Nehemiah Series - Preparing to Rebuild - Sermon 2

Are you Prepared to Serve?  Are you Prepared to Rebuild?  Are you ready to answer God’s call to build up what is torn down in your life, in your home, in your relationships, in our church, in our community? 

Nehemiah Series - Prepared to Serve - Sermon 1

 

I have been feeling it on my heart for several months that it was time to do a new series – a time where we spend several weeks concentrating on a particular section of Scripture.  But when you look at doing something like that, there are so many different paths to go down, where do you begin.  So I just kept my heart open and have been thinking about it and praying about it for a long time.  Then, several weeks ago, I heard a message by Ravi Zacharias titled, “Living a Life Used by God” that was really good.  I really appreciated his words and that got me to thinking about and pondering on this man called Nehemiah.  A few weeks ago, we started studying about Nehemiah in our Godly Men Bible Study using notes from © 2014 – Verse By Verse Ministry International (www.versebyverseministry.org) and today we are going to begin focusing on this section of Scripture to pull out some lessons from this fascinating story using information I have also derived from there.

D O U B T

On this Sunday of Saint Thomas, Pastor Rick deals with the specter of Doubt.

"Doubt.  What does the word conjure up for you?  It is a word that is not generally associated with pleasantness, happiness, or peace.  Instead, it is associated with discomfort, uncertainty, and fear.  Doubt is in the uplifted eyebrow, the wrinkling of the forehead, or in the wide eyes and open mouth.  Doubt is that feeling you feel when you take your driver’s test…can you make it?  Doubt is that feeling you feel when you stand at the edge of a jump into water below.  Doubt is the feeling of uncertainty when you quit your job without another in sight.  Doubt is that inner response when you hear something unlikely or unbelievable. Doubt usually isn’t any fun."

I recommend to you a book that will help you clarify your understanding of doubt further after today’s message.  The book is available for free online here: http://www.garyhabermas.com/books/dealing_with_doubt/dealing_with_doubt.htm.  The book is titled, “Dealing with Doubt,” by Gary Habermas.  Dr. Habermas is a well-known apologist specializing in matters to do with the resurrection and Christian faith.  

Easter Sunday - 2017

 

Easter Sunday at Water of Life Fellowship is always special.  It is impossible to capture in a recording or even in pictures. You will have to be sure to join us sometime! Maybe next year?  Plan to join us if you can! Here is a snippet from the day:

    Isn’t it spectacular to realize the rejoicing of their hearts that day?  You have heard echoes of that same rejoicing still ringing in our hearts over two thousand years later!  It is the song of the redeemed!  “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up (Matthew 4:16).”  Jesus is the light of the world and He shattered the darkness of sin, death, and despair that wonderful Easter morning so long ago.  He shattered it forever!  “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8:12).”
    Jesus came, “Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:78-79).”
    “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men (John 1:3-4).”
    “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).”
    “…ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: (1 Peter 2:9).”
    Is your heart bound in darkness today?  You can be set free by His light! Is your life captive to despair?  You can discover His Joy!  Is death fearsome to you?  You need no longer fear.  He has conquered death too!  This is why we no longer sit in darkness but rejoice in the light!  “…if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7).”  This is the Gospel – the Good News – of the Cross and the Resurrection: that we can leave the darkness and walk in the light with Him.  Today, we celebrate His Light and Life!  He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
 

Answering Jesus' Prayer

Are you the answer to Jesus' prayers?

In this blog post, I do not have the audio for this sermon, but I am sharing my notes to this sermon preached on the 9th of April, 2017 at Water of Life Fellowship.  

Have you ever thought about this question?  Read the thoughts below.  I hope you are blessed by them.

Today, is Palm Sunday.  Today is the day we commemorate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem before he went to the cross.  But, I am not going to talk about that story today.  As you know, in the past several weeks we have been looking at some of the last actions and words of Jesus.  Today we will consider one of his final prayers.

Now I have always loved this passage of Scripture.  It is beautiful.  It is called Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer.”  Now, it is not simply called that because of its intercessory style.  It is not called that simply because Jesus is getting ready to go to the cross.  It is called the “High Priestly Prayer” because it is modeled after the actions of the High Priest as he would make atonement for the nation of Israel.  In that ancient ceremony, the priest would first come alone – separate from all the people before the tabernacle.  There he would purify himself.  Then, he would prepare and offer the atonement before God.  Jesus follows similar steps.  Notice this pattern as we read the passage together.

1 ¶ These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

 2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

 3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

 4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

 5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

 6 ¶ I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

 7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.

 8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

 9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

 10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

 11 ¶ And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

 13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

 14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

 17 ¶ Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

 18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

 20 ¶ Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

 24 ¶ Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

 25  O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.

 26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. (KJV)

Isn’t this a beautiful prayer?!  Was it answered?  Did you know that you can be an answer to Jesus’ prayer?  So let’s think about it a little bit.  Jesus has finished the last supper with his disciples.  Feet have been washed. Bread has been broken.  Wine has been drunk.  Earnest words have been spoken.  Judas has gone on his errand of treachery.  They are about to make their way to the Garden of Gethsemane…and Jesus prays the prayer we just read.

A Prayer for Himself (1-5)

            First, he prays for himself.  Some people might ask why he does this.  Simply He demonstrates that even as He faces the cross, He is in right relationship with His Father.  He shows that He understands the scope of His mission on earth and He is ready to obey the father to complete it.              What was his mission? It was to glorify the Father on the earth.  What does that mean?  It means that we glimpsed God in the life of Abraham, we learned more about Him from Moses, we heard His voice calling through the prophets, but only now – in the life and teaching of Jesus – do we truly see the Father as He is.  Jesus says that He has finished this part of His mission and it is now time for Him to wrap it up with His final climactic duty.

In this passage again He affirms that He and the Father are one and that He is no mere man.  He also indicates that He is eternal and thereby has the power to grant eternal life. And, He defines eternal life.  What is eternal life? (pause) “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”  Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No man comes to the Father any other way but through Him.  To have eternal life, we must have HIM!  If we do not have Him, we cannot have eternal life.  Do you have Him in your heart today?  Do you know Him and in knowing Him know the Father?

A Prayer for the Disciples (6-19)

            The next section of the prayer is the longest part of the prayer.  In this part of the prayer, Jesus intercedes for His disciples.  In this section of the prayer, you see His passion for and devotion to them.  Jesus loved them a LOT!

            What I find very interesting here is that He knows they are all about to forsake Him and run away.  But still He prays for them with all the passion of His heart.  If you know someone is about to betray you or forsake you or hurt and wound you would you still love them?  Would you still pour out your heart on their behalf?  Would you already forgive them before they even commit the crime?  Jesus does.

            In verses 6-8, Jesus underscores their faith.  They have listened to what He has taught and have fully accepted Him as the Messiah and believed on the Father through Him.  They have accepted His Words to be true.  As a result, in verses 9-10, Jesus emphasizes that He is praying specifically for these men.  He also prays something very interesting in verses 11-12.  He indicates that while He has been with them, He has “kept” them.  The word used here is a word that means to guard them, watch over them, protect them, and keep them.  But he now prays that they will be kept through the power of the Name of God – the power, authority, knowledge, and doctrine of God.  In other words, God’s name is not some sort of magic spell which will protect you if it is muttered appropriately.  Rather, if we walk in the words and ways of Christ and bear His name upon us, we will be protected from evil by the power, authority, knowledge, and doctrine of God.  It is in Him we rest – not in our own strength. 

            In the old days you would hear people talk about others who went out and “made a name for themselves.”  They were saying that these individuals through their own willpower, strength, and determination had elevated themselves beyond their point of origin or previous station.  But as believers, we are not simply to make a name for ourselves.  Rather we are to rest in His name.  And every attitude of our hearts, every motive of our will, and every action of our lives is to be for the glory of His name.  For it is through His name alone that we may be elevated out of our original sinfulness and lifted to the higher station of purity in Christ.  Jesus prayed this would be the case for His disciples.

            In verse 13, Jesus prays for their joy that it may be found in God in them.  This is something that happens presently while on earth.  Do you have His joy in you?

            In verse 14, Jesus acknowledges that the world hates them because He has given them the WORD!  The world may not like us when we live according to the WORD.  But live by it we must.

            But in spite of the fact that the world will hate us and despise us and abuse us because of the WORD, in verse 15 Jesus prays something remarkable: “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”  This is why the persecuted Christians beg from around the world, “Pray not that I will be safe from harm, but rather pray that I will be faithful.”  As parents, our tendency is to try to shield our children from harm.  We do this physically and spiritually.  But Jesus did not pray for the disciples to be removed from the world, but rather that they would be shielded from evil.  I wonder how often do we make the mistake of withdrawing from the places where Christ is opposed instead of standing faithfully there at rest in His love?

            Verses 16-19 address a significant idea both in concept and in Wesleyan theology.  It is the idea of sanctification.  Now sanctification can be taken to mean two things: 1. A setting apart; 2. A purifying.  Here the Greek word is hagiazo which means, “to make holy, i.e. (ceremonially) purify or consecrate; (mentally) to venerate:--hallow, be holy, sanctify.”

            Here in these verses we see both a separation from the world and a purifying of the heart by truth.  Knowing that Jesus is the Truth, it is by Him we must be separated and purified.  Some say, oh, that is not what Jesus meant here.  He was already sinless.  He did not need to be “purified.” I understand what you are saying, but do you understand that here he is acting again as the High Priest preparing himself to offer the atonement.  And, in that attitude, He is praying that His disciples might not only be separated from the world, but that they would be purified by Him. 

            There is a lot more I could say about that, but let’s keep it simple: Have you been separated from the world and all its darkness and lusts?  And, has your heart been purified by the truth until your every thought is for His glory and every motive is pure and true?  If not, then you are not sanctified in the way that Jesus here prayed.  If you are not, then come to Him, humble your heart, open yourself to the truth, and ask that He sanctify you: separating you from the world and purifying your heart.

            Now some would say, oh this prayer is only for the disciples who would become apostles.  But I think its principles apply to us all.  Why? Because in the very next lines of His prayer, Jesus expands His focus and says…

           

A Prayer for Future Believers (20-24)

“20 ¶ Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;”  Huzzah!  That means that He loves us too.  He loves us and prays for us and calls us also to walk in His Word and ways and to be set apart from the world and purified by faith.  That’s good stuff!  I also find it remarkable that as He approached the cross thinking of those most dear to Him, He also thought of us and prayed for us.

I want you now to pay very close attention to these verses now:

“21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”

            What do you see here?  “Unity.”  The world thinks they have a corner on unity in diversity.  But long before the first university, Jesus prayed that all of us would be united as closely and lovingly and certainly as He is with the Father.  This is incredible.  Jesus prayed that we would have the same unity as the Trinity!

            This is one of the reasons Satan fights unity in the church so hard.  If he can divide us, he can destroy us.  As a Shepherd, one of the things I despise the most is anything that attacks the unity of believers.  If Satan can separate us from each other and from our Lord Jesus Christ, then He can win the battle.  So for us to triumph personally and as a group in spiritual battle there must be two things we seek: sanctification and unity.  We must live together with pure hearts and then fiercely live in unity with God and with each other.  We must dedicate ourselves to each other as believers and forgive each other, love each other, stand with each other, defend each other, and resist anything that would separate and divide us and seek to destroy us.  We cannot do this alone.  We must do it humbly with servant hearts filled with the Holy Spirit and alive in Christ.  I cannot tell you how strongly I believe this.  It is only through fierce humble love to one another that the church will exemplify the name of God and survive against the enemy.  And, Jesus indicated that this selfless urgent love is how the world would recognize the truth of His life and message.  Only with this fierce burning truthful united love would the world be able to believe and know that Jesus indeed makes a difference in the broken hearts of mankind.

A Review of His Mission (25, 26)[1]

            Finally, Jesus concludes His prayer reviewing all He has already prayed and declaring that it is His will that all of us will be with Him in glory someday.  His last words of the prayer are that we will be filled with all the love of the Father as He is in us. 

Did you ever realize that Jesus prayed all those things for you?  Are you an answer to His prayer?  Are you sanctified?  Are you filled with His life?  Are you ready to go to Glory?  Are you fiercely loving others and in so doing declaring His truth to the world?  If not, surrender your life to Him today that His prayer might be answered in you. 

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[1] Asbury Bible Commentary