Reading from "The Message"
John 3:1-21
There was a man of the Pharisee sect, Nicodemus, a prominent leader among the Jews. Late one night he visited Jesus and said, "Rabbi, we all know you're a teacher straight from God. No one could do all the God pointing, God revealing acts you do if God weren't in on it."
Jesus said, "You're absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it's not possible to see what I'm pointing to -- to God's kingdom."
"How can anyone," said Nicodemus, "be born who has already been born and grown up? You can't re-enter your mother's womb and be born again. What are you saying with this 'born from above' talk?"
Jesus said, "You're not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation -- the 'wind hovering over the water' creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life -- it's not possible to enter God's kingdom. When you look at a baby, it's just that: a baby you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch -- the Spirit -- and becomes a living Spirit."
"So don't be so surprised when I tell you that you have to be 'born from above' -- out of this world, so to speak. You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it is headed next. That is the way it is with everyone 'born from above' by the wind of God, the Spirit of God."
Nicodemus asked, "What do you mean by this? How does this happen?"
Jesus said, "You're a respected teacher of Israel and you don't know these basic? Listen carefully. I give witness only to what I have seen with my own eyes. There is nothing second hand here, no hear say. Yet instead of facing the evidence and accepting it, you procrastinate with questions. If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you don't believe me, what use is there in telling you of things you can't see, the things of God?"
"No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man. In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see, and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up -- and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life."
"That is how much God loved the world: He gave His Son, His one and only Son. and this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending His Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trust in Him is acquitted, anyone who refuses to trust Him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in this one of a kind Son of God when introduced to Him."
"This is the crisis we're in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won't come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is."
The Great Discussion:
In dealing with this passage, I came upon the discovery that there are at least 6 separate sermons that could be developed from these 21 verses.
This passage is one that we know so well, and yet most individuals only concentrate on only one verse and sometimes two. The verses I am referring to of course is John 3:16 and 17.
In concentrating on only these two verses, we miss the whole dialogue between Nicodemus and Jesus, thereby missing the very teaching of Jesus in what most likely was a debate that covered at least 2 if not 3 hours.
The discussion between Nicodemus and Jesus is important not just for Nicodemus but also for us today. How do we wee this discussion? What teachings are available for us in the present? How important is it for us in understanding of the gospel of Jesus, His teachings and to us where we are right now?
Like many of us, Nicodemus was a searcher.
He is an individual who belongs to a community of believers. We need to understand that not all Pharisees were against Jesus.
He is a member of a community that is well educated, well established, and has a strong faith in God.
He is a member of the Sanhedrin and therefore was a leader of Israel. He was a teacher, and therefore most likely a Rabbi.
One thing that is often overlooked and seldom thought about, Nicodemus was either the same age or at least a difference of one or two years of age as Jesus.
The Great Discussion then is, Jesus meeting Nicodemus where he was and challenged him to move beyond that spot.
Jesus was challenging Nicodemus to open the envelope of his faith, to un-wrap the box where he had placed God with all the 613 commandments and to move beyond that.
Jesus engaged Nicodemus with teachings from the Old Testament, teachings that he would have known and understand.
Nicodemus begins the discussion with the acknowledgement of Jesus. He says; "Rabbi, we all know you're a teacher straight from God. No one could do all the God-pointing, God-revealing acts you do if God weren't in on it."
Jesus reply is straight forward; "You're right, but if you're not born from above you'll not see what I am pointing to -- to God's kingdom."
This is the crux of the whole discussion. It revolves around being born from above, and Nicodemus wants clarification.
Nicodemus is right to ask; "How can a grown man like myself be born from above. I'm already established in my belief in God. I know the commandments, I recite the Shema every day. So were are you coming from?"
Jesus replies; "Listen up! You should know this! Unless a person submits to this original creation -- the wind hovering over the water creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life, it's not possible to enter God's kingdom." The concept of being born of water and born of the Spirit is Old Testament teaching.
For example: Isaiah 44:3 "I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground. I will pour my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on our descendants."
Water and Spirit are joined as the life giving gifts of God.
Another quote would be from Ezekiel 36:25-27; "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse your from all your impurities and from all your idols, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws."
we would have further questions, but I believe Nicodemus knew what Jesus meant. He understood the teaching of the Spirit of God. So when Jesus said; "You must be born from above." Nicodemus wanted assurance that he was on the same page as Jesus.
Nicodemus was looking for a more material, a more physical, something that would be more tangible. Like us he was looking for God in a physical form that he could touch, that he could feel, and even smell.
The challenge that Jesus made to Nicodemus was that he could not achieve what he desired through legalism and conformity. It required an inner change that is only by a direct act of God.
The New Birth that Jesus was teaching, is conditioned on the repentance and confession of the individual in response to the appeal of God and by the transformation of life through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus directs Nicodemus to the understanding that we can see the body. We can touch the body. But the soul we cannot see, as it is spirit.
The soul responds to the Spirit of God and we can therefore see the direction and the results of the individual for the soul changes the person from the inside out.
The mystery of salvation and regeneration like the wind, give evidence of the presence of the Spirit of God with in the believer's life.
The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8 that "God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are...children of God." And in chapter 10 the Apostle Paul confirms; "It's the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us."
The Spirit of God reaches down and takes our spirits by the hand if we let the Spirit move within us.
The evidence of our faith is a change from within as we are the lights that shine in the darkness, the God-light that dwells within us freely.
Amen.
Wednesday, 22 April 2020
Thursday, 16 April 2020
Sermon on Prayer - given Sunday October 17, 2019
Ephesians 6:10--20.
Reading from Peterson's The Message.
"And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way.
This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life or death fight to the finish against the Devil and his angels.
Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on our own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one fall behind or drops out.
And don't forget to pray for me. Pray that I'll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out."
For the past while, my thoughts have been about prayer.
Prayer has become a "commonality" among many. We use the phrase "my thoughts and prayers are with you", as if there is some sort of calming attribute to the situation at hand.
I often wondered, do we really understand the design of prayer let alone the power of prayer that we often hear about?
We have the example of how to pray, in the Lord's prayer. As i reasearched and prepared for this message, I was made aware that there are hundreds of examples concerning prayers throughout the Old and New Testaments.
In choosing this passage in Ephesians, I wish to draw your attention to prayer as seen here in this passage.
Verse 18 from the NIV reads: And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. with this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for the saints.
Verse 18 from the Message reads: Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind and drops out.
I mention this passage from two translations because they give instructions that we often don't think about. Pray in the Spirit, pray long and hard. Pray for the Saints, pray for your brothers and sisters. Be alert, keep your eyes open.
Remembering these three ideas, there are three points I would like to venture into.
The first point is what prayer is not.
How many remember the Christmas catalogs from Sears and Eatons? When these catalogs came out, I would rush to the nearest office and pick up a copy, take it home, and made out my list of what I wanted.
As kids growing up, prayer was often seen as a sort of Christmas wish list with "Amen" put at the end. After we made our list and said "Amen" we would walk away thinking we would get everything we asked for.
This sort of understanding of what we believe prayer to be, often destroys the faith that individuals have. It often terminates one's understanding of God. If we don't get what we want, we often become discouraged and angry with God. When God says "No" we are not prepared for that answer and we walk away disgruntled.
A person I know, prayed long and hard that his daughter would not loose her leg to cancer. When she lost her leg, he was angry with God and walked away believing that he had been betrayed and lied to.
In my own case, for some reason I don't remember praying to keep my leg. I was hoping to keep my leg, but for some reason I had the attitude if it was to be, it was to be.
I know others prayed fervently that I would not loose my leg. I also know of an individual, that the loss of my leg caused spiritual strife for the longest time.
In many cases like this, we are praying for our will to be done and we fail to see what God's will is. Evan as Christians, we don't really seek God's will, nor do we really accept God's will. This is something that we need to come to grips with, to honestly seek God's will and accept His will. I am not going to say that accepting and seeking God's will is easy, for it is far from easy.
The second point is that Prayer at its' most basic level is surrender.
When a person surrenders their will to God, they get God's will in return. Jesus prayed in the garden: "Not my will be done, but your will be done."
The Lord's prayer we recite; "...thy kingdom come, they will be done on earth as it is in heaven..." Often we find it so difficult to surrender ourselves or to line ourselves up with the will of God. We pray "thy will be done" and we take up our problems and concerns and go on with our lives wondering why we're not being blessed or obtaining the glory that God had intended for us.
God doesn't expect us to do the heavy lifting. God provides us with the ablities to endure, while He does the heavy lifing that's needed.
It reminds me of one of my swimmers when I was coaching. Nate asked me how he should swim his back stroke race. I told him to "Swim so your head is at the leader's feet. After the first two lengths swim your hardest and fastest. You should be albe to pass him and win the race." Nate did as I had instructed and won his race to a gold medal finish. He had surrendered his will to mine, and got my will and in return he received a gold medal.
Surrendering is not easy, but when we do, we are blessed and given the glory that God intended for us.
The third point is: Prayer changes the person who prays.
Isiah the prophet wrote; "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found. Call ye upon Him when He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God; for he will abundantly pardon." (Isiah 55:6&7).
The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come."
Many of us do not realize that when we pray, and become one with God that we are changing, because we have surrenered ourelves to God. We become new creatures that Paul writes about.
These changes are often seen in the way we see things, in the way we experience life, how we experience others, and how we consider situations that affect us.
We can aswer that famous question, without hesitation "Where do we see God in the midst of our lives and in the relationships with others around us." By answering this question, we are encouraged to take our journey of faith from the known to the unknown. From the visible to the invisible.
We become the "God light" in the world of darkness. We are that refreshing spirit inour communities in which we live, work, and participate in.
We often pray that a situation or a person be changed so that change suits us, our desires, and our wants. Instead God changes us so that we can be a blessing to that person we wanted God to change. We are that light in the darkness where we find ourselves.
My final point is: Prayer is the means by which we use what God gives us.
Prayer enables each one of us to use the gifts and abilities necessary to live the Christian life. Returning to the passage Ephesians 6:10-20; there are key words that are important that Paul gives us. Words and phrases like; "so that you can take your stand, stand your ground, after you have done everything, stand, stand firm, with your feet fitted with the readiness and be alert".
These are all brought about through prayer. Paul writes; "and pray in the Spirit on all occassions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and keep on praying for all the saints."
When I was a youth, a long time ago, there was a dear lady, Mrs. Garland, in the church who was what we referred to as "Prayer Warrior." When Mrs. Garland told you she was praying fro you, you knew somethibg was up. You knew that God was going to intervene in your life whether you wanted Him to or not. We as youth respected her, while at the same time we feared her.
Prayer is how Mrs. Garland lived her life and how she was such a powerful person in the eyes of the church and people. God gave her everything she needed to live her spiritaul and physical life. God also give us all we need to live an active spiritual and physical life as we travel along our journeys of faith.
Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, ad salvation are more than just words. We need to learn how to apply these words in our journey. We need to understand their importance in our prayters. We need to realize that in many cases, prayer is not just for us, but for others as we interceede on their behalf.
Prayer takes us from the visible to the invisible whereby we become the God light that shines freely.
I encourage you to re-read this passage, and to seek God in the use of the armor that he provides us.
Amen.
Reading from Peterson's The Message.
"And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way.
This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life or death fight to the finish against the Devil and his angels.
Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on our own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one fall behind or drops out.
And don't forget to pray for me. Pray that I'll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out."
For the past while, my thoughts have been about prayer.
Prayer has become a "commonality" among many. We use the phrase "my thoughts and prayers are with you", as if there is some sort of calming attribute to the situation at hand.
I often wondered, do we really understand the design of prayer let alone the power of prayer that we often hear about?
We have the example of how to pray, in the Lord's prayer. As i reasearched and prepared for this message, I was made aware that there are hundreds of examples concerning prayers throughout the Old and New Testaments.
In choosing this passage in Ephesians, I wish to draw your attention to prayer as seen here in this passage.
Verse 18 from the NIV reads: And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. with this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for the saints.
Verse 18 from the Message reads: Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind and drops out.
I mention this passage from two translations because they give instructions that we often don't think about. Pray in the Spirit, pray long and hard. Pray for the Saints, pray for your brothers and sisters. Be alert, keep your eyes open.
Remembering these three ideas, there are three points I would like to venture into.
The first point is what prayer is not.
How many remember the Christmas catalogs from Sears and Eatons? When these catalogs came out, I would rush to the nearest office and pick up a copy, take it home, and made out my list of what I wanted.
As kids growing up, prayer was often seen as a sort of Christmas wish list with "Amen" put at the end. After we made our list and said "Amen" we would walk away thinking we would get everything we asked for.
This sort of understanding of what we believe prayer to be, often destroys the faith that individuals have. It often terminates one's understanding of God. If we don't get what we want, we often become discouraged and angry with God. When God says "No" we are not prepared for that answer and we walk away disgruntled.
A person I know, prayed long and hard that his daughter would not loose her leg to cancer. When she lost her leg, he was angry with God and walked away believing that he had been betrayed and lied to.
In my own case, for some reason I don't remember praying to keep my leg. I was hoping to keep my leg, but for some reason I had the attitude if it was to be, it was to be.
I know others prayed fervently that I would not loose my leg. I also know of an individual, that the loss of my leg caused spiritual strife for the longest time.
In many cases like this, we are praying for our will to be done and we fail to see what God's will is. Evan as Christians, we don't really seek God's will, nor do we really accept God's will. This is something that we need to come to grips with, to honestly seek God's will and accept His will. I am not going to say that accepting and seeking God's will is easy, for it is far from easy.
The second point is that Prayer at its' most basic level is surrender.
When a person surrenders their will to God, they get God's will in return. Jesus prayed in the garden: "Not my will be done, but your will be done."
The Lord's prayer we recite; "...thy kingdom come, they will be done on earth as it is in heaven..." Often we find it so difficult to surrender ourselves or to line ourselves up with the will of God. We pray "thy will be done" and we take up our problems and concerns and go on with our lives wondering why we're not being blessed or obtaining the glory that God had intended for us.
God doesn't expect us to do the heavy lifting. God provides us with the ablities to endure, while He does the heavy lifing that's needed.
It reminds me of one of my swimmers when I was coaching. Nate asked me how he should swim his back stroke race. I told him to "Swim so your head is at the leader's feet. After the first two lengths swim your hardest and fastest. You should be albe to pass him and win the race." Nate did as I had instructed and won his race to a gold medal finish. He had surrendered his will to mine, and got my will and in return he received a gold medal.
Surrendering is not easy, but when we do, we are blessed and given the glory that God intended for us.
The third point is: Prayer changes the person who prays.
Isiah the prophet wrote; "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found. Call ye upon Him when He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God; for he will abundantly pardon." (Isiah 55:6&7).
The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come."
Many of us do not realize that when we pray, and become one with God that we are changing, because we have surrenered ourelves to God. We become new creatures that Paul writes about.
These changes are often seen in the way we see things, in the way we experience life, how we experience others, and how we consider situations that affect us.
We can aswer that famous question, without hesitation "Where do we see God in the midst of our lives and in the relationships with others around us." By answering this question, we are encouraged to take our journey of faith from the known to the unknown. From the visible to the invisible.
We become the "God light" in the world of darkness. We are that refreshing spirit inour communities in which we live, work, and participate in.
We often pray that a situation or a person be changed so that change suits us, our desires, and our wants. Instead God changes us so that we can be a blessing to that person we wanted God to change. We are that light in the darkness where we find ourselves.
My final point is: Prayer is the means by which we use what God gives us.
Prayer enables each one of us to use the gifts and abilities necessary to live the Christian life. Returning to the passage Ephesians 6:10-20; there are key words that are important that Paul gives us. Words and phrases like; "so that you can take your stand, stand your ground, after you have done everything, stand, stand firm, with your feet fitted with the readiness and be alert".
These are all brought about through prayer. Paul writes; "and pray in the Spirit on all occassions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and keep on praying for all the saints."
When I was a youth, a long time ago, there was a dear lady, Mrs. Garland, in the church who was what we referred to as "Prayer Warrior." When Mrs. Garland told you she was praying fro you, you knew somethibg was up. You knew that God was going to intervene in your life whether you wanted Him to or not. We as youth respected her, while at the same time we feared her.
Prayer is how Mrs. Garland lived her life and how she was such a powerful person in the eyes of the church and people. God gave her everything she needed to live her spiritaul and physical life. God also give us all we need to live an active spiritual and physical life as we travel along our journeys of faith.
Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, ad salvation are more than just words. We need to learn how to apply these words in our journey. We need to understand their importance in our prayters. We need to realize that in many cases, prayer is not just for us, but for others as we interceede on their behalf.
Prayer takes us from the visible to the invisible whereby we become the God light that shines freely.
I encourage you to re-read this passage, and to seek God in the use of the armor that he provides us.
Amen.
Wednesday, 15 April 2020
Censorship through complaint by cup cake
I have a facebook account and there is someone on it who doesn't like what I post. As a result I was banned from posting last week for 24 hours. When I got back on facebook I no sooner posted a post and I was banned for 3 days.
I have attempted to ask facebook censors what was posted that they didn't like. There has been no answer to any of my requests. Yes that is right. There has been no answer what so ever. This tells me that facebook censors believe they are omnipotent.
Since action is taken on behalf of someone who doesn't like your posts, only shows that someone is on my account whether I know them or not, and have issues with my thoughts and postings. This person is a coward in my books as they have not requested to contact me directly so that a discussion can be created as to what they didn't like.
The other concept is this: Who ever is on my facebook account whether friend or not, have very thin skin and is likely some progressive liberal cup cake who believe they are the messiah of facebook, ready to prosecutor, jury, judge, and executioner. I find such persons a waste of my time and effort as they are cowards and hide behind facebook that will not identify who an accuser is.
As a result I will be expressing my opinions here on this account that I forgot I had. If you wish to discuss an issue with me that would be great and welcomed. If you come here just to make complaints to blogger or who ever the internet gods are at the time, don't waste my time.
Freedom of speech is worth defending. Freedom of thought is worth defending. Political correctness only castrates society and forces conversation to go underground and therefore is not work defending.
Cheers and have a good day.
I have attempted to ask facebook censors what was posted that they didn't like. There has been no answer to any of my requests. Yes that is right. There has been no answer what so ever. This tells me that facebook censors believe they are omnipotent.
Since action is taken on behalf of someone who doesn't like your posts, only shows that someone is on my account whether I know them or not, and have issues with my thoughts and postings. This person is a coward in my books as they have not requested to contact me directly so that a discussion can be created as to what they didn't like.
The other concept is this: Who ever is on my facebook account whether friend or not, have very thin skin and is likely some progressive liberal cup cake who believe they are the messiah of facebook, ready to prosecutor, jury, judge, and executioner. I find such persons a waste of my time and effort as they are cowards and hide behind facebook that will not identify who an accuser is.
As a result I will be expressing my opinions here on this account that I forgot I had. If you wish to discuss an issue with me that would be great and welcomed. If you come here just to make complaints to blogger or who ever the internet gods are at the time, don't waste my time.
Freedom of speech is worth defending. Freedom of thought is worth defending. Political correctness only castrates society and forces conversation to go underground and therefore is not work defending.
Cheers and have a good day.
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