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The Demise of the Water-Spewing Christmas Dragon (Troy)

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Sermon Text – Revelation 12

THE WELCOMING PARTY

Having heard the Christmas story many times, it stirs up familiar images in our mind’s eye. The Lord Jesus is welcomed into the world by his mother and father. A young couple, just getting started, stare down at the baby boy wrapped in swaddling clothes. They smile with delight and have all of the normal reactions that come with being a first time parent, “He has your nose. Look at all that hair.” But in addition to the delight one experiences in taking the child in, finally being able to see after nine months what this kid looks like, they have other thoughts to contend with, thoughts that none of us as parents have ever had to deal with, thoughts like, “What is to become of this child? I hold the messiah in my hands. I am a virgin mother. The angel said to me, ‘He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ And it is my job to raise Him. God help me.”

 

SATAN’S PLAN THWARTED

First, regarding the derailment of Satan’s plan, we must ask, “Who is this regal woman, clothed with the sun, standing atop the moon, with a crown of twelve stars?” Like so many other images in the book of Revelation, this is a reference to an Old Testament passage. In Genesis 37, Joseph fell asleep, enveloped in the multi-colored cloak made special for him by his father Israel. He dreams of the sun, the moon, and eleven stars all bowing to him in reverence. The dream was prophetic, foretelling of a time when his mother and father, and his eleven brothers would all bow down to him. So on the surface, this woman would appear to represent the nation of Israel. With lineage spanning back to Jacob (who had his name changed to Israel) she is the chosen one to bring the messiah into the world.

But similar to the world of dreams, images in the book of Revelation present themselves in this wispy, ethereal manner. The apostle John uses creative license.

 

SATAN DEFEATED

Secondly, not only is Satan’s plan thwarted, but he is defeated. Do you believe that there is a connection between our physical world and the spiritual world? When I speak to Mormons, there are certain subjects that make them a bit squeamish. The quickest way to get them to change the subject is to ask them if God the Father lives on a planet circled by a star named Kolob. But we as Christians must not only recognize some of the more esoteric doctrines (like angels) but we must affirm them. The Christmas story is full of them. Gabriel informs Mary about the virgin birth. An angel tells Joseph, “Don’t be afraid to take Mary home as your wife.” We have a whole host of angels revealed to the shepherds. Another angel warns them about Herod’s plan to kill the baby Jesus so they escape to Egypt. Angels are peppered throughout scripture including our passage for this morning. So a few quick observations. First, they seem to know about our thought life. How did the angel know that Joseph had plans to divorce Mary? Either this is a benefit of existing in the spiritual realm, or I think more likely the omniscient God informs them of things. Secondly, their angelic actions have repercussions in the real world. If the angels didn’t reveal themselves to the shepherds, then they wouldn’t be a part of the nativity. Seems simple enough. So the question is, this war that takes place in heaven between Michael and Lucifer, how are we to take it?

 

SATAN ENRAGED

Similar to Hercules in Greek mythology, Irish mythology has a warrior hero called Cú Chulainn. Armed with a spear he is known for his terrifying battle frenzy called Riastrad. When Cú Chulainn is mortally wounded he enters a mode called Geasa which is a berserker state. When Geasa manifests itself, he becomes incredibly strong and is able to fight for days without tiring. He becomes fearless and is able to kill his enemies without mercy. But it also drives him to the brink of madness. In the end, Geasa is his undoing, as he ultimately succumbs to his wounds. Satan is like a mortally wounded animal. He is rabid, but his time is short. And so he uses what strength remains to harass the saints. But his pursuit ends in failure once again.

 

THE ALREADY AND THE NOT YET

There is a theological concept called “The Already and the Not Yet.” In one way, we already have peace. In one way, the war is already over. Jesus Christ secured victory for us on the cross. There are different nations represented in this room right now and you all walk by the light of Jesus. Yes, there’s sin in our midst, but we forgive each other, because Christ forgave us. This day you said to your family, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” And so in one sense, we are already enjoying the New Jerusalem. But there are some things that are not yet. We still struggle with sin and with temptation; we forget that we are dead to sin and alive to God. Satan prowls around with a chain around his neck, and there are more people out there who still need the gospel. The enraged snake would like nothing more to get another chance at that infant, to devour the young child. But one day, the “not yet,” will be “the now.” And when that day comes, the infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. Amen.

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Thankful for Who He Is (Troy)

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SERMON TEXTS – SELECTED VERSE FROM THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

John 6:35

John 8:12

John 10:7

John 10:11

John 11:25

John 14:6

John 15:1

WHO IS JESUS?

If you ask a muslim, “Who is Jesus?” he will say, “Jesus, peace be upon him, is a prophet of Allah.” And while Christians will agree, He is a prophet of God, He is not merely a prophet of God. And of course when they use the term Allah (God) they mean a very different thing than we do. If you ask a Latter-Day Saint, “Who is Jesus?” they will say, “He is God the Father’s firstborn spirit-child in heaven and the spirit brother of lucifer. He was begotten on earth by God the Father by natural means, not by the Holy Ghost and is now one amongst many millions of other gods.” If you ask a Jehovah’s witness, they will say, “Jesus is not God almighty, he is God’s son. Jesus is God’s first creation, inferior to God the Father. And Jesus is actually Michael the archangel.” Like any lie, satan prefers to sprinkle truth in amongst falsehood so as to feign authenticity. Jesus is the son of God. Jesus is a prophet of God, but He is not created. His origin is one of eternity, begotten of the Father. He is the firstborn of all creation, but this is a title of preeminence, not descriptive of a point of time where he came into being. Like the person of the Father, the son has eternally existed. And so when Christians are asked who is Jesus, we recite the Athanasian creed.

HE IS THE BREAD OF LIFE

What meager means and humble beginnings does bread have. Surely there is not another recipe that has such ancient origins. And what meal can be called rustic if it has not bread? You will find it in the hand of a beggar, and likewise on a king’s table. You will see a wandering Israelite gather it from off the ground, and likewise see it be displayed in gold vessels in the tabernacle. It feeds the child, the adult, and the elderly. It nourishes us all. It feeds us all. And Psalm 104 says it strengthens a man’s heart. The Lord’s prayer instructs us to ask for this bread daily. And thanks be to God, he does not run out of it.

HE IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

Who amongst us has not used the flash light app on their phone to see where they’re going, to look for something in the dark, to avoid bumping into something or tripping. Light mitigates danger, and it provides us with new opportunities as well. For the vast majority of human history, you did not travel at night. It was too dangerous. But now our vehicles shine light on Hwy 8 allowing us to travel safely with the knowledge that we are going the right way. Darkness is most content when its victims are blind and directionless. But Jesus Christ, the great physician heals the blind. When Jesus says, “I am the light of the world,” he says it while he is healing a blind man. A bit on the nose, but we need to be instructed as little children. The disciples mistakenly assume that the blindness was a result of the man’s sin or perhaps his parents. But Jesus says, “No, he is blind that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

HE IS THE DOOR AND THE GOOD SHEPHERD

A door by its nature is a separator. But unlike a wall where you cannot pass through to the other side, a door provides utility for both restriction and access. And in this case it is access to the sheepfold. Still waters are there, green pastures are there for the grazing, there is a hedge around us, and the shepherd armed with rod and staff, watches the walls, ready to catch the thief who climbs over. Our shepherd calls to us and we follow him, “This way to paradise. Come and find your rest all you who are weary and heavy laden.” We follow him to the door. But Jesus is not only the shepherd, but he also is the door itself. He is the separator.

HE IS THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE

Dr. Baucham says that there are four questions all human beings will wrestle with despite their religious beliefs or their lack thereof. They are: who am I? Why am I here? What is wrong with the world? And how can what is wrong be made right? It is the 3rd and 4th that I wish to address. What’s wrong with the world is a result of the fall: sin, guilt, shame, suffering, pain, depression, anxiety, woes of all manner, and finally death. These things are foreign alien invaders to this planet. Death is not a native resident. But Christ is the resurrection! He is the solution to righting wrongs. Dead things come back to life.

HE IS THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE

You woke up this morning and you assume that you will wake up tomorrow, yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. I think we all want to reach our deathbed, look back at our life and be able to say, “I lived it for the Lord. I didn’t waste my days with nonsense.” I stand here as a 43 year old man. If the Lord blesses me with an average life span, I am more than halfway done. And as I think about or perhaps better stated, if I lament over how I conducted myself in the first half of my life, I don’t want to waste any more time. I want to spend my life encouraging you all. And I want you to spend your life encouraging each other. 

HE IS THE TRUE VINE

Jesus Christ is the true vine. Psalm 80:8 says, “You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.” This obviously is referring to the nation of Israel as being God’s vineyard. And this motif can be found all throughout scripture.

THANKFUL FOR WHO HE IS

In conclusion, do we have enough to be thankful for? Is who He is, enough? I would say it’s more than enough. We have 12 baskets full of leftovers. He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us. He is able to bless us abundantly, so that in all things, at all times, having all that we need, we will abound in every good work. Bring your tithes into the storehouse saints and see if he will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be enough room to store it. So as you sit together with your family this Thanksgiving, taste and see that the Lord is good! Amen.

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The Momentum of Sin (Troy)

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Sermon Text – 1 Kings 21:1-29

INTRODUCTION

There is a progression in the story, the initial effect of the sin is low, but it ramps up, more people get involved, it becomes harder and harder to stop the momentum. As the wave of sin gathers more strength and increases in amplitude, it gets so out of control that, eventually, an innocent man is murdered. So for our outline, we will take the progression of sin as it ramps up, pause it along the way and ask the question, what could’ve been done at this point to squelch the forward motion of sin. And as we will see, the effort required to stop the momentum is proportional to the extent of which, that sin that has been able to grow unchecked.

COVETOUSNES

What is it about Israelite kings, looking down from the top level of the palace and desiring something that isn’t theirs? David saw Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, and was immediately ensnared by his own desire. The apostle James says, “Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.


WHINING AND POUTING

An activity certainly unbefitting of a man, much less a king, the scripture describes it as follows, “And Ahab went into his house vexed and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and would eat no food.” I do not have to belabor this point because every man in the room knows, this behavior is repugnant. Your family looks to you, your children look to you, your wife looks to you as a symbol of strength, direction, and confidence and this is because you look to Jesus for strength, direction, and confidence.

SCHEMING AND PLOTTING

Our justice system wisely distinguishes between 1st degree murder and 2nd degree murder. Killing someone as a result of a heated argument or catching a spouse cheating is not the same thing as coldly calculating, scheming, and planning an assassination. With the former, we can at least recognize the humanity in it. We’ve all been overwhelmed with emotion at some point. But the latter is not human at all, there is no emotion. Just steely eyed, robotic, vengeance.

LYING

And so step one of doing things your own way, is self-deception and falsehood. How do you kick off scheming and plotting? Well, lying of course. Wherever there is evil, lying is there in tow, tethered like a demented sidekick. Jezebel writes letters in Ahab’s name and seals them with his seal. 

COWARDICE

No one was willing to do what was right. They valued only their own skin. Thankfully, the Bible gives us many examples of men, who count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus. And the Bible also gives us examples of women who courageously stand for righteousness.

CORRUPTION

The fangs of the black widow have found their mark and the poison has seeped in, corrupting mind and heart. Is there anything to be done? Can this be turned around? Trying to sew a patch on this wineskin would only cause it to burst. No, it must be thrown out. We must begin with a new wineskin if it is to fulfill its purpose. And so we’ve reached a point in the progression where sin is hell-bent on making it to the grave. Corruption is not satisfied with bits of purity that remain. No it must infect everything until the sound is unsound. 

BEARING FALSE WITNESS

The two worthless men say in tandem, “You have cursed God and the king.” He has done no such thing. Refusing to relinquish what is rightfully yours is by no means a curse invoked. And here we see another strategy of the devil, making up lies about the righteous. 

MURDER

But now the frenzied demons howl with a fever pitch. An innocent man on the stake. Men with stones in their hands and pointed fingers. Watch the man weep as his life slips away. And sin gets what it wants! A dirty sepulcher, a body, and a mound of earth. Murder.

CONCLUSION

Sin has a way of gaining momentum. And there may be saints in this room who have done well, to maintain their spiritual life, who call out to the Holy Spirit for help, who cling to the Word and drink its sweet nectar, who apply the balsam of prayer and fasting, who seek the counsel and encouragement of other wise believers. And there may be others in the room who have neglected things. Perhaps your spiritual life is disorganized. Maybe it’s in turmoil. Maybe your walk is in shambles. Wherever you’re at on the graph of the momentum of sin. You might not be able to stop it, but Christ can.



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Mind the Gap (Troy)

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Sermon Text – Isaiah 55:8-9

INTRODUCTION

Meditating on the character of God usually falls into particular grooves. We think about his love, how he shelters us under the shadow of his wings, how he walks up and down the vine—pruning branches here, grafting branches in there, providing support in one area, and providing cover to protect against frost. We think about his grace, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor so that you, by his poverty, might become rich. We think about his mercy, how our debt piled high. Our balance sheet was covered in red. And yet he zeroes it out, hands it back to us and says, “Now you go practice this same forgiveness.” We think about his goodness. And doing that, generally leads to pondering our own badness. That God would save a wretch like me? We ponder about his glory. What does the Father look like? My mind goes to a pure unadulterated light. A light that emanates so purely from his visage, that seeing through it, to the true form from which the light transmits is impossible. We think about his peace, and we imagine tranquil scenes of still waters, slight breezes, and a warm sun. We find ourselves at ease despite living in a world that’s falling down around us. He prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies. His great patience comes to mind. How can he see the evil in this world and not stamp it out right now? Because  The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 

WHY HE IS TO BE FEARED

Let’s begin with the basic concept, why should we fear God? Outside the context of the Christian experience, is man afraid of God? Not so much that we’d notice. Our culture literally parades their sexual immorality in the streets. Sam Smith and Kim Petras, dress in red and devil horns for their performance at the recent Grammy awards. Gyrating around, with demonic minions in cages, surrounded by flames. We bestow the title of “doctor” to men and women who specialize in the dismemberment of babies in the womb. The culture chides about tolerance and blind acceptance, unless of course a Christian calls for tolerance, and the answer is, what it’s always been, “Well, you’re an exception,” which basically means, we’re more than willing to be tolerant, just so long as you don’t disagree with us. But this sort of behavior is not surprising. Whether it’s the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, the Philistines at Aphek, or the Pharisees in Jerusalem, this is standard fare for those who have no fear of God before their eyes. 

But when it comes to the followers of God, fearing God is one of the principles of Christianity 101. So to begin the discussion, I will ask a basic, child-like question. Is God scary? We will turn to the Word, but like Elijah of old, let’s douse the altar with water and fill the trough.

A REALIZATION

What realization? The realization that in this life, we can only experience God through a filter. A watered down version, if you will. We are approaching autumn. And I love the weather this time of year. There comes a point when you can find a sunny patch of ground, stand there in a t-shirt, close your eyes, spread your arms, and bask in the sun. The sun is just warm enough to keep you in this perfect equilibrium between the cool of the brisk morning and the warmth the sun provides. Most of the time we don’t think about such things, but the truth is, we experience the sun through a series of filters. For one, it’s very far away. The heat travels and cools as it makes its way through the void of space, and then hits our atmosphere where absorption, scattering, and reflections take place. Some of those molecules end their 93 million mile journey by hitting my skin’s thermoreceptors which then generate electrical signals in my nerves to tell my brain that it’s warm. If I was to be transported to such a location where I could reach out and touch the sun, I would be unable to experience what that intense heat would feel like because I would be vaporized before the signal could ever reach my brain. 8 million degrees!? Who can fathom that?

OUR BLESSED HOPE

If you were forced to relinquish one of your senses, which one would it be? I venture to say the one lowest on the list for most of us would be sight. How difficult it would be even in this modern age to navigate the world without sight. How much more of a trial would it be in the first century. There are no guide dogs, there is no brail, there is nothing to aid the blind. And so the man at Bethsaida begs the Lord to touch him. Our savior, what a loving savior he is, drops everything that he’s doing, gingerly grabs the hand of the blind man and leads him out of the village. “Excuse me, coming through, make way.” He comes to a stop, away from the hustle and bustle of the market, The Lord spits on his eyes, lays hands on him and says, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees walking.” This is the state we find ourselves in. We hear the voice of our savior. We sense his calming presence. Our eyes are darkened, but we follow him where he leads us. We feel the strength of his hands, pressing on our maladies. We open our eyes, and see a blurry face. The resolution is low, but yet we cannot deny the change. We once were only privy to darkness. But it’s still not quite right.

CONCLUSION

Looking at God and then despising yourself, wallowing in the mire and the dust and the ashes, being ashamed of your sin, recognizing that you are man of unclean lips is either a good thing, or a bad thing. And what makes it good or bad depends on what side of the line you’re on. There is a line of repentance. On this side of the line is pre-repentance. On this side of the line is post-repentance. And it’s actually not a line at all, but rather a waterfall of blood that separates the two sides. A recognition of your guilt and shame is proper and right and good on this side of the line. And if that is where you are today, then by the power of the Holy Spirit, put your faith in Christ, dust yourself off, cross the line, and be washed in the blood of Christ. But if you are experiencing guilt and shame on this side of the line, then rebuke the devil and tell the accuser to begone because resentment and grief and sorrow belong on the other side. This is a place of rejoicing. This is a place of singing. And this is a place of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you’re there, come over. And if you’re here, experience God to the fullest.

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You Get What You Pray For (Troy)

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Sermon Text – James 4:2-3

INTRODUCTION

One of the hallmarks of Christianity which bolsters it as the one true religion is its penchant for balance. Religions derived by men are hard nosed and they will categorically define certain actions as forbidden. From Sahih al-Bukhari, Muhammed says, “Allah has cursed wine, its drinker, its server, its seller, its buyer, its presser, the one for whom it is pressed, the one who conveys it, and the one to whom it is conveyed.” Joseph Smith says in Doctrine and Covenants Section 89, “Tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man…And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.” But when the Bible speaks about behaviors that are verboten, it will often do so by contextualizing the prohibition. Drinking alcohol in and of itself is not evil, but drinking it to the point of drunkenness is evil. Sex is not inherently evil, but it quickly can become evil if it is not framed within the covenant of marriage. Similarly, raw desire cannot be flagged as good or evil without context. And this too, requires biblical balance to rightly discern it. This morning’s sermon will be about prayer, but since our text this morning is addressing the particular issue of covetousness, let’s take a moment in the introduction to discuss the concept of desire. 

THE NURTURE OF PRAYER

Those who have walked with God for a time, times, and half time know that prayer has an exponential quality to it. You come to God in faith, expressing your agreement with the name of God, that He exists, and you ask Him for something specific, and you receive an answer which emboldens your faith even more, which drives you back to your knees to petition Him once again. And the cycle continues until  you find yourself in line with the commandment of scripture, to pray without ceasing. It is this ever present communion with God that defines what it means to be walking in the Spirit.

Prayer reminds us that this world is fallen. In this world homes burn to ashes, metal rusts, and moths destroy. And it reminds us that one day, one glorious day, we will enter our father’s mansion where there are many rooms and every tear will be wiped away and death will be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. This is the comfort prayer can bring. This is the hope we have in God.

THE METHODOLOGY OF PRAYER

The Lord’s Prayer has seven aspects. One, acknowledge who He is and where He is. Two, bestow reverence on His name, which we covered earlier. His name is “I Exist” so you agree with that statement and extol His name in faith. Three, you ask God for change. At the moment, there is a rift between heaven and earth. And you are praying that a restoration will occur. You are praying that Revelation 22 will be fulfilled, “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” Number 4, you ask God for daily bread, to be sustained physically with earthly bread, and to be sustained spiritually with the heavenly manna. Five, you ask God to initiate the cycle of forgiveness that starts from Him to you and then from you to others. Six, you ask for guidance and protection from evil, and lastly number 7, you recognize that He has the power, it is his kingdom, and he is to receive glory as long as forever is forever. 

THE IMPLICATIONS OF PRAYER

John 14 says, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” The cardinal verse of the health and wealth, name and claim it gospel has led many astray and many have been deceived by it. If the verse does grant us carte blanche, and the only thing that’s preventing us from having whatever we want is that we haven’t asked yet, then there is a contradiction in scripture. Because our text this morning explicitly states “you do not receive because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” So which one is it? Our choices are, there’s a contradiction in scripture or we do the hard work of harmonizing the two verses and deriving our interpretation in a way that accords with the whole counsel of God. To rightly interpret this verse let us get some help from Jesus. In Luke 11, he says, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

CONCLUSION

 When we submit to the Father’s will, as Jesus did, it gives us direction. When Jesus stands up after the third prayer, having received a no from the Father, and having accepted the answer fully in his heart, you will notice that there is a line of demarcation. From this moment on, the Lord Jesus will wipe the sweat off his brow, dust himself off, gird up his loins, and display the greatest example of manliness the world has ever seen. He’s done defending himself. His actions and teachings and miracles over the last 3 years have spoken plainly as to who he is. He will say very little over the next 17 hours and he will display meekness on a scale that is incomprehensible. This is the power of prayer. It is prayer that gave Jesus the strength to endure his passion. And when the veil in the temple tore from top to bottom, he forever opened the channel by which we can commune with the Father. The Holy of Holies is opened to you saints. Your God is listening. So pray to Him and expect good gifts.



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