Sermon Select

‘Till He Appeared 12/6/98

I John 3:5, 8 & 4:9
Page 1777 Come Alive Bible

Jesus Christ laid aside His robes of eternal glory and became enshrouded in swaddling clothes for a purpose. This was the greatest extraterrestrial rescue mission ever attempted. It had more peril programmed into the mission than Apollo 13 multiplied a thousandfold. There was no escape vehicle for the cosmic Christ.

His mission had been pre-programmed and chronicled over a period of 1500 years. More than 330 exact details were penned by Old Testament prophets. There was to be no lack of understanding of the mission.

After the accomplishment of His mission to liberate and extricate doomed human beings one of His earthly companions wrote of the reason for it. John, who shared His earth walk gave three reasons for this daring undertaking.

I. TO PARDON I JOHN 3: 5
“And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.” The word “manifested” or “appeared” translates the Greek word PHANEROO, which means to remove a lid, or pull a curtain. It speaks of divine revelation. That is what happened in Bethlehem. God was unveiled and revealed as never before.

John 1: 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Persons who master more than one language know that in some languages you can say things you can’t say in certain other languages. There are no words by which certain words can be translated.

Literally, the Greek structure says, “Before time began to begin the Word was…” Time was a part of creation. Creation involved time, matter, and space – all three. Before time began to begin Christ existed.

The word “Word” translates the Greek word Logos. “In the beginning was the Logos.” Or, “Before time began to begin was the Logos.”

To find the meaning of a word look to see how it was used during the time it was employed. At the time of John’s writings “Logos” was used of Philo meaning, “all that is known or knowable about God.” John used it as a reference to Christ meaning, “All that is known or knowable about God is in the person of Christ.”

When the virgin Mary pulled back the cover and let persons see her new born baby she was manifesting, unveiling God.

There is a complex rule of Greek grammar when applied asserts emphatically that Jesus is God. The rule is: When two nouns in the same case are connected by the Greek word “and” and the second noun is not preceded by the article, the second noun refers to the same person or thing as the first noun, and is a further description of it.

Titus 2: 13 refers to “the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” The rule of grammar identifies Jesus Christ at God.

This is further emphasized by the fact the Greek word for “and” can be translated “even.”

II Peter 1: 1 also refers to Christ as “God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” He is God.

When applied to Titus 2: 13 it is even clearer: “the great God even our Savior Jesus Christ.”

In Bethlehem the unveiling began.

The purpose of this unveiling of God was to take away sins.

He did this for every infant that dies before reaching an age of reasoning. We are all born with an old sin nature variously called our Adamic nature. Jesus Christ being born of the virgin had no old sin nature. Therefore, when He died on the cross He acquitted all of us of our old sin nature.

He lived without any personal sin. We all have personal sins. He died without any personal sins for our personal sins. For His gift of salvation to be applied we must respond to Him in loving acceptance.

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (II Corinthians 5:21).

He came to – – – – –

II. PROTECT I JOHN 3: 8
“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3:8).

The word destroy means “to render ineffective, to rob of power.”

A missionary in Africa returned to his house to find in it a large python. He retreated to his truck and got his 45 pistol. Quietly he got as near the snake as possible and fired a mortal round right between the snakes eyes. The python didn’t die instantly. The missionary ran outside as the monstrous snake began to thrash around. The missionary heard things crashing, falling, and breaking. Soon all was quiet. Upon returning to the house he found the place in a mess. In dying the snake had caused a lot of damage. Christ mortally wounded Satan on the cross but he continues to do damage. Christ wants to repair that.

Is there a work of Satan in your life presently that you need to enlist Christ’s help in destroying? In these moments I want to deal with the one considered by some to be the number one sin of church going Christians. It is bitterness.

Guilt is what we feel when we hurt someone.

Bitterness is what we experience when someone hurts us.

Bitterness comes from within us. If a container of sweet water is jolted sweet water comes out. If a container of bitter water is jolted bitter water comes out. What is within is what comes out of us.

If you keep bitterness inside you it will make you sick.

If you vent it on others it will make them sick —– of you.

Get rid of it.
Admit you have been wronged.
Concede the person who wronged you deserves to be punished.
Resolve to release the offender of his or her debt.

You get rid of bitterness unilaterally. It doesn’t matter what the other person did or that they don’t seek forgiveness. Don’t concentrate on the offender. What he or she did is her problem. What you do about it is your problem. When you refuse to rid your life of bitterness you are the puppet of the offended. That person controls your emotions. Let Christ control them instead.

If you were to competitively run a race for a prize had you rather run alone or strapped to the leg of another as in a three legged race. When you refuse to get bitterness out of your life you are strapped to the offender and limited by that person.

Let Jesus destroy the word of Satan in your life. Get all bitterness out.

III. PROVIDE I JOHN 4: 9
“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (I John 4:9).

He gives us strength by which to live.
He gives us peace in which to live.
He becomes the object for which to live.
This life is a reference to the fullest development of our highest powers, both of understanding and enjoyment.

Life with Christ gives even adversity purpose. Cripple such a person and you have Sir Walter Scott. Put him in a prison cell and you have a John Bunyan. Nearly bury him in snow at a place like Valley Forge and you have a George Washington. Have him born in abject poverty and you have a Lincoln. Put him in a grease pit in a train roundhouse and you have a Walter Chrysler. Make him second fiddle in an obscure South Africa orchestra and you have a Toscanini. Hardships with Christ as our companion don’t crush us they challenge us.

Christmas is not just the story of a baby born. It is the story about the person into whom the baby grew, who came to redeem us from our sins and to call us into partnership with His great and mighty purpose. That’s living.

Adam or Eve: The Child in All of Us 2/22/98

Genesis 3:1-7
Page 1 Come Alive Bible

JESUS CHRIST, a literal historical figure, is called “the second Adam.” The first Adam was also a literal historical figure. There was an actual historical homo sapien named Adam who had a helpmate named Eve.

The word “Adam” is used in the Book of Genesis generically for “mankind,” such as in Genesis 5: 2. However, it is also used as a name of the individual man first created by God.

Gay Rights Activists try to twist this verse to imply unisex. As used in this verse, it is a generic term for mankind. God created them Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve.

The name “Adam” meant “of the earth,” a reference to God making him from the earth. Adam gave a name to his wife (3:20). He chose “Eve” which means “life” or “life giver.”

Scripture says God “formed” Adam from the “ground.” The Hebrew word for “formed” is YASAR (2:7). It describes the work of an artist. Mankind was made from the earth by a divine plan. The Hebrew word for “ground” is ADAMAH (3:17). The Hebrew word for “man” is ADAM. Thus, man, ADAM, came from the ground, ADAMAH.

The Lord God took approximately fifty- eight pounds of oxygen, two ounces of salt, fifty quarts of water, three pounds of calcium, twenty-four pounds of carbon, some chlorine, phosphorous, iron, sulphur, and glycerine from the earth and made Adam.

The average person has enough fat to make seven bars of soap,
—Enough iron to make a medium-sized nail.
—Enough lime to whitewash a small building.
—Enough phosphorus to make 24 hundred matchtips.
—Enough magnesium for a single dose of “Milk of Magnesia.”
—Enough potassium to explode a toy cannon.
—And a little sulphur added.

The chemical components of a rocket scientists, brain surgeon, migrant laborer, or third world peasant are worth approximately $10.00. That will deflate your ego.

Skeptics scoff at the idea of God creating. Some conscientious inquirers are confused over the complex arguments opposing this concept. I believe, and I believe with reason — God created.

The intent of this message is not to deal with the concept of creation vs. evolution, but I want to share one simple reason why evolution is impossible.

Creditable evolutionists say for life to evolve from non-life over 30 billion years would have been required for the simplest life form to evolve: 30 billion years. They speculate it took over 250 million years for human beings to evolve after that. An old earth is essential for evolution to be possible according to studious evolutionists.

Consider our sun. It burns up about four billion tons of itself every second. Knowing its mass and this rate of consumption scientists estimate it will burn out in about five million years.

Using this same rate and reversing this process by adding four billion tons a second the size of the sun can be estimated. It would have been twice its size one million years ago. With a surface temperature of 6093 degrees Celsius, that would have boiled any primordial soup on earth. Remember 30 billion years would have been required for life to evolve from non-life and another 250 million years for human beings to evolve.

If four billion tons per second were added to the sun, 250 million years ago it would have been one Astronomical Unit (AU) larger. That would have made it large enough to fill the space between where it is now and where we are on Earth.

The clock of time has run out on evolution. This is but one of many indications the universe is not old enough to support the theory of evolution. There is no way to prove creation or evolution. Either concept has to be accepted by faith. Though creation not evolution can be proven scientifically there are ways to disprove evolution.

One basic difference in creationists and the evolutionists is that a creationist believes what he reads in the Bible and an evolutionists believes what he thinks.

The Lord God placed His created human beings in a Garden named Eden. Eden is a Hebrew word meaning “delight.” Eden was a place of absolute delight. God gave them an ideal environment.

In our consideration of what happened to Adam and Eve in this setting we will see mirrored our own nature. The drama of their lives is a representation of your life.

God’s first commandment is recorded in Genesis 2: 16. As with all subsequent commandments, it contained a negative prohibition and a positive blessing. God, thus, made man by special design with the capacity for moral decisions.

The “serpent” is identified in Revelation 20: 2 as Satan in disguise. The word of God brought life and harmony. The word of the serpent brought chaos and death. God spoke and produced the cosmos. Satan spoke and it resulted in chaos. Satan came in a disguise. Temptation always does. Satan is a liar (John 8:44) and his big lie is that you can sin and get away with it.

The story begins with – – –

I. THREEFOLD ANARCHY
A. It starts with a questioning of authority. The Bible does not indicate Adam had any contact with the tempter. The serpent that beguiled Eve was not a slithering snake in the form we know them today. The Bible describes the creature used to beguile Eve as beautiful. In Genesis 3: 1 the serpent is described as “cunning.” The Hebrew word literally means “prudent.” The New Testament notes “the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety” (II Cor. 11:3). With trickery he cunningly out smarted her.

In three gospels Christ gives us signs of the end of the ages. We are impressed with such things as Israel’s return to the land, earthquakes, wars, the rise of Russia, etc. However, the first sign mentioned by each of the gospel writers was “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many” (Matt. 24:4; Mark 13:5; Luke 21:8).

Three things are definite about the serpent: 1) it was created by God, 2) it was intended to serve man, 3) Satan used its brilliance for his own nefarious purpose of deception.

The tempter began by questioning the authority of God’s Word. “Has God indeed said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (3:1).

A loss of respect for the Word of God is a principle cause of the erosion of respect for any and all authority today.

Satan has the authority of the Bible under constant attack. He began with an assault on Genesis, and he is still keeping up his pressure on it. There are those who declare the first seven chapters of Genesis to be a mere allegory.

B. The second aspect of this anarchy was Adam doubting God’s sense of justice. God demanded of Adam and Eve justice. In effect He said, “You take the Tree of Life and I will take the Tree of Knowledge.”

In creation God made every creature to operate in a limited sphere. To the birds He granted the sphere of the atmosphere with the limiting boundaries of the stratosphere and the solid earth. To the fish He bequeathed the waters as an environment limited by the shoreline. Adam and Eve had a virtually unlimited boundary but there was nevertheless a boundary. Adam and Eve questioned the justice of such limitations. Adam and Eve questioned God’s sense of fair play.

The fact was the tree didn’t belong to Adam and Eve. Much of mankind’s misery today begins at this point. A lack of respect for property rights creates much misery.

C. The third factor involved in this anarchy was a lack of obedience.

This questioning of God’s Word resulted in a – – –

II. THREEFOLD AMENDMENT
A. They added to the Word of God.

Eve said God said of the tree “…you shall not touch it…” (Vs. 3). Not so! They could have climbed up in it, tied a rope to it, and made a tire swing from it and God would not have cared. God simply said “don’t eat of it.”

The Bible P-L-U-S anything as a final authority is wrong.

B. They altered the Word of God.

God has said they would “surely die” if they ate of the tree. Eve said God said, “lest you die.” The expression means “you may die.” God’s “surely” was changed to a “maybe.” The serpent picked up on this at once and took it a step further saying “You shall not surely die.” (Vs. 4). This promise was a lie that never came true.

C. They omitted part of the Word of God.

God’s “surely die” was now omitted from the record.

Minimizing the result of sin is an encouragement to sin. The least doubt about the consequence of sin makes one more bold to sin.

III. A THREEFOLD APPEAL
A. An appeal to the body – “the tree was good for food.”

B. An appeal to the soul – “pleasant to the eyes.”

C. An appeal to the spirit – “to make one wise.”

This appeal to be like God has always been an allurement to mankind. The New Age movement today is capitalizing on it. It is the primary thesis of their beliefs. Genesis 3: 5 “…you will be like God” is the ground of their philosophy. This lie never came true. Satan’s promises never do. Wisdom is never obtained by disobeying God’s Word.

By restricting one tree God is revealing there must be a limitation to the gratification of the senses. As servants, our senses are blessings. As sovereigns, they are a burden.

We should be cautious about any organization, institution, or event that appeals primarily to the senses. Satan always has a connection with it.

The fact our senses yield pleasure is an evidence of the goodness of God. Monitor our body and enjoy the many normal pleasures you most often overlook, such as, a warm shower, the first sip of cool water, taking off your shoes, sitting down after standing for sometime, etc. Seeking our primary source of pleasure through our senses is an evidence of depravity.

IV. A THREEFOLD AFFECT
There are two words in our vocabulary that often get confused. “Affect” means “to act upon.” “Effect” means “the end result.”

The affect of Eve’s decision, that is, how it acted upon them is distinct. It affected their – –
A. Head
“The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (I Cor. 2: 14).

B. Heart
Having been deceived they now developed a wrong impression of God. They thought He hated them so they sought to hide. Satan promised them they would be gods, but their disobedience actually caused them to flee and hide from God.

Mankind’s heart is “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17: 9).

C. Hands
They sewed fig leaves together to make coverings for themselves (Vs. 7). Ever since then man has been trying by his works to make himself worthy of being in God’s presence.

Notice verse 21, “the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.” That verse is hard for animal right’s activists to explain. Animals don’t have rights, they have worth.

This provision of clothing is symbolical of the spiritual truth noted in Romans 3: 21 – 26 where we are told that based on the atoning sacrifice of Christ He clothed believers in righteousness.

V. THREEFOLD EFFECT
Remember, “effect” means the result.
A. They died spiritually immediately.
B. They died soulfully progressively.
C. They died bodily ultimately.

When God saves us He saves us:
Spiritually He justifies us immediately.
Soulfully He sanctifies us progressively.
Bodily He glorifies us ultimately.

To do this there is required a – – –

VI. THREEFOLD ATONEMENT
What followed in Eden is a picture of Calvary.

A. Salvation is a gift of God not a labor of man’s hands.

“We conclude that man is justified by faith without the deeds” (Rom. 3: 28).

B. Salvation is by the substitutionary death of an innocent sacrifice. “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53: 6).

C. Salvation is by blood.

“The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1: 7).

It is important to observe the Word of God came to Adam. The prohibition by God was spoken to Adam before Eve was made.

Satan came to Eve. She only had the Word of God second hand. It was not personal to her.

With a first-hand knowledge of the Word of God in mind Satan knew he could not successfully tempt Adam. Without it he knew Eve was vulnerable.

I Timothy 2: 14 notes an important fact: ‘And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”

Adam was not deceived but knew what he was doing. Why did he do it? After disobeying God Eve was a fallen sinner. At this point Adam was not. Thus, sin had separated them as it had Eve from God.

Redemption of Eve, as is true for all humankind, must come from the seed of woman. Therefore, Adam willfully and with full knowledge took the fruit from the hand of Eve and ate. He took part in her sin that he might be a party in providing the redemptive seed of woman which ultimately was Jesus Christ.

Likewise, Jesus Christ, the Second Adam, on Calvary willfully and knowingly took our sin.

This Little Light of Mine 2/21/99

Matthew 25:1-13
Page 1451 Come Alive Bible

Jesus Christ was a master story teller. He utilized everyday common events to illustrate uncommon truths. Once He used the common event of a wedding to teach.

We have the advantage of knowing where the story is going from the beginning. It had an immediate application to His presence with the people to whom He was speaking. Messiah had come and they were unsuspecting.

It has application to our day also. Jesus is coming again. Are we prepared?

Consider the customs of a mid-eastern wedding. It has been our good fortune to see several. There are several stages to such a wedding. In a village near Bethlehem we saw the phase of the wedding utilized in this parable.

The bride and her party were walking along a narrow street celebrating. Some were playing a tambourine, some flutes, all were singing, giggling, and smiling. They were on their way to the place of the rendezvous with the groom. They were wearing their most colorful clothes. It was a happy group.

Friends of the bride stay with her and celebrate the coming of the bridegroom. This may go on for some time. Villagers in that land are not time conscious like we are.

Reflecting this attitude one once said to me, “With so many centuries why be concerned with minutes?”

The bride and her entourage know about when, but not exactly when the bridegroom will come. It is his big moment and he often tries to get the most out of it. By the time he gets there the bridal party may be exhausted. In this parable they were even asleep.

There were ten friends with the bride when the groom came at mid-night. All ten had oil lamps. However, only five had oil in their lamps. That is about as impractical as having a flashlight without batteries.

Having failed to prepare for the event by purchasing oil they tried to borrow from those with oil. To do so would have meant no one would have had enough. They were sent to purchase oil. In going to do so they missed out on the party. Bummer!

This is the setting for teaching an important lesson. Three sad sayings are involved in this celebration.

I. OUR LAMPS ARE GOING OUT VS. 8
The ten virgins represent the church. Five had oil which is symbolic of the Spirit of God. The other five did not. This depicts some “profess” Christ don’t “possess” Christ. That is, they have all the external trappings of a believer but internally they have never really been born again. They have lamps but no oil. They have church membership and maybe even activities in the church but have never been saved. They are among the legion who will say, “Lord, Lord…” only to hear Him say, “I do not know you” (Vs. 12).

This parable seems to be directed toward those who are content with hearing the word but don’t do it.

Jesus doesn’t just solicit a confession of faith, but a conduct of faith.

He desires not only a profession of faith, but a practice of faith.

There are many to whom the preaching of the gospel is as music in the ears —- of a corpse.

Talk without practice is an enticing form of temptation. It is tempting to others to model the same external motions without internal change. It is tempting to talk about repentance without repenting. To say “I believe” without believing. To speak of Christ as Lord without submitting to Him as such.

May it not be said of us: “having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (II Timothy 3:5).

Jesus said of His followers “You are the light of the world.” In our spiritually darkening world we need to let our little lights shine.

In America annually 2,000 new churches are started. Unfortunately 6,000 close each year.

Every week 50,000 people walk out of church never to return.

For the church to survive and perform as the Lord has instructed there must be love within the body.

A man long shipwrecked on a deserted island was found by a rescue party. They said, “Get the others and let’s go.”
“Others, what makes you think there are others?”
“There are three houses, what are they?”
“Well,” he said, “one is my residence and one is my church.”
“What is the third?” they asked.
“Oh, that’s my former church. I got mad and moved my membership.”

Individually and collectively we must let our lamps be trimmed and full of oil.

It is not pushing this parable too far to identify the “oil” to the Holy Spirit in the life of individuals and the church. He is the empowering agent within each.

Daily resupply your oil. This is done through prayer and Bible study —- daily. The Holy Spirit is a renewable resource Who renews us.

II. THE DOOR IS SHUT VS. 10B
God is patient but He is also punctual.

It was too late and they resorted to impossible appeals: “Give us some of your oil.”

There are things you can’t borrow. You can’t borrow on the spiritual account of your parents or friends. Your faith must be your faith.

In the parent child spiritual relations there are two common errors.

One is the parents feeling their children will share their beliefs and faith spontaneously without them modeling and teaching them.

A second is the child thinking he or she will get by on the faith of the parents.

The parable teaches us there is a time when opportunity has passed us. We live with deadlines but fail to realize the importance of being ready for the ultimate deadline —- no pun intended. That deadline being death.

History is replete with stories of unusual death occurrences.

Attila the Hun, the fierce Mongolian warrior, died an unusual death. He wasn’t given to overeating and drinking but on one occasion in 459 AD he did. That night in his drunken stupor he developed a nose bleed and drowned in his own blood.

Aeschylus, a Greek playwright around 500 BC died a most unusual death. An eagle dropped a turtle on his head and killed him. Eagles were known to drop turtles on rocks to open them. One eagle mistook Aeschylus’ bald head for a rock and cracked it.

Sir Francis Bacon was one of the most influential men in all history. He was a statesman, philosopher, writer, and scientist. He died stuffing snow in a chicken.

While watching a snow storm in 1625 he began to wonder if snow could preserve meat like salt. He went outside and tried to stuff a chicken with snow. He never got the chicken frozen but he froze instead.

Jerome Irving Rodale, founding father of the organic food movement, creator of “Organic Farming and Gardening” magazine made an appearance on the “Dick Cavett Show” in January 1971. In that interview he said, “I am going to live to be 100 unless I get run-down by a sugar-crazed taxi driver.” Part way through the interview he dropped dead. The show was never aired.

Jim Fixx, author of the best selling “Complete Book on Running,” and father of the modern running craze was visiting Greensboro, Vermont when he walked out of the house to go jogging and died instantly.

I hope you and I live to be 140 and are having so much fun they have to dispatch us with an overdose of chocolate. However, the day will come when time will run out and the door will be shut.

Now is the day of salvation. Don’t put off till tomorrow what you should have done yesterday.

Today the door is open. Take full advantage of the day to prepare to enter it.

III. I DO NOT KNOW YOU VS. 12
The parable concludes with one of two responses that are applicable to each of us. There is an appeal by the unprepared maidens for admission to the celebration. This remorseful plea is comparable to the inevitable day when the Lord shall have no valid appeal for admission to heaven. “I never knew you.”

There is another potential response to a different plea found in concluding the next parable regarding faithfulness: “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord'” (Matthew 25:21).

There is a legend that Satan was interviewing three apprentice demons just before sending them to earth. He asked the first what he would do to keep people from making a decision for Christ.
“I will tell them there is no God.”
“That’s good but only a few will be foolish enough to ignore the many evidences there is a God.”
The second said, “I will tell them there is no hell.”
“Good, but not good enough. People know justice demands there be such a place.”
The third demon said, “I will tell them they should trust Christ, but there is no reason to hurry. Take your time, do it later.” “That is genius,” exclaimed Satan, “that will damn millions.’ I want to ask two questions using the same words.

Are you a Christian? Here the word Christian is used as a noun meaning have you trusted Christ as Savior.

Again: “Are you a Christian?”

Here the word is used as an adjective meaning is your conduct that which the behavior of a born again person should be?

It is not too late to respond in such a way as to answer “Yes” to both. There will come a time it will be to late.

The clock is running on the opportunity to obtain oil. Let me illustrate this. I have a calling card that allows 15 minutes of free conversation. At intervals a voice comes on saying you have a certain amount of time remaining. When the 15 minutes is up, it is up. There is an abrupt stop.

In essence, our Lord has given us each a calling card called a time in which to call on Him.

The parable concludes with an encouraging exhortation: “WATCH,” that is, be faithful, be prepared.

Hosanna or Crucify Him! It’s Your Choice 3/28/99

Mark 11:1-10

JESUS CHRIST wants to share His eternal victory with you. An event that occurred on His last Sunday in Jerusalem illustrates this.

The sun was rising rapidly. It was beginning to shoot its golden arrows across the horizon to gild the sky and curtain off the dawn that would bring a new day to the history-filled city of Jerusalem. This is the festive season of Passover. The old city was filled with pilgrims, visitors, and travelers who had come from many countries to share in the feast. Secular census records indicate there were at least 2,500,000 people in Jerusalem for the event. An exciting rumor spread through the city: “Jesus Christ is coming!”

Behind Him were His sermons; ahead, His suffering.

Behind Him were His parables; ahead, His passion.

Behind Him were His suppers of fellowship; ahead, His last supper of betrayal.

Behind Him the delights of Galilee; ahead, dark Gethsemane.

Prophecy was now to become practice.

Let’s set the stage and mentally walk through the actual event before applying it.

Jesus had spent the night at the home of friends in Bethany on the opposite side of the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem. The two towns were no more than three miles apart.

Historians tell us that traditionally persons from various regions all had their special area around Jerusalem where they camped for feast days. The south end of the Mount of Olives had for years been the camping grounds of people from Galilee. These were the unsophisticated and unspoiled people of the area where Jesus spent most of His time and performed most of His miracles. They knew Him best. On several occasions they had tried to make Him a king (John 6:15). Mark 12:37 says of them, “The common people heard Him gladly.” The Galileans were “the common people.”

In the city of Jerusalem were the wealthy and superficially religious leaders. Jesus had antagonized them by referring to the “scribes and Pharisees” as “hypocrites” (Matt. 23). Also among them were the Sadducees who had long been plotting His downfall. In order to preserve their wealth and lifestyle, they had consorted with the conquering Romans and compromised their faith. They had much to lose if they displeased their Roman overlords. These man-pleasing priests and scribes plotted their nefarious death scheme. The poorer Galileans had nothing to lose. The city dwellers would do anything to placate the Romans in order to continue to prosper.

To them the issue was “the economy stupid.” In their eyes Jesus was an expendable. Besides, in the eyes of the religious leaders He was a threat to religious tradition, not the Messiah.

Notice that in verse 9 there were two groups. “Those that went before” were persons who had come out of Jerusalem because of their curiosity as a result of all the shouting. “Those who followed” and “cried out” were the Galileans.

Our distance from the event causes us to merge the two crowds into one and assume it was the same people who shouted “Hosanna” that also cried “crucify Him.”

It was the jubilant Galileans who shouted “Hosanna” and the aristocratic, superficially religious ingrates of Jerusalem who wanted to appease the Romans who cried “crucify Him.”

With which crowd do your actions suggest you would have related? Do you daily put Him to an open shame or is your lifestyle a praise of Him, resulting in people praising Him?

I. THE PROVISIONS FOR HIS COMING
A. TIME. Timing is critical to everything we do. Doing the right thing at the right time is important. Don’t grow weary and become discouraged in waiting for God’s timing in your life. His clock is never wrong. He is a clock watcher, as this event illustrates. Therefore, we need not be.

Passover was a celebration commemorating the deliverance of the Jews from Egyptian captivity. It always occurred on the 15th of the Jewish month of Nisan. That’s about mid-April for us. All who lived within 20 miles of Jerusalem were required to attend. Actually, Jews from all over the world gladly gathered for this major happening. As excitement mounts with the approach of our holidays, so an air of exhilaration preceded Passover. Extensive preparation preceded it. Roads were repaired, tombs were whitewashed, and children were rehearsed in the significance of the event. The prophet Daniel foretold when this momentous event would occur. In Daniel 9: 24 – 26 he said it would be 173,880 days until it happened.

Jesus went to Bethany six days before Passover (John 12:1) and entered Jerusalem the next day, April 6, 32. That was precisely 173,880 days from the time of Daniel’s prophecy. In this act, the Father was further validating Jesus as the Messiah.

This may have seemed to have been an impromptu happening, but it had been scheduled in eternity 173,880 days in advance.

He was also dramatizing for us the fact that He keeps His word and always performs on time.

Incidentally, prophecy said Messiah was to come before the destruction of the temple. The temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. With it all the records showing family ancestry perished.

Prophetically it was written Messiah would be a descendent of Abraham (Genesis 12:3), Isaac (Genesis 17:19), and Jacob (Numbers 24: 17). It was written He would be from the Tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10), and heir to the throne of David (Isa. 9:7). Birth records of and title deeds were kept in the temple. When it burned the records were lost. Thereafter there has been no way to validate these family tree coordinates.

Two unanswerable questions confront those who doubt His Messiahship. If He were not the Messiah who was? If He were not, how can anyone since the destruction of the family ancestral trees were destroyed, prove from which tribe they descended?

God the Father wanted God the Son to be well identified on His visit to earth.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the world famous fictitious detective, Sherlock Holmes, tells this story on himself and his identity. As he tells it he was waiting for a taxi outside the railway station in Paris. An accommodating taxi driver drove up, put his suitcase in and got in himself. As he was about to tell the taxi driver where to go the driver said, “Where can I take you Mr. Doyle?”

Doyle was astounded. He asked the driver if he recognized him by sight. The driver said, “No sir, I have never seen you.”

Puzzled Doyle asked how the driver knew he was Conan Doyle. The driver responded, “This morning’s paper had a story that you were on vacation in Marseilles. This is the taxi-stand where people who return from Marseilles always wait. Your skin color tells me you were on vacation. The ink-spot on your right index finger suggests to me that you are a writer. Your clothing is English, not French. Adding up all those pieces of information, I deduce that you are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.”

Doyle exclaimed, “This is truly amazing. You are a real-life counter-part to my fictional character, Sherlock Holmes.”
“There is one other thing,” the driver said.
“What’s that?” Doyle asked.
“Your name is on the front of your suitcase.”

Messiah was identified in even greater detail.

B. MATERIALS. In any project it is important to have the right resources, the proper materials.

Jesus needed a couple of donkeys. Centuries earlier the prophet Zechariah (9:9) said Messiah would enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey.

All those along the route He was to ride had learned in infancy and repeated often the prophet. As they beheld Him riding the words would have reverberated in their thoughts:

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).

Jesus knew where the resources He needed were. One was in the possession of one of His unidentified disciples. He not only had twelve apostles but many disciples, and the owner of the donkey was one. A disciple is a learner or follower. Every Christian is in reality a disciple. Today every true follower of the Lord and supporter of His cause is needed. Our Lord has need of us to pray, study, give guidance, and financially support His cause. These things we should do willingly, eagerly, spontaneously and without thought of acclaim or promotion.

Though He had the authority to command it, He gave the opportunity to refuse its use.

He had the integrity to make His request through His disciples.

He had the honesty and justice to return it.

Are you withholding what the Master needs? Are some of the resources needed by His church being held by you?

Through the ages there have been those who have delighted to serve a meaningful though menial role in His kingdom. He has always had those of us who delight to be the equivalent of His donkey, that is, the means by which He achieves His purpose.

When our beloved Lord needed someone to reform the medieval church from its petrified dignity He chose the rough unpolished son of a miner, Martin Luther. When He needed a donkey to arouse the orthodox church of England He called from behind the bar of the Bell Inn in Gloucester, George Whitfield. When He needed a hard-hitting, free-swinging evangelist at the turn of the century to shatter the formalism engulfing American Christianity He called a drunkard from Cartersville, Georgia named Sam Jones to be His donkey. They would all be proud to be likened to the beast of burden that bore Jesus into Jerusalem that day. When God needed a donkey to pastor this great church He graciously chose a country kid named Nelson Price.

II. THE PURPOSE FOR HIS COMING
A. He came to CLEANSE. In 175 B.C. Anticus Epiphanes conquered Jerusalem. He sacrificed swine on the holy altar and turned the sacred temple into a brothel. Anticus whose other name “Ephiphanes” means “the Manifest God,” not only had an ego problem, he had a spiritual problem. Three years later Judah Maccabee recaptured Jerusalem and physically cleansed the temple. Now Christ came to the temple to cleanse it spiritually from hypocritical defilement. That is what He wants to do in our lives. A spiritual cleansing is a joyous thing inherent with unimaginable blessings.

B. He came to FORGIVE. He was called “king” and “Lord.”

The Greek word for “Lord” is KURIOS. It was used in various ways. In which of these prominent ways is it used by you?

1. It was used as a title of respect like our Southern use of the words “Sir” or “Ma’am.”
2. It was used of one who is in charge. Luke refers to an individual who was the “lord of the vineyard,” meaning He was the master in charge of the vineyard.
3. It was used of deity. The Romans mistakenly thought Caesar was divine and called him Kurios Caesar. Is He the one you respect who has authority over you as your divine God?

C. He came to IDENTIFY with His followers. It was now time to bring to a climax His reason for coming to earth.

III. THE PERCEPTION OF HIS COMING
He who could have ridden the wind rode a donkey. He who could have summonsed the Seraphim chose a donkey.

Scripture says, “All things were created by Him…” Yet, He borrowed a donkey. “The earth is the Lord’s,” but He borrowed a donkey. Involved was – –

A. DONKEY. Jesus didn’t come riding a high spirited war steed or prancing white stallion, but on a colt, an animal associated with peace. They were ridden by judges.

B. CLOAK. Symbolized His kingship.

C. PALMS. Matthew, Mark and John each use a different word for “branches.” Matthew speaks of young branches or shoots. Mark refers to a mass of straw. John speaks of palm branches. Each was right. All three were used. Each writer simply mentions the one that stood out to him. This simply shows there was no collaboration or duplicity in their writing. Each wrote from his own viewpoint. Such was the response of the people when Judah Maccabee liberated the city. This confirmed Christ as Liberator.

D. HOSANNA. Pilgrims today follow Christ’s route from Bethany to Jerusalem. As Christ’s climactic moment arrived, He and His entourage mounted the crest of the Mount of Olives where suddenly the vista of the Holy City bursts into panoramic view.

The Jewish historian Josephus wrote of what He looked upon: “The outward face of the Temple in its front wanted nothing that was likely to surprise either men’s minds or their eyes; for it was covered all over with plates of gold of great weight, and, at the first rising of the sun, reflect back a very fiery splendor, and made those who forced themselves to look upon it to turn away their eyes, just as they would have done at the sun’s own rays.”

The exuberant and impetuous crowd of common people on the Mount of Olives shouted, “Hosanna,” meaning “Let even the angels in the highest heights of heaven cry unto God, save now!” (Matthew. 21:9).

In that shouting crowd were persons who owed Him gratitude for their restored sight, straight limbs, clear sane reasoning, and healed bodies; even one named Lazarus, his life restored from the grave. We like them are indebted to Him.

IV. THE POPULARITY OF HIS COMING
As Jesus descended from the Mount of Olives into the Kedron Valley and started His approach through the Eastern Gate of Jerusalem, there He encountered the hostile crowd intent on appeasing the Romans who would shout “Crucify Him!”

With which crowd do you identify? I don’t mean which in your more spiritual moments do you profess to identify with. In reality with which crowd does your lifestyle more closely identify. Consider the various reactions and mark yours. Some – – –

A. Wanted to use Him. The Zealots wanted Him to be their military liberator.

B. Wanted to ignore Him. The Romans felt superior to this lowly Nazarene whom they sought to ignore.

C. Wanted to obey Him. The owner of the donkey eagerly wanted to obey.

D. Wanted to worship Him. They knew He had resurrected Lazarus (John 12: 17,18).

The eventful morning of His entry into Jerusalem was a Sunday. On this day will you allow Him to enter your heart in triumph? He comes in only by special invitation.

The crowd reaction of that day is not so different from the various responses of today. John Mark in his gospel makes an interesting observation regarding Christ’s immediate followers:

“Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid…” (Mark 10:32).

When Jesus goes before you there is no need to be afraid.

They were not intimidated by their fear, they followed. Courage isn’t not having any fear. It is doing what you know is right in spite of your fear.

Is fear in any form holding you back in your response to Christ? If so, show faith in Him and express courage by reacting with the crowd that shouted “Hosanna.”

Following Christ involves courage, heroism, enthusiasm, power, glory, and peace. Palm Sunday is a living out of Christianity.

Bring Back the Lifeboats 8/15/99

Luke 10:1, 2

Jesus Christ said, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Luke 10:2).

He later said, “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” (John 4:35).

Jesus Christ spoke of souls as being like a crop ready to be harvested. When a crop is ready to harvest it has to be harvested then or it is lost. The window of opportunity is well defined. There is a limited time in which to act.

Christ’s appeal is to avoid letting opportunity pass you by.

Have you ever heard of the novel “Futility,” by Morgan Robertson? It is the story of the sinking of the ocean liner the Titan that sinks because of hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.

Perhaps you are thinking I miss spoke when I said the Titan and meant to say the Titanic. I didn’t!

The Titan was 1,800 feet long, the Titanic, 1882 feet.

The Titan displaced 66,000 tons of water, the Titanic 70,000. Amazingly similar.

Both ships were triple-screw ocean liners that could travel up to 25 knots per hour and transport 3,000 passengers.

Perhaps you are wondering why Robertson wrote a novel so nearly like the real life event. The thing that makes this story so intriguing is that the Titanic sank on April 14, 1912. The story of the Titan was published in 1898, fourteen years before the Titanic sank.

It is amazing to think that a story written a decade in advance could so nearly forecast the real event. What is even more engaging is the idea that Bible prophecy written so long in advance can be so exact. When the Bible speaks it speaks truth. When Jesus spoke of there needing to be laborers sent into the harvest He knew the need and asserted our responsibility.

America is rapidly becoming a pagan nation. Before being offended look up the definition of “pagan” and then look around at our society. “The American College Dictionary” defines pagan in the following ways: “a people or community professing some other than the Christian religion.”

Even if you drop down to the second definition pagan still fits America. The second definition is: “one who is not a Christian, Jew, or Mohammedan.”

Drive through our own lovely community on a Sunday morning between 11:00 AM and noon and note the numbers of person not participating in religious worship.

In our wonderful community 67% of the people are unchurched. That is, they do not have a local church where they are a member.

When Christ said the field is white unto harvest he meant the crop is ripe and if not harvested it will spoil.

When a pagan nation turns its back on God it turns back to the gods of decadence. Some of these gods are humanism, secularism, and materialism. These three are flourishing.

All the time churches have the potential of reaching the lost for Christ. The salt is too often kept in the shaker and the light on an immovable lamp stand. My prayer is:
Set us afire Lord I pray,
While the world perishes,
We go our way purposely, passionless, day by day.
Set us afire Lord, stir us I pray.

In an interview this week with a reporter from “The Wall Street Journal” we discussed the many undertakings of modern churches. In conclusion I commented the primary role of the church is to propagate spiritual truths. The church is the only organization founded by Christ who commissioned it to “Go … tell.” Because of a failure to fulfill this role by members of many churches our society is sick and souls lost.

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). That was His mission, that is our assignment.

The Biblical record of those He saved is a grouping of the most unlikely prospects. Abraham a liar. Jacob a cheat. David an adulterer. Rahab a harlot. Peter a coward. Joseph of Aramethea a religious bigot. All, like each of us, unlikely converts.

The time for response is now. A man retired after 40 years on a job that required him to catch a bus at 7:30 AM. The first morning after retirement his wife served him eggs as usual. He said, “Honey, I don’t like eggs this way!’ “But,” she said, “I have served you eggs this way for 40 years. Why didn’t you tell me?” His reply, “I never had time.” Take time and make your commitment. Accept His offer of a spiritual rescue.

Jesus said, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

That is a mandate He placed upon the church. We are in the spiritual rescue business.

Millions have been captivated by the story of paternal neglect and an adulterous affair called Titanic. The movie captured the imagination and revived interest in this needless tragedy. The real life saga was even more intriguing than the story imagined in the film.

A trade magazine of the time, “The Shipbuilder,” labeled the Titanic “practically unsinkable.” On May 31, 1911, and employee of the White Star Shipbuilding Company said, “Not even God Himself could sink this ship.”

At the time of her launch the Titanic was the world’s largest movable man-made object.

The story of the sinking of the Titanic has striking parallel to the spiritual condition and pending circumstances of many people.

John Phillips was the radio operator on duty that April night. A nearby ship the Californian sent six radio messages to the Titanic warning of icebergs in her path. After the sixth warning he told the messenger from the Californian to “shut up.” Though warned the crew of the Titanic refused to change their course. Survivors say as Phillips faced death his arrogance disappeared and he was heard screaming,

“God forgive me … God forgive me!”

We Christians have heard the Bible lovingly warn of pending spiritual doom awaiting those not heeding its warning. Dare we neglect the loving warning to repent. Dare we refuse to change course spiritually.

Emotionally enter into that event with me. At 11:40 PM, April 14, 1912, a giant iceberg scraped the starboard side of the ship, showered ice on the deck, and ripped open six water-tight compartments. Even then most passengers remained unconvinced the ship was about to sink.

Suddenly resentment over an inconvenience turned to disaster. Passengers realized their peril when rescue flairs were fired in the night air.

Charles Pellegrino, a survivor, said, “The water sparkled for miles around. Lifeboats could be seen on it… In that cave of man-made light, minds, too, were illuminated. Everyone understood the message of the rockets without being told.”

860 members of the crew and approximately 3,500 passengers soon knew they faced potential death.

The wealthiest man in the world, John Astor, tried unsuccessfully to force his way into a lifeboat. His wealth could not save him.

Daniel Buckley tried to disguise himself as a woman in order to get into a lifeboat. His costume failed him and he perished.

Mrs. Isador Straus, whose husband owned Macy’s Department Store refused to leave her husband and refused to get in a lifeboat.

Bruce Ismay, part owner of the Titanic and the man responsible for putting lifeboats on the ship crawled into a lifeboat leaving women and children to drown.

Above the scrams and shouts of the panicky crowd could be heard the voice of John Harper shouting, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Many of the 1,522 men, women, and children left on board screamed their way toward awesome silence.

Amid the confusion most lifeboats pulled away from the sinking ship only partially filled as others struggled to survive. Over the speaker system could be heard the voice of the captain pleading, “Bring back the lifeboats!” They didn’t.

Today many are in no less peril spiritually than those passengers were physically. The job of the church is that of the lifeboats. Those in the lifeboat, the true church of Christ, are safe. Friends without Christ are spiritually perishing.

Circumstances give the impression those safe in the lifeboat appear satisfied and reluctant to rescue others.

Today the message to the church on behalf of the lost in society is, “Bring back the lifeboats.” It is an appeal to get involved in saving souls. The rescue mission of the church is to engage in soul winning.

The story of Christ’s saving grace is simple and illustrated many ways.

Our prosperous economy and highly entertaining society seems to provide security affording as much comfort as that professed by the makers of the Titanic. Never has the message of salvation been more available and ignored. The response is often the same as that of the radio operator on the Titanic, “Shut up!”

There is a double grief illustrated by the Titanic.

One, there were those on board who thought the ship to be unsinkable and therefore ignored the alarm warnings. They had a false trust. Some today think things will always be as good as they are now. A false sense of security exists in our society as many trust in materialism and secularism for security.

On the Titanic that night seven bells marked the hour of 11:30 P.M. as the newest, largest, and most luxurious ocean liner of all times plowed its way from Southampton to New York. Earlier in the evening a communication had come into the Marconi shack from the S.S. Mesaba up ahead: “Saw heavy pack ice and a great number of large icebergs. Also field ice.” The wireless operator on the Titanic was so busy that he shoved the message under a paperweight and their it remained unheeded.

The false sense of security of those on board, typical of those today who trust in material goods, is mirrored by the conduct of Charlotte Cardeza, Philadelphia banking millionairess. She and her maid, valet, 14 trunks, 4 suitcases, and three crates of minor luggage were comfortable in their $25,600 three-room suite when they felt the impact. They ignored the danger in light of their opulent quarters and perished. They failed to heed the warnings. Theirs was a false sense of security.

Days after the disaster the body of John Astor was recovered. In the pocket of the wealthiest man in the world was $4,250 cash. Trust in riches did not save him physically, nor will it save us spiritually.

Second, is the heartbreak found in the indifference of many in the lifeboats who are reluctant to attempt to rescue others. I want to appeal to this church, “Bring back the lifeboats.”

Archibald Gracie remembers the night this way: “The wails and groans of the suffering, the shrieks of the terror-stricken, the awful gasping for breath of those in the throes of drowning —– none of us will forget to our dying day.” Dare we ignore the signs of those spiritually perishing and not bring back the lifeboats. Collectively, let’s dedicate ourselves to the rescue mission at hand.

At 2:20 A.M. the Titanic began her slow descent to the ocean floor. The icy waters of the North Atlantic, in the dark of night, swallowed the ship as souls perished while those who could have saved many relished their own safety refusing to bring back the lifeboats. May it not be true of us.

Back in Southampton, England friends and family members awaited news from the reported sinking. Outside the offices of the White Star Steamship Company was posted a sign reporting on passengers. There were two columns headed: “Saved” and “Lost.” Every person’s name appeared under one or the other. In heaven there will be only two lists, no optional ones, only two: SAVED and LOST. Under which heading is yours presently?

Living in an agricultural society Jesus used familiar terms to describe the two groups: “And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25: 33, 34).

He continued, “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:” (Matthew 25:41).

In which group are you?