Aug 13, 2023
Shepherds And Servants Part 2: Praise God For His Mercy (1 Timothy 1:12-17)

Why is an understanding of God's mercy so important to us as believers? Why should we not only be aware of it but deeply meditate upon it? I think it is because as humans we have a sickness called desensitization. The more familiar we become with something, the less important it becomes. Where as the cross, the sacrifice of Christ, and the sin which he saved us from should always break us, we've heard about it so much in church that it is just the same old record. But when we are talking about something as important as the mercy of Christ to save us from our sins we should never ever allow ourselves to be desensitized to it. Instead we should determine to keep the same sober- mindedness about it that we had when we first realized it. And if we can do that, we will have no problem praising God and worshipping him as he deserves. A worship that extends beyond the weekly worship service and permeates our entire lives. We should be in a perpetual state of praising our God because of the mercy he has shown us in saving us from our sins. Today I want us to leave with a sense of understanding that; There is nothing that can keep us from praising God when we are constantly aware of the mercy Christ has shown us.

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  • Aug 13, 2023Shepherds And Servants Part 2: Praise God For His Mercy (1 Timothy 1:12-17)
    Aug 13, 2023
    Shepherds And Servants Part 2: Praise God For His Mercy (1 Timothy 1:12-17)

    Why is an understanding of God's mercy so important to us as believers? Why should we not only be aware of it but deeply meditate upon it? I think it is because as humans we have a sickness called desensitization. The more familiar we become with something, the less important it becomes. Where as the cross, the sacrifice of Christ, and the sin which he saved us from should always break us, we've heard about it so much in church that it is just the same old record. But when we are talking about something as important as the mercy of Christ to save us from our sins we should never ever allow ourselves to be desensitized to it. Instead we should determine to keep the same sober- mindedness about it that we had when we first realized it. And if we can do that, we will have no problem praising God and worshipping him as he deserves. A worship that extends beyond the weekly worship service and permeates our entire lives. We should be in a perpetual state of praising our God because of the mercy he has shown us in saving us from our sins. Today I want us to leave with a sense of understanding that; There is nothing that can keep us from praising God when we are constantly aware of the mercy Christ has shown us.

  • Aug 6, 2023Shepherds And Servants Part 1: Protect The Gospel (1 Timothy 1:1-11)
    Aug 6, 2023
    Shepherds And Servants Part 1: Protect The Gospel (1 Timothy 1:1-11)

    The Ephesian church was very dear to Paul's heart and he wanted to make sure that they did not stray from the faith in his absence. All of this is the setting in which we find ourselves for the foreseeable future. So what is the primary message that Paul gives to Timothy for the Church of Ephesus? As we will come to find out later, it is for the establishing of church leaders and proper church community. But here Paul simply communicates to Timothy his most pressing matter, that as the primary Shepherd in Ephesus at the time, Timothy must make sure that the other Shepherds are preaching sound doctrine. By the way, I'm using the term Shepherd here as it communicates what an elder or pastor is primarily supposed to do; shepherd the people of God spiritually. We will get into that topic more in depth later in our study. For now we must focus on the issue at hand; Shepherds must protect the Gospel so that the church won't abandon the Gospel. The message of Christ as our Lord and God, who redeemed us from our sinful state through the sacrifice of his own life is non-negotiable. The commands He expects us to live according to, in order to show our devotion to him, are inalienable. When we move away from the standard of the Word of God and its precepts, we will inevitably walk away from our faith.

  • Jul 30, 2023Summer Mix Tape Part 8: Stay In School (2 Timothy 2:15)
    Jul 30, 2023
    Summer Mix Tape Part 8: Stay In School (2 Timothy 2:15)

    The KJV says in 2 Timothy 2:15, “study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” In many passages, the Bible reminds us that as Christians we are to never stop being a student; we are to never stop studying. In other words, Christians stay in school for life! For you kids or students, that may seem unappealing, but let me assure you, if you love Jesus, you'll love learning all you can about him and his creation. Studying the Bible and learning how to have a deeper faith in Christ isn't a burden, it's a blessing. Our attitudes should be that of Psalm 25:4 which says, “make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.” The point this morning is simple, regardless of how old you are, you should never lose a desire to learn all you can about Christ and his kingdom.

  • Jul 24, 2023Summer Mix Tape Part 7: Love Does Not Equal Acceptance (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
    Jul 24, 2023
    Summer Mix Tape Part 7: Love Does Not Equal Acceptance (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

    Let's talk about love. But not love like in ahhhh, but love as in like... hmmm. To explain what I'm talking about let's look at the love chapter; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Love is patient and kind.... blah blah. Love is all nice and polite and will do anything for you and accept you no matter what right? Well hit the brakes cupid. Look at verse 6 again. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Did you get that? Love is kind, not arrogant, not rude, not irritable or resentful. Love will make you feel accepted but love doesn't accept all that you do because true love does not, cannot rejoice at wrong doing!

    And it is this issue, this point, that may be the fulcrum of the current spiritual war which is raging in our culture. As believers we must place our faith in Christ above all, yes? And our faith in Christ is in accordance with a belief in the scriptures, yes? And our scriptures tell us that true faith is exhibited through righteous living, right? And our scriptures, the Bible, tells us how to live righteously, correct? So what happens when we are faced with a choice to either appear loving by accepting someone's sin or appear unloving by neglecting to accept one's sin?

    For the longest time, the church answered this dilemma through the mantra, “hate the sin, love the sinner.” But today we are confronted with so many changing cultural norms that in order to hate the sin, we must hate the very thing by which people find their identity. For example, I can easily tell an alcoholic that I hate their sin of drunkenness and dependency on alcohol, and they will most likely agree and not be offended by it. Why? Because being an alcoholic is not something anyone wants to be celebrated for. But in the last decade it has become mainstream for certain other sins and the people who indulge in them to be celebrated for those sins, because those sins define them. And if you dare tell them that the sin which defines them is sin, and that you can't accept their sin or their lifestyle as right, according to scripture, then you are considered intolerant, a bigot, a phobe, and you are othered by society. We are told that if we don't accept someone's lifestyle then we are not being loving and we need to change our stance or be canceled. And we are left wondering? When did telling someone that we can't accept their sinful lifestyle become unloving. In fact, according to 1 Corinthians 13:6, aren't we being loving when we do not rejoice at wrong doing, but rejoice in the truth?

  • Jul 9, 2023Summer Mix Tape Part 5: The Forgotten God (Romans 8:11)
    Jul 9, 2023
    Summer Mix Tape Part 5: The Forgotten God (Romans 8:11)

    You may think that calling the Holy Spirit the forgotten God is a bit extreme but I don't. In my opinion the Holy Spirit has been tragically neglected for far too long and for all practical purposes has been forgotten, not just by secular society, but by the church itself. Francis Chan, in his book Forgotten God, says, “If I were Satan and my ultimate goal was to thwart God's kingdom and purposes, one of my main strategies would be to get churchgoers to ignore the Holy Spirit.” This cannot be tolerated and must be addressed.

    Some people talk a lot about, or even boast about, the Spirit, but their lives don't produce any of His fruit. Others speak about Him in theological terms but don't have any connection with an experience of His actual power. Still many simply ignore Him and rarely feel a relationship or intimacy with God.

    We need to be awakened to our need for the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our church and to show us how to make him relevant and real in the way we live. If the Holy Spirit moves, nothing can stop Him. If he doesn't move, we will not produce fruit, we will not exhibit a genuine example of Christ to the world, and we will not find the strength to push through complacency and trials. Most of all, if the Holy Spirit doesn't move we will continue to be satisfied with the superficial means of this world rather than the supernatural moving of God.

  • Jul 2, 2023Summer Mix Tape Part 4: The American Covenant (Deuteronomy 4:1-8)
    Jul 2, 2023
    Summer Mix Tape Part 4: The American Covenant (Deuteronomy 4:1-8)

    What great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us? A nation, not all that unlike Israel, that started when a few religious separatists against all odds, boarded ships, crossed an ocean, and took possession of a new world. A nation that started upon the words and the commandments of the Lord our God. A nation born from full sail rejection of idolatrous tyranny. A nation born of an American Covenant. A covenant which states time and time again, “keep and teach the righteous statutes of the Lord and you will be blessed.” And make no mistake about it, God has blessed America.  But just as with the Covenant that was given to the Israelites from Mount Sinai, this covenant is conditional. Though God unconditionally will never forsake his elect; when dealing with nations, there are stipulations to his blessings. Follow his commands and seek his will and things will go well for you. Ignore his commands and seek your own desires and things will go poorly.  Tuesday, as we celebrate the birth of our nation, founded on the principles of the Bible and for the expansion of Christ's kingdom, let it be a warning. We have sunk further from God as a nation than we ever have. We have forsaken his Word and forgotten his will for our nation. We have become pagans worshipping the gods of the flesh and celebrating demonic perversions and sexually immoralities that our forefathers couldn't even have imagined. Our freedoms are hanging on by a thread and because of this we are more divided as a country than we have been since the Civil War. In short, we are in drastic danger of seeing God remove his hand of blessing from us. You see it and I see it. If not for a miracle the end of the republic is in sight.

  • Jun 4, 2023Weird Flex Part 7: I Have No Ambition Or Anything Else (Proverbs 13:4)
    Jun 4, 2023
    Weird Flex Part 7: I Have No Ambition Or Anything Else (Proverbs 13:4)
    Series: Weird Flex

    Proverbs 13:4 says, “the soul of a sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.” Proverbs 1:32 says “the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them.” The book of Proverbs makes it apparent that fools are lazy and apathetic and because of that they have produce very little of value . A fool brags that they have no ambition or anything else. It is not wise to be lazy, apathetic, and unambitious. But, we can all relate a little right? I mean who doesn't want to take a break every now and then, lay back, and just chill? The problem is, without moderation and discipline, times of rest and relaxation can turn into days of rest and relaxation which can turn into weeks which can turn into months. Before you know it you've allowed a few moments of rest to become a habit of laziness and lethargy.  Take vacations for example. There is very little in this life better than working hard all year and then enjoying that week at the beach where you sit around and do nothing, right? But then comes that next week when you have to go back to work. I don't know about you, but I rarely feel ready to jump back into that week at full speed. In fact, I would much rather have another week of vacation. Laziness can become a habit very fast.  Or think back to Covid. We were basically told to stop working, stop going to the gym, stop living life, and nestle down in our homes and watch Netflix for a year. I dare say we have all recovered from the months upon months of sluggish living. It is possible many never will. And that is foolish.  Why is it foolish to live a lifestyle void of ambition, void of hard work and diligence? Because, laziness doesn't produce anything of true worth. Television watching doesn't produce anything of worth. Cheering for a team doesn't produce anything of worth. Playing a video game doesn't produce anything of worth. Sleeping all day produces nothing of worth. In other words, you cannot produce anything of value unless you do something productive.  This message is huge for our graduates and those who will be graduating in the upcoming years. At every turn you will be confronted with two options. Go make something of yourself where you contribute to society and produce things of value to humanity or indulge yourself in staying stagnant in habitual laziness. Go create a life of value or continue to be idle. Go add value to the world around you or turn into a leech mooching off of society. Be someone who is dependable or someone who is simply dependent. If you choose to reject the path of laziness you will find your life filled with meaning in serving others and serving Christ. But if you choose the path of no ambition what you will find out is that at some point it is unsustainable. It is sin, and it is foolishness. You cannot produce anything of value unless you do something productive.

  • May 28, 2023Weird Flex Part 6: I’m Wasted (Proverbs 20:1)
    May 28, 2023
    Weird Flex Part 6: I’m Wasted (Proverbs 20:1)
    Series: Weird Flex

    Proverbs 20:1 says, “wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.” Simply put, it is foolish to be led astray by alcohol. It is unwise to drink too much, to wander into substance abuse, and to blatantly sin by becoming drunk. Like it or not, alcohol is a huge part of our society, and a huge problem in our culture and it must be addressed. And, I know that this may be a sensitive subject but Proverbs has a few things to say about the foolishness of alcohol consumption and substance abuse and I think it would be negligent of me as your pastor if we didn't at least give it a look.   I've also noticed that it is not just a problem, but that this problem is celebrated. It is not uncommon for someone to brag about how much they drink and how often they are drunk. Even when I was in high-school kids would come to school flaunting how wasted they were. Like some badge of honor many people unashamedly admit that their weekend plans are to get wasted. In no small part our society lives for the weekend and many weekends involve binging on alcohol or drugs. The Bible says that this is foolish. It's not godly, its not God honoring, and it clearly shows a lack of fear in God. It's also not uncommon to see substance abuse celebrated on social media. Look at some of these tweets. The point is simple, a fool brags about being high, being drunk, being wasted... they may think it's cool but it is a weird flex.   So, for those struggling with substance abuse or addiction, there is hope in the wisdom of Christ. For those who socially drink but often find they take it too far and get drunk, it's time to repent and find wisdom in the Word of God. And for those who like to use recreational drugs like Marijuana, it's time to turn from your foolishness and return to the wisdom found in God.  But you may say, it's not a sin to drink. And you would be right. But is it always wise? This morning I want us to focus on the dangers of alcohol and drugs while also wrestling with the fact that alcohol isn't forbidden for believers and is in some case prescribed. When it comes to this particular subject we must find a balance of staying within God's will and if choosing to partake doing so with moderation. Wisdom is often finding that middle ground. But, let's be honest. That is hard. That is difficult. And if it can't be done, then it should be done away with. The main point is simple, When alcohol or drugs can not be handled with wisdom, the wise thing to do would be to not handle them at all!

  • May 21, 2023Weird Flex Part 5: I Always Say What’s On My Mind (Proverbs 29:11)
    May 21, 2023
    Weird Flex Part 5: I Always Say What’s On My Mind (Proverbs 29:11)
    Series: Weird Flex

    I have preached in over a dozen funerals and been to at least that many more. And over the course of these funerals I've heard on more than a handful of occasions this phrase, “one thing I can tell you is that they always spoke their mind.” It's a very interesting phrase is it not? “They always spoke their mind.” They say it like it's a virtue; like it's something to be proud of.  I assure you, it's not.  Ii've known people like this who always spoke their mind, and I must say that I've never really felt that it was a good quality. My grandmother was one of those people who always spoke her mind. “That haircuts dumb. You kids these days need to learn respect. You call that music.” Never a kind word, just matter of fact opinions spouted off without filter or thought of others feelings.  Instead, I would think that it would be more wise to think about what you are going to say or if it even needs to be said, be a little bit more diplomatic about how to say it, and then gently in a one on one conversation deliver your words with love. But, just rattling off every thought as if your opinion is the final word is not wise; it's careless and foolish. Saying, “I always say what's on my mind” is a weird flex, but okay... let's see what the word of God has to say about it.  This morning it is our hope that when you see the wisdom found in the Bible you will rethink how you go about delivering your words. Yes we should always speak the truth, but we must also speak the truth in love. Your opinions aren't always truth and your delivery isn't always loving. So take a step back and filter your opinions and delivery through the wisdom of the word of God found in the book of Proverbs. The main point this morning is that When you say anything, remember It's better to be righteous than right.

  • May 14, 2023Weird Flex Part 4: I Make My Momma Cry All The Time (Proverbs 10:1)
    May 14, 2023
    Weird Flex Part 4: I Make My Momma Cry All The Time (Proverbs 10:1)
    Series: Weird Flex

    Proverbs 10:1 says, “a wise son makes a glad father but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.” A wise son, a son who fears God and receives wise counsel makes his parents proud. As a father I completely understand. Before kids the only person I really was concerned about, to some degree, was myself. What could I achieve. What success could I become. What was my legacy going to be. But then you have kids... and more kids... and more kids... and before you know it you have 5 little Shevis and Lisas running about and I'll level with you; the thing that makes me happiest in this entire world is when my kids have success and when my kids overcome their obstacles in life. Now I care about their legacy more than my own.  And when they make me proud it has it's benefits. I try my hardest to motivate my kids to do well in their studies so I bribe them with money and prizes and whatever I can. One of my tricks is that if they can get straight A's on a report card then the next 6 weeks they get one skip day from school and I'll take em out to eat, take em to a movie, or whatever they want. Just recently me and Hudson took the day off, went to Greensboro and watched Super Mario and it was a great day. The point is I am proud of my kids and a wise son wants to make his parents proud because it often comes with fringe benefits.  On the other hand, a foolish son will bring sorrow to his parents. In particular here in this verse it mentions moms. Now, I don't have to tell you but you know. If my kids make me mad, its one thing. And as a rule of thumb in my house, you don't want to make dad mad. But if you talk back to mom, or treat her without respect, or heaven forbid make her cry... well that's just dumb cause now Dad is mad and mom is sad and... let's just say that no one is going to escape the groundings that are about to get dished out. When you dishonor your parents it comes with very harsh consequences. It is foolish, foolish, foolish to bring sorrow to your mom.  Why do kids do this? Why do daughters and sons in our society today find it amusing, even liberating, to dishonor their parents and bring sorrow to their mothers, and then they go on Dr. Phil or twitter and bad mouth them and act like its a good thing? I remember seeing one post on facebook where a woman was bragging about the fact that she makes her momma cry all the time. I thought, that's a weird flex... and it ain't okay. That's not cool. That's not good. That's not Godly. It's flat out dumb, so don't do it. When you dishonor your mom, you destroy your own legacy. Today we are going to look at three reasons why loving your mother and honoring your parents is wise and dishonoring them is foolish and destroys your legacy.

  • May 7, 2023Weird Flex Part 3: I Don’t Listen To Anyone I Should (Proverbs 12:15)
    May 7, 2023
    Weird Flex Part 3: I Don’t Listen To Anyone I Should (Proverbs 12:15)
    Series: Weird Flex

    Proverbs 12:15 says, “the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” Fools brag about the fact that they don't listen to anyone that they should. That's a weird flex, but okay. Why? Because wise people listen to wise counsel. For example; when I was 17 me and all of my best friends, Chuck, Timmy, Forest, Steven, were all on our church's youth softball team. And we had a game that night and I really wanted to go, but the problem was I had to work. I worked for Lifeway Christian Bookstore and it was a good job that I really enjoyed. I had worked there for almost two years and hadn't taken many sick days. I remember it like it was yesterday. Timmy and Forest were like little devils on one shoulder telling me to call in sick and come play the softball game. On the other shoulder was my manager telling me that you shouldn't do that that cause it might come back to bite you. In the end, I listened to the two little devils, I listened to foolish advice from my not so wise friends and it did not go well. I called in sick and went to the softball game. When I got to the game my youth pastor, who got me the job because he was friends with my manager, told me that he just so happened to talk with my manager over the phone for something completely unrelated and she happened to mention that I called in sick. My youth pastor responded with, “well that's funny, I'm expecting him at our softball game in a couple hours.” So when I showed up at the softball game, my youth pastor told me what happened, benched me for the game, and the next day I got fired from my job. I learned that day to be careful who's advice I took.

    Now, over the years I have been blessed to have some very wise counsel over my life, much of it coming from the leadership of our church and other Christians. Perhaps the best advice I receive comes from Lisa. In all honesty she is the wisest person I know and never steers me in the wrong direction. When I take her counsel, things turn out good. When I ignore it... not so much.

    As a pastor, over the years, I have given what I think is very wise counsel to many people. Some take it, some ignore it. But you know what frustrates me the most. Those who reject good advice because it's not the advice they want and so they go and find others who will tell them what they want to hear. I don't think that ever turns out for the best. The Bible calls those people foolish. Today, it is our hope that if you are struggling to listen to wise counsel, if you are listening to your own heart or the counsel of non-believers, you would find wisdom here and change course. The point this morning is simple, when you ignore those who listen to God and listen to those who ignore God you can't blame God for the mess you make.

  • Apr 23, 2023Weird Flex Part 1: I May Be A Fool But Wisdom Is Dumb (Proverbs 1:7)
    Apr 23, 2023
    Weird Flex Part 1: I May Be A Fool But Wisdom Is Dumb (Proverbs 1:7)
    Series: Weird Flex

    Proverbs 1:7 which says, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” That's a really weird flex, but okay. “I may be a fool but wisdom is dumb.” No, you're dumb. Why would anyone despise wisdom? Why would anyone say that they would rather be a fool and ignore in instruction? Why would anyone be known among others as unteachable? That's not okay, thats foolish. That's not just a weird flex, thats a dumb flex. Wisdom is power. The ability to learn is invaluable. Proverbs 8:11 says that “wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her. Proverbs 16:16 says that it is better than gold and silver. Why would you not want wisdom when this is what wisdom can give you? Rejecting wisdom is perhaps the most foolish thing you could ever do and hopefully lead you back to wisdom. When wisdom is found in God, when wisdom affords you gold, when wisdom finds you growing, don't be a fool, embrace it!

  • Apr 9, 2023Expect A Miracle Part 6: Jesus Has Power Over Life And Death (John 11:1-44)
    Apr 9, 2023
    Expect A Miracle Part 6: Jesus Has Power Over Life And Death (John 11:1-44)

    Of all of the miracles that we've seen through out the Old Testament; the Flood of Noah, the plagues of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea for Moses, The Sun standing still for Joshua... and all of the miracles we've seen Jesus perform in the New Testament, none compare to the power to bring someone who has died back to life. In Luke 7:11-17 we see Jesus is walking into a town as a funeral procession is walking out to bury a dead man. Jesus sees the dead man's mother and He knows that she is a widow and that the dead man is her only son and he has compassion on her. He casually walks up to the dead man as he is being carried in his coffin by the pallbearers and says to him “arise.” And the man comes back to life. Right there in his coffin. There is nothing more precious to us than life, and here Jesus just casually, without pomp or circumstance, simply tells the dead man to arise and he comes back to life... like no big deal. That's the power of Christ!

    Again, in Mark 5:21-24, and 35-43 we see the story of a ruler of the synagogue named Jairus; most likely a Pharisee in high standing like Nicodemus, who comes begging Jesus to heal his little girl. I can tell you with all certainty, if Vera was at the point of death there is nothing I wouldn't do to see her healed. Even if I was a Pharisee who hated Jesus, I would run to him and beg him to heal her! This is desperation! Unfortunately, Jesus is too late and when he arrives she is already dead. That's no problem, because to Jesus death is just like sleep. He goes to the little girl and says, “arise.”

    Do you get it? Jesus has power so great that he is able to bring those who are dead back to life. He literally has power over life and death. I don't know if you completely understood what I just said to you. One day we are all going to die. One day our mortal bodies will finally give out. Our hearts will fail, our minds will fail, we will get cancer or some other disease and we will breathe our final breaths. And there are only two things you can do with that information. You can either accept it or you can fight it!

    I love the famous poem from Dylan Thomas, “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.” It's all about the fact that we as humans do not accept death. The opening line says this, “do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” We should rave and rage at death! And most of us do. However, we don't know how to rave and rage at death very well, because, well, we are still dying. Here's the most important question you could possibly ever ask, “how can I defeat death?” The answer is clear! Find the one who has power over life and death. Find the one who can call you to arise from death. There is only one. His name is Jesus. The only way to escape death is to obey the voice of Jesus calling you to arise

  • Apr 2, 2023Expect A Miracle Part 5: All Living Things Submit To Christ (Matthew 21:18-22)
    Apr 2, 2023
    Expect A Miracle Part 5: All Living Things Submit To Christ (Matthew 21:18-22)

    Jesus can do miracles in our bodies. Whether healing disease, curing disabilities, or casting out demons, Jesus is sovereign over our bodies and we can trust him to do a miracle in us. But as we saw last week, Jesus can also do miracles with nature. He can create food from nothing. He can turn water into wine. He can calm stormy seas and He can walk on water. Jesus allows our disease and disabilities to show that in our brokenness he can make us whole. And as we saw last week, Jesus breaks the natural order of this world to show us that this world can't break us. If you haven't been able to tell yet, all of the miracles are to show that we can place our trust in Jesus.

    Today we continue to see Jesus' sovereign power over nature. Today we will look at the miracles that prove that all living things submit to Christ. Trees do what he wants. Fish do what he wants. As we have heard in the Exodus account, Frogs, Gnats, Locusts, and Flies also do whatever he wants. Ultimately, every living thing is under his control. Job 12:7-10 says, “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.

    It's interesting, but as we see Jesus doing miracles we never see him make someone do something that they don't want to do. Yes, we have Old Testament examples where God hardened Pharaoh's heart, or turned Nebuchadnezzar into a wild beast for a time, but in the New Testament we do not see that. Yes, Jesus beckons Nicodemus to follow him, but he doesn't force him. Yes, Jesus calls the Rich Young Ruler to sell all that he has, but he doesn't make him do it.

    So, why would Jesus make nature, trees, and animals do what he wills, but not us? Again, your answer is simple. He is doing all of these miracles for you! For you to see that he is good and for you to see his power and place your trust in Him. Though Jesus makes the animals and plants obey his every command, He has given us free will to follow Him by faith.

  • Mar 26, 2023Expect A Miracle Part 4: All Of Nature Submits To Christ (John 6:1-21)
    Mar 26, 2023
    Expect A Miracle Part 4: All Of Nature Submits To Christ (John 6:1-21)

    In the last three sermons we've seen Jesus's sovereignty over everything that can affect our bodies and spirits. Disease, disability, and even demons are no match compared to the overwhelming power of Christ. And not only does Christ have this power but as our father and friend, he is willing to use his power to work in and through us, conquering our sickness, affliction, and demons for his glory! As the leper said, if you are willing I know you can heal me. He is able and he is willing.

    But in John 6:1-21 we see that Jesus is not only sovereign over our physical and spiritual health, but he is also sovereign over all of nature. When he speaks storms stand still, when he prays bread multiplies and water becomes wine, and when he walks water becomes solid ground. Yes, there are natural laws; gravity, inertia, force, thermodynamics, but all of them are at the will of Christ; they all submit to him. Where it is impossible with men, it is more than possible with Christ and thats what a miracle is!

    And so we say yes, we believe that Jesus has the sovereign power to do anything he wills... but how does that connect with us this morning when it comes to nature. How does the fact that Jesus can move mountains help me in my job, my marriage, my trials? Well I think it's simple isn't it; If Jesus can feed the masses from nothing, then he can surely make sure you are fed and clothed. If Jesus can calm the storms then surely he can calm the storms in your marriage. If Jesus can walk on water and turn water to wine then surely he can fill you with living water! The point is this... Jesus breaks the natural order of this world to show you that this world can't break you!