, they find him !
But the parable of the pearl of great price is different, I would say more common in it’s meaning to a lot of people.
Pearls are only mentioned in the New Testament and not very often;
1.Don’t cast your pearls before swine
2.In women’s adornment
3.The pearly gates most famously
And the pearl of great price.
Many people are searching for something of perfection, an experience often, in all kinds of places. In healthy things like sport, in work, in relationships, in religion.
But also in bad things because they make them feel good. Let’s face it, this world can be a very tough place with a lot of disappointment and sadness.
A pearl is hidden in an oyster which I suppose can be likened to a believer who has Jesus in their heart.
If the oyster opens up, then the person at the Market can see the Great Pearl Jesus and they will give up everything they have to get him.
A true convert trades in the all other things to get the pearl of great price.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Matthew 13:45-46
Basically many people are seeking a pearl of great price, not even knowing it. Jesus is the ultimate pearl of great price.
Jesus is of priceless value but it will cost you everything you have to get him ! You are at the market and you see the pearl and you know it’s worth more than the merchant even knows. What will you do ?
After having watched the Nazi collaborator Walter Donovan disintegrate before his eyes for having “chosen poorly”, Indiana must select the correct Holy Grail from amongst many other more ornate ones to save his father who has been shot. He takes a drink from the holy water fountain. 
