Watch What You Boast About

Watch What You Boast Over

I Corinthians 5.6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

I John 2.16 For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.


Remember last week we quoted:

Psalm 34.2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad.
Galatians 6.14 May I never boast except in the cross of our LORD Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Boast=
I Corinthians 5.6 Glorying in something
Galatians 6.14 same word
Psalm 34.2 halal to shine forth light, to shine with God’s favor

Opposite of boasting is the state of humility.

Proverbs 11.2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
Foolish pride /Humble wisdom

We are told:
In Ephesians 4.2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Humility=
Having a deep sense of one’s moral littleness
Modesty, lowliness of mind
Servants must be humble

The Corinthian Church was boasting over men. Paul and Apollos.
They were boasting over their wisdom.
They were boasting about how open minded they were about a sexual sinful situation!

1. No More Boasting!
About men, wisdom or sin!

Men
I follow this one. I just love this guy’s preaching. Focused on the servant not the Master and LORD.
I Corinthians 3.5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.

Yesterday I made the mistake of telling Yelssy what a great job she is doing. She said, “Pastor Larry, it is not me. It is the LORD!”
She got me. I should have known better. Whatever is gain for me I count it loss for the sake of Christ. Forbid it LORD that I should gain save in the death of Christ my LORD.

Wisdom
Everyone want to know the secret of life.
How to be happy, content, rich, healthy. What will bring peace. They did back in Biblical Times. They do today.
The Greek Philosophers were in every city. Corinth had them.
Paul spoke about them:
I Corinthians 3.18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age,you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; 20 and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”

Sin:
The problem in this chapter is that a person was living in sin and the Church was proud.
I Corinthians 5.1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. 2 And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?

Proud= inflate, swell, puff up
They were bragging about how open they were... how accepting they were... of sin!!!
The problem was that the church wanted to impress the city of Corinth, a center of philosophy. So they let sin go on in the church and then were proud how advanced they were, how accepting they were, how far ahead they were, not only among the churches but also among the philosophers.

They were thinking and probably saying among themselves, “No one will accuse us of being closed or narrow minded.” We will be out ahead of the current thought trend.
Far too often the church, in an attempt to be contemporary, compromises. We cannot go against the Word of God. We cannot go “beyond what is written.” I Corinthians 4.6
The Scriptures are our guide. They are our borders. Live within them and you will experience the rich full life of Christ within you.
Live outside of them and you will inflict pain on yourself and those you love.

Paul rebuked them and wrote, and of a kind (sexual immorality)that even pagans do not tolerate!


No more boasting about what we have (what do have that we didn’t receive?) or what we have done... without Me, Jesus told us, we can do nothing.

This is a great challenge for us in America. We do not depend on the LORD like our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world where they have no reserves, they feel and experience the need to depend on the LORD for their daily bread. We need to cultivate that dependency upon Jesus.
* Discipline ourselves to think about how very blessed we are and give thanks to the LORD.
* Stick our necks out.



2. Boast in the Cross of Jesus Christ

Your boasting is not good. There is good boasting


Our Passover Lamb
Unleavened Bread= Get rid of sin among you
What does leaven or yeast do? It puffs the bread up.
Sin and pride do the same thing.

Paul is speaking about the Passover Feast and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, both pointing to Jesus.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a feast that is generally mistaken for Passover. Passover however is only one 24 hour period while Feast of Unleavened Bread lasts for seven days.
On the evening after Passover God told the Hebrew people exiting Egypt not to allow their bread to rise, but to grab everything and leave. The ancient peoples used to gather yeast on grape leaves to leaven their bread if they needed to speed up the process, but God said "Don't even let any leavening touch the dough. Just bake it and go."
In their haste they grabbed the necessities and fled toward the land God was preparing for them.
God then told them that in the future they were to commemorate this feast by getting all yeast out of the house for seven days.
Paul is talking about the cross, the cross of Christ.

Focus on Christ!
I Corinthians 2.1 When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Galatians 6.14 May I never boast except in the cross of our LORD Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.



3. Boast In the LORD.
Think about His Love.
The Father has lavished His love upon us.
I John 3.1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

Think about His Grace.
The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
I Timothy 1.14

Think about His Mercy.
His forgiveness

Think about His Return.
We need to do that more.
Mark 13.32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert[e]! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
35 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”


Think About The End of Our Time
Luke 12.16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Servants of God

Servants of God

I Corinthians 3.5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the LORD has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

This may be a difficult message to receive for some, especially if they are wrestling with pride. We like to think we are something.
Jesus tells us, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15.5

I think we throw the term servant around  today without knowing much about it. We have hired help today whether it is landscapers, or house cleaners or the like.

First of all these are jobs. A servant had no life of his own. He belonged to someone else.
I have seen a form of servants in Haiti. The poor people will give their children to wealthy people in exchange for food and a place to stay. I have seen the servants quarters. They are at the beckon call of the master. Their lives are governed by another. Literally their lives are not their own. They rise before dawn and sometimes work late into the night.

Servants do the dirty work like taking out the trash, cleaning the bathrooms, etc.
Being God's servant is an honorable position. Throughout the New Testament, the word bondservant or servant is applied to someone absolutely devoted to Jesus. Paul, Timothy, James, Peter, and Jude all describe themselves as “bondservants of Christ” Every task takes on dignity if it is done for Jesus.

Bondservant= willing after a debt was paid staying on as a servant,  it enhanced and advanced the relationship with the Master.

Servants of God...

First look at this word Paul uses to put servants of God in perspective.

1. Only servants  v.5

It is human nature to have an affinity toward certain pastors and ministers of the Gospel. There are certain ones I can listen to and receive something each time.
Ron Posey’s statement, not my preference but who cares if God uses him to help our church?

The Corinthians carried this way too far. They began to elevate ministers, servants. It was inappropriate. It was wrong. You can tell how worldly or spiritual minded a person is by whether or not they put servants on a pedestal.

We have almost lost sight of what it means to be a servant in the church, particularly among pastors. Servant Leadership is a buzzword. You want to see the epitome of Servant Leadership?  Look at Jesus in the Upper Room, washing the feet of His Disciples!  John 13 More about that in a moment.

This whole idea of leadership bothers me. It is a spiritual gift for the church. It has nearly replaced the concept of the Pastor as a shepherd of the flock. I love my cousin’s husband, Herman, Dr. Herman Wapelhorst, “Larry, how’s the flock?” He knows. He gets it.

Programs, strategies, vision all have a place, a little place in the Kingdom. The church has elevated these things to the point of intoxication today so that a young “successful” pastor told me recently, “I really don’t like people.” If that is the case then go into business or some profession because you are not a shepherd.

The big issue of this section of scripture is elevating the human element far beyond what it supposed to be. That is precisely what they were doing in the Corinthian Church. I am not sure they even realized it.

Paul had to write to them and say we are only servants. Without that understanding men are elevated. When someone is elevated they can get the wrong impression of themselves. Romans 12.3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

The danger of treating servants of God for more than they are can make people feel that they are above the possibility of error.
There is only One Who is perfect. He is the LORD. Elevating servants as we see in this passage takes our eyes off the LORD and puts them on others. 21 So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and you are of Christ,and Christ is of God.

It is the LORD. It is God. It is all about God. He makes the seed to grow. We plant and water it. That is our part.

When we have done our part...
2. Jesus Put Servanthood In Perspective.

Luke 17.10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

That speaks to my heart and soul. Who do we think we are?!
We talk about worth of some of God’s servants that actually make me nauseous, what they have given up to serve Jesus, etc.

Meanwhile where is God in all of this? God help us. We have moved far beyond His Word today. Jesus is the One!
 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

Greatness is God’s Kingdom is in being the servant of all.
Matthew 23.11 The greatest among you will be your servant.
Mark 9.35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all."

He was going to demonstrate this when He showed them the full extent of His love.

These statements by Jesus were so opposite of the contemporary thought. The disciples argued over who would be the greatest. They vied for the position of sitting on His right and His left.
Mark 10.35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want You to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want Me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in Your glory.”
38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
39 “We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at My right or left is not for Me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”


To be a servant was the furthest thing from their minds. On the contrary they dreamed of having servants and being part of the Kingdom on earth they thought Jesus was going to set up. I have read some Bible Commentaries where the writers believe no one in that upper room wanted to be the servant and wash feet. This was a common tradition and courtesy. This opened up the way for Jesus to do it. He knew their hearts and He knows ours!
We were reading about this in the Discipleship Group ‪on Thursday night‬. The account of Simon the Pharisee and the sinful woman and Jesus.
Luke 7.44 Then He turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give Me any water for My feet, but she wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.


One of the spiritual battles we face is just this. We are in the Kingdom of God, serving in the Kingdom of God. Yet our lives are lived on the earth. We wrestle against not against flesh and blood. Our battle is with principalities and power, of spiritual forces of darkness in the heavenly realms. We must submit to the cross. We must follow Jesus’ example as a servant. We must embrace the cross and our standing as servants. It is not something we do. It is who we are!

3. Jesus Set An Example of Servanthood Because He Was A Servant.

The Basin and the Towel
The dirt off the feet. The odors.
The lowest servant in a household would do this.
John 13.15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master,nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

The most distasteful tasks are dignified if they are done for Jesus.

Servants rise early and sometimes stay up late if necessary. They overlook inconveniences.

Recently I have been picking up the trash each day around the church. I used to grumble about how people are slobs. Now, I realize I am doing it for Jesus, to make the grounds dedicated to Him, beautiful.  I ride my bike and stop where there is trash and pick it up, then take it to the dumpster and place it in there.

Be encouraged you servants of the LORD.
Keep serving!
Serve the LORD with gladness! Psalm 100.2
Lots of joy!
And trials...
II Corinthians 6:4–5: “As servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings . . . ” If you were beaten for Jesus, I would like to know who you are. Come up and tell me, “I was beaten for Jesus,” and I will bow down and give thanks for you and your faith.

Servants of God...
That is all we are.
Jesus is our example.







Servant

A Demonstration of the Spirit's Power

The Need of The Hour

I Corinthians 2. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on man’s wisdom, but on God’s power.

What is the need of the hour?  It is a demonstration of the Spirit’s power

We are in desperate times.  I heard Pastor Jim Cymbala said a few years back, “Is your church crying out to God? And if not why not?”

Corinth was a wicked city. Much of the godlessness is prevalent in our modern culture.

Some of the godlessness is being embraced by portions of the church.

Our need is not be entertained today.

God has called us into transforming work, of the human heart.

We are losing the influence of the church daily, hourly in the culture. Unless God intervenes the future for America is not bright. The Corinthian Church was a group of people who had been “rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves.” Colossians 1.13  We are too. 

There is a definitely a departure from the faith today.

I Timothy 4 1-2 God’s Spirit specifically tells us that in later days there will be men who abandon the true faith and allow themselves to be spiritually seduced by teachings of the devil, teachings given by men who are lying hypocrites, whose consciences are as dead as seared flesh.

Then there are the Prodigals, which we have talked about and will mention again this morning.

1. What is A Demonstration of The Spirit’s Power?

Demonstration= 

• a making manifest
  showing forth
  a proof
  
  
  Elijah in I Kings 18

 

Today the Spirit is made manifest in the ministry of the word, oftentimes the gift of prophecy, the gift of the word of wisdom, and the word of knowledge that is being exercised from the pulpit.

It is things unattributed to natural means.

Unexplainable events.

Miracles

Church Roofs and Parking lots

A Waitress’ father getting better through the LORD answering the prayers of a church for him.

If the church is run as a business then how we will know if it is really the LORD Who is building the house?

If it is built by prayer and a movement of God’s Spirit then you will have to say that is it the LORD.

Matthew 21.13 And He *said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”

Things happening that make Christ known.

Glorify Christ!

Makes people look to heaven. How we need that today.

Lives being transformed because of it.

2. Why Do We Need This?

It is our only hope.

The government and education and social programs cannot change the heart. They have their place but as Paul said, “I Corinthians 1.20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

People need to be redeemed.

Prodigals need to return

Broken hearts need to mended.

3. How is  A Demonstration Obtained?

Recognizing we need it.

A Holy Dissatisfaction.

Humbling ourselves

Prayer

Begins with me... “O LORD, illuminate my mind and heart as I read (or hear) Your Word today.”

Listening

Believing

Waiting

LORD, work in our hearts to bring a demonstration of the Spirit’s power today.

Our Father In Heaven

Our Father In Heaven

Mattthew 6.9-13

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be Your name,
10
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
11
Give us today our daily bread.
12
And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil.
For Thine is Kingdom and the Power and the Glory Forever. Amen

On this Father’s Day let’s take a look at the prayer Jesus taught us to pray addressed to His Father and ours.
In  this model prayer, Jesus is showing the relationship that His followers have with His Father/ Our Father
This prayer reveals the character of God the Father to us.

Ab
First word in the Hebrew Dictionary/ Jesus, when asked by His Disciples to teach them to pray the first words He gave them was “Our Father, which art in Heaven”

He is a Father to the fatherless. Psalm 68.5
My girls in Haiti, those of us who lost their fathers by death or even desertion.
Those who never knew their fathers.

1. Father of an individual

2. of God as Father of His people

3. head or founder of a household, group, family, or clan

4. ancestor
    1. grandfather, forefathers — of person

    2. of people


Pater, Father in the Greek Lexicon


Ephesians 3
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom His whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.


Matthew 6


generator or male ancestor

        1. either the nearest ancestor: father of the corporeal nature, natural fathers, both parents

        2. a more remote ancestor, the founder of a family or tribe, progenitor of a people, forefather: so Abraham is called, Jacob and David
            1. fathers i.e. ancestors, forefathers, founders of a nation

        3. one advanced in years, a senior


Jesus in  Mark 14.36 “Abba Pater”
 36 “Abba, Father,” He said, “everything is possible for You. Take this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will.”
Urdo “Baba”
English “Papa”
Italian  “Padre” Dad “Papa”
Poppa


We get to know God through prayer. This prayer shows us Who the Father is.


1. Our Father In Heaven.

He is in Heaven. Beyond the clouds, the planets there is a place called Heaven. The Apostle Paul calls it “the third heaven.”
(II Corinthians 12.2-4)

He is above all.

He is watching over us and concerned about our needs
Matthew 6.26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Psalm 103.13-14 As a father has compassion on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him;
14
for He knows how we are formed,
    He remembers that we are dust.

He is on His Throne.

He is in control.
Psalm 115.3 Our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.

More about our Father in Heaven...
2. He is Holy.
Hallowed is His Name.
Isaiah 6.1-3
Revelation 4.8
So thankful for a Dad who sought to live a holy life. Never saw him drink, smoke, use bad language or talk degradingly about women.
Jan Jenkins speaking about her father, who ordained me, this past week.
Like our President I never smoked a cigarette. My Dad was my example.
Many other things as well... many.

Jesus spoke a lot  about the Kingdom of God...
3. His Kingdom is Coming.

It is among us.
Luke 17.20When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs. 21Nor will people say,‘Look, here it is,’ or ‘There it is.’ For you see,the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

It is invisible for now.
Seen by those who have faith.
Hebrews 11.1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

It is forever.
Psalm 145.13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all He promises and loving to all He has made.

Our interaction with heaven is invisible. There are visbile results.

Our Father in Heaven wants what is best for us, not what is comfortable. We must go through many hardships in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven... we pray for
4. His Will
Good, pleasing and perfect will in us. Romans 12.3

The will of God is best. Jesus taught us to pray it.
He prayed it, in the Garden, to His Father in Heaven... not what I will but What You will.
Our Father knows what is best. The best... we are not doubting that God wants the best for us. What we are wondering is how painful the best is going to be. C.S. Lewis

Earthly fathers’ will can be strong. If he loves he LORD he wants what is best for us. He disciplined us for our good.


5. He Feeds Us.
Our Daily Bread

I believe this is in the LORD’s prayer to establish firmly that relationship of dependence our Father in Heaven wants with us.
The bread winner, the one who brings home the bacon.

He feeds us.

6. He Leads Us
Not into temptation
Deliverance from evil
In righteous paths, in step with the Spirit.
Psalm 48.14 For this God is our God for ever and ever;
    He will be our guide even to the end.


7. He Protects Us Spiritually.
We can only understand the heart of the Father in the Cross of His Son Jesus Christ.
John 17. Prayer for protection

He forgives us.
Exodus 34.6-7 “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin...


He will get us to heaven! Where He is. We will bow at His throne.

The Wedding At Cana of Galilee

The Wedding At Cana of Galilee

John 2.1-11

Very early in Jesus’ ministry, three days into it, He, Andrew, John, Peter, Nathaniel, Phillip were invited to a wedding.

First Century weddings in Israel...

Whole town

3 days

Feasting

Far East still that way

Jesus did His first miracle in an out of the way place, for people who are nameless.

There is more, much more, in this account.

We see...

1. The Sanctity of Marriage. vs.1-2

Photographer yesterday

Jesus, by being there, showed its sanctity.

Second Chapter of John.

Second Chapter of Genesis.

Genesis 2.15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, 

He took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man.

23 The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
    for she was taken out of man.”

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

It is interesting that both Genesis and John open their books with the words...

In the beginning... God... the Word

Then the second chapter there is a wedding! A marriage.

Of course there is 

2. The Miracle

Unexplainable

Emma, 10 years ago...

I had a young theologian I worked with a few years ago. Her name is Emma. When she was  6 years old we watched a movie about Jesus based on the Gospel of Luke. It did not contain this miracle of course. She wanted to see this miracle I a movie and so I put one with it in it. We walked home that evening and she asked me, "Poppa, how did Jesus turn that water into wine?" I answered, "I don't know Emma. That's part of it being a miracle." And we both wondered about the one Isaiah said would be called Wonderful.

3. The Servants Knew.  vs.5-9

v.8-9 the servants knew John knew too- He is the only one of the Gospel writers to record this miracle. His Gospel has been called the Gospel from the Eagle's Eye's view. He was very close to Jesus. In the next few chapters John mentions things, interviews if you will, that Jesus had with Nicodemus in Jerusalem (c.3) and with the woman at the well in Samaria (c.4) that the other Gospel writers omit. John was there on the spot with Jesus. At night when Nicodemus came and in the middle of the heat of the day when the Samaritan woman came to Jacob's well in Sychar.
The fact is...

The closer to the LORD you get, the more you see the wonders He performs. v.8-9

The eagle’s eye view

What I get to see.

What I saw yesterday:

I usually do not highlight individual members of our group here. However I would like to welcome our newest member, Jean Pierre. He is an employee of Westbury Manor. 

I met him yesterday. I heard his Haitian accent. We talked for a few moments. When I told him about the work in Haiti he was interested. We became friends, then friends on Facebook, so he could be added to our group.

He knows where Bellevue is. He understands what we are doing. I love how the dear people of Haiti who have moved here to America care and pray for their country of origin.

On top of this the Maid of Honor, who is part of Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle, spoke to me as we were signing the marriage certificate. She has done a number of mission trips and asked to be part of our team in October! One of the other employee’s of Westbury Manor was eating her dinner and was listening. After everyone left I said, “This is how God works. This is amazing.” And I shared more with her of the work of God in Haiti’s southern mountains.

Please continue to pray. I know God is doing something extraordinary. I am not sure all He has planned for To Haiti With Love but I know that it is good, very good.

Each task is dignified when it is done for Jesus.

The servants knew... the Banquet Master did not.

The secrets of the kingdom...

Mark 4.11 The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. -Jesus

He spoke this to His disciples. Nicodemus was struggling to understand, seeking... The disciples didn't fully until after Jesus rose from the dead.

Then they knew!

We are on this side of the resurrection. We have understanding, insight into the Word of God, the ways He works, His Hand upon us.

The servants knew the power of God.

The servants knew Jesus could work miracles. 

The servants knew Jesus' character.

* He was not into making a spectacle of Himself.

* He cares about people.

* He saves the best until last.

Servants of God can look back on a vast array of Divine Moments when God stepped in and worked.

I am using this in my life when I come up against things that make no sense or when I am praying and there is no answer coming.

Habakkuk struggled in his prayers at one point in his life.

The nation was going down the tubes. He had been praying. God had seemingly been silent. In Habakkuk 1.2 "How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but You do not listen?" 

Habakkuk found out that God was working even though it did not appear He was. Serving the LORD, wrestling through these issues, shows us God i working all things together for our good, for us because we are the called according to His Purpose.

Finally a little math...

4. When Jesus works He does the immeasurable or close to it. v.10-11
6 stone water pots/jars Let's say 3 were 20 gallons and 3 were 30. That would have been 150 gallons of wine or 600 bottles! There probably weren't that many people in Cana at the time!
This was the first! The worldwould not have room for the books that would have to be written.

Acts 1.1-2 All that Jesus began to do

He is at work today.

The kingdom of God is like a wedding banquet! Abundance, joy, adventure

God bless each of you this LORD’s Day!

Our Baptism, Christ’s Death And Resurrection And Our Lives In Him

EOur Baptism, Christ’s Death And Resurrection And Our Lives In Him

Romans 6.1-7

I love how the LORD has us here in this passage, as we journey through the Bible, a week after we celebrated Jesus’ Resurrection. As we have journeyed through His Word for decades now He has been faithful to have us where we are in our journey. It is a testimony to the faithfulness of God. His Word speaks into our lives, our hearts and souls and minds.

The more I study the Word of God the more I see how connected it is, how it is a masterpiece. In these  verses events in Christ’s life and our journey come together and are related. The Bible is in harmony with living the Life of following Jesus. That is why when we read it, we find ourselves saying, “yes.” That is why it hated by those who are enemies of the cross of Christ.

II Corinthians 1.20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
Philippians 3.18 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

So this morning we look at the connections between Our Baptism, Christ’s Death And Resurrection And Our Lives In Him.


1. Our Baptism was an act of being totally identified with Him in His Death. v.3
Under the water, synonymous with Christ being buried.

We were immersed with the water. We were immersed into His death. The old life was drowned out. Water symbolized the grave.
v.2 we died to sin

Water also symbolizes cleansing.
I Corinthians 6.11 But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Now, when you are born again, that which is born of the flesh is flesh. If you are born again by the Spirit of God, the new life that you now have is spirit, soul, and body. So now the spirit is the dominant feature and the new life is spiritual life, the old life was a fleshly life. The new life is a spiritual life. A spirit in union with God's Spirit. So a spirit in union with God's Spirit, my thoughts, my consciousness now is upon God and the things of God and how I might please Him by walking in the spirit. These are the things that dominate my conscious state. God's love for me, God's grace for me, God's goodness for me, these things dominate my conscious state. No longer dominated by my fleshly desires or fleshly needs.

Ephesians 5.25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word, 27 and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of His body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.

We need to be in the Word of God regularly. We need it to change us. We need to hear it and read it and study it.
Christ washes us His Church through His Word.

His Word is an agent in our being born again.
Faith in it.
Living and Active.
Given by His Spirit
I Peter 1.22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again,not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

We all need to come to the place where God’s Word is supreme in our lives.
We need to grow in the knowledge of it
We need to hide it in our heart to keep from sinning.
Truly allowing the Word of God to dwell in us puts His Love in our hearts.
Colossians 3. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.


Proverbs 3.1 My son, do not forget my teaching,
    but keep my commands in your heart,
2
for they will prolong your life many years
    and bring you peace and prosperity.
3
Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
    bind them around your neck,
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
4
Then you will win favor and a good name
    in the sight of God and man.

We are in such a battle today. One of the battles we face is the Word of God being challenged as not being unique. Other religions are put on the same level as Christ’s teaching, there is a combining of teachings known as syncretism. This is relatively new. Someone I know very well named Confucios, Buddah, Mohammed and Jesus. I could not help myself. I said, “Only one of their graves are empty.” Then I grabbed the picture taken of the kids in Haiti in the school and said that it is the followers of Jesus who give to these kids so they have hope. In fact go anywhere in the world and you will find hospitals and schools and the Church of Jesus Christ, with all her faults and shortcomings giving freely, helping villages and whole nations.
The Word of God stands. Jesus is building His church.

This ancient rite that the church has practiced since its inception continues to be practiced today. Our Baptism is like His death.



2. Our Coming Out of The Water was like His Resurrection. v.4
Newness of life now!

As I come up out of the water, it's like being resurrected--like Jesus resurrected coming out of the grave. That new resurrected life of Christ.

Lazarus was raised from the dead... in Bethany.
Jesus was Resurrected in Jerusalem. Lazarus died again. He will rise again at the Resurrection.
Jesus is alive forever. He is the Resurrection and the Life. Death has been defeated by Him and in us!
As we come out of the water we are symbolizing Jesus’ Resurrection.

3. The Resurrection of Jesus is Ours in the Future as well as now. v.5-7

The same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead
Romans 8.11
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

He will come again.
The dead in Christ will rise first. Resurrection
Then we who are alive... Translation.

v.6 powerless= put out of business

As Christians our biggest problem is with our flesh. For our flesh is still seeking to make its demands on us. Our flesh will still bring us under its control and power. As a Christian there is a warfare that is going on in me, for the flesh is warring against my spirit and my spirit is warring against my flesh and these two are contrary to each other.
There is this battle going on for the control of my mind, the control of my life. My flesh still wants to sit on the throne of my life and the spirit wants to sit on the throne of my life and there is a battle waging raging, actually, over the control of my life itself, the flesh and the spirit. I don't always do the things that I would as we sang this morning. Then I shall be what I would be, and I shall be what I should be, things that are now nor could be soon shall be our own. The battle will be over one of these days and my spirit leaves this old body of flesh. I am still living in the body, that is my big problem. If I weren't living in this body any longer then I would have no problems. But I am still living in the body, and as long as I am living in this body it is going to struggle for supremacy, and thus, I must keep my body under. You remember Paul the apostle said, "I beat myself to keep my body under."
It is a struggle. It is a fight. My body wants control again. It wants to sit on the throne. I have to keep my body under. The way to do that is to reckon that old self to be dead. It is a reckoning process. "Lord, that is a part of the old life dominated by my flesh. I reckon that to be dead. That flare up, Lord, that belongs to the old life, that bitterness that belongs to the old life, that anger that belongs to the old life, that is dead." Thank God that it is dead. I don't have to live under that domination anymore. That was crucified with Christ and I am now living a new life in the resurrected Lord. So the old man was crucified with Him. But the body of sin might be put out of business, that I shouldn't serve sin any longer.


Resurrections happen in our lives as we serve Jesus.
Take Joseph... His life was over. He was sold as a slave by his brothers, lied to his father, then put in prison in another country.
Then God raised him up and out and placed him in a position of power to serve.


Baptism, Jesus’ Death and Resurrection and our lives in Him.