The Purpose of Assembling Together – Part 2
Hebrews 10:24-25
September 14, 2014

We are currently taking an extended break from our study of Genesis,
Which we will resume shortly.

However, during my time away from the church, as I attended various other churches,
I was able to sit back and sort of observe other congregations
And see why they meet and what they seek to accomplish in doing so.

And really without critiquing or analyzing them to closely,
It really caused me to think more about why we assemble together.

And as I told you last week, I don’t presume to judge why you come,
Or why you came this morning, after all, I can’t see your heart.

Since we can either please or displease God in the way we come,
I thought it beneficial to take a few weeks
And at least examine why we should be coming.

I don’t know why you came, but I know why you should have come.

And this is a very important issue, because it appears to me that
Across our land people are very confused about this issue.

It’s apparent that church attendance is no longer a priority across our land
And maybe that is because people don’t understand the purpose for it.

There was a time when “going to church” was the norm.
There was a time when it was morally expected.

Certainly all those who claimed to be “Christians” went to church, and really it was only those who adamantly wanted no part of it who failed to participate.

But my how times have changed.
Church attendance is not the fad of the day.
And this is a tragedy

On one of our mission trips to Sanyati we studied a sermon serious by John MacArthur called “Fundamental Christian Attitudes”
(I believe Judy Williams’ class has done it as well)

One of the sermons or fundamental attitudes he highlighted
Was the attitude of “Contentment”

And in that he began the sermon by highlighting
How this lack of contentment has directly affected church attendance.

In fact he outlined four reasons why people who call themselves Christians have quit coming to church.
1) OUR CONSUMER MENTALITY
He makes the statement,
“We have a consumeristic view of the church. It’s sort of the mood of the mob in this particular time in which we live in our culture. People have about the same commitment to the church they do to the mall. If there’s something there that interests them, they’ll go there…They look and say, “Well is there something there that I can get?”…I’m willing to go there if they offer me something.” http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/90-125/Fundamental-Christian-Attitudes-Contentment-1-of-2?Term=contentment

And that is true.
Churches today have spent so much time
Trying to offer people what they want that now people come to expect it.

• And if you can’t stay cutting edge, trendy, and relevant…
• If you can’t hold their shortened attention span…
• If you can’t prick their curiosity…
They’ll go do something else that interests them more.

2) OUR PRIVATIZATION OF SPIRITUALITY
“We live in a time which basically rejects authority as such in favor of personal rights. We don’t want to submit ourselves to an authority, we want to make sure that we have the personal right to do and be and believe and act in any way that we want…By that what I mean is I’m the person who will define for me what my spiritual life is going to be. I’ll pick and choose, I’ll assemble my own Christianity with a proliferation of tapes and books and radio programs and Christian TV and all of this…And the idea is that my personal relationship with Jesus Christ and my personal spiritual life transcends any compelling corporate life that a church might oppress upon me or hold me to.” (ibid)

In short, people don’t want someone else
Telling them what to do or believe or think,
And they sure don’t want someone else holding them accountable.

But as you will see today,
That undermines one of the very purposes for which we gather.
We need the instruction, insight, encouragement, correction,
confrontation, discipline, and accountability of other believers.

But in our country people have privatized spirituality to the point where church attendance has seemingly become less and less necessary.

3) DISILLUSIONMENT WITH CHURCH LEADERSHIP
“Christianity is full of people who have been deeply hurt and wounded by church leaders and that contributes to their distance from the church and contributes to their indifference to submitting themselves under the authority of teachers and leaders. They’re reluctant to do that because they have been exposed in the past to false pastors and false teachers and false leaders who were either unholy in their conduct or unholy in their teaching, or both.” (ibid)

Certainly this is a big one.
People don’t trust those in ministry leadership.

And this distrust grows into a bitterness
That keeps people away from church altogether.
4) UNREALISTIC EXPECTATION
“I think another think that contributes to the people’s indifference toward the church is some kind of expectation for perfection that is really unrealistic. The expectation that the church should be everything that the Bible says all the time without any failures leads people to a certain kind of disillusionment. People leave a perfectly wonderful church…because of some perceived weakness…or some perceived failure…and they wander away.” (ibid)

It is that person who is looking for the perfect church,
And if you hold any church up to the N.T. you’ll find inconsistencies.

One would do good to ask the question about the New Testament.
• What do you suppose the people of Ephesus did?
• What do you suppose the people of Corinth did?

They only had one church, if it wasn’t perfect, people had to pray
And seek to make it better, because there were no options for a new one.

But I share all that with you because he hits the nail on the head
And it is apparent that for reasons just like this,
People are no longer concerned about attending church regularly.

And this is a shame.
Not only did God intend for us to gather together,
And there are definite purposes we are to fulfill when we do.

I told you that I’m going to give you three here on Sunday Mornings.
(I’m actually giving a fourth on Wednesday nights)

1) EXALTATION – “To Praise God”

This we covered last Sunday.
We don’t meet for social advancement or personal satisfaction.
We meet “to proclaim the excellencies of Him” who has saved us.

Certainly there is more to worship than just praise,
But I can confidently say if you refuse to praise God then your worship isn’t much.

Hebrews 13:15 “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.”

Psalms 150:6 “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!”

And we know that we are to do this praise
In the midst of the assembly of believers.

Psalms 100 “Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.”
Don’t let God catch you coming to this place and refusing to sing
HE DESERVES IT!

2) EXHORTATION – To Encourage One Another
(which we will look at this morning)

3) EXPOSITION – To have the word of God explained

(On Wednesday nights we are studying a fourth which is
INTERCESSION – we gather to pray)

But this morning let’s examine that second reason we gather,
Which is EXHORTATION, and to do that let’s look at Hebrews 10

These two verses do not comprise the complete thought
Of the author of this passage.

In reality his encouragement is much broader
Than just that the church should encourage one another.

He has just proven his doctrine that Jesus is a faithful high priest
Who successfully atoned for our sin,
And has granted access for us before the Father.

He then writes (based on this fact)

Hebrews 10:19-25 “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

We want to study the last part of that command,
Namely verses 24 and 25 about encouraging one another.

Our culture wants to Privatize Spirituality
This morning let me show you why that doesn’t work.

Now there are three points to be made here this morning.
#1 WE HAVE A BROTHER TO ENCOURAGE
Hebrews 10:24

If you study the passage as a whole you will recognize that
This is the third of three “Let us” statements.

And here the requirement is crystal clear.
“Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.”
It’s really quite clear isn’t it?
The goal of the Christian life is that we have “love and good deeds”

If you lose either one of the two
You are off the course that God intended.

Love without deeds is an empty emotion and sentiment.
John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

Deeds without love is a hypocritical action meant only to serve self.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.”

The Christian must live his/her life with “love and good deeds”

But the reality is that you are far less likely to achieve it
Without the help of other believers.

Let’s face it we are all prone to wear blinders
In regard to our own personal spiritual condition.
If given the opportunity I will see myself in a better light than is probably reality.

We all have a little bit of that Pharisee in us, to whom Jesus said:
Matthew 7:3 “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

It is really odd that we can at times so easily see our brother’s fault,
And yet at the same time be so blind to our own.

Well, that’s why we need the discernment of our brother.
We can help him and he can help us.

We each need someone to continually remind us of what is expected.

Here the word is “stimulate”
We are called to “consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,”

The Greek word here is a word that actually means
“provocation” or “sharp disagreement”

The NIV translates it “spur one another on”
And that paints a better picture for us.

A person uses spurs on a horse to make them move and go.
It certainly is not pleasant, but it is effective.
It is implied in that often quoted verse:
Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.”

If you’ve ever sharpened iron, you know it doesn’t’ happen without a little friction.
It may not always be pleasant, but it is always necessary.

And that is the idea the writer carries here.
You need to “consider how to stimulate one another”

You need to figure out how to get your brother or sister in Christ
Moving in the right direction.

Your brother is your responsibility, you figure out
How to spur him on to being what he is required to be.

We are to “consider how to stimulate one another”

And this call for encouragement saturates the New Testament.
1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”

1 Thessalonians 5:14 “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”

Philippians 1:27 “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;”

Paul called for the Philippians to have “one mind” and to strive “together”
He spoke of mutual prodding, mutual spurring, mutual encouragement.

It is necessary.
He even gave a specific need for this later in his letter to them.

Philippians 4:2-3 “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.”

There were two women who could not get along.
Not only did Paul command them to get over it,
But he commissioned this “true companion” to help them get over it.
That is he was to encourage them in the right way.

The call for a Christian to push his brother forward is a serious call.

HOW DO WE DO THAT? (“consider how to…”)

VERBALLY We take the truth of Scripture and use it to confront, correct, encourage the lives of others.
Titus 2:11-15 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”

Paul told Titus that he was not to let anyone
Ignore the requirements of a true Christian,
And that he was to “speak and exhort and reprove with all authority.”

Now, it isn’t always negative or confrontational.
At times we also encourage the down-trodden brother.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

So one of the main ways in which we “stimulate one another”
By verbally Instructing, Challenging, Correcting, Comforting one another.

EXAMPLE
2 Corinthians 9:1-2 “For it is superfluous for me to write to you about this ministry to the saints; for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the Macedonians, namely, that Achaia has been prepared since last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them.”

The Philippians were moved by the example of the Corinthians.
Our example is very powerful.

It’s hard to push someone to “love and good deeds”
If you don’t walk there.
So talk the talk, and walk the walk.

DISCIPLINE
2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 “If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.”

And we are all aware of what Jesus said
About confronting the sinning brother.

The reality is that sometimes verbal encouragement,
And even a modeled example still do not succeed
In pushing that brother or sister to the required behavior.
For those moments, discipline is in order.

It is not pleasant, neither are spurs, but we as believers are commanded to “consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds”

We have a brother to encourage, it is a mandate, it is a requirement.

That is clear enough to see, but preacher, WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH US COMING TO CHURCH?

Brother to Encourage
#2 WE HAVE A CHURCH TO ATTEND
Hebrews 10:25a

“not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another;”

And all of a sudden the writer’s intention is coming more into focus.

He intends for us to encourage our brother,
And one would do good to ask the question,
“How do you do that consistently if you are skipping church?”

The believers this writer was writing too were persecuted for being Christians.
It was certainly easier to keep your faith private
And just not participate in the public assembly.

But the writer is adamant when he says, “not forsaking our own assembling together”

“forsaking” is a Greek word I can’t pronounce
Which means “to leave behind” or “let remain over”

It is the idea of just not caring and overlooking it.
(Like when I leave dishes in the kitchen)

And the writer is adamant that you should not do that
In regard to the assembly of the church.

Church attendance is not something to disregard
Church attendance is not something to ignore
Church attendance is not something to let slip away

And we have to state it plainly because this “is the habit of some”

It is a tragic reality, but church attendance
Routinely comes down to what is your habit?

There are many people who do love the Lord, and who do love the church,
And who do love to praise God,
But the fact of the matter is that they just got out of habit.

What once was the normal routine
Has now been pushed aside or forsaken.

And the writer is adamant that this should not be the case.

We are not to forsake assembling,
But rather to be “encouraging one another;”

So let me remind you again of why we gather together in this place
On Sunday mornings and Sunday nights and Wednesday nights.

Without a doubt the first reason is to praise God.
We enter His gates with thanksgiving and we enter His courts with praise.

But we also come to be an encouragement to each other.

Listen, I hear it all the time
“I don’t believe you have to go to church to worship God.”
“I believe you can worship God anywhere.”

Now, in a very basic sense, that is true.

Carrie actually came home two Sunday’s before I did,
But you didn’t know it because she had sick kids
And wasn’t able to come to church.

So she watched FBC Lubbock on television and Adrian Rogers.
• Could she learn the word that way? Yes
• Could she praise God that way? Yes
• Could she be equipped for the weekly ministry? Yes

But one thing she couldn’t do
Was encourage any one of you to do the same.

If the only person’s spirituality that you had to be concerned about was your own, then there would be no need to assemble, but it isn’t.

You are also charged to “stimulate” your brother
“to love and good deeds.”

AND HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO DO THAT AT HOME ON YOUR COUCH?

I fully realize that there are times in your life when things are going good.
• Your relationships are at peace
• Your marriage is great
• You’re learning from the word in your private devotions
• And flowers are blooming and birds are singing

And it may be that you just don’t feel like you need church all that much
And so you wake up on Sunday and decide not to go.

And you may even have a great Sunday.
(Now first off you’ve disobeyed the call for corporate praise)
But let me tell you what else you didn’t realize.

While your life was great there was a man whose life wasn’t great.
• His finances are shot, and he doesn’t know what to do
• He has a loved one who is sick and he’s worried about them
• And he works with a man who challenges Christianity at every turn and he
doesn’t know how to confront him.

That man woke up this morning and came to church
Because he was in desperate need of something.

He needed help, he needed encouragement, he needed answers
He needed you

But you didn’t come because your life is fine.

Or there is that sister across town, who has been pretty faithful to come to church, but she is living in sin.
• She comes out of habit, but she wears her iniquity in public.
• She needs to be confronted
• She needs to be corrected
• She needs to be spurred on

But you didn’t come and so she didn’t receive it

Beyond that, think about the Sunday School teacher who spend a week preparing a lesson, volunteering his or her time, wrestling with the hard truths of Scripture, giving of themselves to give the word to you.

And then you didn’t come,
And now they wonder if it is really worth the effort.

If you’re wife keeps cooking meals that you keep skipping how long do you think it will be before you start getting a steady diet of hot dogs and tuna fish?

DO YOU GET MY POINT?

You need to be in church because your brothers and sisters in Christ are there and they need your encouragement.

They need what only you can supply.

• That sinning brother needs to be confronted
• Euodia and Syntyche need to be told to get along
• The Thessalonians need to know they haven’t missed the day of the Lord
• The Corinthians need to be shown that the resurrection is real
• Those tax collectors who wandered in need to feel loved
• That widow struggling with debts needs to be supported

And you can’t do that if you get in the habit of coming.
And so at this point I hope you are getting a reoccurring theme.

• You don’t gather here for just for you.
• You gather for the glory of God
• You gather for the encouragement of your brother

You have a Brother to Encourage You have a Church to Attend
#3 YOU HAVE A LORD TO MEET
Hebrews 10:25b

“and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

When I say “You have a Lord to meet” I don’t mean that you meet Him here in worship, although hopefully you do.

What I mean is that someday He will return
And you will answer for how you lived,
And for how you encouraged your brother.

The day of the Lord is nearer now than it has ever been,
And what a tragedy for Christ to return and find
That your brother was in disarray and you weren’t doing anything about it.

Christ is returning and we are accountable for our brother,
And since with every second His return draws nearer,
We should continually make our brother a greater priority.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 11:2 “For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.”

And that explains why Paul took such an interest in their lives.

It mattered to Him how they looked when they met Christ.
That is the mindset we should all have for one another.

It’s not just a concern for personal holiness,
But a concern for corporate holiness.

We certainly want to walk in “love and good deeds”
But we also must “consider how to stimulate one another” as well.

You’ll never do that if you forsake “our own assembling together”,
Because that is one of the main reasons we gather.

And let me take this one step further this morning.

If we gather to praise, but you don’t praise did you fulfill your purpose in assembling? No

And so if we gather to stimulate one another and encourage one another, but you don’t do that, did you fulfill your purpose in assembling? No

It’s not enough just to come
You come for a purpose

You come for EXALTATION
To Praise God for excellencies
You come for EXHORTATION
To encourage your brother to be all that Christ intends for him to be

That is our purpose in assembling together

SO ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER
• Do it by your example, live the life others can follow
• Do it by your words
• Confront the sinner
• Comfort the hurting
• Spur on the lazy
• Build up the weak
• Do it even by your discipline

But make sure when you come to this place you don’t leave
Until you have encouraged someone else “to love and good deeds”

For when Christ returns that is what that will matter.

1 Thessalonians 5:14 “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”

A Perspective Like Jesus
James 1:1-4
September 7, 2014

Well tonight you are aware that we begin a new study in the word of God.

For many of you it is a study that doesn’t need much of an introduction. James is without a doubt a fan favorite among believers.

Many times in a funeral setting and sometimes in other settings I’ll ask about a person’s favorite book in the Bible. Most of the time “James” is what I hear.

Adrian Rogers called James “The Proverbs of the New Testament”
It is easy to understand why.
James is written with a direct clarity
That makes it plain for the simplest of reader.

While James does carry his fair share of theology,
It is the practical application that jumps off the page at you,
And for that many of you already have a fondness of this book.

Now as you know, I like to take a little bit of a forest approach
To a book before we settle in and look at the individual trees.

I am convinced that you cannot understand an individual verse
If you don’t first have a grasp of the overall point.

So if you’ll allow me just a second, let’s look at the point of this letter
And then we’ll start working our way through it.

I don’t know if everyone would agree with me,
But I believe that James clearly articulates his main purpose for writing.

I believe he articulates it in the last two verses of this book.

James 5:19-20 “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”

I don’t think it is a stretch to say that this was precisely why
James also penned this letter.

He had a passion to right the ship
In James’ mind Christianity was straying off course and beginning to look like something it shouldn’t look like.

James writes with conviction to bring Christianity back to its roots.

What are the roots of Christianity?
Christ

It is clear that as James examined the Christianity of his day,
It looked far less like Christ than it should have.

James’ purpose is to return Christians
To the fundamental purpose of becoming like Christ.

And in case you are confused about this issue,
You must know that the goal for your life is that you be like Christ.

Romans 8:28-29 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;”

The goal of Jesus is absolutely to reproduce Himself in you.
You are to look like Christ, act like Christ, talk like Christ,
respond like Christ, and in all things be like Christ.

And any time in your life that you deviate from this objective,
Then you have entered a position of backsliddenness and sinfulness
From which you must be confronted and delivered.

James is doing just that.
He is confronting a form of Christianity that doesn’t look like Christ

And the specifics are easy to spot.

James sees a Christianity that unlike Jesus has a lack of endurance.
So he writes:
James 1:2 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,”

James sees a Christianity that unlike Jesus has a lack of obedience.
So he writes:
James 1:22 “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”

James sees a Christianity that unlike Jesus has a lack of sincerity.
So he writes:
James 1:27 “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

James sees a Christianity that unlike Jesus has a lack of mercy.
So he writes:
James 2:1 “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.”

James sees a Christianity that unlike Jesus has a lack of fruit.
So he writes:
James 2:20 “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?”

James sees a Christianity that unlike Jesus has a bitter tongue.
So he writes:
James 3:9-10 “With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.”

James sees a Christianity that unlike Jesus has a selfish ambition.
So he writes:
James 3:14 “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.”

James sees a Christianity that unlike Jesus has worldliness.
So he writes:
James 4:4 “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

And so you get the point.
James is seeking to restore Christianity to Christ-likeness

And might I add that James was the perfect candidate for such a task.

James was not one of the 12 disciples.
That James was martyred in Jerusalem.

The James of this letter was the half-brother of Jesus.
(He was the son of Joseph and Mary)

That means that James doesn’t base Christianity
Solely on what he has heard, but on what he has seen.

James was exposed to Jesus his whole life.
James saw Jesus in every possible situation.

And having seen Jesus live for 33 years,
James understandably had an intolerance for those
Who claimed to follow Jesus, but who did not live the same way.

For James being a Christian was not just about accurate doctrine;
For James, being a Christian was about accurate behavior.

If you were going to take the name of Jesus,
Then you had better look like Him.

James is calling false believers to genuine faith
And carnal believers to maturity.

Don’t just claim Jesus, follow Him!
Be like Him!
BE REAL!

That is what makes this letter so difficult and yet so refreshing.

Tonight we begin with James asking us to have a perspective like Jesus.
I think you will agree that Jesus could blow your mind with His perspective.

• He never fell into those fleshly traps
• He never took the bait
• He always took the high road and responded perfectly

It didn’t matter if He was being challenged, or mocked, or hated, or even crucified, He always maintained a proper perspective.

James expects nothing less from those who claim to follow Him.

So let’s begin looking at this marvelous letter.
First we see the greeting:

“James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.”

You have to love the way James describes himself.

He calls himself, not “the brother of Jesus”,
But rather “a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”

James doesn’t throw his clout or his title around,
But rather that he is merely a servant of Jesus.

He is one of those willing servants described to us in Exodus 21:5-6 who willingly submitted to the master.
That was James.

And he is writing “To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad”

This would that group known as “The Dispersia”
They were persecuted Jews who had converted to Christianity.

And James is reminding them of who they follow and of what is expected.

And without any other introduction James gets right to the point
And addresses their perspective in the midst of their suffering.

And James has three things he wants from these suffering believers.
#1 REJOICE IN PAIN
James 1:2

Here James says “Consider it all joy”

Now this is an interesting word.
The word “consider” can be a little misleading.
• He is not giving you something to consider.
• He is not saying, “Have you thought about this?”

The Greek word is HEGEOMAI (hi-gay-o-my)
It literally means “to lead the way” or “to lead before the mind”

James isn’t saying maybe you should consider being joyful,
James is saying put joy in your brain!

Grab your mind and force it to focus on joy
DO THIS!

And what makes the command from James so difficult is that
He commands you to do this when it isn’t natural.

If he told you to choose joy when you eat a good meal
Or when you have a soft bed; that would be one thing.

But he says, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.”

And just for observation sake let’s make sure you understand:
• Not “if” you encounter trials, but “when” you do.
• And trials of “various” nature.

Physical, mental, spiritual, financial, social, emotional, etc.

In this life you are going to have trials.
Now that is true for all people simply because we live in a fallen sinful world, where the curse is in full operation.

But that is especially true for the believer who not only lives in a fallen world, but who is also in the cross hairs of the enemy.

Jesus said:
John 16:33 “In the world you have tribulation…”

Paul said:
2 Timothy 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

The prosperity gospel has for years been trying to market this idea
That following Christ should result in more prosperity and less pain.

That’s not true, the Christian can count on more pain in this world.

Face it, trials are coming.
• The normal everyday trials like sickness and death and pain that are associated with living in this world.

• And the spiritual trials of persecution and mocking and rejection that are associated with following Christ.

You will “encounter various trials”

To live your life trying to avoid them is a futile endeavor.

Now, what separates the believer from the non-believer
Is not the presence of trials, but rather the response to them.

A lost world hates trials, grows bitter under trials, curses God for the trials, and on and on and on.

But a believer is called to do the most bizarre thing.
The believer is to be like Jesus and “Consider it all joy”

Hebrews 12:2-3 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

• Jesus knew what He was facing before He ever stepped out of heaven,
but He did.

• Jesus knew what He was facing every day that He lived on this earth, but
instead of avoiding it, He embraced it, and instead of whining about it,
He rejoiced.

• And He did it “for the joy set before Him”

That is what James asks for from these suffering believers.

Anyone can be like the world when they suffer.
Anyone can moan and wine and complain and get bitter.
But the Christian must look beyond it and respond with joy.

Now this is not easy.
In fact when James says you will “encounter various trials”

The word “encounter” there is a Greek word that means “to fall into”

And it implies a certain level of unexpectedness.

Luke 10:30 “Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.”

See it is one thing for you as a believer to have a trial, take a day to moan and groan, then grow up and choose to be joyful.

But that is not what James is talking about.

He wants you to be so ready for suffering is coming,
That when it comes you are not surprised
And instead you are ready to instantly rejoice.
That makes this warning then not just for those who are presently suffering, but also for those who are not.

You need to get it in your head right now that suffering is coming
And determine to rejoice when it happens.

After all, was that not how Jesus walked this earth?

He didn’t walk around like this turtle optimist
Totally surprised when people hated Him.

He knew it was coming,
And He was prepared ahead of time to rejoice in the midst of it.

See, if we initially respond with bitterness and only eventually rejoice,
It is good that we did eventually rejoice,
But we still had failure in our initial response.
James wants you to look like Jesus all the time, not just eventually.

So Rejoice in Pain, and be ready to do so ahead of time.
#2 REMEMBER THE PURPOSE
James 1:3

Here is why you can and should rejoice.
“knowing”

In the Greek GKNOSKO which is a word that means “full understanding”

“knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”

These trials that will inevitably come are certainly meant by the enemy to destroy you, but God causes all things to work together for good.

• God uses them to produce “endurance”
• God uses them to make you more like Jesus
• God uses them to continue the work of your sanctification.

My mom loves the hymn “How Firm A Foundation”
“The flame shall not hurt thee, I only design, thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine”

And let’s just face it without endurance you cannot be like Jesus.

Jesus was a model of endurance wasn’t He?
Let me read it again:
Hebrews 12:2 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

“endured the cross”
If we don’t have “endurance” we cannot be like Jesus.

And here is the kicker
YOU CANNOT LEARN ENDURANCE IN A WEEKEND COURSE
You cannot gain endurance through a drive-through-window.

Endurance is like stamina
There is no pill that makes you able to run a marathon,
You have to work and train and run and run and run and build it up.

So it is with endurance, it has to be built, it has to be constructed
And it is produced by walking through trials.

And James says you need to KNOW that.

TURN TO: Hebrews 12:3-17

If you grow weary and lose heart
It is because you have “forgotten” the purpose of trials.

They are not to harm you, they are to perfect you.
It is not punishment discipline, it is necessary discipline.

It is like when I used to play football many moons ago.
At the end of each practice we had to run “gassers”
Now sure gassers could be used as punishment, but we were going to run them whether we did wrong or not.

They were necessary so that we would be able to compete late in the game.
We were being conditioned.

That is what “discipline” means here.
It isn’t necessarily punishment, it’s just necessary hardening
And if God didn’t give it to you, that would mean He didn’t love you.

If you shelter your kids from every possible hardship or pain
And don’t ever put them in difficult circumstances
You are doing them a major disservice for life.

You may buy their affection by keeping them in the lap of luxury,
But that isn’t loving them, it is crippling them.

And God loves you too much to cripple you.

Now is discipline pleasant? No (VERSE 11), but it is necessary.
What we have to do is gain an understanding
As to why God is putting us through it.

It is not to harm you, it is to prepare you.
So, embrace it
(VERSES 12-17)

Don’t be like Esau who traded the future for a comfortable present.
That would be horrible!

Embrace the hardship, endure the hardship, rejoice at the hardship, because God is giving you what you need
To prepare you for where you are going.

• He will not leave you unprepared
• He will not let you go untrained
• He will make sure you are disciplined and ready
• He will make you like Jesus

Remember that purpose

We have been on several mission trips, and each time we go I feel an enormous burden to make sure everyone who goes is “ready” to go.

• Those who have been will tell you, in many ways I put them through the ringer.
• I make you read more than you want to read
• I make you talk more than you want to talk
• I make you meet more than you want to meet
• I make you pray more than you want to pray
• I make you do more than you want to do

Because I refuse to let you go without doing everything in my power
To prepare you for the trip (and I’m limited in my understanding)

But God knows all, He knows what you have ahead of you,
And the trials He will walk you through
Are only for the purpose of preparing you for what’s ahead.

He is making you like Jesus!
KNOW THAT

So Rejoice in Pain, Remember the Purpose
#3 RESOLVE TO BE PERFECT
James 1:4

In other words, determine that instead of fighting God
You are going to embrace His purpose as well.

When the coach makes you run gassers get behind what he is doing and run them hard so that you can achieve the goals he has set for you.

That is what James means;
“And let endurance have its perfect result”

• Don’t fight it
• Don’t resist it
• Don’t quit

• Endure
• Endure joyfully
• Endure knowing that God is preparing you

And in case you fail to see the finish line, James spells it out for you.

“so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

“perfect” is a word that means “fully developed”

It doesn’t mean sinless or morally flawless,
It just means you are fully matured, fully prepared, fully capable.

God wants to mature you and make you “perfect”

“complete” is a word that means “to be whole”

And in case you don’t understand that,
James says, “lacking in nothing.”

Listen, God’s goal suffering is not to harm you, it’s not to ruin you,
It’s to complete you, make you perfect, make you like Christ.

1 Peter 5:10 “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”

That’s what God is doing,
Now why don’t you get on board and strive for the same things.

“let” it happen.
“let endurance have its perfect result”

• Set your mind not to resist God’s work
• And certainly not to complain about God’s work
• BUT RATHER TO JOIN GOD IN HIS WORK.

Suffering is coming whether you want it to or not,
Because God loves you and He’s going to prepare you.
You embrace it, rejoice in it, remember the purpose for it, consent to it.

That is how Jesus walked.
Hebrews 5:8 “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.”

That is a tough verse to handle, especially since Jesus was omniscient,
But God used suffering in His life to make Him who He needed to be.
Why did Jesus have to learn suffering?
Hebrews 2:18 “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”

It’s hard to be a compassionate support to someone who suffers
If you’ve never suffered.

He knew what God was doing.
He was perfecting the author of our salvation with suffering.

And Jesus didn’t resist it
• He embraced it.
• He rejoiced in it.
• He consented to it.
• He resolved to let it work in His life.

John 12:27-28 “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

You get the feeling that James looked out over these suffering believers
And heard them bickering and complaining and whining.

As he heard them griping to God asking
“Why would you do this?”, “How could You let this happen?”

As he watched them trying to quit and give in.

James sat down and penned this letter and said, “If you’re going to take the name of Jesus on your back then you had better start living like Jesus.”

Your attitude is backward and sinful,
And I want to remind you how Jesus lived.

So when suffering comes
• Rejoice in it
• Remember why it is necessary
• And Resolve to see it produce in you all that God intends

That is good advice
And it is a good reminder to each of us.

The Purpose of Assembling Together – Part 1
1 Peter 2:9-10
September 7, 2014

I really cannot adequately express to you how grateful I am
For the time you allotted for me to step away over the last 6 weeks.

It was a gracious gift on your part and a tremendous act of love
In which you willingly sacrificed yourself for my benefit.

I can only echo for you the same sentiment that the apostle Paul
Had for the Philippians after they sacrificed of themselves for him.

Philippians 4:15-20 “You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

I also can’t express enough how grateful I am to be back with you.
13 years in the ministry has a way of making a person soft
When it comes to manual labor.

It is good to be back.

One of the blessings of being out for 6 weeks
Was that I was able to attend 5 different churches.
(Seeing other churches operate is not a luxury a preacher gets too often.)

And as we went, I had the privilege of being able to sit back
As an observer and take an outside perspective of other congregations
As they assembled together.

Some were great, some weren’t
Some sermons were great, some weren’t

But more than that I was able to take an outside view
Of why they were gathering together.

It appeared some gathered to be trendy
It appeared some gathered to be popular
It appeared some gathered to be faithful
(And certainly my initial observations can be wrong)

So I’m not going to pick on any of them this morning.

But it did cause me to wonder, why do we gather?

When we get up on Sunday morning and gather together here in this church, what is the reason we do that?

And the real question would be, what would God
(who sees our heart) say was the reason that we gathered?

Jesus looked at the seemingly faithful attendance and ceremonial worship of the Pharisees and said:
Matthew 15:7-9 “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'”
“They think they are worshipers, but they aren’t.
They think they love the word of God, but they don’t.”
That is a strong indictment.

And we are reminded that is possible to please God when we gather, and it is possible to displease God when we gather.
Israel taught us that.

TURN TO: Isaiah 1:10-15
• Your sacrifices are many, but I don’t like them
• Your attendance is perfect, but I wish it wasn’t
• Your offerings are continual, but they are worthless
• Your incense is rising, but it is repulsive
• Your festivals are many, but I hate them
• Your prayers are offered, but I won’t listen

It is safe to say that they were doing it wrong.
And the result of doing it wrong was that not only did they offend God,
But they actually forfeited the benefit of having God hear their prayers.

TURN TO: Jeremiah 7:1-16
Here the children of Israel lived however they wanted 6 days of the week, and then came to the magic worship service were everything was instantly forgotten.

Sure you lived like a heathen, but you went to church and so all is good.
Obviously it wasn’t.

The consequence there being destruction,
And God refusing even to hear prayers concerning them.

TURN TO: Amos 5:21-23
“I hate” “I reject” “I will not accept” “I will not even look” “Take away from Me” “I will not even listen”

• God hated that they met together
• God refused to take their offering
• God would not even look at their gifts
• And God wanted them to quit singing because He hated it
TURN TO: Malachi 1:10-11

There God is actually looking to ordain someone.
• He isn’t looking for a preacher to preach
• He isn’t looking for a song leader to direct
• He isn’t looking for a soloist to sing
• He’s looking for a janitor to lock the door!

Why? “I am not pleased with you…nor will I accept an offering from you.”

Are you getting the point?

IT IS NOT A GIVEN THAT GOD IS PLEASED
JUST BECAUSE WE ALL SHOWED UP

And if God is not pleased, we are in a world of trouble!
• Israel did not please God
• Israel did not even accept the Messiah
• And Israel was broken off

The heavy call is that the church do much better than Israel did.

Romans 11:17-22 “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.”

And so it is obvious that
We should take our assembling together very seriously.

WHY DID YOU COME THIS MORNING?
WHY DO WE GATHER?
(And a look at the church in America prompts some honest questions)

• Did you come to be entertained? (You just like the music, etc.)
• Did you come to be blessed? (God will do me good if I go)
• Did you come to boost your reputation? (Other’s need to see me there)
• Did you come to worship or hear the word? (You want to hear from God)
• Did you come out of habit? (You just always come)
• Did you come for some sort of social fulfillment? (Your friends are here)
• Did you come because you were forced to? (You got drug here)

Why are you hear?

That is the question, and you have to answer that in your own heart.

Now over the next couple of weeks,
I’m going to give you three reasons why we gather.

Before I do that, let me just go ahead
And squash a few other reasons that are not correct.

Let me tell you why we don’t come:
1) EXTORTION
You know to use the church as a place of business
Or as a means to get ahead.

Like a politician using it as a platform to get votes.
Or as a manipulator using church as a platform to influence others.

John 2:13-16 “The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.”

I think it is obvious that we don’t gather here
As a place to get ahead in the world.

I tell you another reason we don’t come:
2) ENTERTAINMENT

You know people who are just looking for cutting edge fun.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that church shouldn’t be fun,
But if fun was all you went to church for,
Then you cheated God and you got cheated.

3) ENABLEMENT

Many people go to church just to be told what they want to hear
And to feel better about themselves.

How do you think Joel Olsteen does so good?

But I think we saw in Jeremiah 7
That the church doesn’t exist to make sinners feel comfortable.

4) EVANGELISM

The church also doesn’t meet for the purpose of saving the lost.

The attendance of lost people in the church service
Is an American phenomenon, not a Biblical one.

Acts 5:12-13 “At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico. But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem.”

Do you know why they wouldn’t associate with them?
Because God had just struck Ananias and Sapphira dead
For lying to the Holy Spirit.

People outside were saying, “Don’t go to that church, you might die.”
That’s a far cry from “Let’s go to that church, it is fun.”

The worship service was never intended to be
A hip and trendy baiting field for lost people.

This notion of trying to invite non-believers to attend our services
Is the result of lazy and disobedient Christians who thought instead of going and preaching the gospel, it would be much easier just to invite them and to let the preacher do it.

DON’T MISUNDERSTAND WHAT I AM SAYING.
Someone will say, “The preacher said we aren’t supposed to reach the lost.”

That is not what I am saying.
Certainly one of the main purposes of the church is to reach the lost.

But we aren’t talking about the purpose of the church,
We are talking about the purpose of why we gather as a church.

And while we do exist to take the gospel to the ends of the earth,
We do not gather for the purpose of evangelism.

SO WHY DO WE GATHER?
Well, I’m glad you asked. There are three reasons
And I’m going to go ahead and give them all to you right now.

• Exaltation (To Praise God)
• Exhortation (To Encourage One Another)
• Exposition (To Have the Scripture Explained To Us)

Let’s start with the first one: EXALTATION
And with that we look at 1 Peter 2:9-10

(READ: 1 PETER 2:9-10)

Now I don’t want to take you all through all the truths of 1 Peter,
But you should know it was a letter written to persecuted Christians.

They had been scattered for their faith,
And Peter is writing to tell them how to suffer Biblically.

And part of that is to praise God.

Now hopefully you notice that verse 9 begins with the word “But”

Obviously we are contrasting here.
1 Peter 2:7-8 “This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,” and, “A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.”

Peter just spoke of the reality and fate of all non-believers.
They will stumble over Christ and they will be destroyed for it.

“But you are”
There is the contrast.
And Peter lists 6 very important realities of the Christian life.

You have to see these, because they serve as the motive for our praise.

“But you are:
1) A Chosen Race
2) A Royal Priesthood
3) A Holy Nation
4) A People for God’s Own Possession
5) Vs. 10 You are the People of God
6) Vs. 10 You have Received Mercy

Those are 6 unbelievable benefits that are yours as a Christian.

Now, let me show you where Peter got such a list.
Exodus 19:1-6 “In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. When they set out from Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of the mountain. Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. ‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”

When God called Israel out of Egypt
He made an unbelievable offer to them.

Not only had He already mercifully called and chosen and delivered them,
BUT NOW HE OFFERED TO BE EXCLUSIVE TO THEM.

I’m offering to be your God, and you to be My people.
Obviously, to be considered the very people of God
Is an unfathomable benefit.
Now, you know the story.
Every time Israel had the opportunity to reject that promise, she did.
• Time after time Israel went after other gods.
• And her rebellion culminated the crucifixion of Jesus.

And the opportunity to be the exclusive people of God
Became a missed opportunity.

Israel was broken off
They will not again regain that status until they turn to Christ.

Peter says that this opportunity has now been given to the church.
You now have the opportunity to be the exclusive people of God.

And look at all God did for you:
“But you are a chosen race”

Ephesians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.”

We don’t have time to go all through it, but chosen means chosen.
(Just like when you played kickball as a kid)

You didn’t choose God, He chose you.

“A royal priesthood”

This means that God then promoted you.
A priest had greater access to God than any other person.
No one came as close to God as a priest did.

And not only did He grant you intimacy,
But He also granted authority, since you are a “royal” priest.

“A holy nation”

“holy” means “set apart”

He took you and made you different
He pulled you out of the crowd and distinguished you

“A people for God’s own possession”

This speaks of His purchase of you.

He possesses you because He purchased you.
He bought you with the spotless blood of His Son.

“for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God”

That is “He endorsed you”
• He isn’t ashamed to call you His child
• He isn’t ashamed to be called your God
• He wants the world to know that you are His, and He is yours

“you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy”

And He did all this when you most certainly did not deserve it.

Ephesians 2:11-13 “Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called ” Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands — remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

I know we covered those fast, but let me put them all together for you.

Everything Peter mentions in these two verses is about
God taking you when you were unworthy,
And then seizing every possible opportunity
To express His love for you and to make that love known.

He left no doubt before anyone how much He loves you.

It really depicts a marriage scene.
• I chose Carrie as the woman I wanted to spend my life with
• I brought her closer to myself (as God does a priest)
• I asked her to be separated from every other
• I asked her to be mine and mine alone
• I called her by my name as one of my people
(I suppose you can argue if that was merciful on my part or not)

Just as I am proud to let the world know that Carrie is my wife,
There is nothing more I can do to say it.

So it is with God.
He has gone over, under, around, and through
Making you His exclusive child.
And He has let the world know.

You are blessed by God.
• DOES EVERYONE SEE THAT?
• DOES ANYONE ARGUE WITH THAT?

Because here comes the point, look at the end of verse 9:
“so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who as called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
• He did that so that you would praise Him!
• He did that so you would broadcast His great virtue!
• He did that so you would make known how excellent He is!
HE EXPECTS PRAISE.

And can I remind you that this is why we come?
We come to praise Him!

And certainly we praise Him everywhere,
But we especially do it here in the midst of the assembly.

Psalms 35:18 “I will give You thanks in the great congregation; I will praise You among a mighty throng.”

Psalms 40:9-10 “I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation; Behold, I will not restrain my lips, O LORD, You know. I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation.”

Psalms 107:32 “Let them extol Him also in the congregation of the people, And praise Him at the seat of the elders.”

Psalms 116:12-14 “What shall I render to the LORD For all His benefits toward me? I shall lift up the cup of salvation And call upon the name of the LORD. I shall pay my vows to the LORD, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people.”

Psalms 149:1 “Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise in the congregation of the godly ones.”

It is obvious that when we gather together, it is to praise the Lord!

It is absolutely mind blowing the number of people
Who will attend churches across America this morning,
And then refuse to sing when they get there.

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE
TO REFUSE PRAISE TO THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE?

“I praise Him in my heart, but I don’t sing out loud”
That doesn’t count!
Hebrews 13:15 “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.”

“Oh, but I don’t sing well”
It’s not about how well you sing, it’s about how much He deserves it!
TURN TO: Psalms 150
• Where to Praise Him? “in His sanctuary…in His mighty expanse”
• Why to Praise Him? “for His mighty deeds…His excellent greatness”
• How to Praise Him? “trumpet, harp, dancing, instruments, loud cymbals”
• Who to Praise Him? “everything that has breath”
Listen, it is a tragedy that this world does not praise God.
In fact, they are under judgment for it.

Romans 1:21 “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

But it is an even bigger tragedy that so many of God’s people
Go to God’s house on Sunday and still don’t praise God.

• God chose us
• God drew us to Himself
• God separated us the world
• God made us His own
• God calls us His people
• God gave us mercy

And for that we “proclaim the excellencies of Him”

I may not sing on key, but I’m sure gonna sing loud!

Psalms 100 “Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.”

When you enter God’s courts, how do you enter?
“with praise”
“bless His name”

If you fail to do that, you are missing the fundamental reason
For why we gather.

Psalms 117 “Praise the LORD, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples! For His lovingkindness is great toward us, And the truth of the LORD is everlasting. Praise the LORD!”

God’s mercy is great to us, He deserves to be praised for that.

Chris Tomlin sings a song which says,
“How can I keep from singing your praise?”

That’s a good question.
When we gather a believers praise ought to be our common language.

Psalms 84:1-4 “How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. The bird also has found a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God. How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah.”
Those in the house of God are always praising!

And yet, that is not what happens so much of the time.
People refuse to sing – People refuse to praise

Maybe they don’t sing well
Maybe they don’t like the song
Maybe they don’t like the music
And all of those reasons are insulting to the God who deserves praise.

“Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised”

He told the people in Malachi’s day:
Malachi 1:11 “For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of hosts.”
God deserves it.

THAT IS WHY WE MEET.
• It’s not to make you happy
• It’s not to entertain you
• It’s not so you can feel important
• It’s not to boost your social life

We gather here on the Lord’s Day because above all
We want to tell the Lord how much we love Him
And we want to praise Him because He is excellent!

If we miss that, we miss the point of why we gather.

Hopefully that praise spills over into your daily life
And you proclaim His excellencies to the world in evangelism.

But it most certainly should occur here.
If we don’t get anything correct, it should be our praise.

I’m going to close with a time when God really spanked me.
A few years ago our church was invited to a singing over at Lakeside Baptist church on a Saturday night.

There were only a handful of people there.
And as I sat there and looked at their few numbers and imagined what their offering might be and just how able they would be to do some of the things we think churches are supposed to do.

I actually (in my arrogance) asked God, “Why do they still meet here, using up all their resources just to keep the doors open, instead of joining in somewhere else?”

God answered sternly and abruptly.
“I’ll tell you what they are doing here, they are praising Me!”
GOD IS DELIGHTED WHEN WE PRAISE HIM!

We can have all the programs
We can have all the ministries
We can be a well-oiled machine
But if we forget the high calling of praising God
We are totally missing the point for why we gather at all.

We become like the church at Ephesus who had great doctrine,
But they had left their first love.

And God was about to close the doors on that place,
Because He has no use for an orthodox church that fails to praise Him.

I don’t know why you come…
I don’t know why you came…
But I know why you should have come, and that is to praise God.
Now, since the singing portion of our service is over,
We are going to do our invitation a little differently,
And instead of having an invitation hymn,
We are going to have another song of praise.

If you didn’t enter His courts with praise,
I at least want to give you the chance to exit them that way,
And from here on out, may be get it right.

Now, “Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord!”

click to listen: 065 Morality is Not Righteousness (Matthew 12 ,43-50)

Morality Is Not Righteousness
Matthew 12:43-50
September 11, 2011

As you know we are studying through Matthew’s gospel,
And most recently we are studying the rejection He received by Israel.

No doubt this rejection was fueled by the constant disdain
Given to Him by the religious leaders of the day.

They hated Jesus, and they did everything they could
To get the people to hate Him as well.

We have seen them condemn Him for breaking the Sabbath,
And we have seen them discredit any and all good He seeks to do.

Most recently Jesus cast a demon out of a man
And the Pharisees sought to discredit Him before the masses
By claiming that His power to cast out demons only came from Satan.

Their blasphemy led Jesus to challenge them head on.
“Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad.”

He had told them to determine what they were going to do with Him.
Either He was good, or He was bad.

He then pointed out why they couldn’t speak good of Him,
And the reason was because they had no goodness in their hearts.

Jesus said, “How can you being evil, speak what is good?”
He knew they couldn’t.

“For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.”

The tongue doesn’t defile the man, but it proves he is defiled.

A similar example would be like when we talk about faith and works.
Works reveal rather or not you have faith.

And so the Pharisees bad words only revealed their bad heart.
James 3:11-12 “Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.”

This was the Pharisees.
Despite their claims, their tongue testified against them.

And so Jesus nailed the Pharisees to the wall.
However you will remember that last week they tried to
Deflect His condemnation by blaming their lack of belief on Him.

They asked for a sign.
In effect saying, “Our unbelief is not because we are evil. We don’t believe because You haven’t done enough to earn our belief.”

But you will remember that Jesus nailed them again.

Jesus said, “The reason you ask for a sign is not because you need more proof. The reason you ask for a sign is because you are “evil and adulterous”.
And so Jesus nailed them again.

And we can identify because we have all been nailed to the wall by Jesus
At one time or another in our lives.
We have all had our speech prove us carnal.
We have all had our desire for proof prove us evil.

THE QUESTION IS WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN JESUS NAILS YOU?

NOW GENERALLY WHAT HAPPENS.
When people get condemned like that.

PEOPLE TRY TO FIX THE EFFECT.
They do good works, or they try to change their speech.

People learn that “faith without works is dead”
So they try to add works.

People learn that “the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart”,
So they change their speech.

If that is what you thought Jesus meant.
YOU MISSED THE POINT.

Jesus told us the tongue reveals the heart,
The purpose wasn’t to get you to change your tongue.

The purpose of the sermon was,
LISTEN TO YOUR TONGUE – CHANGE YOUR HEART.
The point is not morality; the point is righteousness.

Many people try to use the Bible just as a guide to morality.

The Bible never was written just to be a moral code.
The Bible wasn’t here to get you to clean yourself up.
The Bible is here to lead you to Jesus, who can clean up the inside.
John 5:39 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;”

Now, of course we believe that Christians should be moral.
But that should merely be the effect of coming to Jesus, not the means.

The Bible was not given to make you moral,
The Bible was given to lead you to Christ.

The Response to the Scripture is.
If your tongue is bad, change your heart. Don’t change your tongue.

HOWEVER, many would rather start with the outside.
That is a very dangerous attitude, for that is the attitude of the Pharisees.

Remember the Pharisee that prayed to God?
Luke 18:11-13 “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’”

That Pharisee was only concerned with the outside with absolutely no thought given to the condition of his heart.

Jesus revealed their true nature later in Matthew 23

Matthew 23:25-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

Morality was the major problem of the Pharisees.
They were so blinded by their own self-righteousness,
That they saw no need for repentance.

When truth was applied to their lives,
All they ever did was change the cover, they never dealt with the source.

That is what we often do today.
False religions work like crazy to make people moral.

Have you ever seen one of the Mormon commercials?
They are very good people.

But even churches can be guilty of this.

We can get focused on making sure people look the right way on the outside before we ever concern ourselves with the inside.

We are often focused on things like stopping drinking, or stopping drugs,
Or getting teenagers to save sex for marriage.

And obviously those are good things.
The problem is that the outside is the wrong place to start.

Namely because morality is NOT the goal.
Righteousness is the goal, and righteousness is of the heart.

All morality can do
Is make people talk better about you at your funeral.
It cannot save your soul.
Our goal cannot be morality, it must be righteousness.

Charles Spurgeon said,
“Now observe, brethren, if I, or you, or any of us, or all of us, shall have spent our lives merely in amusing men, or educating men, or moralizing men, when we shall come to give our account at the last great day we shall be in a very sorry condition, and we shall have but a very sorry record to render; for of what avail will it be to a man to be educated when he comes to be damned? Of what service will it be to him to have been amused when the trumpet sounds, and heaven and earth are shaking, and the pit opens wide her jaws of fire and swallows up the soul unsaved? Of what avail even to have moralized a man if still he on the left hand of the judge, and if still, “Depart, ye cursed,” shall be his portion?”

And this mindset is true of Jesus as well.
Jesus didn’t want a cleaned up outside.
Jesus wanted a cleaned up inside.

Yet people still missed the point
And while many received outer cleansing from Jesus.
Very few received inner cleansing from Him.

REMEMBER THE TEN LEPERS
10 received outer cleansing – 1 received inner cleansing.

Luke 17:15-19 “Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine — where are they? “Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”

Only one received inner cleansing.

Jesus aim in all our lives, is not just to moralize us,
But to make us righteous from the inside out,

That is His point in this text.

Don’t be moral, be righteous.
#1 WHAT JESUS DOESN’T WANT
Matthew 12:43-45

Here Jesus gives His listeners a little illustration
Of how a person who seeks morality will eventually end up,

It is an illustration about morality, but it is told from the perspective
Of the demon who worked in the man’s life.

If nothing else, this indicates to us that morality
Is first and foremost a spiritual problem.

When Jesus saw a man in sin he saw a demonic influence.
He saw a man tempted and overcome by Satan.

Our battle against sin and immorality is a battle against Satan and self.

Ephesians 6:10-13 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”

The battle for righteousness is a spiritual battle.
We have Satan the tempter and our corrupt flesh which loves it.

Jesus here shows us the battle from Satan’s view-point
This is very enlightening in helping us understand
What we are up against.

We see here 6 things.
1) THE RETREAT (43a)
“Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man…”

What we find here is a man that for some reason or another
Is actually able to rid himself of his “unclean spirit”

It really doesn’t matter what this man struggled with.
The point is that somehow this man was able to clean up his life.

And we do see this sort of thing happen
In fact we often applaud it.
A man may get a job, and need to get cleaned up.
Maybe he meets a woman who convinces him to change.
Maybe he has kids and sees the need to grow up.
Maybe he is afraid of punishment, so he changes.
Maybe he is just tired of the gutter, and desires to change.

Who knows the reason, but morality occurs quite often.
But we have a man moralizing himself.

And this man’s demon has retreated.
Either the man resisted him, or Jesus removed him,
But the spirit retreated.

The man is outwardly clean.
2) THE ROAM (43b)
“it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it.”

Here Jesus actually gives us a little insight into the desire of a demon.

This demon “passes through waterless places”.
Obviously as angelic beings they don’t need daily sustenance.

In short this demon isn’t seeking survival.
WHAT IS HE SEEKING?
“rest”

Because he is fallen he is also discontent.
This demon, like Satan, has no rest or comfort in this life,
But he is in search of it.

The only problem is he “does not find it”

We don’t know specifically what a demon is looking for, but we know what he isn’t looking for.

Remember Legion?
Luke 8:31 “They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.”

Matthew’s gospel records:
Matthew 8:29 “And they cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”

We also know that apparently inhabiting something
Is better than roaming loose.
Matthew 8:31 “The demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.”

So the demon is removed, but he is extremely discontented
As he roams looking for rest but never finding it.
This is what actually occurs in the spiritual world
When a man moralizes himself.

The Retreat, The Roam
3) THE RETURN (44)
“Then it says, “I will return to my house from which I came; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order.”

So obviously the demon found no rest and decides to return.
(It sort of reads like a spiritual prodigal son story)

The demon comes back.
Notice he calls it “my house”.
That indicates that he has not totally surrendered ownership,
Even though he has been away.

So a demon can leave and still feel like the owner of the house.

And when he returns notice what he finds.
He finds the house
“unoccupied”
“swept”
“put in order”

So the house is clean, the house is orderly, the house is moral,
But the house is still “unoccupied”

So while the demon may not have been living there,
The Holy Spirit is obviously not living there either.

This man is moral, but he is not saved.
This man is clean, but he is not redeemed.

And even though his life looks good he is still considered to be
Property of the demon, not the property of Jesus.

This is how Satan works.
You may remove him for a little while, but if that house remains unoccupied, rest assured he is coming back.

But this time he comes back with help.

4) THE REINFORCEMENTS (45a)
“Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there;”

This is why we call it spiritual warfare.
This demon was forced to retreat once, he isn’t taking that chance again.

‘seven other spirits more wicked than itself”

And “they go in and live there”

The house is no longer unoccupied.
And it won’t long be swept and put in order.
Now this man has a worse problem than when he started.

The demon has returned and has brought friends with him.

5) THE RESULT (45b)
“and the last state of the man becomes worse than the first.”

Now many people automatically assume that maybe the first demon
Was something minor like laziness, or gossip.

And so these must be real bad things like drug use, and murder, and adultery, and robbery, etc.

BUT DON’T THINK LIKE THAT.
Don’t measure sins by which ones you think are the worst.
Measure them by which ones Jesus thinks are the worst.

As Jesus walked this earth which sins did he think were the worst?
It wasn’t things like adultery and robbery.
Jesus’ disdain was reserved for the self-righteous.

John Macarthur wrote:
“The Pharisees were classic moralists. No other Jews, and certainly no Gentiles, were committed to such rigid standards of religion, morality, ethics, and daily living. They lived by a complex and demanding code, a system of laws that regulated virtually every aspect of life. But those man-made standards, purportedly based on God’s Word had led them further and further from God. They were so self-sufficient and self-righteous that when God Himself came among them in human form they rejected, vilified, and finally crucified Him. They had so thoroughly convinced themselves of their righteousness that when the very Source of righteousness stood in their midst they accused Him of being in league with Satan. Under the illusion of their own goodness they became unreachable with the saving message of the gospel. When Jesus came preaching deliverance from sin, they were not interested, because they could not imagine such a message having relevance for them. And when Jesus declared that their self-righteousness was, in fact, the most insidious form of unrighteousness (Matthew 5:20), they were infuriated.
Jesus had little trouble reaching prostitutes, thieves, extortioners, murderers and the outcasts of society. But He had an almost impossible time reaching religious and moral people who were under the delusion that outward propriety made them acceptable to God. Because they refused to recognize their sin, they recognized no need for a Savior. Their strict standards of morality gave an illusion of safety and prevented them from seeing that trust in themselves was their greatest spiritual danger and a massive barrier between them and God…It is much easier to reach someone who is overwhelmed with a true sense of His sin than someone who is overwhelmed with a false sense of his righteousness.”
(Macarthur, John [The MacArhur New Testament Commentary; Matthew 8-16; Moody Publishers, Chicago, Ill, 1987] pg. 334 & 337)

That is the type of evil that came back to this man.
He cleaned himself up and now he is left in a self-righteous state.

At least before he knew he needed to be clean,
Now he thinks he is clean and no one can tell him otherwise.

That is the result of morality.
6) THE REALITY (45c)
“That is the way it will also be with this evil generation”

• Remember this was the generation that rejected His miracles.
• This was the generation that craved a sign.
• This was the generation that would yell, “Crucify”.

WHY?
Because they didn’t think they needed Him.
They already thought they were good enough.

The reality was that they were actually in far worse shape
Than the prostitutes and tax collectors.

THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A MOMENT.
Could it be that moral people in the church could actually be in worse shape than the prostitutes and drug addicts and murderers out running loose?

And the answer is yes.
The worst state of humanity is not obvious sin.
The worst state of humanity is supposed righteousness.

Adrian Rogers said, “The worst form of badness is human goodness.”

And that is the danger of morality.
IT IS NOT ENOUGH, AND YET MANY THINK IT IS.

What Jesus doesn’t want
#2 WHAT JESUS WANTS
Matthew 12:46-50

This verse is a great revealer of what Jesus wants.

“While He was till speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him.”

So at this point the sermon gets interrupted
With news that His family wants Him.

“Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.”
But look at Jesus’ answer.
“But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”

Now put yourself in that messengers shoes.
That is a confusing question.

But before the answer could be given, Jesus answers it Himself.

“And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold, My mother and My brothers!” For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus reveals the type of relationship He is looking for.
A relationship with Jesus is not determined by outer characteristics.
A relationship with Jesus is determined by inner characteristics.

He doesn’t want a person who is moral on the outside,
He wants a person who is righteous on the inside.

IT ISN’T EXTERNAL!
It never has been.

It has always been about the heart.

You don’t spot a Christian by his outward appearance.
You spot a Christian by his fruit.

Galatians 5:22-24 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

1 John 3:10 “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”

Entering the kingdom of God is not about an outward moral code,
Those people can actually be in very great danger.

Entering the kingdom is about having the right heart in obedience to God.
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”

Jesus family was the one who was obedient from the heart,
Not the one who righteous on the outside.

Our quest can’t be morality, it must be righteousness.

If you want a relationship with the Father, if you want to enter His kingdom, then be righteous, not moral.

Morality is not what Jesus wants. He wants righteousness.

HOW DO YOU GET IT?
By quitting this or quitting that?
By changing your speech so it sounds better?
By fixing your habits to appear better?

Is that how you get righteous?
NO

JESUS ALREADY TOLD US HOW.

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

He doesn’t want morality, He wants righteousness.
And you only get it by trusting in Christ.
SO TRUST IN HIM

Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 

CLICK TO LISTEN: 064 The Danger of Craving Signs (Matthew 12 ,38-42)

The Danger of Craving Signs
Matthew 12:38-42
September 4, 2011

After reading the text, I suppose the point of the sermon is obvious.
Jesus said, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign;”

No doubt that has to be one of
The most overlooked quotes Jesus ever gave.

For in today’s society, seeking signs
Has become one of the most staple aspects of religion.

Many, in fact, feel as though God owes them a sign.
Others are simply willing to claim any and everything as a sign.

But it is not foreign to understand the concept of seeking a sign from God

Now we know that God has given signs at times throughout history.

To Noah:
Genesis 9:13 “I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.”

To Moses:
Exodus 3:12 “And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

God actually told Ahaz to ask for a sign:
Isaiah 7:11 “Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”

And of course Jesus did in fact work signs.
Each of His miracles was a sign of who He was.

John 12:17-18 “So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him. For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign.”

And because of such occurrances, and many others like them,
Many have concluded that seeking for a sign is the way to go.

The poster child for such thinking would of course be Gideon
And his infamous “lay out the fleece”

People have been laying out fleeces ever since.
What is commonly overlooked about that story is that God did indeed allow Gideon to lay out the fleece, but God refused to let Gideon walk only by sight.

God then required him to whittle his army down to 300 men
And attack with a trumpet and clay pot.
But none the less it is a fad among men to ask for a sign from God.

The problem is that Jesus clearly condemned such practice
In our text here this morning.

Jesus never promoted a mystical faith.
Jesus never promoted an experiential faith.

Jesus always promoted a faith built solely upon the conviction
That God will do what He said.

The reason of course is because the one who believes what God says
Is a man who trusts the very nature and ability of God.

The one who only believes after God proves it with a sign
Is a skeptic who is uncertain whether God will or God can.

That is not the type of faith God is looking for.
And Jesus proves that to us here.

You are familiar with where we are in Matthew’s gospel.

Matthew is revealing the opposition that Jesus faced.

Jesus has gone out in search of the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As He has found them He has given a simple command.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
It was His command to lost and weary sheep.

But instead of running to Him to be taken back to the fold,
The sheep ignored His call.

But not only have they ignored Him.
They have spied on Him
They have accused Him
They have plotted against Him
They have blasphemed Him

Most recently we saw an incident after Jesus cast a demon out of a man.
The removal of this demon left this man able to see and speak.

The result was that the Pharisees knew who Jesus was,
But chose to ignore the testimony of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus revealed their blasphemy and pointed out that their wicked words
Would stand to condemn them in the judgment.

This morning we continue on in that same dialogue.
This morning the Pharisees bring about their counter argument.

4 things I want you to see
#1 THE DIVERSION
Matthew 12:38

And what a sly tactic this is.

Jesus has just told them that their refusal to believe
Will certainly lead to their judgment.

But the Pharisees contend with His point.
They say there is a different reason why they don’t come to Jesus.

They say they don’t come to Jesus
Because He has failed to prove Himself.

“Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
“We aren’t opposed to following You if You can prove You are really the Messiah. We simply need to see some credentials. We need to see a sign.”

I often wonder if the formerly demon possessed man
Stood in the background and raised His hand.

Jesus has worked no shortage of miracles
(recently a withered hand restored, and demon cast out)
But still they ask for more.

What they are doing is seeking to justify their unbelief
By blaming it on Jesus’ lack of proof.

If you would only give us more proof we would believe.
If you would only show us a verifiable sign we would follow You.

Sounds an awful lot like Satan doesn’t it?
Matthew 4:3 “And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

Matthew 4:5-6 “Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU’;
and ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'”

It was the same sort of doubting and daring going on here.

They had no more intention of following Jesus than Satan did,
The were just creating a diversion by which they could get off the hook.

They were trying to get the focus off of their own wicked hearts
And onto Jesus supposed lack of ability.
So they ask for a sign.

Let’s see if their tactic works.
#2 THE DETECTION
Matthew 12:39a

If the aim was to get the focus off of their own wicked hearts
I’d say their plan failed miserably.

For instead of deflecting the focus from themselves,
All they actually accomplished was to dig their hole ever deeper.

“But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign;”

In other words, your quest for a sign
Does not prove you to be studious or even thorough.

Your quest for a sign only proves that you are “evil and adulterous”

Since you ask for proof, it proves you hate truth and are unfaithful.

WHY IS JESUS SO HARSH ON THEM FOR THIS?

WHAT IS SO WRONG WITH ASKING FOR A SIGN?

Asking for a sign indicates a lack of faith.

Faith is all about what is not seen.

Hebrews 11:1-2 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.”

Hebrews 11:7 “By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”

Hebrews 11:13 “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.”

Hebrews 11:39-40 “And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.”

The faith God wants is a faith that operates apart from sight.

We have talked quite a bit lately about rest
And how the children of Israel failed to achieve it.

Do you remember why?
Hebrews 3:7-11 “Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS, WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED Me BY TESTING Me, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS. “THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION, AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS’; AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, ‘THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.'”

Hebrews 4:1-2 “Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.”

They failed to achieve God’s rest
Because they would not believe what God said.

They heard the truth, but that wasn’t enough, they wanted to see a sign.
That was to test God…
That was to call God a liar…
That was to find God unreliable…

Their craving for a sign only indicated
That they did not trust God as they claimed.
And this meant they were “evil and adulterous”

Tony Evans was quoted, “Faith is believing God is telling the truth.”

The Pharisees didn’t.
And they proved it because they asked for proof.

So the Pharisees plan of diversion didn’t work.
They tried to push the focus on Jesus, and Jesus told them
They are only digging a deeper hole for themselves.

The Diversion, The Detection
#3 THE DISAPPOINTMENT
Matthew 12:39b-40

We already know that asking for a sign is a bad idea.
It reveals an evil heart.

Here we find out that asking for a sign is a bad idea
Because Jesus won’t grant it anyway.

“and yet no sign will be given to it…”

Jesus says, “I am not in the business of pulling rabbits out of hats just to entertain the stubborn-hearted.”

I’m not giving you a sign.

Except for one.
“no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

The only sign you will get is the sign of the resurrection.

No miracle Jesus worked proved Him to be the Messiah
More than His resurrection from the grave.

Romans 1:4 “who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,”

The resurrection proved Him to be the Son of God.

It also proved Him to be the Messiah by reason of fulfilled prophecy.

Psalms 16:10 “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.”

Which was of course the Scripture Peter quoted at Pentecost.

Furthermore the resurrection
Proved Christ was successful as the atoning sacrifice for salvation.

Romans 4:25 “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”

He wasn’t raised to justify us, His death did that.
He was raised so we would know His death was sufficient.

No event proved to be a more emphatic sign than the resurrection.
And Jesus says that is the only sign they will get.

But let me tell you two problems with that being the only sign.

1) It is a sign that occurs after they crucify Him.
They will have already fully rejected Him before the sign ever occurs.
They will have killed the Messiah before the greatest sign.

2) It won’t be enough for a true skeptic.

Remember the rich man in hades who wants Abraham to send someone from the dead to warn his family about the horror of hell?

What did Abraham tell him?
Luke 16:30-31 “But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ “But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'”

And wasn’t this true of the Pharisees?
Matthew 28:11-15 “Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ “And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.” And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.”
Even the resurrection wouldn’t work to prove who Jesus was to them.

And from that we learn another great lesson about signs.

SIGNS ARE NOT GOD’S MEANS OF PROVING HIMSELF
OR OF LEADING MEN TO SALVATION.

Think about some of the greatest sign workers in Scripture.
Jesus – Moses – Elijah & Elisha

Nobody worked more than those guys.
Now let me ask you how successful they were in getting converts?
People easily and instantly disregarded them.

John MacArthur wrote:
“In spite of all Jesus’ miracles – raising the dead, healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, and his authority over demons – Israel rejected him and crucified him. And at the time of his death, it appears he had only about 120 dedicated followers (Acts 1:15).
The gospels contain numerous examples of people who witnessed Jesus’ signs and wonders, yet remained in unbelief. He rebuked the cities where he performed most of his miracles, Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, because they did not repent (Matthew 11:20-24). John 2:23 tells us that “many believed in His name, beholding His signs which He was doing,” yet Jesus did not consider them true believers (2:24). John 6:2 records that a great multitude was following him “because they were seeing the signs which He was performing on those who were sick.” John 6:66 tells that many of this same crowd “withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore” after hearing teaching from him they could not accept. In John 11, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, a tremendous miracle even his enemies could not deny (11:47). But far from believing in Jesus, they began to plot His death (11:53). John 12:37 sums it all up: “Though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him.”
Nor were things any different in the early church. In the third chapter of Acts Peter and John healed a man who had been lame from birth. Again, the Jewish religious leaders did not deny that a miracle had occurred (Acts 4:16). But their response was far from saving faith: they ordered the apostles to stop speaking in the name of Jesus (4:18).
Examine the record of Old Testament signs and wonders. They did not produce saving faith, either. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened despite the powerful signs and wonders God did through Moses. And the entire generation of Israelites, who also witnessed those miracles and many others, died in the wilderness because of their unbelief.
Despite al the miracles performed by the prophets, both Israel and Judah failed to repent and were ultimately carried away into captivity.”
(MacArthur, John F Jr.; [Charismatic Chaos, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1992] pg. 134-135)

The point is that signs never led people to faith in Christ.
All the request for a sign did was prove the “evil and adulterous heart”
Of the person who sought it.

And for that reason Jesus refused to grant it.

The Diversion, The Detection, The Disappointment
#4 THE DECLARATION
Matthew 12:41-42

We have already heard Jesus use Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom
As proofs of a great judgment for Israel.

Now Jesus throws in Nineveh and the Queen of the South.

(41-42) “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. “The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”

What is it that makes those illustrations so relevant to His present argument?

Consider the accusation of the Pharisees.

When asked for a sign, they in essence said, “Our failure to follow is not based upon our bad heart, but upon Your failure to provide enough proof.”

In short, our unbelief is not our fault, it is Your fault.

Jesus proves that is not the case.
And He uses two illustration.

“Nineveh” and “the Queen of the South.”

Both of them had one thing in common.
They only heard the truth, and yet that was enough.

“The men of Nineveh…repented at the preaching of Jonah”
“The Queen of the South…came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon.”

DO YOU REMEMBER THE PREACHING OF JONAH?

Jonah 3:4 “Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”
• He didn’t tell they why it would be destroyed.
• He didn’t even tell them to repent.
• He certainly did not prove his claims with a sign or wonder.

They simply heard that destruction was coming in 40 days
And they repented.

Consider the Queen of the South.
WHY DID SHE COME?

1 Kings 10:6-7 “Then she said to the king, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. “Nevertheless I did not believe the reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard.”

She said she didn’t believe, but notice she came.
And all she had was a second or third hand testimony.
And the testimony didn’t even do justice to the truth, but she came.

See the Pharisees said they couldn’t believe
Because Jesus hadn’t been convincing enough.

And yet people throughout history traveled great distances to find the truth, and believed hearing a whole lot less.

AND THIS IS GOD’S INTENT
Seek truth and believe it when you hear it.

Acts 17:24-27 “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;”

God wants men to seek truth and believe truth.
Those who crave signs indicate “an evil and adulterous” heart.

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

God simply wants you to believe what He says.

And this is why it has never been His miracles that lead men to salvation.

WHAT DOES LEAD MEN TO SALVATION?
His Word.

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

This may surprise you
But God really only has one sign for believers today.

He did work many signs in the Old Testament,
And certainly Jesus and even His apostles worked signs.

But once the New Testament was completed the signs stopped,
And the New Testament doesn’t tell you to go looking for signs.

In fact there is only one sign the New Testament says is for believers.

1 Corinthians 14:22 “So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers but to those who believe.”

Tongues is a sign for the lost.
It is actually the ultimate condemnation.
God takes a people who won’t listen to the truth so He gives it to them in a language they can’t understand.

“but prophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers but to those who believe.”

And of course by “prophecy” we don’t mean the ability to proclaim the future, but rather the proclamation of the word of God.

In short, if you want a sign from God, there is only one.
The proclaimed word of God.

If you will believe what God says in His word, you will be saved.
If you won’t believe what He says in His word,
You wouldn’t believe even if someone rose from the dead.

• God’s word indicates that Jesus Christ is God made flesh.
• He came to this earth and lived a sinless life.
• He then died upon a cross to atone for those who believe in Him.
• He rose from the dead, proving His sacrifice effective.
• He then ascended to heaven to intercede for the saints.
• He will come again to judge the world.

That is what Scripture says,
And you and I must believe God is telling the truth.
Because if you are waiting for a sign it isn’t coming.

In fact there is only one more yet to come.
Matthew 24:30-31 “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. “And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”
The only other sign coming is the “the sign of the Son of Man”
And at that point it will be too late.

The point is trust in Jesus because Scripture says to.
Repent of your sin because God demands it.
But don’t sit around waiting for more proof.

God is telling the truth when He tells you that Christ alone is the Savior.

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

This morning we are going to partake of the Lord’s Supper.

We are going to remember the atoning sacrifice of our Savior.

As always we will first have a time or preparation.
It is a time for self-examination.

And then we will partake of the table of the Lord.