“For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall never depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed,” saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.
[1] When all of my plans fail around me,
and when all of my schemes are falling through…
when my fondest ambitions all go unfulfilled,
and my dreams all refuse to come true…
when my questions all hang without answers,
and a babe can my logic refute…
when my anchors give way, and my props throw me down,
LORD, YOUR LOVE IS MY ONE ABSOLUTE!
“For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed,
but My kindness shall never depart from thee;
neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed,”
saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee!
[2] For Your love never had a beginning
and will always endure without end;
never soul ever had a truer Lover,
and no one ever had a better Friend.
Then You poured out Your love on Mount Calvary,
your devotion no one can dispute.
When my soul stands in doubt of what the world’s all about –
THEN, LORD, YOUR LOVE IS MY ONE ABSOLUTE!
“For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed,
but My kindness shall never depart from thee;
neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed,”
saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee!
[3] Your sweet Love never comes with conditions,
You loved me when I was Your enemy.
I had turned You away without worship or praise,
but, in Love, You had first chosen me!
Now, in Christ, Heaven’s Love I inherit,
and no genius His worth can compute –
and when, for all I have strayed, You should cast me away,
STILL, LORD, YOUR LOVE IS MY ONE ABSOLUTE!
“For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed,
but My kindness shall never depart from thee;
neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed,”
Luke 23.32-43 | “Father, FORGIVE THEM!” | Being forgiven…and forgiving
The name Victoria Ruvolo probably won’t mean anything to you, but in Suffolk County NY, she has become the model and minister of FORGIVENESS.
Late one evening in November 2004, she was on her way home – just one block away from her own home – when a 20-lb frozen turkey came crashing through her windshield.
Some teenagers had stolen a credit card – and one of the items they bought with the credit card was a 20-lb frozen turkey. They thought it would be a fun prank to throw it through someone’s windshield. So, one of them, a young man by the name of Ryan Cushing, heaved it out of the car window as they were passing her.
The weight and force of the impact bent her steering wheel and then smashed her full in the face. It pulverized all the bones in her face and nearly killed her.
She didn’t wake up for more than a month. She remained in a medically-induced coma while they completely re-constructed her face with titanium plates – and multiple surgeries after that.
When the time came for Ryan’s trial, Victoria had had a change of heart. She wanted to forgive Ryan.
She asked for permission to meet with him – said she just wanted to find out who he was. She said she found out he was just a kid – he was not an ogre or monster.
He had just been out on a stupid prank and it went horribly wrong.
Ryan could have faced 25 years. Victoria lobbied with the district attorney to cut a plea deal – give him the minimum amount of time in jail. Ryan pled guilty to the crime, and Victoria pleaded with the judge to go light on him. Ryan got six months in jail and five years probation.
She said she wanted to forgive him and publicly hugged him at his sentencing – and said she wanted him to make something good out of the rest of his life.
She went on to write a book, published in 2011. She titled it No Room for Vengeance and talks about the power of forgiveness.
She still goes once a month to the County Prosecutor’s office for probation meetings and gives talks and counsels teens and young adults to reform their lives – and gives her testimony about FORGIVENESS.
And her compassion and willingness to forgive Ryan has inspired and influenced many to get over their bitterness and forgive those who have violated them. And not seek for payback and revenge.
She has even learned to laugh about her painful experiences. She came to be known as “The Turkey Lady.” So, she laughs and says, “Well, at least it was a turkey and not a ham. I could have been ‘Miss Piggy!’ ”
********************
I want to probe your conscience right now with two questions about forgiveness:
[1] What is the worst wrong that has ever been done to you or committed against you?
What is the most painful injury that you have suffered that made forgiveness most difficult for you?
[2] What is the worst wrong you have every committed?
Out of all the regrets that haunt you and plague you, what is the regret that haunts you the most?
You may even know that you have been forgiven for that wrong you have committed, but it still plagues you and haunts your memories?
********************
I was counseling with a member of our church just a few weeks ago, and we were talking about forgiveness – and how we can know we have been forgiven. We were rejoicing that we can be forgiven.
But, we both shared with each other how both of us are regretful and still haunted by the memories of our past sins.
We talked about the freeness, and the absoluteness, and the completeness of God’s forgiveness, but we are still plagued by the memories and regrets of those sins and violations we have committed.
********************
I have Good News from THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST for everyone of us who would like to have assurance that we have been forgiven.
I’m going to open up this message about FORGIVENESS from the Cross of Jesus Christ here – to make two life-lessons on FORGIVENESS AND FORGIVING
[1] FORGIVENESS – HOW CAN WE BE FORGIVEN OF ALL OUR SINS?
“Father, FORGIVE THEM!”
[2] FORGIVING – HOW CAN WE FORGIVE ALL THE WRONGS DONE AGAINST US AND ALL THE INJURIES THAT MAY HAVE BEEN INFLICTED UPON US?
Colossians 3.13 – “As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive”
1 – CHRIST’S FIRST MESSAGE ON FORGIVENESS FROM HIS CROSS – HOW CAN WE BE FORGIVEN OF ALL OUR SINS?
Remember that question I just asked you: “What is the worst wrong you have every committed?”
I want to ask you a couple more questions to follow up on that one: [1] Do you know that you need to be forgiven of your sins? Romans 3.23 – “For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.” [2] Do you want to be forgiven of your sins? Colossians 2.13 – “[God has] forgiven you all trespasses…”
WHAT IS FORGIVENESS?
Keep in mind that being ‘forgiven’ means that
you are not being held responsible or accountable for making something whole again – something you owe or something you have broken
your guilt for sinning has been removed and taken away
you are no longer guilty for committing that sin or those sins
for example: if you owe a debt, and you are forgiven for that debt, you don’t have to pay it – it is canceled – it is considered paid in full – you don’t even owe it any more – no one can charge you with it and require you to pay for it
if you have wronged someone – or God – and they forgive you, that means that your relationship has been restored and made whole again – you were in debt to them for some violation – but you don’t have to ‘pay them back’ any more
if someone has wronged you or violated you, and you have truly forgiven that person, he/she doesn’t have to ‘pay you back’
Here is what Jesus is praying even as they are nailing Him to His Cross: verse 34 – “And Jesus was saying, “Father, FORGIVE THEM!…Father, FORGIVE THEM!…Father, FORGIVEN THEM!”
The reason I am repeating “Father, FORGIVE THEM!” is because Jesus was repeating it. He didn’t ask the Father just one time to forgive them for what they were doing.
I know it says here in our English text “And Jesus said…”Father, FORGIVE THEM!” – but if we could read this verb the way it is written here, it would be: “And Jesus was saying…“Father, FORGIVE THEM!”
In other words, He was saying“Father, FORGIVE THEM!”over and over again. It was an action being repeated.
********************
LISTEN TO HIS PLEA FOR FORGIVENESS!
WHAT IS JESUS ASKING THE FATHER TO FORGIVE THEM FOR? “Father, forgive them for they really don’t understand what they are doing.”
SO, WHAT WERE THEY DOING? – THEY WERE CRUCIFYING HIM!
Not just putting Him to death, but they were killing Him and putting Him to death ON A CROSS!
Read it again – verse 33 – And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
And so, all the while – all throughout the torturous experiences of BEING CRUCIFIED, Jesus was praying to the Father: “Father, FORGIVE THEM!…Father, FORGIVE THEM!…Father, FORGIVE THEM!”
He prayed “FATHER, FORGIVE THEM…FOR CRUCIFYING ME!” – repeatedly, even as they were doing everything they were doing to Him while crucifying Him!
So, here is just a little of what they were doing to Jesus – and what He was praying that the Father would forgive them for!
He has already been up all night since He was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane last night
He has already endured over 14 hours of beatings and physical abuse – without sleep or rest – without food or water
they have dragged Him from one place to another all over Jerusalem throughout the night for six mock hearings and trials
they have not only verbally mocked Him – but they have beaten Him without mercy with their fists and wooden sticks or canes
they have already mocked His Kingship with a crown of thorns – and have beaten the spikes of the thorns into His skull with their wooden canes
they have tied Him to a post and have scourged Him with whips [later came to be known as “cat-o-nine-tails”] that had shards of glass and metal braided into the multiple strands of leather – until they had literally shredded the flesh and tissue on His back and sides – until they had even exposed His internal organs [Psalm 129.3 – “The plowers plowed upon My back; they made their furrows long!”]
He is losing blood and going into shock
and then, at daybreak, they prepare the procession through the city to march Him to the place of crucifixion – called Calvary/Golgotha/”The Skull”
around 9am, they arrive at Calvary
they strip Him naked – to humiliate Him, and expose Him to shame and indecency – “Father, FORGIVE THEM!”
He has carried His crossbeam on His own back until He had been overcome by exhaustion – they had conscripted a man named Simon to carry it the rest of the way to Calvary
they jerk Him backward and throw Him to the ground onto the crossbeam – “Father, FORGIVE THEM!”
they grab His arms and stretch Him out on the crossbeam – “Father, FORGIVE THEM!”
they search for the soft spots on His wrists between the bones and the arteries [He knows what is coming…] – “Father, FORGIVE THEM!”
the soldiers assigned to His execution take the spike-nails they have brought with them, and they pound the nails through His wrists to impale Him to the crossbeam – “Father, FORGIVE THEM!”
after they have impaled His arms to the crossbeam, they then place His feet one over the other and drive the spike-nails into His feet – “Father, FORGIVE THEM!”
then they raise the cross and drop it into the hole they have dug to stand it in – and His flesh begins to tear and rip apart – “Father, FORGIVE THEM!”
all the while, every nerve in His whole body is screaming with the pain, the cramps, and the dehydration of His body – “Father, FORGIVE THEM!”
and with every other act of torture and abuse, Jesus keeps praying to the Father: “Father, FORGIVE THEM!”
We really can’t do justice to even begin to describe just His physical agonies and pain…but over and over, Jesus keeps crying out – not for His own deliverance from the horrors and tortures of His own crucifixion [He had settled that last night in Gethsemane] – but He is praying to the Father for their deliverance…from the guilt of the sins they are committing against Him! “Father, FORGIVE THEM!”
And then, with utter disregard for Who He is or what they are doing to Him – they take the clothes they had stripped off of Him and begin to gamble for which one of them would get which few articles of clothing He had worn – “Father, FORGIVE THEM!”
This is just a little of what Jesus was praying that the Father would forgive them for!
********************
BUT, WAIT! – WHY IS HE PRAYING TO THE FATHER TO FORGIVE THEM? WHY DOESN’T HE JUST FORGIVE THEM HIMSELF?
You will remember that during His own lifetime, Jesus Himself had forgiven the sins of many sinners!
Luke 5.20 – “Son, your sins are forgiven you!”
Luke 7.48 – “Your sins [which are many] are forgiven!”
John 8.11 – “Neither do I condemn you [“I forgive you!”] – go and sin no more!”
But, here, He prays to the Father to forgive them! – WHY?
The reason Jesus is praying to the Father to forgive them is because:
[1] He knew the Father would forgive them because He knew this is the very reason why the Father had sent Him into our world…to die this very death He is dying – so the Father could forgive us and reconcile us back to Himself!
Of course, the Father would forgive them!
[2] Another reason He is praying to the Father to forgive them is because Jesus Himself is taking the place of these sinners – AND US!
Jesus is praying to the Father to not only forgive them – but also to forgive US of all our sins!
THE FORGIVE-ER IS NOW TAKING THE PLACE OF THE SIN-NER!
Jesus was sinless! Jesus Himself is God, the Son! Jesus had never sinned! Jesus had never committed even one sin!
But, He was dying there…this way…because He Himself was taking the blame and being punished for all of OUR sins!
Isaiah 53.4-6 – Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement [punishment] that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
God, the Father, made Him, God-the Son, to become sin for us! God, the Father, was charging all the blame and all the guilt of all our sins on His Son, Jesus Christ! – so WE can be forgiven of ALL our sins! [2 Corinthians 5.17-21]
********************
BUT, NOT ONLY LISTEN TO HIS PLEA FOR OUR FORGIVENESS – BUT ALSO LOOK AT THAT PLACARD OVER HIS HEAD!
They had written a placard and nailed it to His Cross over His head. verse 38 – “And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: ‘This is the king of the Jews’.”
That was the custom. When a criminal was executed, they would publish his crimes and indictments on a placard and nail it to his cross, so everybody could know what their crimes were. The other two criminals who were crucified with Christ also had placards. Theirs might have read their crimes like: “MURDER – ROBBERY – INSURRECTION – INCITING RIOTS” or whatever other capital crimes they may have committed.
But, Jesus had committed no crimes worthy of death. Even Pilate had protested to the Jewish leaders: “Why should I crucify Him? I find no death-worthy fault in Him!”
But the Jewish leaders had persuaded the Roman authorities that this Jesus of Nazareth had proclaimed Himself to be the King of the Jews – and therefore, He was committing and inciting TREASON against the Roman Caesar – which, of course, was a capital offense.
So, His only crime they could accuse Him of committing was “This is Jesus of Nazareth – King of the Jews!”
********************
But, what was really on that placard were YOUR sins – and MY sins!
Jesus was dying under the charge of all OUR sins! Jesus was being punished with death because of all OUR sins!
And so – you can be forgiven because Jesus was being punished for the sins you and I have committed against Him and the Father!
Here’s what the apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 2.13-14: And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, HAVING FORGIVEN US ALL OUR TRESPASSES, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross.
Jesus died on His Cross to be punished for the sins we have committed! And, when He died, He was canceling [forgiving] all the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands…and He set it aside – He canceled it – He paid it in full! He took all our sins and put them away – He paid for them all.
And so, God’s grand and resounding verdict is: “HAVING FORGIVEN US ALL OUR TRESPASSES!”
So, right now, think of all the sins you have committed against the Holiness and the Love of God – I know you can’t even remember or think about them all [but God knows them all!] – but GOD FORGIVES ALL OUR TRESPASSES!
Yes, you – ALL YOUR TRESPASSES!
Yes – even that sin!
Yes – even all those sins!
All of our sins were blamed to Jesus – and all our trespasses were nailed to the Cross in Jesus Christ as He died there for us!
YOU CAN BE FORGIVEN OF ALL YOUR TRESPASSES!
And so, I ask you again: do you know that you need to be forgiven? Do you want to be forgiven of all your sins!
You can be forgiven of all your sins – because Jesus Christ died on His Cross under the charges and the blame of all the sins we have committed!
-____________________-
II – and now, JESUS’ SECOND MESSAGE ON FORGIVENESS FROM HIS CROSS – HOW CAN WE FORGIVE ALL THE WRONGS DONE AGAINST US AND ALL THE INJURIES THAT MAY HAVE BEEN INFLICTED UPON US?
That was the other question I asked you at the beginning of this story: to think of the most painful wrong you have ever suffered from someone else – the deepest pain anyone else may have inflicted upon you…
WE MUST FORGIVE! WE CAN FORGIVE!
“But,” you say, “I can’t forgive that! I won’t forgive that!”
Jesus Himself commanded us to pray this very same prayer He Himself is praying – and to pray it like He Himself is praying it! We must do that!
Jesus taught and commanded us in Matthew 6.12 – “Pray like this…forgive us our trespasses…as we forgive those who trespass against us!”
And then He went on to say [Matthew 6.14-15]: For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
So easy to say – so easy to recite – so hard to do! But, we must do that!
Here, again, is what the apostle Paul taught the church at Colosse – and all of us churches – how and why we should forgive one another: [Colossians 3.12-13] Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
And, again, in Ephesians 4.31-32 – Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
We must forgive one another – and we can forgive one another – because God has forgiven us in the Cross of Christ.
If we are Christians – if we are followers of Jesus Christ – if we are saved and forgiven of our sins – if we are raised with Christ in new life – then CHRIST HIMSELF LIVES IN US AND PRAYS IN US!
And this is what He continues to pray: “Father, FORGIVE THEM!”
And by the power of the new birth – and the very Holy Spirit of Christ Himself who lives in us when we are born again through faith in Him – we can forgive any and all wrongs that are done against us by the same Grace and Love that has forgiven us!
No other person has ever done anything against us that even comes close to what everyone of us has done to God – and to Jesus Christ!
Remember: it was my sin – and your sin – that nailed Jesus Christ to His Cross!
And, all of those sins that you and I have been reviewing – that you have been remembering – that still haunt you and torment your memories – Christ died to be punished by the wrath of God in your place – JESUS PAID IT ALL!
Remember these words: “HAVING FORGIVEN US ALL OUR TRESPASSES!”
28 May 2017 | The Lord’s Day AM | Thompson Road Baptist Church
Philippians 1.1-11 | I thank my God in all my remembrance of you
[TRBC Resignation Message]
Philippians 1.1-11
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now.
6 And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
-______________________________-
I think it is probably safe to say that out of all the scores of churches that the apostle Paul either personally gathered and founded himself – or else nurtured and ministered to – no church was nearer and dearer to his heart, or more beloved to him than this church in Philippi
He loved all the churches, but he probably used terms of endearment when he addressed this Philippian church that he didn’t use to address any other church.
We just read some of them:
verse 7 – It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart
verse 8 – For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus
And so, please allow me to borrow and echo some of Paul’s words and sentiments here to express my own feelings and commitments to you all this morning.
I won’t be but a few minutes – but I want to use three of Paul’s anchor statements here to speak for myself also:
#1 verse 3 – [Paul said…] I thank my God in all my remembrance of you…
[I say…] I WILL REMEMBER YOU – AND THANK MY GOD FOR THE MEMORIES
#2 verses 7-8 – [Paul said…] It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart…For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
[I say…] I LOVE YOU
#3 verse 9 – [Paul said…] And it is my prayer…
[I say…] I PRAY FOR YOU…AND WILL PRAY FOR YOU
-______________________________-
1
verse 3 – [Paul said…] I thank my God in all my remembrance of you…
[I say…] I WILL REMEMBER YOU – & THANK MY GOD FOR THE MEMORIES
Note that he doesn’t even say “I thank YOU for the memories…” [i.e., referring to the Philippians themselves]. He does thank them for the memories – because he had made the memories with them. They had created and experienced the memories together by their personal interactions with each other.
But, he says, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you”
The reason he says it this way is because Paul recognized that he had God to thank:
that he even knew them at all
and that he had any relationship with them at all
and for all the memorable experiences they had shared together
Of course, every church relationship is a God-thing. Only God can gather a church and create a church body. The church is the very body of Jesus Christ – a human physical incarnational Presence of Jesus Christ. Paul tells the Philippian church that they are a church “in Christ Jesus”: verse 1 – “To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi…”
And so, we are NOT just a gathering or society of mutual friends.
We are NOT, first of all, just friends with each other – we are first of all friends with Christ [John 15.12-17].
We are NOT, first of all, partners with just each other here in the church – we are first of all partners with Christ [1 Corinthians 3.5-9ff.].
But, just think about this church at Philippi. Just remember from Acts, chapter 16, how this church came to be. This church was an “uh-oh” church – [as far as human intention and planning had to do with it]. Paul and his missionary partners had not planned to establish this church in their own purposes and vision.
Paul and his missionary team had no intentions of being in southern eastern Europe [where Philippi is]. They were trying to go back into Asia Minor when the Holy Spirit just stopped them cold and re-directed them across the Aegean Sea into Macedonia and on to Philippi [Acts 16.6-10].
And then, if you will remember, when they got to Philippi, there was no Gospel presence in that Roman colony.
But there were three episodes of “God-things” that got that church started:
God opened Lydia’s heart in a gathering of women to pray down by the river and she became a believer [verses 11-15].
God expelled a demon from a slave-girl and she became a believer [verses 16-24].
God sent an earthquake and dismantled the prison where they were being held and the jailor became a believer [verses 25-34].
No doubt these three new believers [along with others] became the founding nucleus and charter members of the church at Philippi. And they continued to befriend Paul in his ministry and travels to other places during the next ten years up to the writing of this letter.
But when Paul says “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now…” – what he is remembering most of all, and thanking God for most of all, is those first memories and experiences of how they came to know each other to begin with – and how they first became partners in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Every one of those experiences was a “God-thing” – “an act of God.”
God had brought them together through extraordinary, unexpected, unintended, and supernatural Providences. God had opened their hearts. God had bundled them together – not only in the bonds of human experiences and relationships – but more so, in the bonds of Gospel witness and the service of Jesus Christ.
And so, even now – at this very moment – as I stand here and look at you all in this room, my heart is awash with thanksgivings to God for bringing me here to this place the first time – and knitting our lives together in this body & this ministry.
Because [if I may go personal on you here] – my very first memories for which I thank my God – go back even beyond 35 years ago when Debbie and I came here to serve in this church. I go back even 10 years before that, to another February of 1972, when Pastor Hamilton asked me to come here & preach in the Youth Conference that was hosted by this church.
He picked me up at the Bluegrass Airport and brought me to their house to stay, and I first laid my eyes on their daughter, Debbie – and I was very impressed. It may not have been the fabled “love at first sight,” but I was very impressed!
She was a Phantom of delight
When first she gleamed upon my sight;
A lovely Apparition, sent
To be a moment’s ornament… [William Wordsworth, 1804]
And then four years later, we were married right here where I am standing now.
But, after that and beyond that – I thank my God for bringing us together for the past 35 years in this present relationship to serve, work, and labor together in this partnership God has created and given to us – and we have forged together in the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
And I do mean all of you – and all of those many others – who have given to us and shared with us the love, the ministry, and the God-given memories of the past 35 years.
“I will remember you…and thank my God for those memories!”
-______________________________-
2
verses 7-8 – [Paul said…] It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart…For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
[I say…] I LOVE YOU
I have already pointed out how Paul unashamedly and unabashedly expressed his passionate love for these dear people.
And, this was not just a perfunctory “OK – I have to love you, so I do.” He was real, genuine, sincere, transparent.
“I hold you in my heart…”
“I yearn for you all with the affections of Christ Jesus…”
So, just allow me to tell you again, “I LOVE YOU ALL!”
I love you for your faith
I love you for your commitment to Jesus Christ
I love you for your partnership in the ministry of the Gospel and serving Jesus Christ – just think of everything we have done together over the past 35 years
I love you for your personal friendship to me
I love you for all the expressions of your love, affection, and appreciation you have shown Debbie and me and our family over all these years
I love for all the ways you all have taken care of us in every way we have needed to be taken care of
And, our love will go on…
“God is my witness – I LOVE YOU with the affections of Christ Jesus!”
-______________________________-
3
verse 4 – [Paul said…] …always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy; and in verse 9 – [Paul said…] And it is my prayer…
[And I say…] I PRAY FOR YOU
I pray for you…everything Paul prayed for this church
I pray, first of all, that God will continue to do greater “God-things” here through the ministry of this church in these days to come
verse 6 – And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
God has begun this good work in us – has continued doing His good work in us to this day – and I am sure He will work it to completion…until the Day of Jesus Christ [whenever soon that Day will be…]
There is no one day – nor groups of days during our lifetimes and histories that tell the whole story of what God has done – is doing – and will do through us – between now and the Day of Jesus Christ.
Everyone of us – and all of us together – are on-going works in progress.
And, I will continue to pray and hope that the best days of Thompson Road Baptist Church are still ahead of you & yet to come.
The ministry of this church will continue to go on. The church has no way to go but forward. Commit yourselves to the call of God to continue to press forward. And, I pray that you will.
8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Greater things are yet to come. You should commit yourselves to your mission and vision and follow the call of Jesus Christ to reach this community and city with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1.27 (Christian Standard Bible)
Just one thing:
As citizens of Heaven, live your life worthy of the Gospel of Christ.
Then, whether I come and see you or am absent,
I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, in one accord, contending together for the faith of the Gospel…
[To announce my intentions to resign from my then-pastorate]
John 12.20-33
Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.
21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’ But for this purpose I have come to this hour.
28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine.
31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
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A PARABLE TO LEARN [a PARABLE about FOLLOWING]
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
When Jesus employs this short parable in verse 24, He is actually using it to illustrate two examples of FOLLOWING.
[1] First of all – this parable is His own personal testimony of FOLLOWING His own Father’s will and instructions to come to our earth – be planted in death in our earth by dying on His Cross – and then being raised again in resurrection to save us from our sins.
If He had just come and lived a perfectly sinless life of obedience to His Father – but had not died – He would have just remained alone in His sinlessness.
But then again, if He hadn’t been planted in the earth in death, He wouldn’t have been sinless – because His death was His supreme act of obedience in following His Father’s will.
John 10.17-18 – “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
The Father had sent Him here to us – and commanded Him – to die on the Cross as punishment for our sins.
Jesus says in verse 23, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified”
This “hour” – this event had been appointed to Him by His Father. And the time has come for Him to FOLLOW His Father’s will and wishes to His Cross.
Philippians 2.8 – He became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross
And so – He FOLLOWED the Father’s commands and will and purpose – and FOLLOWED the Father’s will all the way to the Cross.
He Himself explains this parable as it applies to His FOLLOWING: verse 27 – “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour…”
verses 32-33 – “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
And so, this grain of wheat seed that falls into the ground and dies is, first of all, Jesus Himself dying on His Cross – to bear the guilt of our sins upon Himself – to be punished for the guilt of our sins – and then to be raised again from death to show that our sins had been actually forgiven and taken away.
This “much fruit” that He bears is all of us whom He saves when we believe upon Him for the forgiveness of our sins – and the free gift of eternal life
And, He did this to FOLLOW His Father’s will and commandment.
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But, there is also another reason why Jesus employed this parable.
[2] This parable also illustrates how He is calling each of us to FOLLOW Him and give Him the service of our lives – wherever He wants to plant us to live for Him and serve Him and bear fruit for Him.
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A PRIORITY TO APPLY
He explains how we FOLLOW HIM in the very next verse, verse 25: [read verse 24 again just to set it up and connect it… Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.]
verse 25 – Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
“Whoever loves his life…”
To “love your life” means that you want to keep your life to yourself – and live it the way you want to live it. You are NOT following Jesus Christ – you are following yourself. You are NOT serving Jesus Christ – you are serving yourself.
You retain ownership of your own life. You reserve all the rights to your own life to yourself.
You don’t want to confess that Jesus is Lord – and give your life to Him to serve Him – and follow Him and obey Him in everything you do.
“Whoever loves his life loses it…”
If you insist on keeping your life for yourself – then you will lose it…you will lose your life during this lifetime – and you will lose your life forever separated from God. Your life will wasted during this lifetime, and you will be wasted for eternity.
“Whoever hates his life in this world…”
On the other hand, if you “hate your life” – that means that you don’t consider your life as belonging to you…you turn over the title and ownership of your life to Jesus Christ – to belong to Him, to obey Him, to serve Him, to please Him. You FOLLOW Jesus.
Acts 20.24 – But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God.
When you do that, Jesus promises you will keep your life to life eternal.
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A LIFE-PLAN TO FOLLOW
So, let me give you three simple rules for living a life worth living. You’ll find these three simple steps in the next verse:
1. FOLLOW JESUS
“If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me.”
To “serve” Jesus means that you confess that He is Lord – and Lord of your life, and you obey Him. You live your life at His pleasure. You read His Word – you learn His will…what pleases Him…what He wants from you and for you…you learn from Him what He commands you to do, and you do it. [Matthew 11.25-30]
And, in so doing, you FOLLOW JESUS. When you FOLLOW JESUS, you do what He commands you to do. You go where He wants you to go – Jesus gives all life assignments. We just follow…
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2. SERVE WHERE JESUS WANTS TO WORK THROUGH YOU
His next words are: “…and where I am, there will My servant be also…”
“But, wait…” you say, “I thought Jesus was everywhere!” He is.
But, when Jesus says “…and where I am, there will My servant be also…” – He means to say that He leads us and places us and assigns us to serve Him wherever He chooses to be working through us. That is how “where I am, there will My servant be also…”
Jesus can be everywhere at the same time – but we cannot. We can be in only one place at a time – so we want to be in that place wherever Jesus has led us…and we have followed Him there.
Also, we cannot do – not even one thing – on our own. We cannot do anything – except what Jesus Himself is doing through us. He tells us in John 15.5: I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
So, if we are going to do anything – it must be where He Himself is…living and working through us. And so, we just want to be where Jesus wants us to be:
so we can be doing whatever He has given us to do
so He can be working through us
to accomplish what He wants to do through us
1 Corinthians 15.10 (CSB) – But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
And so, FOLLOW JESUS to be sure you are where He wants you to be – and where He wants to be working through you to do what is pleasing to Him.
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And then, that brings us to the third step in FOLLOWING JESUS…
3. YOU WILL PLEASE THE FATHER WHEN YOU FOLLOW JESUS
Jesus gives this blessing on whoever FOLLOWS Him: “If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him”
That is strange language, isn’t it? You mean: “God, our Heavenly Father, will HONOR us when we serve Jesus?” Yes. That’s what Jesus says.
How does the Father HONOR us when we serve Jesus?
The Father honors us by BEING PLEASED WITH US – He honors us with HIS PLEASURE. The greatest honor our Heavenly Father could ever confer upon any one of us is to say to us:
“Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your Master’s joy!” [Matthew 25.23 CSB]
“You did good!”
“I’m happy with you!”
“It wasn’t perfect – but you did what I gave you to do – and you did it the best you could with the gifts I gave you to use!”
You want to please the Father, don’t you?
Nobody pleases the Father like His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 8.29 “And He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him”
Three times, the Father audibly spoke and thundered from Heaven [as here in John 12.28] and said: “This is my much-beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased – HEAR HIM [listen to Him, obey Him, serve Him, FOLLOW HIM!]” / Matthew 3.17; Mark 1.11; Luke 3.22
And so, the Son PERFECTLY pleases the Father, and everyone who follows the Son pleases the Father also.
“If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him!”
I want the Father to honor me by just giving me the assurance that He is pleased by my serving His Son, Jesus Christ – and FOLLOWING JESUS where I believe Jesus is leading me – and being where Jesus wants me to be and doing what Jesus wants me to be doing…by His working through me.
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And so, having said all this about FOLLOWING JESUS – let me give you just a word of testimony about FOLLOWING JESUS…and then I want to make an announcement about FOLLOWING JESUS…
A WORD OF TESTIMONY about FOLLOWING JESUS
Debbie and I came here to Thompson Road Baptist Church 35 years ago – the end of February, 1982. Upon our arrival that week, I preached that Sunday night, 2/28/82, from Matthew 13.1-9 ff “Sowing for Souls” to announce my intentions to devote my ministry to this church and community – to ‘sow’ and plant our lives here for the Gospel.
We believed we were following Jesus Christ to come here. And, we believed we were following Jesus here to serve Him here.
We believed that this is where Jesus wanted to live through us and work through us – and hopefully to please Him.
When we came here, we fell into this part of the earth and died – in the sense that we have given the past 35 years of our lives here…to Jesus Christ, to this church, to you, and to this community.
For whatever good or lack of good we may have done – Christ will be the judge of that. For whatever fruit – or lack of fruit – we may have borne along the way, Christ will be the judge of that also.
But, what we have done is given our lives away to anyone and everyone who either asked for it – or whom we thought needed what service we have had to give.
If we had loved our lives, we could have tried to keep more of it for ourselves. But, we haven’t…we have been willing to give it all away…and we have.
Everyone may judge the effectiveness or fruitfulness of our service according to their own perceptions – and perspectives – but those judgments don’t count – and won’t count in the end. Neither will my own perceptions and perspectives on my own service. The only evaluation that will count and stand in the end is the one Jesus Himself will give each one of us in the Last Day.
But what we would say is [in the words of Paul…] 1 Corinthians 4.1-5:
This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
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But, we believe that the time has come for us to FOLLOW JESUS somewhere else. We just believe that whatever Jesus led us here to do – and whatever we followed Him here to do – we believe that that work has been fulfilled & completed.
It is time for the church to move forward under new leadership. We are recognizing that.
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And so – I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE about FOLLOWING JESUS
I am giving the church a one-week’s notice that I will be presenting my resignation to the church next Sunday – to resign from my position as Senior Pastor. I will be asking the church to recognize and accept my resignation next Sunday morning.
I know this is sudden and abrupt – and surprising to some of you
I apologize that we haven’t been able to give everyone a personal head’s up… and advance notice.
But, I will have to make the announcement for the first time…some time – and now is that time.
Also, as much as possible, I wanted to be as fair as possible to you all and tell everyone at the same time.
This is not a sudden decision and commitment. We have arrived at this decision after many weeks and months of praying, fasting, and seeking to know where Jesus is.
Jesus says: “And where I am, there will My servant be also…” Every time an event would transpire – every time some development would occur – we would join our hands and pray and ask: “Jesus, is this You? Jesus, are You leading in this? Jesus, is this where You are going? Is this where we need to go to follow You?”
It has never been easy. It has always been unsettling. But, we are very much at peace with where we believe Jesus is – and where we believe Jesus is leading us and we are following Him.
So, next Sunday morning, I will formally present my resignation to the church body and that service will fulfill and conclude my ministry among you.
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Everyone of you needs to know that our love for every one of you – and all of you – and for Thompson Road Baptist Church – has not changed and will not change. Our mutual love will go on. And, our friendship will go on. And, our personal relationships and fellowship will go on. And not just for our lifetimes here, but for ever and ever and ever. And, as I have told you repeatedly over the past several years – “forever and ever and ever is a very, very, very long time!”
And, I will continue to pray for…and seek the blessing, favor, and approval of God upon you.
WHY WE CAN PRAY WELL WHEN WE DON’T KNOW HOW TO PRAY OR WHAT TO PRAY FOR – the Holy Spirit Himself prays through us, with us, and for us!
HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT INTERCEDES FOR US!
How many times have you read those words in Romans 8.26-28 and wondered what those “groanings which cannot be uttered” are? And, what are those “infirmities” (weaknesses)?
Here’s another quote from Timothy Keller’s book “Prayer” (pages 72-73):
“According to Paul, however, ‘Abba’ prayer is not the only kind of prayer we are given by the Spirit” (referring to his previous treatment of Romans 8.14-25). “Paul doesn’t speak merely of the Spirit of adoption but also of the Spirit as ‘intercessor’:
Romans 8.26-28: Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. And He who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
“There has been debate over the meaning of ‘the Spirit’s groans.’ Some believe this is the Spirit helping us when we are desperate and groaning, but it is unlikely that this is describing only times of depression.
“Rather, the ‘weakness’ referred to in verse 26 is the weakness described in the preceding verses, which refer not just to times of despondency, but to our entire human situation of frustrated longings as we await the future glory (verses 18-25, especially verse 23).
“We know that God is working out all things for our good according to His will (verse 28), but seldom can we discern what that good actually is.
“In other words, most of the time, we don’t know exactly what outcome we should pray for. The Spirit, however, makes our groaning His groaning, putting His prayers to the Father inside our prayers.
“He does so by placing within us a deep, inexpressible longing to do God’s will and see His glory. This aspiration – this ‘groaning’ desire to please Him – comes through in our petitions to God.
“In every specific request, then, the Father hears us praying for what is both truly best for us, and pleasing to Him, ‘and the intercession of the Spirit is answered as God works all things for our good.’
“The Spirit enables us to long for the future glory of God and His will, even though we don’t know how the specific thing we should pray for here and now.
“Prayer is the way to experience a powerful confidence that God is handling our lives well, that our bad things will turn out for good, our good things cannot be taken from us, and the best things are yet to come.”
I have been reading Timothy Keller’s book, Prayer. It is doing what every good book should do – it is driving me to God’s Word to see if what this man is writing is what God has already written in His Word.
I going to quote a lengthy passage from his chapter Encountering God (pages 66-68):
“Prayer is conversation with God. However, conversations can remain mere exchanges of information that do not lead to true personal encounter and relationship. We do not want just to know about God, but to know God, to seek His Face and Presence…
“The primary theological fact about prayer is this: We address a Triune God, and our prayers can be heard only through the distinct work of every Person in the Godhead.
“In the New Testament the Triune nature of God becomes explicit, but few places are as compressed and direct as Matthew 28:19, where Jesus sends His disciples into the world to baptize ‘in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’
“It does not say ‘in the Names’ but rather states that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all have a single Name.
“For us the term name may be just a label or a brand that can be discarded or changed at will, but in Biblical times, it denoted the very nature and being of a person. This means the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all share one divine nature, that they are one being. There is only one God – not three…
“Yet the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all equally God…The implications of the Trinity of God for prayer are many. It means, to begin with, that God has always had within Himself a perfect friendship. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are adoring one another, giving glorifying love to one another, and delighting in one another.
“We know of no joy higher than being loved and loving in return, but a Triune God would know that love and joy in unimaginable, infinite dimensions. God is, therefore, infinitely, profoundly happy, filled with perfect joy – not some abstract tranquility but the fierce happiness of dynamic loving relationships.
“Knowing this God is not to get beyond emotions or thoughts but to be filled with glorious love and joy.
“If God did not need to create other beings in order to know love and happiness, then why did He do so? Jonathan Edwards argues, in A Dissertation Concerning the End for Which God Created the World, that the only reason God would have had for creating us was not to get the cosmic love and joy of relationship (because He already had that) but to share it…
“We can see why a Triune God would call us to converse with Him, to know and relate to Him. It is because He wants to share the joy He has. Prayer is our way of entering into the happiness of God Himself.”
Ephesians 3.14-19 (HCSB): For this reason I kneel before the Father 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.
16 I pray that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in the inner man through His Spirit, 17 and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith.
I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, 19 and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
HOW DOES THE KINGDOM OF GOD COME? The Kingdom of God comes through the prayers of the saints who love His Kingdom…and seek first His Kingdom…and ask Him to bring His will to pass on earth – like it is done in Heaven.
We often struggle with doubts about the worthwhile-ness of our praying. Is our praying real? Is there anything really going on between God and Heaven and our praying? Does our praying really make a difference here in our real world? How can I really be sure that God is even aware that we are praying – much less that He receives our prayers and will respond to our praying?
All of these questions – and others – haunt and plague our minds with doubts when we pray. And, they discourage us from praying.
That, however, is not only our Adversary’s false narrative that he maliciously whispers into our minds, but it is also deadly. Satan wants nothing more than to discourage us from praying.
“Ceasing to pray, we cease to fight / prayer makes the Christian’s armor bright / and Satan trembles when he sees / the weakest saint upon his knees!” – William Cowper
But, our praying does matter. Not only does our praying matter, but our praying moves Heaven and earth and the events that happen here. As the psalmist David said in Psalm 18.9: “He bowed the heavens also, and came down with darkness under His feet…” and further proceeds to detail the differences God made in the circumstances around the psalmist in response to his calling upon the LORD in his distress. You really need to read the entire Psalm 18 to get the impact of his experiences.
One of the first prayers our Lord taught us to pray together is ‘The Model Prayer’ in Matthew 6.9-10: “In this manner, therefore, pray: ‘Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your Name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.’”
So, what is Jesus teaching us to pray for?“Your Kingdom come.”
What is God’s Kingdom?“Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” When we pray for God’s Kingdom to come, we are asking Him to do here on the earth – in our lives and around us here in our world – what He wants done. And, of course, He will! Psalm 115.3: But our God is in Heaven; He does whatever He pleases.”
And, how is He going to do that?He will make His Kingdom come – and He will do what He wills and pleases on earth like He does in Heaven – in response to His people’s prayers for Him to do so.
When Jesus Christ gave John the visions of the Revelation, one of the over-arching and sweeping purposes of those visions is to give John and us a panoramic prospective unfolding of the historical events that would transpire upon the earth during this present age – leading up, of course, to the very end of times when our Lord returns.
But, what is the catalyst for these events?It is the prayers of God’s saints! When Christ takes the seven-sealed scrolled from the Father’s hand and begins to break the seals and bring to pass here upon the earth the historical events that are contained in the seals, He does so in response to the prayers of the saints! Read it!
Revelation 5.6-10: And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
7 And He went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne.
8 And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain, and by Your blood You ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
And, this is not the only time the prayers of the saints are presented as being the catalysts for God’s interventions in the affairs of men upon the earth. Again, when the seventh seal is broken and enacted upon the earth, the seven trumpets are given to the angels to sound. And, what else happens in Heaven to prompt the sounding of the seven trumpets? Why, the prayers of the saints are offered to God for His response! So, the trumpet judgments are God’s responses to the prayers of His people for His Kingdom to come – for His will to be done on earth as it is done in Heaven! Read it again!
Revelation 8.1-6: When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.
5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
6 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
So, all you saints of the Lamb who struggle with obsessions about your own weakness and impotence to bring in the Kingdom of God – and all you struggling churches who long to be transformational and agents of Kingdom-change and make a difference in the world for the Glory of Jesus Christ – it is not by your might nor by your power, but “by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts!” So, keep on calling on God!
Your prayers are reaching the LORD of hosts! He is moving Heaven and earth in response to our asking Him to do so! And, He will continue doing so! He is enjoying the pleasing fragrance of our prayers right now…as we pray – and He will keep them before Him for future responses! Look for them to happen!
Revelation 1.12-13 & 20: Then I turned to see the Voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man…“The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.”
Here’s what Philip Mauro wrote about what this vision means for us: “Seeing that the symbol God has chosen as the representation of the local church of this dispensation is a candlestick (or lampstand), we may infer that the main purpose of its existence is to hold aloft, for the benefit of all around, the light of God’s Truth [Philippians 2.15-16].
In other words, the church is the appointed witness for Christ. Its members are gathered into one body to the end that by their collective testimony, not in word only, but chiefly in their distinctive manner of life after a pattern utterly foreign to this present evil world, they may show forth the reality, and the saving and life-transforming power, of the Gospel of Christ who died and rose again.
For Christ’s people are in the world, not for themselves or for what they can get out of it, but strictly to “occupy”, that is to carry on business, for Him. [Luke 19.13]
…The word spoken by the Lord and recorded in Matthew 5:15 throws clear light upon this subject, and is itself interpreted by His explanation that the candlesticks (lampstands) represent the churches: “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick [lampstand]; and it gives light to all that are in the house”.
Such being the main purpose of Christ for His churches, it would follow that when He walks in the midst of them and searches them with those eyes that are like flames of fire, His chief concern would be as to the things that affect their testimony.
For if a church fails in its testimony, if it is not maintaining a clear witness for Christ, it is a failure in the very thing for which it was called into being.
Therefore, every church of God is to be judged as to its efficiency and faithfulness as a Light-bearer; and it is primarily with respect to that supremely important matter that their condition and their behavior are reviewed by the Lord Himself, with the results set forth in these seven letters.
Let us therefore keep that fact in mind in our study of them; remembering also that the scene here put before us is not a thing of the long ago, but of this entire age, during which our Lord is ever walking in the midst of His churches.
What then is the testimony the churches are responsible to maintain? Or, to use the figure here employed, what is the nature of the “light” they are expected to shine upon “all that are in the house”? Briefly, the testimony or “light” of the local church is the conduct of those who compose it, that is to say, their whole manner of life, in their relations with one another and with “those who are outside” [Colossians 4.5].
Their entire behavior should be such as to “show forth the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous Light” [1 Peter 2.9].
Therefore, their [our] manner of life should be as much in contrast with that of the unregenerate, as light is in contrast with darkness.”
Things Which Soon Must Come To Pass, Philip Mauro, pp 83-85.
7 REASONS WHY WE, THE CHURCHES, SHOULD…AND MUST…BE LISTENING AND PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT JESUS IS SAYING IN THE REVELATION
What Jesus Christ has spoken in the Book of the Revelation is most pertinent, relevant, and binding on us churches who are currently serving. We cannot – we must not – write off the Revelation by saying it is too difficult to understand or that it is not for us – but for some yet-future short-lived generation.
No – these words are for us!
What God gave Jesus Christ – and Jesus Christ, in turn, gave to His angel – and His angel, still in turn, gave to John – and what John was commanded to write down and give to the churches – has been given to us.
So, here are 7 reasons why we must listen to and live by what is written in the Revelation.
Jesus Christ commands us to hear what He is saying to His churches.
Jesus directly and authoritatively commands each of the seven specific churches to pay attention, listen to, and live by what He is saying through His Holy Spirit.
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches…” [2.7, 11, 17, 29; 3.6, 13, 22]
Jesus Christ specifically gave the Book of the Revelation to be delivered to His churches.
Revelation 1.11: “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
By extension, these messages are sent not only to those seven specific churches, but to all the churches serving then, since then, and now.
Revelation 22.16: “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
Jesus Christ pronounces and bestows His particular blessing on those who read these messages – both for themselves and in the churches – and those who hear these words being read, and those who value, treasure, and live by the words in these messages.
Since copies of the Scriptures in general…and of this Revelation in particular…were rare in those days, the reading would have been done in the public gatherings and assemblies of the churches. The hearing would have been done primarily there, too. But, the keeping and living by what was read and heard would have been done daily by all the servants of the Lord Jesus.
Revelation 1.3: Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
Jesus Christ assures us that we will need His words in all the churches of all the successive generations – from that time to our time.
Listen to the time-frames that the messages in the Revelation will apply to: the visions that God gave Jesus – that Jesus gave His angel – that Jesus’ angel gave John – and that John gave the churches were for the times that were then current…and for the times which were at that time beginning to unfold. And, they have applied to all the churches in all the generations from that time to us churches who are now serving.
Revelation 1.1: The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place.
& Revelation 22.6: Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.
Revelation 1.3: Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
& Revelation 22.10: And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.”
The messages of the Revelation will strengthen the faith and fortify the perseverance of the saints for the tribulations and tests they must endure and overcome.
Revelation 1.9: I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 12.11: And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
Revelation 14.12: Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Revelation 22.7-9: “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” 8 Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
The authority of these messages – and both the blessings and curses associated with them – are so profound, that life and death, blessing and cursing are dependent upon how we receive and respond to the messages in the Revelation.
Revelation 22.18-19: For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Every one of us – and we, together in our churches – must respond to Jesus Christ like young Samuel did when God spoke to him: “Speak, LORD! Your servants are listening!”
~Dave Parks 