Mt. Zion Posts

How do I project Jesus through me in my community?

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 18:21:23 GMT

How do I project Jesus through me in my community?

How to take Jesus to the street?

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

A. Be Intentional (Ephesians 4)

1. Start by telling the truth (stop lying), vs. 15.

2. Put off the old man and put on the new man, vv. 22, 24, 25.

3. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind, v. 23.

4. Learn how to get angry without sinning, v. 26.

5. Stop being lazy, stealing and get a job, v. 28.

6. If you don’t have anything encouraging to say, shut up! V. 29.

“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good

to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”

B. Be Available (Mark 5:18, 19)

1. How to take Jesus to the street? First, we must get him in the home.

2. Booker T. Washington said, “Cast down your bucket where you are!”

No need to do anything extra, in the areas where you reside and work or go to

school or serve, live for Christ. In Mark 5, the Lord healed a lunatic man who

lived among the tombs. This man wanted to be with Jesus. “Howbeit Jesus

suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how

great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee” (Mk

5:19).

3. The woman at the well was available.

4. When the Lord got ready to enter into Jerusalem, Jesus told two of his disciples

that they would find a colt and its ass tied. Jesus told his disciples to loose him

and let him go. The colt was available. A Roman centurion, who had great faith

was available. Even the rooster that crowed when Peter denied the Lord, was

available. Jesus calmed the waves and the wind one day: even the winds and the

sea were availability.

5. Jesus told Peter and John to go into Jerusalem and they would see a man bearing a

pitcher of water. The man was available.

C. Be Relevant

1. Jesus, the apostles, and the NT writers addressed issues that people were facing

and could relate to. Many in our Christian circles are not reaching people because

our methods, not message, are out of date. It took a pandemic to force many of

our churches to use technology.

2. Why is it that many of our churches are one man shows with just one pastor that

is hired by the church. We need to have an elder board with various “paid” pastors

on staff to meet the growing needs of our community. Our business model in the

church does not work. Here is one reason why it doesn’t work: It's not biblical!

3. Jesus came to die for sinners because that was and still is the current pandemic:

sin. However, the church focuses more on the cross and little emphasis is placed

on the fact that Jesus will return to receive his church. Our message, if it is to be

relevant, must be balanced.

Conclusion

Let us learn to pray this prayer before we leave the home: Lord provide the platform for me to let

you shine through me. Lord I give my mind, my abilities, my words, and my deeds as service to

you in this day. Lord, help me to be available for my spouse, family, pastor, church family, to

people in my community, those on my job, school, or to a stranger that I may meet today. Father,

I know that no encounter is an accident. So, Lord, help me to be intentional with my words,

thoughts, and actions, that I may minister grace to the hearers and so someone will come to know

the love of your Son Jesus Christ through me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Three Signs of a Joyful Spirit: Live, Give, and Forgive

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 18:13:25 GMT

The Three Signs of a Joyful Spirit: Live, Give, and Forgive

Luke 6:20 – 38

September 4, 2022

Ernest L. Williams, Sr.

In some translations, the word in Greek for “blessed” is translated as “happy.” Could Jesus be

saying to the crowd in his sermon on the plains to be happy? (See v. 17 compared to Matthew’s

sermon on the Mount, Matt 5). True joy contains living, giving, and forgiving.

Illustration

Proverbs on laughter.

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones (Prov 17:22).

A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken

(Prov 15:13).

All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast (Prov

15:15).

Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad (Prov 12:25).

Dea. Jacque’s funnies!

 Three surprises in heaven!

1. LIVE

a. In verses 21 to 26, Jesus speaks to true blessings, but he also balances a happy life

with warnings.

2. GIVE

a. In verses 28 – 35, Jesus speaks to the nature of giving.

b. A true sign of a person’s joy is seen in their giving.

c. Paul speaks of allowing yourself to be defrauded in order to win souls for Christ:

Luke 6:28, 29; compare with 1 Cor 6:7.

i. Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one

with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather

suffer yourselves to be defrauded?

d. The Golden Rule, v. 31.

e. Give, looking for nothing in return, vv. 32 – 35.

3. FORGIVE

a. Verses 36 – 36.

b. One attribute of forgiveness is giving.

Conclusion

Vv. 22 – 23. We rejoice because our reward is in heaven. Job said, “my witness is in heaven, and

my record is on high” (Job 16:19). Jesus told the disciples after they had returned from preaching

and healing, that they should rejoice not because of what they could do, but rejoice because their

names have been written in heaven.

I sing because I am happy, I sing because I am free. His eyes are on the sparrow, and I know he watches over me!

How to be a Shining Star for the Lord Jesus?

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 18:04:28 GMT

How to be a Shining Star for the Lord Jesus?

Be a soul winner for Christ!

Luke 8:26 – 40

August 14, 2022

After the Lord finished preaching in several cities, he and his disciples entered a boat to cross to

the other side of the lake (8:22). A storm comes and Jesus rebukes the wind and the raging of the

water. After they crossed over to the other side, they encountered a man in the tombs cutting

himself. For fear, the people had tied his hands so that perhaps he wouldn’t hurt himself.

The man was demon possessed. Jesus cast the demons out of the man. After this, the man desires

to follow Jesus. But Jesus tells him something altogether different. The Lord tells him to return

home and show how great things God done unto thee (8:39). Why tell the man that he could not

follow him? This is not a pattern. In Luke 18:35, after the Lord healed a blind man off the

Jericho Road, this man immediately followed Jesus (18:43). Thus, we are in no position to make

a declarative statement as to who should follow Jesus and who should stay at home. Each

situation bears its own conclusion.

In Matthew 8, in the parallel story, after the Lord cast the demons into the swine. The swine

drowned themselves in the lake. The people who owned the swine were not to thrilled to have

Jesus stay. But Luke tells us Jesus returned some time later. And when he did, there was a great

reception awaiting him (8:40) all because of the witness of this man who used to live among the

dead. This man was a soul winner.

You and I are called to be soul winners for Christ. Proverbs 11:30b says, “and he that winneth

souls is wise.” Daniel 12:3 states, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the

firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”

Jesus, who is the greatest evangelist said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to

repentance.” And again, he said in Luke 19:10, “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that

which was lost.”

D. L. Moody said the problem with many of Christians is that they have a lot of light but very

little lip. In other words, many Christians know Jesus, but not too many of us tell others about

him.

How to be a shining star for Jesus? This man in Luke 8 was a shining star. Here is how his life

can help us win others to Jesus.

1. He testified to what Jesus did for him.

2. People heard him because his testimony matched his experience.

3. He was more effective at home because people knew his past and could themselves bear

witness to the change in his life.

4. The people were so excited about the man’s testimony and witness of Jesus, that they

wanted to hear Jesus for themselves. Is our testimony leading people to want Jesus?

Closing illustrations

1. At a homeless shelter in a large city worked a man named Joe. The people loved Joe

because he was relational. Many times, the homeless would ask for Joe. Joe would serve,

feed, and pray for anyone who came to the shelter. One day Joe was not at work. One of

the homeless persons who was a regular begin to inquire about Joe. The substitute worker

began to tell the group about Jesus. The regular attendee said, responding to the substitute

talking about Jesus said, “Is anything like Joe?”

2. A car was stolen in Birmingham Alabama with a three-year-old child in it. Search teams

were immediately dispatched as soon as they received word to be on the lookout for the

vehicle in question. One of the search team members was a Vietnam veteran who decided

not to look for the vehicle but the child. He assumed if the child got out of the car, the

child shouldn't be too far from where the car was stolen. A few hundred yards from the

place where the vehicle was stolen was an abandoned building. The veteran searched the

location. It was night. Hearing movement only, the veteran called for the boy. Silence.

The boy finally responded, "Are you my daddy?" The veteran responded, "No, but I am

here to take you to him."

As Christians, we serve in that same role, to win souls for Christ.

Proverbs 11:30 KJV

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

Daniel 12:3 KJV

And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn

many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

“ME”

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 17:31:03 GMT

“ME”

Text: Matt 11:16 (Luke 7:31); Luke 7:24–50

Thesis: Our self-centeredness as Christians has replaced God with self.

 Adam and Eves choice to eat from the forbidden fruit was their attempt to replace God

with ME.

The golden calf was Israel's defiance and rejection of God with ME.
 Jeroboam decision to erect a golden calf in the most northern part (Dan) and most

southern parts (Bethel) of Israel was his attempt to reject God and lift up ME.

 The current economic crisis is out of control because of ME.
 The racial and social divide in this country is because of ME.
 God seeing the problem in the beginning, determined to send his Son to die for the sins of ME.
 He gave his Holy Spirit to help me with ME.
 And one day he’s coming back for ME.

The New God: "ME" Today people are focused on how to satisfy me. There was an old godzilla

movie about a monster that was terrorizing the country; only to find out that the monster was the

collection of all of the people’s garbage/pollution. And since people were so fixated on satisfying

self, they took no thought to what their garbage was doing to the earth.

1. What do we look to get out of church? Are we open to change after being enlightened by the

scriptures? Have we become so fixed in our current status that change is almost impossible?

What if we hear the truth concerning our ways and refuse to submit to God to change, then what

is the purpose? Unless we have changed the paradigm for church. Do we go to church to change,

or do we go to hear something that satisfies our current status of sin? And when we hear

something that offsets our paradigm, is our response an instantaneous flushing "down the drain?"

Exegete the Text

After Jesus preaches and teaches his famous “Sermon on the Plain” (in Matthew it is called the

“Sermon on the Mount”) Jesus goes to Capernaum and there heals a centurion’s servant. The

next day, the Lord goes to Nain and raises a widow’s son from his casket as the family is on their

way to the burial. John’s disciples who had been with Jesus went back to show John all the deeds

of the Lord Jesus. While John is in prison, he asked them, “Is he the one or look we for another?”

Jesus then tells these disciples to go back and tell John that the blind are given their sight, the

lame walk, the dead be risen, and the gospel is preached to the poor. Then Jesus begins to

explain John’s purpose and lifts the misunderstanding of the people concerning John and Jesus.

Jesus compares his generation to children playing two games in the market. The children pretend

marriages and funerals.

32 They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying,

We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not

wept.

33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.

34 The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a

winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!

35 But wisdom is justified of all her children.

In comparing John to himself, (1) Jesus was saying both have preached but the desired outcome

of a changed heart in some has not been met. Jesus was directing his words to the Pharisees.

Luke noted how the publicans had received John and Jesus’ messages. (2) The Pharisees justified

themselves by finding fault in John and in Jesus.

The narrative that follows drives Jesus’ point home. And home is the place that deserves our

attention. A Pharisee by the name of Simon desired Jesus to have dinner at his house. While at

dinner a woman, a known sinner enters and begins to anoint the Lord’s feet with precious

ointment. The Pharisee begins to murmur within himself concerning Jesus (v. 39).

To deal with his attitude, Jesus tells Simon the Pharisee a parable.

HOLD FOR A DIFFERENT MESSAGE

2. What was the model of church worship in the NT? And why is our current model drastically

different? The NT model of church was designed for believers and not for unbelievers. The

modern church model is designed for unbelievers. Thus our music with its jazzy flavor appeals

more so to the world than Christians. Further, since the church design is nonbeliever centered,

you dare not focus to much time on preaching and teaching. The world model for church are

short, more music, less preaching, shorter sweater more entertaining sermons, and more activity

base that emphases the in-crowd with very little attention on evangelism. This is not the case

everywhere, but I am seeing this more and more.

3. How do we get back to the NT church worship model? Or even yet why bother when so many

have never been a part of it. The very nature of a NT worship model is foreign to many of us.

Church today is more culturally based than NT based where style, sound, and energy has

replaced the hearing and studying of the scriptures. Our current church model resembles more so

the church period of the reformers and their derivatives (must show evidence). The black church

has added a bit of African flavor (must show evidence).

The NT church model was outlined by reading letters of the apostles and OT scriptures, praying,

singing songs, partaking of the Lord's Supper and expounding on those readings. Interestingly,

preaching was at a minimum in the first century. However, our knowledge of such is limited. We

can see the fruits of such worship practices among the patristic fathers' period (show evidence).

a. Singing spiritual songs. Eph 5:19.

b. Readings. 1 Tim 4:13; Col 4:16.

c. Prayers. Acts 2:42.

d. Teaching. Acts 2:42; 1 and 2 Timothy. Paul's preaching into the night. Church in the NT was

typically in houses. Initially, the Jewish church sprung out of the synagogue and the common

areas of the temple in Jerusalem: the Gentile court.

e. The Lords Supper

f. Offering. 1 Cor 16:1-2; Acts 20:35.

g. Some form of outreach. Acts 6; 20:35; Gal 2:10. Is it taking? Is church taking? Never measure

a church by its size, but how it gives. Never measure a church by how loud it sounds, but by how

much it does for the poor. You will know you're in the right church if the argument is not on

whether or not to help or who, or how, but when. The wrong church is the church centered on

itself and not the low and the cast outs. You know if it is the wrong church if they can never

agree on coming together to help the hungry and the hurting. You know its the wrong church if

people in it keep saying "its their church" as not mean something positive but to say its my

church and so we will do things our way, where they believe that their way is Gods way. You

can't tell me how the money should be spent because this is my church, God gave me a equal

voice in making the decisions for it.

______________________________________________________________________________

Application

1. We have piped unto you and mourn to you... implies that God has done what is necessary to

cause you to repent, but yet there is no change. The preaching of the cross is unto salvation. The

teaching that follows after one has been converted is unto sanctification.

2. Sometimes the proof of if the message is taking is after we get home or when church is over.

One of the Pharisees who had not been baptized by John received Jesus into his house.

Apparently even this Pharisee named Simon was unchanged even by Jesus message because

while at dinner with Jesus, Simon condemned Jesus within himself because Jesus received this

sinful woman. In other words, it doesn't matter how great our attendance is at church, the proof

of our faith is how we treat each other.

3. I love Jesus because he knows how to communicate truth to convict our hearts by telling a

story and then forgiving the woman. Three things she did that should catch our attention. 1. She

came to Jesus. 2. She gave something of herself to the Lord that was very costly. 3. She

worshipped Jesus. Simon was so busy focusing on the woman and probably her sins that he

could not see his own problem. The woman knew that she had a problem. It was her “ME” factor

that was the sin in her life. But the blessing and the difference between her and Simon was that

she brought Jesus her problem. Simon was so focused on everyone else that he could not see “ME.”

For the woman: All to Him I owe, sin has left a crimson stain, but he washed “ME” white as

snow.

Jesus knew something about ‘ME.” Satan tried to get Jesus to yield to “ME,” the flesh in the

wilderness.

Concerning how Jesus dwelt with the “ME” in himself, Paul recites the church hymn:

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in

the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death,

even the death of the cross.

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and

things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Ernest L. Williams, Sr., June 19, 2022

It Just Might Not Be Your Season…

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 16:50:13 GMT

It Just Might Not Be Your Season…

GALATIANS 6:9

(Subtext: Luke 10:38–42)

May 17, 2022 [for June 5, 2022] Ernest L. Williams, Sr.

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. (Gal 6:9, KJV)

Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary. (NASB)

We must not become ·tired [or discouraged] of doing good. We will receive our harvest of

eternal life ·at the right [or in due] time if we do not give up. (EXB or Expanded Bible)

1. Some who are so blessed that they began to spend more time concentrating on what they

don’t have until they forget how blessed they are already. They become bitter. Greed,

pride, and jealously are some of the possible factors behind this behavior.

2. Some who are so blessed spend more time trying to occupy their time in doing things

until they become bitter and resentful of others who don’t do as they do. A person who

worships with great emotions can become resentful of others around them at church who

does not participate in worship on their level. A person may be excited about learning and

cannot imagine why others are not as equally excited about learning. A person who is a

“giver” can become resentful or discouraged when others don’t reciprocate as they do.

a. Martha, the sister of Mary was of this type. Martha was so busy working and

serving the guests in their home, that she became resentful of her sister who only

wanted to sit at the feet of Jesus. When Martha complained to Jesus that her sister

was not helping “in the kitchen,” Jesus identified the root. “Martha, Martha,” the

Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are

needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be

taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41–42). [The Greek needs to be interpreted.]

b. Jesus identified the root cause of Martha’s frustration: it wasn’t that it was too

much work, Martha was jealous of her sister. Martha envied Mary because Mary

chose to worship the Lord. In truth: Martha had a problem with her sister. We are

not told what. The situation of attending to the guests only brought out was

already there. Sometimes situations can reveal our true character. Typically, when

a loved one dies, you might see a side of your family members that you probably

weren’t aware of before. That nature was there before. Situations and tensions

have a way of revealing our true selves. Jesus makes it clear: we will battle many

things within our minds, but you must choose the good part. Martha chose one

way, but Mary chose the “good part.” What part will you choose? Some people do

things to have a reason to complain. So, it was the case with Martha.

3. The blessing of our current situations is in perseverance. “In due season we shall reap if

we don’t give up.” Looking at the current tide will cause anyone to be discouraged. Peter

took his eyes off of Jesus and saw the stormy sea and became discouraged. Our future

hope is in Christ. We are instructed by the word of God to look to Jesus. “Looking unto

Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith.” Our joy is not in the present situation

but in our future hope. Our current situation according to 2 Cor 4:8–9,

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not

in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

However, our future hope is this: (2 Cor 4:17–18)

17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far

more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18 While we look not at the things

which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are

seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Further, (Rom 8:18)

18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be

compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

4. If you are not reaping your harvest now, now just might not be your season. Paul’s

accommodation to the Galatian Christians in chapter 6 draws parallel to harvest season. If

this is not your season, Paul is saying don’t give up and don’t get bitter. Your season is

coming!!!Just as Jesus had to make it to the cross when the Bible said, “he set is face as

to go to Jerusalem.” The Jews saw the cross, Jesus saw the empty tomb. Yes, we must

focus on the cross. But the cross without the tomb is but futile, dismal, and gray. But give

me the cross and the empty tomb and I will raise you love, joy, peace, faith, long-

suffering, gentleness, meekness, perseverance…

a. If things have not changed for you in a while, the Bible is saying, it just might not

be your season. Be patient. Wait on the Lord, and in due time he will strengthen

thy heart. Trust in the Lord…They that wait upon the Lord. And let us not be

weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Please be

patient with me. God is not through with me yet. When God gets through with

me, I shall come forth as pure gold.

Jesus Defines Motherhood

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 16:40:38 GMT

Jesus Defines Motherhood

Luke 8:21

May 8, 2022

Ernest L. Williams, Sr.

Brief Overview of Luke

Matthew presents Jesus as the Jewish Messiah. Luke’s Gospel focuses on Jesus as “the

son of Adam, the son of God” (Luke 3:37). In Luke, Jesus is presented as a friend of sinners and

as a compassionate healer, who is guided by a concern for those who are socially disenfranchised

and of low status, including the poor, the Gentiles, women, and children. 1 Luke sums up Jesus’

mission in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Luke’s account called a “travel narrative” traces Jesus’ ministry from Galilee to Jerusalem.

Along the way, some of the material is unique to Luke.

Historical and Cultural Analysis

Historically in first century Jewish culture, women were considered second class or even

at best, property. Luke’s presentation of Jesus shows the Lord embracing women at a level

unparallel in that day. In Luke 7:35-50 (a story of forgiveness) a woman washes the feet of Jesus

with her hair and precious ointment while Jesus is sitting at dinner at Simon the Pharisees’

house. In Luke 13:10-17, Jesus healed a woman who had an infirmity for eighteen years, she was

bowed down and could not lift herself up. In Luke 7:11-17, Jesus stopped a funeral processional

and raised the son of a widow of Nain from the dead. It is Luke who tell us of Jesus’ cure of

Mary Magdalene from demon possession (Luke 8:2). Likewise, in our current chapter, Luke

placed emphasized the place of the women who helped Jesus in His travels (Luke 8:1-3). Luke

alone has the story of the women who wept for Jesus on his way to the cross (Luke 23:27-31).

Contextual and Theologically Analysis

In chapter 7 (7:1) Jesus enters Capernaum. In Luke 7:11, he enters Nain. There he raised

the widow’s son from the dead. At the end of chapter 7, Jesus is at Simon’s house for dinner. In

the beginning of chapter 8, the Lord is seen moving from town to town and villages. In Luke 8,

verses 2 and 3, Luke mentions the entourage of women who accompany Jesus.

After the Lord tells the parable of the sower, his mother and brethren show up (v.19). We

are told why they wanted to see Jesus. Luke just mentions that they desired to see him (v. 20).

The paralleled text in Mark 3:31-35 says the same as Luke. However, Mark 3:21 states that

Jesus’ friends show up to take him thinking that “He is beside himself.”

Notice Mark 6:2-4, 2 And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the

synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these

things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are

wrought by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses,

and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.

4 But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among

his own kin, and in his own house.

Obviously, something was going on in the family of Jesus. Before his resurrection, some

in his family had questions and doubts. We are joyful to know that after the Lord’s resurrection,

his brothers become followers of Christ. We have the books of James and Jude written later by

Jesus’ brothers.

His mother Mary never left his side. According to Luke 8 and John 19:26, his mother

Mary was always close by.

In Luke 8:21, Jesus announces that his mother and his brethren are those who hear the

word of God and do it. After this, the Lord gets on a boat with his disciples and cross over the

sea of Galilee. He claims the raging water and wind. They come to the country of the Gaderenes

and there he heals the man, possessed with demons, living among the tombs, cutting himself.

After this, they get back on the boat, ride back to the other side. When the Lord arrives back,

people are waiting for him (8:40). Jesus is intercepted by Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue. He

asked that Jesus heal his twelve year old daughter. As they move toward the ruler’s house, a

woman with an issue of blood for twelve years, touches the hem of Jesus’ garments. Jesus heals

her.

About this time, a servant of the ruler’s house comes and tells them that his daughter is

dead (8:49). Jesus proceeds to go to the ruler’s house to raise the girl from the dead.

Chapter 8 begins and ends around women. Here, Luke shows Jesus’ compassion for

women. Jesus gives the best definition of a mother in Luke 8:21. He says, “My mother and my

brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.”

Two things stand out.

Mothers and all believers are those who hear the word of God. Jesus just finished telling

the parable of the sower sowing seeds with some falling by the wayside, some falling on

stony ground, some fell among thorns, and some fell on good ground. Jesus says of the

good ground, “are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep

it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (8:15).

Jesus ties the parable to what defines a godly mother and true believer.
 Mothers and believers not only hear the word of God but they go further, they “do it.”

Application

Jesus gives two traits of a godly mother. Jesus’ definition of motherhood is not limited to

those with children. The Lord simply says that my mother and my brethren are these that

hear the word of God, and do it. A godly mother is one who not only teaches her children

godliness, but she also herself is their example. To hear the word of God and do it must

mean that this is a person that takes God’s word serious for their own lives first.

We talk about this and that in the church. We itch for loud music, oratorical skills in

preaching and teaching, and heart moving prayers. If we are not careful, we would send

our time merely seeking to hear some new thing. Not as much heeding to the words to

live by, but some are only satisfied to just hearing something. Acts 17:21, “(For all the

Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to

tell, or to hear some new thing.)

What mothers among us will take seriously the words of scripture, “thy word have I

hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you”? Who will commit to teaching their

children that is more blessed to give than to receive? Who will be sold out for Jesus and

not sold out for this material world and teach their children the same? “Let your

conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he

hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb 13:5). What mothers will with

their husbands be that example of Christian virtues of love, forgiveness, humility, and

devotion to God?

Conclusion

Remember Luke’s theme is salvation. The focus of Luke 8:21 is salvation. In Luke 7:47,

Jesus said of the woman with the box of precious ointment, “ 47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her

sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same

loveth little. 48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. 50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith

hath saved thee; go in peace.

Also, in Luke 8, concerning the woman with the issue of blood, “ 48 And he said unto her,

Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.”

Faith and peace are directly linked to salvation. Faith that proceeds salvation is followed

by peace.

A child was having a hard time believing in Jesus. He attended Sunday School, but the

message was not getting through. He was also embarrassed of his mother’s burns and cuts on her

body. When the mother noticed one day, how her avoided her at a school function, when they got

home, she told him about how she got the burns and cuts on her body. She told him that when he

was a baby, they were in a bad car accident. To protect him, his mother shielded him. She

suffered major burns and cuts. And that is how she got those burns and cuts on her body. The

little boy was so hurt. He didn’t realize that his mother went through all of that just for him.

The mother also told him that Jesus has scars on his body for all of us. And that we

should not be embarrassed about his cars neither. For God so loved the world, that he gave his

only begotten Son…

Children, Have Ye Any Meat?

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 23:50:16 GMT

Children, Have Ye Any Meat?

John 21:5

Ernest L. Williams, Sr.

May 1, 2022

Historical and Cultural Settings

John, the brother of James we accept as the author of this gospel. He is the author of Revelation,

1, 2, and 3 John. Scholarship has objected to his authorship of some of these writings. We accept

them as being from John. The book has a late date range in the early 80s.

Theological Setting

The book is highly theological as compared to the other gospels. John is not concerned with

Jesus’ chronological three-year ministry as seen in the other gospels. Even though John’s gospel

is chronological, John’s chronology is on a different course respect to the synoptics. For

example, John only records seven of Jesus’ miracles that John calls signs.

1. In John 2, he turns water to wine.

2. In John 4, he heals the nobleman’s son (Note the reference in John 4:54 informing the

reader of the sign).

3. In John 5, he heals the man who was lame for 38 years at the pool of Bethesda.

4. In John 6, he feeds 5000 with only two fish and five loaves of bread.

5. Also in John 6, Jesus walks on water (6:19).

6. In John 9, he heals a man that was born blind.

7. In John 11, he raises Lazarus from the dead.

Associated with some (not all) of these signs are associated Jesus’ “I Am” statements.

1. In John 6, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.”

2. In John 8:12, he said, “I am the light of the world.”

3. In John 10:9, he said, “I am the door.”

4. In John 10:11, he said, “I am the good shepherd.”

5. In John 11:25, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

6. In John 14:6, he said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

7. In John 15:1, he said, “I am the true vine and my father is the husbandman.”

All of these signs point to John’s purpose for writing is evangelistic. John 20: 30 And many other

signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31 But

these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that

believing ye might have life through his name. John 21: 25 And there are also many other things

which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world

itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

How in our present text evangelical? In John 21:1, Jesus shows himself again to his disciples.

The Lord has to first convince his disciples concerning his death and resurrection before others

in the world can be convinced. If the carriers of the gospel are not convinced, then the message

will not get very far. I quick overview of the chapter reveals that after the Jesus’ resurrection

seven of the disciples go fishing. While they are fishing (all night and catch nothing), Jesus

shows up. The Lord has a meal prepared for them on the seaside. They were still unclear if this

was Jesus. It appeared that after the Lord took bread and fish and gave it to them, that at that time

they were convinced it was Jesus (21:12, 13).

Syntactical and Grammatical Analysis

Three times the Lord asked Peter if he loved him. And three times the Lord commanded Peter to

“feed my sheep.” Scholars point out that there is no Greek significance to John’s use of two

different Greek words to express love (ἀγαπάω, “agapaō”/ φιλέω, “phileō”). Likewise, John

uses synonyms for the words sheep (πρόβατον) and lamb (ἀρνίον). We should not put any

weight into John’s use of the Greek language. He is talking about the same thing. Perhaps the

reason Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him was only a few days ago, Peter denied the

Lord three times. Note the setting. When Peter denied the Lord, it was at a campfire. In our

present setting, Jesus and the seven disciples are eating around a campfire.

Further in the discourse, Jesus tells Peter of how he will die (21:18). Peter then asked the Lord

what the fate of John would be (21:21). Jesus basically resounds to Peter, “none of your

business” (21:22).

Application

John’s theology is to show that Jesus is the source of life and that without him we can do nothing

(I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth

much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. John 15:5, KJV). Here is how John shows this in

chapter 21. The disciples go fishing without Jesus and all night they caught nothing (21:3).

Jesus shows up and asked them, “Children, have ye any met?” They answered him, No. Jesus

then proceeds to tell them how and where to fish. All night they had been fishing wrong (pun

intended to drive a point). Jesus told them to cast the net on the right side of the ship and ye shall

find. When they had did this, they were not able to draw up the net for the multitude of fish.

Does it seem like what you are doing, you’re not getting anywhere? Is it possible for one person

to do the same thing as another person, but both with different outcomes? These disciples were

professional fishermen. They knew how to fish. You recall a few years ago when the Lord first

encountered Peter, he was fishing and hadn’t caught anything either. The Lord told Peter were to

fish, and with some reservation, Peter and the rest obeyed the Lord’s instructions. The result was

an abundance of fish. Jesus then told Peter and the others to follow me, and I will make you

fishers of men. At the first, Peter begged the Lord to leave him alone because he was a sinner.

Now, at the climax of the Lord’s earthly ministry, a very similar encounter. The Lord doesn’t

change his command for us. What he said before still holds today.

1. When we do things on our own without seeking the Lord’s guidance, the results will

always be empty. 5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They

answered him, No. A home without Jesus is a dead house. A student who is in school

without knowing God’s purpose will only gain knowledge that will seem only self-

inspiring. A marriage without Jesus is empty. A nation without Jesus is a place where

everything goes. A church without Jesus is an association, a club, cold, unfriendly, and

without life.

2. It is not enough to have just have Jesus there in your life, job, school, career, home,

marriage, nation, or church. We must be obedient to his word and command. He told

them to “Cast” on the “right side.” “They cast therefore.” He told us to love, forgive,

submit to those who are in authority, to go and make disciples…These are not

suggestions, they are God’s commands. We do a lot of observing truth but little on

obeying truth.

a. Why are we trying to pick the cleanest waterhole? We want to clean the fish. He

simply told us to cast and he will do the cleaning. The entire world is the

waterhole.

3. If we do what he says, he will prepare the meal for us. In verse 12, he told the disciples,

“Come and dine.” The Lord is preparing a meal for his entire family, the Christian

family. In order to get to the meal, we must do what he tells us.

a. Luke 14: 16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade

many: 17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden,

Come; for all things are now ready.

b. Ps 23: 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou

anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

c. John 14: 1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Fathers house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told

you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I

will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be

also.

Conclusion

John’s purpose is his readers: “that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and

that believing ye might have life through his name.” Dr. Adrian Rogers told the story of a well-

known preacher sitting in a diner waiting to be served. The waitress took his order but was very

cold to the preacher. When he left, he put a twenty-dollar tip on the table. The waitress called the

man before he got out the door and told him there must be mistake. He said no, he left that for

her. She wanted to know why after the way he acted toward her. He said, he could tell that she is

troubled about something, and he just wanted to cheer her up. She then told him the day did not

get started good. She left a sick child home and then she had car trouble. When she finally made

it to work her boss crewed her out. She started crying. The preacher shared the gospel with the

lady, and she accepted Christ that day.

This is what John wants us to see of Jesus. Peter and the rest of the dsiciples did not deserve the

Lord repeatedly showing himself to them after his resurrection. Jesus knew they were slow and

dull of hearing. They fished and caught nothing. Jesus prepares a meal for them that they don’t

deserve. The Lord talks intimately with Peter about love and feeding his sheep. Do you think

Peter and rest were convinced? Are you convinced that Jesus loves you and is willing to give you

the kingdom if you only believe in him.

Will you come? Jesus said in John 21:12, come and dine.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,

“Come unto me and rest;

lay down, O weary one,

lay down your head upon my breast.”

I came to Jesus as I was,

so weary, worn, and sad;

I found in him a resting place,

and he has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,

“Behold, I freely give

the living water, thirsty one;

stoop down and drink and live.”

I came to Jesus, and I drank

of that life-giving stream;

my thirst was quenched, my soul revived,

and now I live in him.

His Resurrection Validates His Promises!

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 23:42:15 GMT

His Resurrection Validates His Promises!

Sunday, April 17, 2022

Ernest L. Williams, Sr.

Luke 24:1–12, The Resurrection Account

A doctor, engineer, and a pastor went deer hunting. All three spotted a deer and all three

shot about the same time. Each one believed that their shot killed the deer. A game warden

showed up and quickly settled the dispute. The warden examined the deer and quickly concluded

it was the preacher’s rifle. The other two said, “How can you be so sure?” The warden said,

because the bullet went in one ear and came straight out the other. First an overview of the

resurrection narrative of the four Gospels and then we will focus on Luke specifically.

Luke’s account of the narrative in chapter 24 continues from the previous chapter. In

Luke 24:1, the pronoun “they” corresponds to “the women” in Luke 23:55. So, it was the women

who came to the tomb first. Tombs of this type were contained within a cave. In such tombs,

there would be a vast open area with several raised stones to lay deceased bodies on. This was

typical of a family tomb. In John 20:15, Mary Magdalene was standing outside of the tomb,

supposed that Jesus was the gardener. This information helps us match the physical setting. On

the outside of the tomb was a garden. The Gospels varied in their ordering and identification of

persons in the resurrection account. Matthew noted only one angel and two women (Mt 28:1, 2).

Mark recorded three women and one angel (Mk 16:1, 5). Matthew’s account gives the elaborate

tale of the Jewish leaders paying the soldiers to say that that during the night his disciples came

and stole the body of Jesus (Mt 27:62–66; 28:12–15).

John gives the account that Mary came to the tomb first, saw that the stone had been

rolled away, ran, and told Peter and John. They ran to the tomb. John arrived first, then Peter.

John stooped in but did not go into the tomb. Peter went in first and saw where the Lord was lain

and the napkin and the linen in separate places. They leave and go to their homes (strange

statement: you do not except to see that here, Jn 20:10). John states further that while Mary is in

the garden, outside of the tomb, two angels appear and speak to her (Jn 20:11, 12). While she is

talking to them, she turns, and then sees Jesus. She supposing Jesus is the gardener, asked where

they took his body. Jesus called her by name, Mary and then she knew it was Jesus. Jesus tells

her to not touch him because he had not ascended to the Father. Mary Magdalene goes and tells

his disciples. They are assembled in a closed place for fear of the Jews. While there, Jesus

appears and shows himself. We have the Thomas’ account in John (Jn 20:20–29). John gives his

purpose for writing in 20:30–31. This explains why each account has slight differences. Each

writer had different purposes in writing. I cannot explain the differences, but the crutch of the

story is in tack with all four accounts. Women come to the tomb and find the stone rolled away.

Jesus is not there, he has risen. An angel or two explain the situation. The women go tell his

disciples. Peter and John go and check out the tomb. Mary Magdalene has an encounter with the

Lord. Two disciples have an encounter with Jesus on the Emmaus Road early in the day. That

evening while the disciples were at a closed location (for fear of the Jews) in Jerusalem, Jesus

appears in their midst and shows them his hands and feet. He gives them the great commission.

He continues to be seen of them many days until he is taken up into heaven. John 21

gives the account of Jesus showing himself to Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James, and John while

they were fishing with Jesus asking them, “Children, have ye any meat?” (Jn 21:5).

My primary focus is Luke’s narrative. I digress. In Luke’s account, the women arrive at

the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. They noticed the stone was rolled away. When they entered

in, Luke says that they saw two men in shining garments. Are these angels? Connecting the other

Gospels, we would have to conclude yes. The angels speak, “Why seek ye the living among the

dead? He is not here, but is risen” (24:5c, 6). Verse 9 tells us that they returned and told all these

things to the eleven and to all the rest. Luke identified three of the women by name and then adds

“and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles (v. 10).

In their response, Luke shows the slowness of the apostles and other men to process these

things. “And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not” (v.11). Next,

Peter ran to the sepulcher and stooping in, he saw the linen clothes and departed, “wondering in

himself at that which was come to pass” (v.12c).

After this, Luke gives the account of the two disciples on the Emmaus Road, who

encountered Jesus (vv.13–32). The Lord pointed out their dullness of heart to remember and

perceive these things (v.25). After this, the two returned to Jerusalem to tell the apostles. The

apostles had gathered in Jerusalem. Mark noted that the disciples did not believe these two men

(Mk 16:13). Mark more than the other Gospels shows the unbelief and hardness of heart of the

disciples (Mk 16:14). As they are talking about these events, Jesus appears in their midst (v.36).

They, thinking he is a ghost, are terribly frightened. The Lord shows them his hands and feet.

Luke says “while they believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, “Have ye here any

meat? (v.41). Then Christ began to expound on the Scriptures starting with Moses, the prophets,

and the psalms, concerning himself (v.44).

Notice the shift in the narrative in verse 45: Then opened he their understanding, that

they might understand the scriptures. Luke said the same of Jesus expounding on the

Scriptures to the two on the Emmaus Road, “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he

expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (v.27). The great truth

here is that Jesus never broke the Scriptures, save one, the Sabbath. Jesus never separated

himself from Scripture. He fulfilled it. Let us not separate his resurrection away from Scripture.

The event happened. The disciples doubted the event that they even witnessed with their own

eyes. They saw the empty tomb and still doubted. The only way Jesus could get them to believe

was to expound on Scripture.

Recall, the Lord said in Matthew 5: 17, 18: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law,

or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and

earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

Recall in John 10, Jesus was responding to the Jews who accused him of blasphemy

because he healed a man who was born blind (Jn 9). Jesus responded, “Jesus answered them, Is it

not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God

came, and the scripture cannot be broken” (Jn 10:34,35). Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth

shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”

The Lord will honor his word. His resurrection is that proof. Now, we have the risen

Christ and his word. What he has promised in his word, he is able to bring it to pass.

Ps 138:8, The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me.

Nu 23: 19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath

he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

IS 55: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void,

but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

2 Cor 1: 20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by

us.

What promises?

Is 26: 3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in

thee.

Ps 37: 4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Is 54: 17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise

against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.

Is 40: 31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with

wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Ps 37: 25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his

seed begging bread.

Prov 3:

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Ps 23:

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou

art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with

oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house

of the Lord for ever.

It’s because he rose, the Scriptures are in reach. If he validated his life by Scripture, why

shouldn’t we likewise live our lives according to the Scriptures, because the Scriptures cannot be

broken.

Gal 6: 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Here is Paul’s account of the resurrection.

1 Cor 15: 3

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for

our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain

unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted

the church of God.

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am.

51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the

dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of

the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

And because He lives, I can face tomorrow

Because He lives, all fear is gone

Because I know He holds the future

And life is worth a living just because He lives

Christ’s Crucifixion

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 23:24:46 GMT

Christ’s Crucifixion

Luke 23:31

“For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?”

What does it mean that Jesus died for our sins?

Ernest L. Williams, Sr.

April 10, 2022

Do things that people do bother you? Some are big things that bother us like crime and

man’s inhumanity to man like the situation between Russia and Ukraine today. But even small

things sometimes get to the best of us. It bothered Will Smith to hear someone joking about his

wife’s hair. Maybe it’s the snoring, burping at the table, the noise that you may make when you

are drinking or swallowing, these small things that may bother some people. Let’s face it, there is

something that gets to all of us, no matter how different it may be from person to person, things

in life tend to get under our skin.

But we should not let these things be a barrier between our relationships with one

another. But they are barriers especially the big matters of sin that distance us from God. Why?

Because God is holy, and we struggle with holiness. And also because (according to Ps 5:4),

“For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.”

It is because of sin that God gave his Son to die on the cross for our sins. What does that

mean? Each person is responsible for their own actions, whether they are good or bad. The

penalty or payment for sin is separation from God because God is holy. Sin that continues leads

to death (the wages of sin is death…). The exchange for life is the payment for sin. God in the

OT required blood as the substitutionary payment for sin. Hebrews 9:22c, “and without shedding

of blood is no remission.” Israel, under Moses established an elaborate system of animal

sacrifices as an atonement (payment/justification) for sin. (He 10:4), “For it is not possible that

the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”

Hebrews 9:11–14

11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more

perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the

holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean,

sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:

14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself

without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Contextual Considerations of the Crucifixion Account

The Gospels give us the account of Christ’s crucifixion. Here is a survey of our Lord’s passion.

After Jesus is condemned by Pilate, the Jewish leaders, and the people, he is led through the

streets of Jerusalem bearing a cross. Only Luke records the account of Jesus stopping and

speaking to a host of women and others following him as he is bearing his cross.

Luke 23:27–31

27 And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed

and lamented him.

28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for

yourselves, and for your children.

29 For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and

the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.

30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.

31 For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?

This passage placed at this location in the narrative of Jesus is unique in Luke. True to his

purpose, Luke highlights Christ as the one who always has compassion on women. Before this

the soldiers took Simon, a native of north Africa, to bear the cross of Jesus (23:26).

“And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they

crucified him…” (23:33).

There are two criminals called malefactors on either side of Jesus who are also being

crucified. As the soldiers and people mocked Jesus, the soldiers offered the Lord vinegar and put

a superscription on the cross in Greek, Latin, and in Hebrew, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE

JEWS” (23:38).

“And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him,

saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God” (23:35).

Listen to our Lord’s words on the cross.

1. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted

his raiment, and cast lots. (23:34)

2. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

(23:43)

3. In John 19 we have, “ 26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing

by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! 27 Then saith he to

the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own

home.

4. “I thirst” (John 19:28).

5. Matthew 27: 45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the

ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama

sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

6. About this time the veil of the temple is rent from top to bottom. Maybe the setting for

the TV show The Walking Dead came from the Bible. Matthew records dead people

walking through Jerusalem after the Lord’s resurrection (Mt 27:52). There is also an

earthquake. Darkness covered the land, but it is midday. “When Jesus therefore had

received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the

ghost.” (Jn 19:30).

7. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend

my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. (Lk 23:46).

The centurion saw all that had been done, glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a

righteous man (Lk 23:47). Matthew tells us that others around the centurion were heard saying,

“Truly this was the Son of God” (Mt 27:54). Let our responses be that of and greater than that of

the centurion, “Truly this IS the Son of God.”

Matthew records that the women were there concerned about his body (Mt 27:55-56). Joseph

of Arimathea and Nicodemus privately begged Pilate to take the body of the Lord for proper

burial (Mt 27:57-60; Jn 19:38-42).

The Theology of Cross in Luke’s Account

On his way to be crucified Jesus tells the women who are weeping for him, that if they do

these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry? (Lk 23:31). Jesus is saying that if we

are going to be his followers, we also will not be exempted from suffering. Suffering for Christ is

a part of our walk (lifestyle) and witness for Christ. In other words, if you live and speak up and

out for Jesus, you will suffer persecution (2 Tim 3:12). Jesus even said, if any man shall come

after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me (Mt 16:24). Further, the theology

of the cross rests upon God’s act of love in forgiving us of our sins. Jesus prayed to the Father,

“Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Lastly, prayer is paramount on the cross.

While the people derided him, Christ prayed to the Father. Through our difficult times, let us be

ever so close to God in prayer.

Applications of the Cross

1. Jesus’ cross should make us consciously aware of our sins.

2. His cross is to make us consciously aware of God’s untiring love for us in giving his

Son to die for our sins. For God commended his love toward us, in that, while we

were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Ro 5:8).

3. The cross of Calvary is to make us consciously aware of our proclivity to sin.

4. Nothing we could or can do to cleanse ourselves from sin.

5. The biblical response for believers to live holy is not a requirement for our salvation.

However, because God saved us by his grace, our response should be to please him

by obeying his word.

6. The problem with the cross is for some to think that since Jesus died for my sins and I

don’t have to do anything to be saved, then I can live anyway I want to. This is the

wrong response. Paul anticipated this response in Romans 6. In Romans 6, Paul raises

two questions that he anticipates people will ask.

a. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? (Ro

6:1). Paul responds, “God forbid.”

b. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace?

God forbid. (Ro 6:15).

King of my life, I crown Thee now

Thine shall the glory be

Lest I forget Thy thorn-crowned brow

Lead me to Calvary

Lest I forget Gethsemane

Lest I forget Thine agony

Lest I forget Thy love for me

Lead me to Calvary

May I be willing, Lord, to bear

Daily my cross for Thee

Even Thy cup of grief to share

Thou hast borne all for me

Lest I forget Gethsemane

Lest I forget Thine agony

Lest I forget Thy love for me

Lead me to Calvary

Living he Loved Me

Dying he saved me

Buried He carried my

My sins far away

Rising he justified me

Freed me forever

One day he’s coming back Glorious day

The cross is a good place for you and me to be. We need to spend more time at the cross. If we

settle at the cross, and see the world through the direction of the cross, our lives would be more

humbled. Too many Christians are forgetting Calvary. We sing and preach about it, but it is

becoming an afterthought. We are taking his cross, suffering, and humiliation for granted.

Its only at the cross that lives can be mended, burdens lifted, souls forgiven, and society

reconciled. Its at the cross of Calvary, Jesus’ cross that can only bind men of all color and creed

together. Men of high and low estate are equal at the foot of the cross.

At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,

And the burden of my heart rolled away,

It was there by faith I received my sight,

And now I am happy all the day!

GUILTY!: What Were the Charges Brought Against Jesus and Who was Responsible for His Death?

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 23:18:13 GMT

GUILTY!

What Were the Charges Brought Against Jesus and Who was Responsible for His Death?

Luke 22:63 - 71

April 5, 2022

Ernest L. Williams, Sr.

Why do people who sometimes have similar beliefs are frequently at odds with each

other? We see that with Democrats and Republicans, among denominational Christian groups,

black and white people in this country. Maybe its not our differences that divide us but our

similarities. Jesus and the Jewish leaders in his day both believed in God, yet they were

constantly at odds. Perhaps before we cast judgment on others because of our differences, you

may want to walk a mile in their shoes.

If we are going to make the world a better place, one person at a time, sometimes we

need to push our wants aside and get to know people who are different than us. That is what Mrs.

Xernona Clayton did in 1967. Mrs. Clayton was a Civil Rights activists working for Dr. King

and Mrs. Coretta Scott King in Atlanta in the 1960s. Mr. Calvin Craig, a Grand Dragon of the Ku

Klux Klan in Atlanta was a strong advocate for racial segregation and a leader of Klan rallies and

cross burnings.

Clayton and Craig got to know each other when they both became involved in the Model

Cities program in 1967. They built an unusual relationship based on daily debates about their

differing views on race and society. Surprising everyone, Craig resigned from the Klan in 1968,

denouncing the organization and crediting Clayton for his conversion. All because a little lady in

Georgia dared to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.

But sometimes, despite good efforts, some people will not change. The religious leaders

in Jesus’ day sure didn’t change. But that didn’t stop Jesus from keeping to his plan. And neither

should mean, self-willed, heartless people keep you from your goals in life.

Our task, examine the charges that were brought against the Lord Jesus and who was

responsible for his death. In Matthew 26:3, the chief priests and elders plot to kill Jesus. There

was no justice in his case even though Moses had given a form of due process and the

presumption of innocence (Deut 19:15-20; Nu 35:30). They were determined to kill him before a

trial had even begun. About that time Judas met with the chief priests (Mt 26:14). This is one of

the most dreaded statements in all of Scripture, “From then on Judas watched for an opportunity

to hand him over.” (Mt 26:16)

After the Lord’s Supper, the temple guards arrested the Lord in the garden and then

brought him to Caiaphas (v.57). The Sanhedrin was looking for false witnesses up front (v. 59).

Two false witnesses came forward (vv. 59, 60) but their stories did not agree (Mk 14:56). Jesus’s

charge (in Matthew): “I am able to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days’ (v. 61). [We

read this like a movie, we know what’s coming next.]

Jesus is then interrogated by the high priest (vv. 62-63). Charge: Blasphemy (v. 65). They

spit in his face and hit him and told him to prophecy, “Who hit you?” (vv. 67-68). Mark’s

account shows that they blindfolded Jesus during the mocking (Mk 14:65). The next morning

(Friday), Jesus is taken to Pilate (Mt 27:11). Jesus is sentenced by Pilate (v. 24) and then flogged

(v. 26). He is mocked by the soldiers (vv. 27-31, Mk 15:16-20). Before he is taken to Pilate,

Jesus is sentenced at Caiaphas’ house (Mt 27:1; Mk 15:1; Lk 22:54). The Sanhedrin then

sentenced him again. When the Sanhedrin renders the verdict of guilty, Jesus is set to Pilate. The

chief priests and elders prosecute Jesus before Pilate (Mk 15:3).

In Luke’s account, after the Lord is taken to the house of the high priest, he is mocked by

the temple guards (Lk 22:63). After the Jewish mocking in Luke, Jesus is immediately taken to

the Sanhedrin (Lk 22:66). The court led Jesus to Pilate in Luke 23. Luke is the only account that

gives the trials of Jesus before Pilate and Herod. The Jewish court brings four charges against

Jesus before Pilate:

1. Subverting our nation (Lk 23:2).

2. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar (Lk 23:2).

3. Claims to be Christ, a king (Lk 23:2). Sidenote: Jesus was being convicted on

being who he really was. People today are convicted on trying to be someone else.

4. He stirs up the people (Lk 23:5).

Pilate sends Jesus to Herod (Lk 23:8-12). In the text you notice the tension between Pilate

and Herod (v. 12). What were the final charges? We see the charges when Jesus is brought

back to Pilate: Insurrection (rebellion/treason) (v. 14). Ironically, the man that the Jews was

asking to be released was actually guilty of insurrection (rebellion) and murder (Lk 23:19; Jn

18:40).

John’s account fills in more detail about the plurality of chief priests. In John, Jesus is

first tried by Annas, the outgoing high priest) and then by Caiaphas, the current high priest (Jn

18: 13, 14). This brings the total to six trials: before Annas, before Caiaphas, before the

Sanhedrin, before Pilate, before Herod, and then back before Pilate again.

Who was responsible for Jesus’s death?

 The chief priests, rulers, and the people (Lk 23:13).

 Those who said crucify him (Lk 23:20-21, 23).

 You and me.

 God the Father

What are some of the theological and historical issues in the text?

1. The Sanhedrin consisted of 70 elders divided into 3 divisions or 23s, plus the high priest.

(Ex 24:1, 9; Nu 11:16). The Jewish trial of Jesus was handled incorrectly according to

Moses:

a. A trial held at night.

b. At the high priest’s house

c. On the eve of a festival day

d. Beginning with reasons for conviction

e. Based on false contradictory witnesses.

f. The verdict rendered on the day of the trial.

2. Caiaphas’ prophecy (Jn 18:14): “Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews,

that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.”

3. The mocking of Pilate and his guards. This is Matthew’s account (Mt 27:27-31).

27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto

him the whole band of soldiers. 28 And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.

29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in

his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King

of the Jews! 30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.

31 And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own

raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

4. What is the meaning of Jesus’ statement before the Sanhedrin? (Mt 26:64; Mk 14:62):

“ Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see

the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”

When Jesus said this, the high priest tore his clothes and charged Jesus with blasphemy.

But when they get to Pilate, they change the charges because blasphemy was not a

Roman offense.

Application

1. I wanted to go over Jesus’ trial to show you what all was involved concerning our

salvation. Jesus was wrongfully convicted by Jewish leaders who were to blind to Jesus

as the Son of God. They were comfortable in their positions and lifestyles to submit to

Jesus. Jesus did not fit their social status. Is that how it is today? Have we gotten to the

place now where we are out of touched with Jesus?

2. Did you know that we all are responsible for his death? He died for our sins. Listen to an

account of Jesus’ suffering, 700 years prior (Is 53).

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as

it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken,

smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement

of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord

hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to

the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was

cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

3. One aspect of being a Christian is suffering for Christ. How will you hold up when you

are called upon to suffer for Christ? (2 Tim 3:12) Yea, and all that will live godly in

Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

4. One of the best methods of reconciliation is to put yourself in your opponent’s place.

Jesus did that for us. Will we do the same for him?

2 Corinthians 5:

18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to

us the ministry of reconciliation;

19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their

trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in

Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the

righteousness of God in him.

Conclusion

If we were to be charged with being a Christian, would we be found guilty or innocent?

Are we guilty of witnessing Christ to a family member, loved one, to a friend, or to a stranger?

Are we guilty of visiting the sick? Are we guilty of feeding the hungry? Are we guilty of visiting

with those in prison? Are we guilty of clothing the naked and destitute? Are we guilty of truly

loving our wives, husbands, children, and parents? Are we guilty of being willing to walk n

someone else’s shoes to better understand them? Are we guilty of forgiving those who have

either did us wrong or did a loved one wrong? Are we guilty of giving cheerfully?

The Present Crisis: The Necessity of Pastors Correctly Interpreting the Word of God

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 23:02:51 GMT

The Present Crisis: The Necessity of Pastors Correctly Interpreting the Word of God

“Where There is No Word (Bible) the People Are Out of Control”

Proverbs 29:18

Ernest L. Williams, Sr. March 12, 2022

KJ21

Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

AMP

Where there is no vision [no revelation of God and His word], the people are unrestrained; But

happy and blessed is he who keeps the law [of God].

CSB

Without revelation people run wild, but one who follows divine instruction will be happy.

CEB

When there’s no vision, the people get out of control, but whoever obeys instruction is happy.

CJB

Without a prophetic vision, the people throw off all restraint; but he who keeps Torah is happy.

CEV

Without guidance from God law and order disappear, but God blesses everyone who obeys his Law.

EXB

Where there is no ·word from God [ L vision; prophecy], ·people are uncontrolled [ T the people

perish], but those who ·obey what they have been taught [ L guard the law] are ·happy [blessed].

GNV

Where there is no vision, the people decay: but he that keepeth the law is blessed.

Without prophetic vision people run wild, but blessed are those who follow ⌞God’s⌟ teachings.

HCSB

Without revelation people run wild, but one who listens to instruction will be happy.

ICB

Where there is no word from God, people are uncontrolled. But those who obey what they have been taught are happy.

KJV

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

NASB1995

Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law.

NLV

Where there is no understanding of the Word of the Lord, the people do whatever they want to,

but happy is he who keeps the law.

NLT

When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.

Our translation:

Chaos will always follow a people or society that does not take heed to God’s Word (The

Scriptures), but people or society that are obedient to God’s Word will be blessed!

Introductory story: The man that was hanging from a cliff…Is anybody else up there?

Who listens to the preacher or preaching today? Indeed, we question preaching that is self-

centered or when words that are used belittle or demean others or even when such words are

meant to get people to do something that has no scriptural foundation. Does God give

preachers/pastors visions today for their congregation and where can that teaching be found in

the Bible? There is a serious need for sound preaching (interpreting) today.

First, what is a proverb? Who wrote the book of Proverbs? What is the date of the book? What

was the purpose of writing this book and to whom as the book written? What is this book

teaching the first reader and what does this book teach us today? More specifically, what is the

relevance of this passage in 29:18 for us today?

What is a Proverb?

A proverb is a short witty statement that seeks to teach a truth based on experience. Proverbs

have great meaning among those who fear God. The book of Proverbs is said to be a part of the

wisdom literature of the Bible which includes Psalms, Job, Ecclesiastes. Wisdom literature is

found throughout the OT and NT.

The Author/Dating of Proverbs

In 1:1, Solomon is noted. In 25:1, the scribes of Hezekiah are noted as having complied the

proverbs of Solomon. 30:1 speaks of Agur and 31:1, King Lemuel. If Solomon, then a date

around 931 B.C. is acceptable. If some were copied and given public notice during Hezekiah’s

reign, then somewhere around 700 B.C. would be sufficient.

Overview of Proverbs

Proverbs can be broken up into two divisions: Proverbs 1–9 and 31 with instructional teaching to

youth and Proverbs 10–30 as sayings. Further divisions are Solomon’s words directly Proverbs

10–24; Solomon’s proverbs copied by Hezekiah’s men, 25–29; Agur, 30; and King Lemuel, 31.

Key verses of the book are 1:5–7, “ 5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man

of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: 6 To understand a proverb, and the

interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. 7 The fear of the Lord is the

beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

(3:5, 6), “ 5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Themes or topics of the book are how to deal with the practical affairs of everyday life, obeying

parents, watching the company you keep, avoiding women of immoral influence,

working/laziness, controlling your tongue, and making wise decisions. The instructions of the

book are given as a wise father to a son and at times wisdom is personified as a woman.

“Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: She crieth in the chief place of

concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, …” (1:20–21a).

Proverbs can be described in several ways. Some proverbs can be classified as descriptive or

prescriptive. Words and sentences are contrasted and compared throughout the book called

parallelism. An example of a comparative proverb is (Prov 26:17): Like one who grabs a stray

dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own. An example of a contrastive

proverb is Proverbs 14:34, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.”

Contextual Nature of the Chapter

Chapter 29 is consisted with the rest of the book. The chapter contains comparative and

contrasting terms such as righteous rulers contrasted with wicked rulers (2, 12, 26), wisdom from

a father is contrasted with keeping company with harlots (3), justice for the poor contrasted with

men who scheme (4, 7, 13, 14), the wise vs. the foolish (9, 11), servants vs. sonship (17, 19, 21),

and correction vs. shame (15).

This backdrop of the book is given to give us a better understanding of Proverbs 29:18. There is

a problem in the interpretation of the verse. (KJV): Where there is no vision, the people perish:

but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. The problem is how the word vision is interpreted

today. To many of us, when we hear this verse, we think in terms of people or preachers still

being able to receive visions from the Lord. The Hebrew word translated to vision in the KJV is

חָזוֹן (ḥāzôn), which is compared in the parallel sense to the word law in this verse. From this we

can ascribe the meaning. Here is our translation of the verse again,

Chaos will always follow a people or society that does not take heed to God’s Word (The

Scriptures), but people or society that are obedient to God’s Word will be blessed!

The word vision can be translated as revelation. Understand that at the time of the writing, God

was still communicating to prophets and holy men the inspired word of God. Peter says that

“ 20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the

prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were

moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Pet 1:20–21). Today we understand and accept the Bible as

inspired, complete, infallible (wholly reliable and trustworthy), and inerrant (wholly true). What

does that mean? When you say you believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, you are

also saying that God does not speak to man today as he did with the prophets and apostles by

means of inspiration and revelation. If you are saying this (that is that God is still speaking today

different than what is in the Bible), then you should make for yourself a fourth Gospel. Thus, the

word revelation, translated for vision has more to do with God’s word revealed in Scripture

rather than you or I receiving a direct word from God today.

The Problem of Interpretation Expounded 1

D. A. Carson gives a situation that I believe helps to illustrate the problem.

Occasionally a remarkable blind spot prevents people from seeing this point. Almost

twenty years ago I rode in a car with a fellow believer who relayed to me what the

1 In 1 Cor 10:4, Paul described the rock that Israel drunk from figuratively. Interpreters should be mindful that

certain text are literal, some figurative, and others symbolic. See Virkler, Hermeneutics, 26. “If one believes God to

be the large piece of limestone at the quarry and proceeds to worship it, idolatry will have replaced true worship.

Likewise, had Moses overlooked the actual rock to which God directed him and instead sought out an individual

who was solid and dependable, the blow from his staff would have resulted in blood rather than water!”

Lord had “told” him that morning in his quiet time. He had been reading the KJV

of Matthew; and I perceived that not only had he misunderstood the archaic

English, but also that the KJV at that place had unwittingly misrepresented the

Greek text. I gently suggested there might be another way to understand the passage

and summarized what I thought the passage was saying. The brother dismissed my

view as impossible on the grounds that the Holy Spirit, who does not lie, had told

him the truth on this matter. Being young and bold, I pressed on with my

explanation of grammar, context, and translation, but was brushed off by a

reference to 1 Cor 2:10b–15: spiritual things must be spiritually discerned–which

left little doubt about my status. Genuinely intrigued, I asked this brother what he

would say if I put forward my interpretation, not on the basis of grammar and text,

but on the basis that the Lord himself had given me the interpretation I was

advancing. He was silent a long time, and then concluded, “I guess that would mean

the Spirit says the Bible means different things to different people.

As a response to this situation, Virkler’s reproduction of Alexander Carson’s words are apropos:

No man has a right to say, as some are in the habit of saying, “The Spirit tells me that

such or such is the meaning of a passage.” How is he assured that it is the Holy Spirit,

and not a spirit of delusion, except from the evidence that the interpretation is the

legitimate meaning of the words?

Listen to this scenario. “A woman comes to you at the request of her husband. She says she has

had a vision that instructed her to leave her husband and family and go to Bulgaria as a

missionary. Her husband has tried to reason with her that this vision must have some explanation

other than being sent from God since (1) her children and her husband need her, (2) God has not

given the rest of the family a similar call, (3) she has no financial support, and (4) the mission

boards to whom she has applied have not accepted her. Her continuing response to all this is to

quote Proverbs 3:5–6 (“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own

understanding; in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths”). Do you see the

problem?

The problem of interpreting this verse deals with words changing meaning with time. For

example, the word nice in Old English used to mean ignorant. The English word enthusiasm

originally meant “possessed by a god.” When you pick dandelions are you picking a “loin’s

tooth?” However, this is the French meaning of the phrase. 4 Or, just because we know the parts

of a word, that does not imply word meaning such as pineapple or butterfly. Pineapples are not

composed of pines and apples and neither does a butterfly consist of butter and a fly. 5 But we

have either heard or made these erroneous statements in attempting to interpret Scripture.

The problem with interpreting Scripture is that we are reading somebody else’s mail, passed over

time, different languages, and over different cultures. So, just a simple reading is not adequate t o

understand the nuances in the literature. Think about this, how difficult would readers two

thousand ago reading our mail with our different figures of speech. How would they interpret our

idioms like “his eyes are bigger than his stomach,” or “this fog is thick as pea soup,” or “I’m

broke,” or “We’ll hit Athens at 2:00 PM,” or better yet, “her food was so good, it tasted like she

put her foot in it!” This is also the danger of not interpreting Scripture the correct way. And with

respect to the language difference, the Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan, “Finger Lickin Good” in

Chinese is “Eat your fingers off.” So, at best, we seek to fully comprehend the Scriptures with

the Holy Spirit as our guide.

For example, consider Exodus 23:19, “The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into

the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.” (KJV). If we are

not careful, we would reach the wrong conclusion concerning this verse. A better translation

reads: “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.” (NIV).

Here is another verse: Matthew 28:20. “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have

commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (KJV).

Here is a better translation and watch the correction to the old English word “observe.” “and

teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to

the very end of the age.” (NIV)

If we are not careful, just because we see a familiar word to us, that does not necessarily mean

that that word has the same meaning or nuances to us today. Take for example the word “fried”

like in fried chicken.

Lev 7:12, If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving

unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled

with oil, of fine flour, fried.

1 Chron 23:29, Both for the shewbread, and for the fine flour for meat offering, and for the

unleavened cakes, and for that which is baked in the pan, and for that which is fried, and for all

manner of measure and size;

Lev 6:21, on a girdel with oil it is made -- fried thou dost bring it in; baked pieces of the present

thou dost bring near, a sweet fragrance to Jehovah. (YLT).

Lev 2:7, And if thine offering is a present made on the frying-pan, of flour with oil it is made

(YLT). If your offering is a grain offering made in a pan, it must be made of choice wheat flour

deep fried in olive oil (NET).

Did the ancient Hebrews fry meat in a frying pan similar to how we fry food today? Before

jumping to a conclusion because we see familiar words in a passage, the phrase and context in

Scripture may have a different meaning. Word studies and historical backgrounds must be

researched before making a hermeneutical interpretation.

The word for fried or baked (depending on the translation) is the Hebrew verb in the Hophal,

מֻרְבֶּכֶת (with root, רָבַךְrabak). Strong defines its meaning as bread that is soaked in oil, baked, or

that which is fried. This word is in the original Hebrew for Lev 6:21; 7:12; 1 Chron 23:29. The

word is not in the original for Lev 2:7. The translation in the KJV for that verse is not reliable.

The NIV is probably closer to the original: If your grain offering is cooked in a pan, it is to be

made of the finest flour and some olive oil. Of the four verses in the Bible that has or assumes

the word “fried,” only 1 Chron 23:29 may have implication to meat being fried. A deeper study

on that verse and context is warranted.

Now, let us examine the verse in Proverbs. The historical setting is that in those days, God was

still speaking to prophets. People would hear an inspired word from one of God’s prophets.

Written documents were not as common as today. Thus, people had to rely on prophets to hear a

word from God. Today, this is not the case. God’s complete word is written in the book that we

call the Bible. There is no new revelation today. We must not believe those on social media who

are falsely applying Biblical meaning to COVID-19, 911, Trump, Hitler, and this war with

Russia and Ukraine, (gas prices?). All of God’s revealed Word is in the Bible. You cannot give

authority to anyone today who says, “God told me this or that…” If whatever anyone is saying

does not come directly from Scripture, more than likely, God did not say it. The challenge for us

today is to properly interpret what we read in Scripture. We are in the same position as the

Ethiopian eunuch that Philip encountered along the road. The eunuch responded to Philip, “How

can I [understand], except some man should guide me? (Acts 8:31).

Chaos will always follow a people or society that does not take heed to God’s Word (The

Scriptures), but people or society that are obedient to God’s Word will be blessed!

The verse says two things in parallel sequence (double meaning): (1) people will be unruly if

they don’t heed God’s Word and (2) those who do follow God’s word will be blessed.

 Those who hear God’s Word…

 Are like those who heed God’s Word…Will be blessed

 Doing these things will put you in harmony with God: this is called Blessing.

This word vision in Proverbs 29:18 can be translated as the Scriptures. We can sum it all up this

way: It is God’s word that teaches and instructs us on how to live a moral and righteous life.

Following God’s plan (Word) for your life will give us a happy, blessed life. Doing the opposite

will result in unproductive living.

What am I saying:

1. I am not saying that God does not speak to us today. He does, but only through his Word.

2. For those who seek to obey God’s word: this is called fellowship with God (1 John 1) and

allow the inner witness of the Holy Spirit that always lifts up God’s word to exhort or

convict you. If God is saying anything to us today, he is convicting us to stop sinning,

convincing us to yield to Christ, instructing us to love ye one another. In essence, the

Spirit speaks to us today TO FOLLOW GOD’S WORD.

3. God will bless your life when you follow these instructions.

So, how to be blessed by God? (This is by no means exhaustive)

1. Live the way the Bible says live.

2. Give

3. Forgive

4. Love your enemies

5. Read your Bible

6. Take time each day to pray earnestly.

7. Obey and submit to those who are in authority over us: The Lord, the government,

employers, teachers, parents, husbands, and pastors/elders.

8. Be in constant fellowship one with another.

9. Yield to the Holy Spirit.

This does not mean if you don’t like what I am saying, somehow you can look up to heaven and

say, “Is there anybody else up there?” What this means is according to the text in question, if I

follow God’s way, I will be blessed.

What is God’s way? God’s way is surrendering your life completely to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ is our example. He lived in harmony with the Scriptures. (Jesus answered them, Is it not

written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God

came, and the scripture cannot be broken, John 10:34, 35).

He submitted himself to his Father. He received the blessing from the Father in that he was

resurrected from the grave and ascended to heaven.

Philippians 2

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in

the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death,

even the death of the cross.

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and

things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of

sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his

season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the

righteous.

6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

What the Verse Doesn’t Say

The verse does not say we are to look to visions from prophets today. All prophecy is contained

within the canon of Scripture that we call the Bible. There are no one endued with revelatory

power today. No preacher/prophet today has received any divine insight from God other than

what we read in Scripture. Then, are we allowed to have a vision for the church, job, company,

family, or individual? Yes and no. The word vision may be a bit to strong and misguided. In

church when we hear of a “vision” we take that to mean a special revelation. Special revelations

come from God. The last revelation that God gave was that of our Lord Jesus Christ. He closes

the book.

So, what about visions today? When we speak of a vision for our church, family, employment,

retirement, or ourselves, we should say “plan” and not vision. Further, we need to distinguish

that this is our plan and not anything that we have received from the Lord. When people say

“God told me” or “I had a vision or revelation from the Lord,” they are trying to put emphasis on

something that they want universal acceptance since or “if” this idea came from God. The

problem with this is that if it came from God and it doesn’t work out the way you thought or

said, did God lie or fail? Saying that God gave you a revelation or vision in the name of the Lord

is the same as blasphemy. We are commanded by the word of the Lord not to use his name in

vain (Ex 20:7, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold

anyone guiltless who misuses his name”). I think people are in danger of God’s judgment when

we make claims alleging that they are endorsed by God.

So, What Shall We Do?

Instead of saying that this is a vision for the Lord, why not simply tell the truth. If it is a pastor to

a church, “Here is my five year or ten-year plan for the church.” If you are talking about a

company or family, say, “Here is my five (or whatever the term) year plan for this

company/family.” Our plans are subject to change. God’s plans cannot ever be revoked. It is

nothing ungodly for an individual or a group or even a church to have a plan. Plans are goals that

you set in order to have some meaningful direction. Plans may be adjusted as you go along.

There is no harm in submitting your plan before the Lord. You can ask the Lord to bless your

plan. This means that when you ask the Lord to bless your plans, it is not a guarantee that he will

allow your plan to come into total fruition. The Almighty does not have to honor our plans. His

ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. But he does honor our sincerity and

commitment to him.

Here are some verses that speak about the wisdom of making plans.

Proverbs 15:22 - Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. (NIV)

Proverbs 16:9 - In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.

(NIV)

Proverbs 16:3 - Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. (NIV)

James 4:13-17 - 13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city,

spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will

happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then

vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.

Proverbs 16:1 - To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper

answer of the tongue. (NIV)

Proverbs 3:6 - In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Why Plan if God Does Not Honor Plans?

It is futile not to set goals. A person will wander in life like Cain without having a plan. Again,

plans will change. The best plans change. Life without plans end in heartbreak because there was

never anything set to live for. It is not that God doesn’t honor our plans, it is that he doesn’t

follow man’s guidance. He’s God. He created us to follow him.

What Are God’s Plans for Our life So We Can Govern (Plan) Our Lives Around and For

Him?

God’s will (plan) for our lives are in his Word. The word plan suggests the possibility to change.

God does not in that sense gives plans. The Bible calls God’s desire, his will. God’s plan (will)

for our lives is that we are saved, spirit filled (wisdom, godly knowledge, and maturity),

sanctified in order to give God glory, submitted, suffer like Christ, share the gospel to others,

help those who are affrighted (poor, widows, and orphans, and the disabled), be a part of God’s

family, the church, and to look with joy to the coming of our Lord to behold his glory in heaven.

Thus, every and anything we do in life should be to fulfill these purposes of God for our lives.

God gives us a part of his divine nature, a natural desire on each of our parts to fulfill God’s

purposes. Why? We were made in his image. A person’s desire to get married and have a family

is a part of God’s purpose (will) for us to be a part of the family of God. We learn about God’s

family by being a part of our local family. A person desires to be an engineer. The purpose of

God that is fulfilled in engineering or in the sciences/medicine is to work in this field to explore

how life, society can be improved. This honor and brings glory to God. People who teach or

work with children or in other assisted careers are fulfilling the “helps” ministry in the list of

spiritual gifts outlined in 1 Corinthians 12 and in Romans 12 (See also Galatians 4). A person

who studies culinary arts gives glory to God in seeing people happy when they eat.

You don’t have to guess or wonder what your gift or purpose is in life. Your purpose is given to

you from God the same way we receive our taste buds. Different people have different taste. All

working together helps to achieve harmony in God’s great world of diversity. Some people like

certain food. They gravitate to certain food. It is the same way with our purposes in life. We all

gravitate toward certain things. Some people like teaching and they are a natural fit. Some have

tried teaching and realized that teaching was not for them. And so, they try something else until

they do something that they like (like how some like only butter on their sweet potato and

someone else likes butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar on their sweet potato and some just like

theirs plan). You can pray to ask God to reveal your purpose. He already gave you certain desires

from birth. You just have to figure out what they are like our taste buds. Your purpose is what

you (your heart) like. Why is this so? Why would God call you to do something that you don’t

like? It is in what you love that you will discover God’s calling (purpose/plan/will) for your life.

He already gave you the desire. He gave you the desire from birth.

A Word on Suffering

When we suffer for righteousness sake, we should not think that something strange has come

upon us. Remember beloved, Christ suffered for the unjust sinner. If we are to be true to Christ,

when we suffer for his sake, we should not desire that God would rid us of the suffering.

Wisdom and godly maturity teach us that when we suffer, we count ourselves worthy in Christ to

suffer in his name. This was true of the apostles (Acts 5:41) and let it even be spoken of us (Mt

5:10–12). Suffering for Christ’s sake is a part of God’s will. This sounds strange because no one

in their right mind prays for suffering. Typically, our prayers are for the Lord to get us out of

suffering. However, we need to learn God’s lesson in suffering. (Heb 5:8, “Son though he was,

he learned obedience from what he suffered”).

1 Peter 4

12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some

strange thing happened unto you:

13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be

revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God

resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in

other men's matters.

16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this

behalf.

A Warning Against Causality

I want to be clear with what I said earlier about interpreting the will of God for a person’s life in

terms of what they like (as a natural connection). Anything that we seek to do should be by

prayer and by seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit. Making major decisions such as who to

marry or whether to enter into ministry should not be left to feelings alone.

It is possible to do good things and still be outside of the will of God. The story that Jesus tells

concerning the teachers who prophesied and casted out devils but would not enter into heaven,

not because they didn’t do good works, they did. They would not go to heaven because they

acted outside of the will of God.

Matthew 7: 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of

heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy

name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

24 Therefore whosoever heareth (hear the word) these sayings of mine, and doeth (take heed to

the word) them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house;

and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a

foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house;

and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his

doctrine:

29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Saul did good works (he made sacrifice to the Lord), but he lost his position because he did not

heed the will (Word) of God by the warning of the prophet (1 Sam 15). Suppose God’s will

consisted of salvation, sanctification, being Spirit-filled, submitted, and suffering for the sake of

Christ. A person may be committing to ministry as a part of sanctification and as an operation of

a gift of the Spirit but if that person does not believe in being submitted to godly authority, this

person is operating outside of the will of God. Remember the polemic in Matthew 7 is the

opposition of the Pharisees and scribes (Mt 5:20). So, the targeted audience to whom the Lord

was referencing in Matthew 7 were more than likely that same crowd. The Pharisees were doing

good works, but they also rejected Christ. Jesus even condemned them because their works were

not sincere (Mt 6:2, 5, 16). I am assuming that hypocrites in Jesus’ day were the Pharisees and

other Jewish religious leaders.

The conclusions of Matthew 7 and of 1 Samuel 15 both have exegetical significance to Proverbs

29:18.

Do You Really Want to Know the Secret to Life?

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 16:40:36 GMT

Do You Really Want to Know the Secret to Life?

John 10

Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, Toney, Alabama, May 3, 2020, Ernest L. Williams Sr.

We are captivated by a good movie, a good TV show, the news, or a sports event. Why is that?

We want to know. We want to be in the know. Most times, that knowledge does not add or

subtract from our character, but our minds suggest otherwise. You remember when we were

little, we would watch Bruce Lee and we swear we could fight like Bruce Lee. In all actuality,

we could not.

The mind’s quest for knowledge is great. The mind, like any other muscle needs to be exercised

or utilized or if not it will not maintain its purpose. The Lord Jesus explains this mystery to life

in John 10. You will be surprised to know the answer to life. In a nutshell, Jesus is the answer to

life. I remember serving at a church years ago and a lady said to me, “Pastor, when are we going

to go to the next level?” I pondered that for a while. The next level, I replied is already here. But

nobody wants to hear that. People think its always something else, so we are always looking for

the next best thing. But what if we got it.

Listen to what John says in 1 John 5:11-12,

11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”

Consider know John 10:

Conclusion

Jesus is the answer and the secret to life. To know him is the ultimate. Why know Him? Because

He is the only one that knows all about us (Ps. 139). He knows us so well; he would not allow

anybody (a hireling) to redeem us. He came to this world himself and paid the price for our

salvation. Now watch this. He died and gave his blood to save (fix) our ultimate problem (sin).

Since he made us, he knows us, thus he is the only one that can fix us. I am very particular about

my vehicles (in terms of letting someone else drive them); not because I am selfish but because I

know all the secrets to let’s say my Tahoe. Other people won’t be as considerate as you when it

comes to your own. On the side of the driver’s seat there is a loose screw. The engine has a water

problem, it overheats easily. The gas tank needs replacing. It pumps gas very lowly. With all of

this said, I love my truck. It’s my truck. It took me 5 years to pay for it. I worked hard to buy it.

But wait a minute. That’s what Jesus did for us. When we were messed up in sin, He didn’t

throw us away. He came down to this world and died for us. He died for our secrets. He died for

the parts that are broken in our lives. But you must give even those things to Him. Give him your

loose screws, your broken radiators, your messed-up engines… He knows

The Humility in the Cradle, the Cross, and the Tomb

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 16:22:12 GMT

The Humility in the Cradle, the Cross, and the Tomb

Luke 1:46–55

December 25, 2022

Ernest L. Williams, Sr.

1. That as Christians, we don't overemphasize the good cheers of Christmas and

overlook Jesus as the king who reigns now. The wise men find the child Jesus, and

they (according to Matt 2:2, 11) fell down and worshipped Jesus.

2. We participate in the excitement of Christmas and neglect the urgent plea for the lost

to be saved.

3. The first two points show the selfishness of man, including us, which is diametrically

opposite of Jesus, who came in the greatest way of humility. What can we learn from

Jesus's birth, death, burial, and resurrection? We can learn about his submission,

dependence, and humility. His birth, his mother's praise, his earthly abode, his death,

and his burial were all acts of humility. This is the only way to please God. To

approach God the way Jesus approached the Father, in complete submission and

humility, is the only way to God. Jesus promised to help us if we ask him. James 4:6-

7, 10.

4. His cradle is our hope, his death, our promise, and his resurrection is for our eternity.

But the promise of eternity was first manifested as a babe lying in a manger wrapped

in swaddling cloth. The prophets of old declared it. Is 9: 6 “For unto us a child is born,

unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name

shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The

Prince of Peace.” The angel shouted it from on high to an unworthy group of

individuals: shepherds: “ 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring

you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this

day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign

unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising

God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward

men.

5. After Mary, the mother of our Lord goes to the hill country to visit her cousin

Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John, Mary gets happy and sings a song of praise for

the hope of the child Jesus that she carries in her wound. Notice two things about her

song:

a. God blesses the humble and those who fear him

b. He shatters and brings low the proud at heart.

i. In verse 48, Mary sees herself in a “low estate” of humility. She

worships God by declaring his name is holy. In verse 49, she

recognizes his mercy is for those who fear him. How does God bless

the humble? (v. 53) He fills the hungry with good things. He

remembers his promise to Abraham (v. 55). Even when they did not

deserve it, in verse 54, He has been merciful to Israel.

ii. As for the proud, in verse 51, he scattered the proud in the

imagination of their hearts. The dreams and wishes of prideful, selfish

people will come to nothing. In verse 52, He overthrows kings and

kingdoms and makes them vassals.

c. Did you notice that Mary’s song, similar to Moses’ song, Miriam’s, Deborah’s

and Barak, and Simeon’s songs were words of exhortation set to music? The

Psalms are examples of this mode of communicating God’s message as a

song. In some cultures, today, the preacher changes his/her voice, as it were a

song, toward the end of his/her sermon in this same early Jewish custom.

Mary is rejoicing in God because God has shown her favor because of her

humility.

d. James 4: 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the

proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God.

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of

the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

… Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin

Each victory will help you or some others to win

Fight manfully onward, dark passions subdue

Look ever to Jesus and He'll carry you through

… Just ask the Savior to help you

To comfort, strengthen and keep you

He is willing to aid you

And He will carry you through

How to get Friends into God’s Family

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 16:10:39 GMT

How to get Friends into God’s Family - Luke 5:17–26

Mary’s Chapel CME Friends and Family Day

May 15, 2022 Ernest L. Williams, Sr.

Verse 16 is pivotal to this discussion (See also 6:12 concerning Jesus’ prayer life). Luke tells us

that Pharisees and teachers of the law came from every village of Galilee and from Judea and

from Jerusalem to hear Jesus. John tells us of certain Greeks that came to Jerusalem during the

feast with one request to Philip, “Sir, we would see Jesus?” Before he teaches or heals anyone,

Jesus spends time alone in prayer to the Father (5:16; 6:12).

The end of verse 17 says “And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.” How

is it that we don’t see this demonstrative power of healing today as they did in Jesus’ and the

apostles’ time? Before the word was complete, written, and distributed, God revealed himself in

such powerful form. Heb 1:1, 2, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time

past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son…” 1

Cor 13:8-10 can loosely applied here.

8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be

tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9 For we

know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that

which is in part shall be done away.

I would like to compare this issue to the opening ceremony for the Olympics. The opening

ceremony is a spectacular display of the host country’s beauty, art, and innovations. As grandeur

as the opening ceremony is, all of that splendor changes once the actual games begin. However,

at the end of the Olympics do we see a repeat of the grand splendor of the opening ceremony in

the closing ceremony. And so shall it be with us. Christ first coming and Pentecost were as it

were the opening ceremony. The movement of the Holy Spirit through the church age even up to

this day is like the Olympic games. When Christ comes again, we will see the first fruits of our

Lord’s coming in great power and glory like the closing Olympic ceremony.

Four friends of a paralyzed man break open the roof of the place where the Lord is preaching in

order to get their friend to Jesus. What are willing to break in order to bring someone to Jesus

today? I am not talking about breaking the law. However, what about breaking some traditions

that may be blocking the gospel from getting through to some?

Jesus sees the faith of the man’s friends. It is because of the friends’ faith that Jesus forgives the

paralyzed man of his sins. The Pharisees and teachers of the law thinking to themselves that

Jesus is blaspheming God because only God can forgive sins. Well, there is your answer. It is

because Jesus is God that he is able to forgive the man of his sins.

Jesus raises the critical issue. Jesus said to them, “Is it easier to say ‘your sins are forgiven’ or to

say, ‘get up and walk’? (v.23). Jesus said, “Nevertheless, that ye may know that the Son of Man
has authority to forgive sins…” Jesus then told the paralyzed man, “Get up, take up your mat,

and go home” (v.24). The man does exactly that but also adds one more caveat. The man gets up,

takes up his mat, goes home “praising God” (v.25).

How to get friends into the family of God?

1. Pray specifically for people that you know to be saved. Pray and be open to God using

you, your time, and resources to assist the people that you are praying for (v.16).

2. What traditions and barriers are you willing to tear down to win others to Christ? The

paralyzed man’s friends broke open the roof of a building to lower their friend to Jesus

(v.19; Mk 2:4; Mt 9:2).

3. Be willing to be relational to those who need to hear the gospel message of Christ. The

paralyzed man’s four friends were relational. Do you not know of the personal pains

they probably went through just to bear this man up to the roof? In sharing our faith

with others, are we willing to give up some things, suffer some things in order to win

souls to Christ? The key to the text is that these men were friends. We need to stop just

being church members and start becoming ‘friends’ with the people within our church

family. Church members only see each other once a week. Church members may not

ever call. But friends see and talk to each other throughout the week. Friends are

sincerely concerned about one another. There are friends that stick closer than brothers.

Jesus called his disciples his friends (John 15:15). When Judas betrayed our Lord, the

Lord called him friend (Mt 26:50). Jesus seeks to build relationships with us (John

15:7, examine the word ‘abide’). And thus now Christ has committed this ministry to us

(2 Cor 5:18).

What is your greatest desire for people when you pray for them, to be saved or to healed of a

physical infirmity? In v.23 Jesus asked which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or “Get up

and walk?’ Th word ‘easier’ here probably means ‘beneficial.’ Spiritually, being forgiven was

more beneficial for the man. Physically, being healed would be more beneficial for the man.

Jesus connects both together by saying “that ye may know that the Son of Man has authority to

forgive sins…” Jesus then told the paralyzed man, “Get up, take up your mat, and go home”

(v.24). They could not ‘see’ the man’s sins being forgiven but they could see the results of his

healing. God’s desire for people is to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Our

prayer for others should first and foremost be for their salvation. All these other things Christ

will add according to his will (Mt 6:33).

The Rocky Road to Peace

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 15:43:58 GMT

Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, Toney, Alabama, December 8, 2019, Ernest L. Williams Sr. - Luke 2:14

What is peace? Peace defined is the freedom from disturbance, or calmness or serenity, or it is the state or absence of war. Christology: Peace is to agree with God about our sinful condition and seek to please God by obeying His command concerning our sins. Christ establishes peace by his death. He was made sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor.

5:21).

Détente is an agreement between two hostile nations to ease tensions in order to achieve peace.

Whatever causes of hostility between the nations remain. At the birth of Jesus, the angels sing of peace on earth and good will toward men. Is peace on earth achievable? Is this possible? Let’s be honest, in light of where we are as a nation, a world, a community, in reality, it does not seem like it. We do have our good organizations and honest loving people who seek for change and seek to help the helpless, without any political or monetary motivations.

We thought that education, financial stability, religious and social group affiliations would change us and bring about peace. So we move in the best neighborhoods, put our kids in the brightest schools, join the most popular church, associate with the idea social organization

like the Masons, Eastern Star, Omega Psi Phi, Alphas, AKA, Deltas, Sigma, Zetas, KK Psi, and Kappa Alpha Psi… Most times all we produce is a rich spoiled brat, an educated fool, religious hypocrite, and a social nut that would end up doing more in a social organization than for the church.

The other extreme to achieving peace is when a person just tries to get along with everybody. As the late great philosopher Robin Harris said, they “Don’t want no trouble” [Broken English intended]. If you are not careful you end up trying to please everybody, but you

end up loosing your identity and pleasing nobody. Adrian Rogers said, “You end up buying things that you don’t like, to please people who don’t like you, and buying these things with money you don’t even have.” [Illustration: The man, the boy, and the donkey.]

Central Thought: In order to achieve peace, someone must suffer. Many of us are unwilling to suffer to achieve peace, so we settle for the state of detente.

1. Every good and perfect gift comes to us by way of blood (I have butchered up Heb 1:17

for good cause).

“The life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev 17:11). Heb 9:22, “And without shedding of

blood of blood is no remission.”

a. The perfect marriage

b. This nation.

c. Equality for Blacks.

d. This sanctuary

e. Jesus, his life, death, and resurrection.

2. It takes as much power to maintain peace as it were to first obtain.

a. Look at the high cost for peace: law enforcement, our military, and all of the

safeguards and investments we all put into security and enjoyment for our

families.

3. What people fought for a long time ago has lost its sting today.

a. Slavery doesn't interest our children today.

b. Nobody is complaining over this building today.

c. The trinity, the deity of Jesus, the OT and the NT. And I wonder if we are standing up for the blood atoning death of Jesus Christ?

d. The major issues today that seemed so difficult to achieve will be easily accepted and taken for granted in the near future. In the Middle Ages, society was executing people for copying the Bible into the language of the people.

4. If we are not careful, we will allow the philosophy of the age to num us to not to fight for

the peace of our family and our spiritual values. We have been given as it were Novocain.

The peace that Luke 2:14 is not present today. We gave it up, we voted it out of school,

our homes, and now even our churches. What did we vote out? The quest for peace. The

fight for peace. Peace comes by way of bloodshed. But nobody wants to bleed. Here, our

blood is a reference to our dying sacrifice to Christ to bring about peace. I am not

advocating that we hurt or kill someone to bring about peace. That is what the world

seeks after. But that is false peace. We learned that from history from Machiavelli. Jesus

said if any man comes after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.

Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood to bring about the only real peace that the

world would ever know. We must be the continuing agents/ambassadors to bring about

His peace to the world through the preaching and the “living” of the cross.

5. How do we bring about this peace? It’s really in the text. Luke 2:14.

a. Somebody needs to give God glory to the highest!

b. We must be the agents to fight for peace. Who’s going to continue the struggle for peace? Who, like the apostles, early church fathers, and those who have come before us, will continue to fight for what is right? Where are the Harriet

Tubman(s) of today, the Fredrick Douglass(s), Sojourner Truth(s), WEB Dubois(s), Booker T. Washington(s), Dr. Daniel Hale Williams(s), Dr. Charles Drew(s), Dr. Carter G. Woodson(s), Thurgood Marshall(s), Dr. Martin Luther King(s), Congressman John Lewis(s), Dr. Sonny Hereford(s), President Barrack Obama(s)? It’s going to take Mommy and Daddy, Son and Daughter…

c. Seek the good of man, to do good toward all men regardless of color, religion, sexual orientation…

i. Micah 6:8, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth

the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk

humbly with thy God?”

ii. William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army was on to speak

at an event, but he was lying ill on his dying bed. He could not make the

event. He asked if he could just write something on a piece of paper and

have it read by someone at the event. The scribe went to the assembly hall

and read Mr. Booth’s one-word message, “Others.” That’s how we bring

the peace of Jesus, we put others before us. Jesus died for “others.” Our

church should be open for “Others.” As a young person, your career goal

should be “to help others.”

A Personal Spiritual Growth Plan

Sat, 31 Dec 2022 22:47:38 GMT

A Personal Spiritual Growth Plan (Explanation)

If a person is not given proper guidance after conversion, then their spiritual growth is uncertain. For many Christians who did not receive proper guidance, they had to “figure it out” on their own or, if they were fortunate, trust older Christians in their community. For new Christian converts, their local church becomes the center for the believer’s spiritual growth and fellowship. This document will serve as an overview of the basic spiritual marks (characteristics) that should be fundamental to every Christian and what role the individual and the corporate church play in shaping those marks. The Scriptures and scholarly authorities will be cited to support these claims. Finally, the results of a survey based on six Christian marks will be evaluated. Recommendations and a spiritual growth plan will be presented based on these findings.

Spiritual Disciplines as a Means of Godliness

The spiritual marks that will be discussed in this document are confession, gospel–focused worship, discipleship, the discipline of godliness, prayer, and humility. Granted, other marks, such as giving and serving may be deemed equally as important as the six listed above. Our intention is not to cover all spiritual marks. This endeavor would be exhaustive and beyond the scope of this paper. Our purpose is to present six basic marks that are assumed as essential and from which all other marks may freely stem. For example, we propose that when Christians are committed to gospel-centered worship and humility, they will have a positive response to giving and serving.

Confession

Every local church should adhere to a confessional statement of faith. Many denominations have a general statement of faith. However, individual members may be in the dark as to what this statement is and means. A confessional statement ought to be brief and concise. New converts and older believers alike should be able to understand the confessional statement.

In Scripture, the New Testament apostles and communities rallied around confessions focused on Jesus Christ. Peter’s confession in Acts 10:34–43 highlights that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Son of God, that Jesus died on a cross for the sins of men, that he was raised from the dead by God the Father, and that he had chosen certain men to preach that God ordained him to be the judge of all humanity and that through his name anyone who trusted in him, their sins would be forgiven. The early church believed, cited, and recited confessions like this to each other and to an unbelieving world.

Another New Testament confession is 1 Tim 3:16, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” Notice that this confession also focuses on Jesus Christ, his deity, and his purpose. Likewise, Paul’s confession of Christ as he traveled throughout his journeys was that he (Paul) “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21).

Paul’s confession of faith to the Galatians reads similarly to his confession in 1 Tim 3:16.

But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (Gal 4:4–7)

Galatians 4, this confession emphasizes Christ’s deity, humanity, purpose, and our position in God by Christ. Some consider Acts 2:42–47, a summary of the practices of the early church, as a church confession.

Some early church confessions read like hymns. This would make sense since the church was commanded to encourage each other through song (Eph 5:19). Apparently, Philippians 2:5–11 was an early hymn of the church adopted by Paul in his letter to the Philippian church. This hymn has all of the features of a church confession; namely, the hymn identifies the deity and humanity of Christ, Christ’s purpose in redeeming man, and God’s exaltation of Jesus as the final judge of all humanity.

McClendon and Lockhart make an astonishing discovery concerning confession:

The confession of the church defines the church. Without this confession being biblically delineated regarding the person and work of Jesus, we end up more like members of a country club centered around our consumeristic preferences, creating gods and bibles in our image. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, we end up worshiping ourselves instead of worshiping Jesus. Instead of engaging the culture, we capitulate to it. Instead of making disciples of Jesus, we end up making disciples of ourselves. We focus on what we think and feel is important without proper consideration of the biblical imperatives concerning who Jesus is, what he has done, and who we are to be in light of those truths. We end up without the biblically designed anchor, compass, and filter.

This astonishing discovery makes clear how significant a confessional statement is for individual believers as well as for the collected body.

Gospel–Focused Worship

Worship is fundamental to a believer’s growth and understanding of God. Jesus, in speaking with a Samaritan woman about worship, told her that “the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:23). The Lord acknowledged that this women and others in her time had a misguided view of worship. At that time, some Jews and Samaritans believed that the place of worship, for example, a mountain, a city, or a temple was an integral component of worship. Paul assures the Corinthian church that the place of worship should be within the individual and not a physical location such as a building or a mountain. In 1 Corinthians 6:19, Paul declares that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

God is the intended audience of our worship. Psalms 29:2 states, “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” From this verse, worship is a kind of giving over to God. We are called to give God our praise because God alone deserves our praise. The verse also sets forth our position before God, “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” Because God is holy, we must approach him on his own terms. In other words, we cannot come to God any kind of way. Our approaching God in worship must be in the preparation of the heart, mind, and will as elements of our sacrifice to God. “Only when arrayed in a manner fit for the worship of the Great King, and when consecrated to him like the priests at the temple, are God’s servants prepared to serve him.”

Additionally, in Psalms this sentiment of worship is further expressed. In Psalm 95:6, “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.” In Psalm 96:7–8, three times the phrase, “Give unto the Lord” is mentioned. If our worship is empty, then this shows how we value the Lord. The root etymology of worship is “worth.” God ought to be worth something to those who believe in him. We show forth his worthiness in our worship. Psalm 96:8–9 echoes Psalm 29:2. “Worship can’t be calculated or produced. Instead it is evoked; it’s the response of a heart evoked by the beauty, glory, and allure of the object of your mental focus—holy God.”

Revelation 4:8–11 shows forth God’s worthiness in worship. In this passage, the four beast and the twenty-four elders, representation of God’s created order, are engaged in the worship of God.

And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Rev 4:8–11).

Notice how the elders cast their crowns before him that sat on the throne. All of man’s authority belongs to God. Further, the object of our worship is directed to the one who is seated on the throne.

Jesus is seated on the throne in heaven. He is worthy of our worship because he was slain as a lamb before the slaughter (Rev 5:12). Thus, our worship must be Christ or gospel-centered. The gospel message must be the emphasis in worship. Without it, worship becomes fixated on the achievements of self. Jared Wilson states that “the central idea of the church should be the gospel.” Paul gives a clear meaning of the gospel. Paul writes, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom 1:16). The power of God unto salvation is God’s supernatural ability to draw people to him. This drawing ability is totally in God (John 3:8, 6:44). The mechanism by which God chooses to save is by the preaching of the cross. “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (1 Cor 1:21). Paul further explains that “we preach Christ crucified…” (1 Cor 1:23). This is the gospel message that Christ came to die for sinners.

The gospel message in worship is fundamental to our worship experience. It is the gospel that elevates Christ and humbles man. The gospel is the key to our worship. The gospel acknowledges our self-centeredness, which we must confess and repent of. It is the gospel that then produces spiritual growth and fosters harmony within the body of Christ. Wilson explains it this way. “If we will commit to preaching the truth that embracing Jesus Christ means dying to ourselves and repenting of our self-centeredness, he will produce the fruit of discipleship in community within our churches.”

Discipleship

The church is called by God to “make disciples.” Our current model must reflect the practices of the New Testament. Jesus said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19, NIV). Discipleship is modeling Christ through engagement with others by studying the scriptures together, praying for one another’s spiritual growth, encouraging each other, and allowing yourself to be vulnerable by the correction of others. This is at the heart of Paul’s advice to Timothy. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16). Words emphasized are italicized.

The first church immediately after Pentecost modeled discipleship. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). Discipleship is engaging. People must be present for engagement to take place. The believers after Pentecost were together (Acts 2:44). Likewise, Hebrews 10:25 is an encouragement to the church to continue to assembly for worship and for discipleship. Whitney exclaims, “But evangelism is also a Discipline in that we must discipline ourselves to get into situations where evangelism can occur, that is, we must not just wait for witnessing opportunities to happen.” There is no time table as to when you should start witnessing. Our witness should start immediately after we are saved. The man born blind in John 9, instantly when Christ healed him started evangelizing: “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25).

The Discipline of Godliness

The Bible calls believers to actively pursue godliness. Paul exhorts Timothy and his followers to “exercise thyself rather unto godliness” (1 Tim 4:7) and “godliness is profitable unto all things” (1 Tim 4:8). But what is this godliness? Paul shows Timothy that godliness is practical. Concerning godliness, the apostle tells Timothy to be actively engaged in reading the Scriptures, teaching, evangelizing (do the work of an evangelist! 2 Tim 4:5), meditating on Scripture, and being mindful of his conduct and behavior (1 Tim 4:13, 15–16). These tenants along with prayer serve as foundational traits for godliness.

Let us be fully persuaded; that is, let us make sure we are clear on the purpose of pursuing godliness. Godliness is not to make one a super saint. On the contrary, the goal of godliness is to “lay hold on eternal life” (1 Tim 6:12). The believer’s aim in life is to one day live with Christ in eternity. Godliness is therefore the submission of our lives to Christ to allow his life to be manifested in our current existence (Rom 8:29; Gal 2:20). Gorman is eloquent in his delivery on how godliness is the believer’s conformity “to the image of his Son.”

God’s goal, writes Paul, is to call a people, to create a family of persons “conformed to the image of his Son” (v. 29). That conformity, for Paul, is narrative in character, a two-part drama of suffering/death followed by resurrection/exaltation. Thus the narrative of the community in Christ must correspond to the narrative of its Lord…. Conformity to Christ—“to the image of [God’s] Son”—in resurrection is the logical and guaranteed sequel to a life of death to self and of suffering for the gospel that corresponds to the narrative of Christ’s dying and rising (see further discussion in the next section). The first half of Romans 8, then, narrates the first dimension of cruciform hope, “put[ting] to death the deeds of the body” (v. 13)—what Paul calls elsewhere “crucify[ing] the flesh” (Gal. 5:24), “dying to sin” (Rom. 6:2), and “crucify[ing] the old self with Christ” (Rom. 6:6). Paul is clearly not disparaging the body per se, nor the activities of the body, as texts like Romans 6:13 (“present yourselves … present your members to God”), Romans 12:1–2 (“present your bodies as a living sacrifice”), and 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (“your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.… Therefore glorify God in your body”) make plain. The real issue for Paul is not the body but the “flesh”—the human person considered apart from and in opposition to God—and the mind yielded to sin. When the mind is under the power of sin and attentive to the flesh, rather than the Spirit, the body becomes the place where anti-God behaviors are expressed, which is why Paul stresses the role of the mind in both Romans 8 and Romans 12. In such conditions, the body is a “body of death” (Rom. 7:24) whose end is death rather than eternal life (Rom. 6:21–23).

Thus, godliness is the believer’s submission to Christ so that the flesh or our selfish desires may be crucified on the cross. Gorman calls this transformation in a believer’s life to the cross cruciformity. The New Testament calls this transformation godliness.

Prayer

Christians are also called to have an active prayer life. Prayer makes a difference in believers’ lives. Unfortunately, many Christians either don’t pray, pray too little, or find it difficult to pray. Prayer is a part of godliness. Donald Whitney states, “The three duties of reading Scripture, meditation, and prayer belonged together, and though each could be done occasionally on its own, as formal duties to God they were best done together.”

Whitney highlights J. C. Ryle’s sentiments concerning prayer. “What is the reason that some believers are so much brighter and holier than others? I believe the difference, in nineteen cases out of twenty, arises from different habits about private prayer. I believe that those who are not eminently holy pray little, and those who are eminently holy pray much.”

Our model for all things godly is Jesus. When Jesus was here in his humanity, he led an active prayer life. Several times in the Gospels, we are told that Jesus went out to pray (Luke 5:16; 6:12; 9:28; 22:41–45). The disciples requested that Jesus teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1). The Lord presented every situation to the Father in prayer. Our prayer life should model

Christ’s example.

Paul requested that the Roman believers “strive” with him in prayer (Rom 15:30). Striving in prayer denotes, at times, the difficulty of prayer. But since we know through discipline, the spiritual outcome, which is our eternal destiny in glory, we endure our current struggles. Paul tells us that our present struggles (he calls light affliction), which are only for a moment, work for us a more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (2 Cor 4:17; Rom 8:18).

Prayer becomes a struggle when we deem it unfruitful or do not fully understand the will of God. Not knowing the will of God will cause some to pray for selfish reasons or not to pray at all. Selfish prayers are not answered according to James 4:3. Some who deem prayer unfruitful may struggle with patience (See James 1:2–7). At the same time, others see prayer as getting God to do things for them as if God is a genie or fairy. An improper understanding of prayer is due to not adequately understanding the scripture regarding prayer.

A proper biblical understanding of prayer reveals that we must pray according to God’s will (Luke 22:41–42; Matt 6:10; 1 John 5:14–15). Jesus helps us by giving us purpose in prayer. The Lord points out in prayer that the Father knows how to provide us with the best gift, the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). It is apparent that we do not know what to ask for outside of God’s will. Jesus points out that the Holy Spirit is our greatest need. Scripture even teaches that the Holy Spirit helps us in our prayers since we do not know what to ask. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Rom 8:26).

An excellent model to follow in prayer is to pray the Scriptures. Praying with the Scriptures as a guide allows you to understand the will of God. Michael Haykin, in writing on prayer, states that our prayers should be in accord with the advancement of the kingdom of God. “May God give us a heart and a will to make prayer, prayer for the exaltation of God and the extension of the kingdom, a daily reality in our lives.” One great way to achieve the exaltation of God and for the extension of the kingdom is to pray along with Scripture. To grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, Christians should always pray so that they will not be discouraged (Luke 18:1). Paul encourages Timothy, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men” (1 Tim 2:1). It is evident prayer must be made a part of a Christians daily routine in order to pursue godliness.

Humility

The mark of humility is essential for a believer’s identification with Christ. Above all other characteristics, humility is the quintessential quality that sets Christians apart from the world. In his book, Humility: The Beauty of Holiness, Andrew Murray responds to the charge of believers exhibiting Christian virtues and being void of humility.

There is more than one answer can be given. But the principal answer in our present connection is this: They indeed have a measure of faith, in proportion to which, with the special gifts bestowed upon them, is the blessing they bring to others. But in that very blessing the work of their faith is hindered through the lack of humility.

Here, Murray reiterates the possibility that a Christian may have faith and gifts but not exhibit humility and still be empty and fruitless.

Humility sets Christians apart from the world because humility identifies the believer with Christ’s humility displayed on the cross. Only in our submission to God, by understanding Christ’s submission and humility at the cross, can we come to full knowledge and growth in God. Murray adds, “The first and chief of the marks of the dying of the Lord Jesus, of the death marks that show the true follower of Jesus, is humility.” Paul comes to this realization. In Philippians, Paul writes, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (Phil 3:10). The Greek verb for “know” in this verse, (γινώσκω, “ginōskō”) means to understand or recognize something or someone by observation or by experience. The verb denotes association gained by relational interaction. Thus, when Paul says that he wants to know Christ and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to the death of Christ, Paul is seeking to experience Christ at the highest level of humility, and that is the humility that Christ displayed on the cross. In man’s desire to experience Christ, Paul shows in Philippians 3:10 that we only come to experience Christ more deeply by sharing Christ’s suffering and humility through the cross (Matt 16:24–26).

The high value of humility is echoed by Christ when he challenged anyone that would follow him. “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matt 16:24). Christ thus challenges believers that the only way to be identified with him is through humility. And that humility can only be identified with Christ’s work at the cross. Humility is the self-denial of all attitudes, ambitions, and desires surrendered to the will of Jesus Christ. Paul establishes this further with the church of Galatia. Paul writes in Galatians, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20). Paul sees in this verse, our identification with the crucified Christ, our total submission to him as our present status in Christ. Paul states in Philippians, through an earlier accepted church hymn, that believers are connected to Christ by having the same mind of Jesus in his humility and submission at the cross.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Phil 2:5–8).

Of all that believers could be identified within Christ, the Bible clarifies that we are only identified with Jesus when we exhibit the fruits of Christ’s humility at the cross. Murray is correct:

Is it any wonder that the joy of salvation is so little felt when that in which Christ found it and brings it, is so little sought? Until a humility which will rest in nothing less than the end and death of self; which gives up all the honour of men as Jesus did, to seek the honour that comes from God alone; which absolutely makes and counts itself nothing, that God may be all, that the Lord alone may be exalted,—until such a humility be what we seek in Christ above our chief joy, and welcome at any price, there is very little hope of a religion that will conquer the world.

Murray reiterates that it is the believer’s humility in self-denying sacrifice, as in Christ our example, that we enter into an intimate relationship with Christ and, as a result, experience his joy. Peter expresses this in his epistle. “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy” (1 Pet 4:13). For Peter, the believer’s joy, as partakers in Christ’s suffering, will not only be experienced at Christ’s return but also during our present lifetime. Thus, Peter leads with “But rejoice” at the beginning of the verse (our present joy in response to suffering), and then Peter says that when Christ’s glory is revealed (a reference to his Second Coming), believers will be glad with exceeding joy.

Joy is one of the Spiritual fruits believers are encouraged to experience as a result of identifying with Christ’s suffering. Jesus said, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” (Matt 5:11–12) As we seek to humble ourselves in Christ, may we also experience the joy that comes from identifying with Jesus and his humility at the cross.

Read the Bible in One Year Here

A Personalized Growth Plan Here

BIBLE VERSES TRADITION SERIES -PART 4 ELDERS AND CHURCH GOVERANCE

Thu, 25 Nov 2021 01:39:56 GMT

PART 4 ELDERS AND CHURCH GOVERANCE
Further Study Through Acts

Acts 1:16, Acts 6:3, 5, and Acts 15:22

The words elder, pastor, overseer, bishop all have the same meaning.

Churches in the New Testament had more than one elder or pastor.

Decisions for the church were decided by the apostles and elders. In some cases, congregational decisions were rendered but not without oversight from the elders.

There is no such concept as congregational authority in the New Testament especially when that authority supersedes the authority of the elders.

The early Catholic Church began to organize itself around elder authority calling them bishops, cardinals, and the pope. In my view this was an extreme stretch of the New Testament format. The Catholic model had little to no input from the congregation. One of the major emphases of the Protestant Reformation was the objection to absolute clergy rule with no input from the congregants. Thus, many Protestant churches almost reversed the direction of absolute clergy rule to some form of congregational rule. Baptist and the Congregational Church of England took to the extreme congregational rule, with Methodist, Presbyterians, and Lutherans taking a middle ground of authority between the congregants and the clergy. The Pentecostals, Apostolic, and Holiness took a stronger clerical governance of churches closely similar to the Catholics. Both extremes are totally alienated from the New Testament model. Indeed, the New Testament model does put the authority of church governance in the hands of the elders. But there were decisions involving the church body where the outcome would include the need of congregational input.

A case could be made for the selection of Matthias to replace Judas in Acts 1:16, 23. It appears that the selection of Matthias involved the hundred and twenty (verse 15).

Their selection was guided by prayer. Acts 1:24, 25; Acts 13:2, 3. Notice what follows in Acts 13:4, “So they, being sent forth by the Holy Spirit…” Their being sent forth was by God himself and not man. Thus, the church could not vote on a matter that God himself had sanctioned. This does not mean that the church does not sanction certain orders. It does and it can. But, in whatever decisions we are making within the church, prayer should be paramount in those decisions and never an innocent bystander to the process. In the New Testament, the congregation could participate in decisions of people selection. The congregation did not make financial or business decisions.
See also Acts 14:23. Paul and Barnabas appointed (ordained) elders in every church in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. These appointments were not made with any congregational approval.
The selection of church workers, See Acts 6:3.
The congregation had an opportunity to assist in the selection process. However, this is not a one case fits all. Careful examination of the text would reveal the reason why the congregation was allowed to participate. The process involved people selection to serve.

The church conference to decide what Old Testament restrictions should be applied to the New Testament church and what should not, See Acts 15:22.

The apostles and elders meet and discussed the matter. The decision of what Old Testament restrictions would be either allowed or rejected in the church was in the hands of the apostles and elders alone. The church selected what men would accompany Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journey to deliver the “letter of decision” to the various churches.

Wrapping It All Up!

Churches should be organized such that deacons serve in more ministerial roles where pastors occupy more administrative roles. The word deacon means one who serves. Deacons are the workers of the church. Deacons are the leading agents in the church to conduct ministry that benefits the church body and community.
Churches will grow when men take the responsibility of being servant leaders.
Churches should seek to have more than one pastor so that the authority of govern-ship is not in the hands of one.
In order for this to come to fruition, each church leadership should consist of an elder board, comprised of ordained pastors/elders.
Historically, this work has been in the hands of deacons. Much care, patience, and prayer are needed in moving forward. Remember, tradition is the enemy and not each other. What will you do or how will you react when you were given the truth, no matter how different or difficult it might be? How would you act on it?

When our Lord Jesus confronted the Pharisees and Sadducees concerning their tradition, this led to our Lord’s crucifixion. Likewise, when the apostles confronted the Sanhedrin council and the Jews in the synagogues, for the most part, the apostles were rejected, sometimes beaten, jailed, and for Stephen and James, executed. I think we ought to respond like the Jews in Berea in Acts 17:

¹⁰ And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹ These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. ¹² Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.
I agree with the words of Gamaliel concerning what should be done to the apostles for preaching Christ and his resurrection. I only include Gamaliel’s conclusion here. Acts 5: ³⁸ And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: ³⁹ But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

· The deacons should be organized under the umbrella of a deacons’ ministry and not a deacons’ board. The word boards denote authority. God desires humble workers, servants to do the work of ministry.

o Ministerial work of deacons should be based on the needs of the church body and community. Other members are encouraged to participate in ministry, joining the deacons in the service for the Lord.

o Mothers (deacons’ wives) and deaconess are vital to this work of ministry and congregational care. The work should be shared and never contained in the hands of one group. Deacons become pivotal in this work, assisting in organization the work within the church.

Going Forward from Here! Men and brethren, what shall we do?

o Access the critical needs of the church body and community. Understand to meet these needs will require not only financial commitments but time and energy from the body.

Be unified in whatever decisions we make. This was the case for the church in Acts. A common theme in that church was the phrase, “They had all things common.” No one tried to overstep their bounds. Each one knew their place. And they got along well. Why? (I think this is the greater why: They all anticipated Christ’s return at any time. Christ’s return in your heart and on your mind will keep us grounded and centered for our daily walk with each other. 1 Thess 5: ²³ And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Make prayer the focus and not a bystander. Let us make sure that whatever we do, it pleases God and not ourselves.
Acts 1: ²⁴ And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen.

Acts 13: ² As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. ³ And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
Acts 15: ²⁸ For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;

God charged us to work together. Let’s come together in love with the same mind. Pray! Pray! Pray! Seek God!

Walk together, children, don't you get weary,
Sing together, children, don't you get weary,
Pray together, children, don't you get weary,
Work together, children, don't you get weary,
there's a great camp meeting in the promised land.

BIBLE VERSES TRADITION SERIES -PART 3 YE WIVES

Thu, 25 Nov 2021 00:09:28 GMT

PART 3 YE WIVES

1 Tim 3:11

Grave
Not slanderers
Sober
Faithful in all things

Titus 2:3 – 5

Vs. 3
Holiness
Not false accusers
Not given to much wine
Teachers of good things:

Vs. 4. Mothers to teach young women:
To be sober
To love their husbands
To love their children

Vs. 5. Mothers to:
Be discrete
Chaste
Keepers at (of) home
Obedient to their own husbands
Why? That the word of God be not blasphemed.

APPLICATION

1. The term mother or mothers of the church is not directly scripture. The indirect link could be Titus 2:3-5. There is no Mother’s Board in the New Testament. These terms are more associated with the so-called modern church than the first century church. I perceive no harm in the current titles and positions of mothers in the church today comparative to the New Testament church.

2. The term mothers are more so associated with wives of elders and wives of deacons (1 Tim 3:11). The New Testament speaks about deaconess who also served in the churches.

a. Rom 16:1, I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant (deaconess) of the church at Cenchreae,

b. Paul’s high placement of women in ministry should be noted.

Rom 16:3, Priscilla is the wife of Aquila. Paul places her name first in Romans 16:3.

1. Paul met them in Corinth, according to Acts 18:1, 2.

2. Acts 18:18, 19, Paul leaves the couple in Ephesus. Notice the name order. Priscilla is mentioned first. Is this significant?

3. Aquila and Priscilla explained the gospel and gave great instruction to Apollos. Acts 18: 24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. 26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.

ii. Junia is noted among the apostles in Romans 16:7. I don’t think this verse implies that she was an apostle but that her good reputation was well known among the apostles.

c. All three of the names in Romans 16:12 are feminine.

d. Julia in Romans 16:15 is a feminine name.

3. Without loss of generality, I will group mothers and deaconess in the same category.

4. As a spouse of a deacon or elder, you have a role of service in the church. It is difficult at times to understand this position because it was your spouse that received the appointment in the church to serve, not you. Then why serve?

a. You will want to assist your spouse in this spiritual and also human position and situations.

b. You will need to assist your spouse in certain confidential matters.

c. Your spouse will need you more so than anyone else for support and strength.

d. Your main service will first be to your spouse and then afterwards to the needs of those in the church and community. See all the biblical references given for details.

5. The church must be aware of other women in the church with the gifts of service and/or teaching, who either may not be married, or husbands may not be believers, or husbands may not be out be in any church leadership position, but to allow these women to serve. The New Testament called them deaconess.

BIBLE VERSES TRADITION SERIES -PART TWO PASTORS AND DEACONS’ QUALIFICATIONS

Tue, 23 Nov 2021 15:13:25 GMT

PART ONE DEACONS

Acts 6:1 - 7, The Seven

Overview

1. First, the problem of Acts 6 becomes central to the study of why Seven men were chosen to serve. The Grecians complained to the apostles because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food as compared to the Hebrew speaking widows who were not being neglected. Thus, not all needed this service, just the Greek speaking widows.

2. The Seven were chosen on the criteria of having a honest report, full of the Holy Ghost, and wisdom. Here, the selection was done by the church congregation, or for this case, the men of the church, called the brethren with the final approval by the apostles.

3. This process pleased the entire congregation, and the church grew.

4. Historically, the American Baptist churches for the most part were started in rural communities where churches could not afford to pay a minister full time. Deacons at that time began to take upon more of an administrative rule in the churches where pastors preached at more than one congregation. Now that churches have secured a pastor full time, breaking that traditional stronghold of who actually has the oversight in the churches has been a major undertaking.

Further analysis:

These men were not called deacons in this chapter.
Even though the Seven are selected by the congregation, the final approval and appointment was in the hands of the apostles. The approval and appointment were not automatic. The apostles exercised their authority of oversight in the final decision.
These men were not set over the entire congregation. One, they were Greek speaking so more than likely they only served the Grecian women. Language could have been the underlying problem. Secondly, the appointment of the Seven was not for a lifetime. Stephen and Philip are later recognized as preachers/evangelist. Thirdly, the Seven were only appointed to serve over this business and not the total business of the church. (Vs. 3).
Verse 4 seems to imply that if the Seven occupy the work of distribution of food, then the apostles would then only focus on preaching and praying. This opens the false conclusion that the deacons would do the work of pastoring and the pastors are only obligated to preaching. Historically, as a result, there has been a rift between the relationships of the deacons and pastors.

The word deacon in the Greek is translated simply as servant or waiter of tables. The deacons are to assist the elders in the church. The leadership of the church, according to the New Testament, falls in the hands of the elders.
Can Acts 6 serve as a foundation for deacon selection and appointment? The answer is yes and no. Again, the Seven selected in Acts 6 were never referred to as deacons, even though they fit the criteria. Other New Testament scriptures helps us navigate the position of the deacons’ ministry. We are taught that no one should make a Biblical doctrine on one verse in the Bible unless the Lord, an inspired prophet, or apostle has made the declaration in scripture (Deut 18:15). Secondly, the Seven were not over the business of the church and nor did they serve indefinitely. Further studies of the Bible will show that churches probably had more than one elder and that the oversight of the churches was always in the hands of elders and not deacons and nor the congregation.

Where does that leave us?

1. Study your Bible so you can know for yourself what the word of God says concerning the church.
2. Bitterness, resentment, and unmerited criticism are as a result of some not knowing their proper role in the church.
3. Church attendance suffers the most when members within the congregation criticize the work instead of assisting in the work.
4. Deacons were instituted to serve and not lead or direct.

Quote: Because church organizations in the U.S. are tax-exempt, the law requires that they establish boards and committees for budgeting, government reporting and decision-making. This is intended to create a checks and balances system within each church. Baptist deacons serve on these boards and committees to guide the congregation and act as financial advisers and counsel to pastors and elders.

Quote:

DO WE WANT TRADITION OR SCRIPTURE?

What is the role of the deacons in the church? At this point, tradition may create a problem for some churches. We may have grown up with the idea that the pastor and staff are called to do the ministry and the deacons are elected to administrate the church. This has led many churches to refer to the deacons as a “board” and look to them for all administrative decisions. We have actually reversed the biblical order, and it has adversely affected many churches. It may have caused the mistaken idea among laity that one must have seminary training to effectively minister to people’s needs. Thus, most ministry roles and opportunities have been assigned to the professional clergy. This, in turn, led the deacons to assume more of the administrative tasks of setting the direction and vision of the church. This reversal of roles can have many detrimental effects on the life and health of the church. First, the pastor who feels compelled to do the entire ministry will neglect his God-given priority of preaching and leading the church to become a praying community. The pulpit ministry will suffer and the discipling power of the Word from the pulpit will be diluted.
Second, the reversal of roles between pastor and deacons often creates a situation where the pastor is given no freedom to lead the church in developing a strategy for ministry. A fine line of balance must be maintained between pastoral leadership and congregational polity. The pastor is not a dictator who drives his people, but a servant who leads his people. Pastors must earn the right to lead by their consistent walk with God and service to the people. The members must encourage the pastor to lead, be willing to follow, and support his leadership through successes and failures. We often lose sight of the truth that we are on the same team and working for the same goal. Third, and perhaps the most disconcerting effect of the pastor/staff doing all the work of ministry, is the loss of opportunity for the laity to serve according to their gifts. All believers are gifted for service, and thus, when deacons are deprived of the privilege of ministering according to their gifts, the church suffers. It stands to reason that churches should elect deacons who demonstrate gifts for service and then provide training and organize them to serve the body. [1]

ADMONINATION FROM THE LORD
Christ refers to his work as diakonos, translated servant or service. Let us not organize the church into a business overlooking the main work of the church, service.

Mark 10:33-45 KJV

³³ Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:

³⁴ And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.

³⁵ And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.

³⁶ And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?

³⁷ They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.

³⁸ But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

³⁹ And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:

⁴⁰ But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.

⁴¹ And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.

⁴² But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.

⁴³ But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:

⁴⁴ And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.

⁴⁵ For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

[1] By Kenneth Hemphill, posted January 11, 2008 in the Baptist Press entitled The Ministry of Deacons

BIBLE VERSES TRADITION SERIES - PART ONE DEACONS

Wed, 17 Nov 2021 23:06:17 GMT

PART ONE DEACONS

Acts 6:1 - 7, The Seven

Overview

Further analysis:

These men were not called deacons in this chapter.
Even though the Seven are selected by the congregation, the final approval and appointment was in the hands of the apostles. The approval and appointment were not automatic. The apostles exercised their authority of oversight in the final decision.
These men were not set over the entire congregation. One, they were Greek speaking so more than likely they only served the Grecian women. Language could have been the underlying problem. Secondly, the appointment of the Seven was not for a lifetime. Stephen and Philip are later recognized as preachers/evangelist. Thirdly, the Seven were only appointed to serve over this business and not the total business of the church. (Vs. 3).
Verse 4 seems to imply that if the Seven occupy the work of distribution of food, then the apostles would then only focus on preaching and praying. This opens the false conclusion that the deacons would do the work of pastoring and the pastors are only obligated to preaching. Historically, as a result, there has been a rift between the relationships of the deacons and pastors.

The word deacon in the Greek is translated simply as servant or waiter of tables. The deacons are to assist the elders in the church. The leadership of the church, according to the New Testament, falls in the hands of the elders.
Can Acts 6 serve as a foundation for deacon selection and appointment? The answer is yes and no. Again, the Seven selected in Acts 6 were never referred to as deacons, even though they fit the criteria. Other New Testament scriptures helps us navigate the position of the deacons’ ministry. We are taught that no one should make a Biblical doctrine on one verse in the Bible unless the Lord, an inspired prophet, or apostle has made the declaration in scripture (Deut 18:15). Secondly, the Seven were not over the business of the church and nor did they serve indefinitely. Further studies of the Bible will show that churches probably had more than one elder and that the oversight of the churches was always in the hands of elders and not deacons and nor the congregation.