Deuteronomy 32:1-18; John 14:1-6
 
The past few Sundays, we heard some astonishing claims of who Jesus Christ claims to be.  Instead of allowing our culture, our circumstances, or our feeble minds to define Jesus Christ, the purpose of our summer sermon series is to allow the Scriptures, God’s authoritative Word, to give its true witness of who Jesus Christ truly is.  In this time and age, I think it is extremely important to know the Jesus of the Bible; the true Jesus, who is revealed to us in Scriptures. 
 
Seven times in the gospel of John, Jesus introduced Himself in a certain way that revealed part of His identity and His mission.  Scholars call those declarations the “Seven I am Statements.”  Those statements have some great implications not only on our understanding of the God we follow, but also on who we are.  So far, we have covered 5 claims.  Jesus claimed, “I am the Bread of Life; I am the Light of the World; I am the Gate for the Sheep; I am the Good Shepherd; and I am the Resurrection and the Life.”  Today we will be looking at the Sixth Statement.
 
The Exclusivity of Jesus’ Path
Today’s Statement is even more profound and controversial.  In His response to a question from Thomas, one of the disciples, Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”  This is probably the most exclusive statement ever made by anyone.  In our pluralistic society and relativistic age, it sounds so intolerant, arrogant, narrow-minded and is very offensive to so many people.  If only Jesus had said, “I am one way, one truth, or a way of life” then people could accept it.  But Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” 
 
You may be surprised to know that there are many other Scriptures in the New Testament that echo this exclusivity of Jesus as the only Way to God.  Let me give you a few examples.  In Matthew 11:27 we read, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”  Also, in Acts 4, Peter and John stood and witnessed before the Council in Jerusalem and in Acts 4:12 we read, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mortals by which we must be saved.”  The gospel writers and early Church never compromised this message.  Earlier in the gospel of John in John 10:9 Jesus spoke of Himself as “the Gate” through which His sheep enter into salvation.  I am sure they faced the same challenges we face today. Let’s now look at this Sixth Statement found in John 14:6. 
 
First: I am the Way
Jesus had just told the disciples that His journey on earth is coming ending soon.  He was going to leave them to go back to the Father’s glory.  Their hearts were so troubled as they heard this.  Jesus told them He is going ahead of them to prepare them a place.  When the place is ready, He will come again to take them.  Then Jesus states, “And you know the way to the place where I am going.”  At this point, Thomas asked, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
 
 
You probably heard the joke: Why do so few people get to heaven?”  The answer is, “They never stop to ask for directions.”  And that is very true.  But I am glad that Thomas did ask for directions here.  And I am more glad that Jesus told him the way.  Jesus says there is only one way to heaven.  There is only one way to the Father’s presence.  There is only one way to the Father’s house.  In Proverbs 14:12 King Solomon said, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”
 
Second: The Truth
Jesus was not only saying, “I am the Way” but He added, “I am the Truth.”  What is truth?  In John’s gospel the noun “truth” (alētheia) appears 25 times.  In John’s gospel, alētheia, “truth,” carries the idea of “authenticity, divine reality, revelation.”  The dictionary says truth is, “a certainty concerning any matter; a verified fact or statement; that which is real, steadfast and faithful.  It is the opposite of lies, falsehood or deceit.” 
 
A survey has been taken recently that asked, “Do you strongly agree, agree somewhat, or strongly disagree, with the following statement: There is no such thing as absolute truth.”  The result was only 23% of the participants strongly agreed in “absolute truth.”  Today people want to believe in what they call, relative truth.  What that means is that truth is relative to each individual.  It means that what is true to one person doesn’t have to be true to someone else.  Although I believe all religions contain some truth, Christ is the absolute truth.  Friends, the devil doesn’t mind a little truth.
 
Third: The Life
Finally, Jesus declares that He is the Life.  Again, John’s gospel overflows with this theme.  Jesus brings eternal life.  In fact, He is the very source of life – both physical life as Creator, and eternal life as our Savior.  In John 1:3-4 we read, “Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.  In Him was life, and that life was the light of all people.”
 
Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471), a German priest who wrote The Imitation of Christ, put it well.  He said, “Without the Way there is no going; without the Truth there is no knowing; without the Life there is no living.  I am the way which you must follow; the truth which you must believe; the life for which you must hope.  I am the inviolable way, the infallible truth, the never-ending life.  I am the straightest way; the sovereign truth; life true, life blessed, life uncreated.  If you abide in my way you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free, and you shall attain life everlasting.”  What a powerful insight!
 
Friends, today’s statement is a tough one!  Yet, personally, it brings so much joy and comfort to my heart to know that my Lord and Savior is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  It is not the purpose of my sermon this morning to send anyone to hell.  It is not my purpose today to demonize or condemn anyone.  That’s not our job.  The British theologian C.S. Lewis spent his life trying carefully to define and advocate for orthodox theology.  An important text for Lewis was that obscure moment at the end of John’s gospel in chapter 21:22 when Peter asks Christ, “What about this other disciple (John), what is his ultimate fate?”  Christ responds, “What has that to do with you?  Follow me!”  Rather than preaching John 14:6 to determine who is on the right way and who got the truth, we’ve got our hands full just trying to follow Jesus down His narrow way.  In other words, our job is to follow the way of Jesus, embrace the truth of the Scripture, and allow His life to transform our lives without condemning, demonizing, or sending anyone to hell.  In the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen!

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood                          
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday, August 25, 2019)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor 

Ezekiel 37:1-14; John 11:28-44
 
In John 11:25, Jesus made His 5th “I am” statement: “Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?”  She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”
 
Last week we had the chance to look at the setting of this 5th “I am” statement.  It is the death of a dear friend of Jesus, Lazarus of Bethany.  I like how Lazarus’ two sisters, Mary and Martha, sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”  So Jesus stayed two days longer in the place where He was.  When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
 
The Shocking Reality and the Good News
As we looked together at this statement last Sunday, I highlighted what I called “The shocking reality”, yet, there is some good news involved in our story as well.  The shocking reality is that we are all dying.  Every man, every woman, every child is dying. Whatever differences may exist among us, this one thing we share in common with one another: we are all dying.  I know this truth is depressing, but the fact remains.  At some point or another, we will have to face that enemy, that giant, we call death.  Yet, as I pointed out last week, if this is the reality, here is the good news: Jesus is the resurrection and the life.  I would like us this morning to capture some important scenes of this powerful sign.
 
Jesus Arouses Martha’s Faith
The first scene is Christ’s encounter with Martha.  Jesus says to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”  Jesus calls forth faith from Martha.  Not that she didn’t have it already.  I believe she did.  She tells Jesus, “I know that my brother will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”  And that’s true.  That is Martha’s faith in what God had promised, even in the Old Testament: the resurrection of the dead on the last day.  But Jesus wanted Martha to see what’s standing right in front of her eyes: The Lord of Life is right there.
 
In His conversation with Martha, Jesus wanted to divert Martha's focus from an abstract belief in what takes place on the last day, to a personalized belief in Him.  The focus of our faith must not be in a principle or object, but in a person.  There is and will be a resurrection because there is and always will be a person named Jesus Christ who Himself has conquered death and is Himself life and resurrection!
 
Jesus challenged Martha, Mary, the disciples, and all the people who were there that day – and us, we who are here on this day – to take our faith to the next level. Because Jesus is the resurrection and the life, we need to put our faith in Him, believe in Him, trust in Him, for He is the one – the only one – who can and will raise you up on the last day and give you life now in these days and for all the days to come, even life everlasting.  John writes in John 10:10 “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” 
 
Jesus Raises the Dead: “Lazarus, Come Out”
The second scene I would like us to capture today is for Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus.  So now Lazarus is dead.  Jesus goes to Bethany.  Four days Lazarus has been dead now.  No question about it.  No one can dispute that he was really dead. He was not just unconscious or something.  The body is already starting to decay.  Martha tried to convince Jesus not to go.  She thought the odor from a dead body would be too bad.  “What if Jesus failed to get Lazarus back to life?” Mary and Martha would’ve asked.  “How are we going to face the mockery of the people in Bethany if it doesn’t happen?”
 
 Jesus insists and He goes to the tomb.  There’s a large stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone.”  Then Jesus calls in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”  Jesus’ word does what it says, and so Lazarus does come out, looking a little like the Mummy, I suppose.  But this man is alive, his flesh is restored.  Take off the grave clothes!  Life comes walking out of that tomb.  Life called forth by Jesus, the Son of God.  This reminds us of the scene we see in Ezekiel 37.
 
“Lazarus, come out!”  You know, Jesus is going to say that again someday–only this time, with your name on it!  And the name of your loved one who has died in the Lord.  All those who die in the Lord, who die in faith–Christ will raise their bodies from the dead at the last day.  Christ will raise your dead body when he comes again.  Take comfort in that!  Rejoice in that!  Death is not the end.  These mortal bodies that we lay in the ground will be raised immortal, glorified, no longer subject to death, whole and restored, in an even better state than they ever were before.  The raising of Lazarus signals this. It is a sign of the resurrection to come.
 
Opposition is Roused
There is one last scene that I would like to bring to your attention before we wrap up our study of this story.  It is the increased opposition and plot against Jesus.  New life comes at a cost.
 
Toward the end of this story, we see the rising tide of opposition to Jesus.  His enemies are being roused to action.  This miraculous sign, done right outside Jerusalem, is the last straw.  Jesus is a threat to their system, to the religious industry they had built up for themselves.  He’s a threat to their power.  They’ll have nothing more of it.  The chief priests and the Pharisees call a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we doing?  Here is this guy, doing all these things. We can’t let him go on like this. We’ve got to stop him.  Too many people are going his way. He’s stirring up too much trouble. The Romans may come in and shut us all down. We don’t want to risk losing our power and position.”  So, under Caiaphas, a plan to get rid of Jesus is being made.
 
Did Jesus know what was going to happen?  Did He know that raising Lazarus would stir up such opposition?  Of course, He did. The last time He was in Jerusalem, they tried to stone Him. When Jesus got the news about Lazarus and said He was going to go there, His disciples objected, “But Rabbi, a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?”  Yes, Jesus would go there, knowing what lay in store for Him.  Jesus is telling us today that He was willing to die for our salvation.  He willingly, knowingly, would go to Jerusalem – He would go to the cross–for us.  Opposition is expected when new life is lived, yet the power of this new life working in our lives will always bring peace in the midst of a tragedy, strength in the midst of weariness, clarity in the midst of confusion, affirmation in the midst of doubt, and trust in the midst of disbelief.  Remember always, your Lord and Savior is alive.  In the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen!

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood                          
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday, August 18, 2019)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor 

Job 19:25-27; John 11:17-27
 
The famous American evangelist and publisher D. L. Moody (1837-1899), the founder of Moody Bible Institute, was called on as a young preacher, as the story was told, to preside at a funeral.  Moody decided to search the four gospels in order to find one of Jesus’ funeral sermons.  He found out that Jesus never spoke at a funeral.  In fact, Jesus broke up every funeral He ever attended.  Wherever Jesus went, He pushed back death.  When the dead heard His voice, they sprang to life.  Jesus didn’t do funerals.  He is the Resurrection and the Life.  This is why we don’t believe in the finality of death.  Jesus is life and new life is His gift.  The resurrection from the death is at the very center of Christian faith, and that is why you and I get comforted when death takes away someone who is dear to our hearts, a spouse, a son, a daughter, a mom, a dad, or a friend.
 
This morning we continue our summer series on the seven “I am” statements of Jesus recorded to us in the gospel of John.  The fifth statement is found in John 11:25, “Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?”  She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”
 
The setting or the context of this fifth statement is the death of Lazarus.  Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha, were friends of Jesus.  Jesus had a very close connection with this family.  He often visited with them, found peace, rest, and comfort at their house in Bethany, just a couple miles outside of Jerusalem.  One day Lazarus got sick.  The sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”  But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” So Jesus stayed two days longer in the place where he was.  When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
 
Jesus: The Giver of Life
All through his gospel, John presents Jesus as the GIVER OF LIFE.  In the prologue of John’s gospel, in John 1:4, he wrote, “In Him was life; and the life was the light of all people.”  That’s actually both physical and spiritual life.  Jesus is both our creator and our savior.
 
If you look at the gospel of John, you will see Jesus as the giver of life.  This is the life Jesus offers to Nicodemus, the religious leader who seemed to have it all (3:16).  This is the life He offered to the Samaritan woman at the well, whose life was so empty (4:13,14).  This is the life He offered to multitude after He fed them with bread (6:35).  This is the life He offered to the worshippers in Jerusalem at the Feast of Booths (7:37,38).  This is the life He offered to a man born blind and those who were like him spiritually (8:12).  This is the life He offered to His flock (10:10).  Now Jesus offers this life to a man who is in the ultimate state of death, Jesus presents Himself as life in its ultimate expression – resurrection life.  Yes, resurrection and life are possible in Jesus!
 
In the events of John 11, Martha and Mary came to believe in Jesus in a much deeper way.  The Lord took their faith to the next level.  I believe the gospel story and this Fifth “I am” statement invite us to join them in this faith journey.  What might it mean for us to believe Jesus as He says to us today, “I am the resurrection and the life”?  Please allow me to underscore a few observations, but for the sake of time I will highlight just one today and say more on the same topic next Sunday, Lord willing.
 
The Shocking Reality and the Good News
Today, I have a shocking reality to share with you but I also have some good news to share.  The shocking reality is that every single person in this room is dying.  Every man, every woman, every child is dying. Whatever differences may exist among us, this one thing we share in common with one another: we are all dying.
 
Yes, I know it sounds a bit grim and depressing. But the fact remains, we ARE all dying. In time, sooner or later, assuming Jesus doesn't first return, we will all be dead.  I am sure that many of us have recently buried a loved one.  In our story today, we see two sisters grieving over the death of their brother. Their names were
 
The encounter between Jesus and Martha is stunning. Listen to it one more time.  “So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.’”
 
If this is the reality, here is the good news: Jesus is the resurrection and life.  Note that Jesus didn’t say, “THERE IS a resurrection and THERE IS life.” He said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” In John 11:23-24, Jesus said to Martha, “Your brother will rise again.'  Martha said to him, 'I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.'"  At one level Jesus’ words "Your brother will rise again" could be taken as no more than a devout doctrinal declaration designed simply to comfort Martha in her grief.  He points her attention to the final day of resurrection at the end of the age. Death will not have the last word, “your brother SHALL rise again.”  That is how Martha understood Jesus' words.  She believed, as did all devout Jews of the day, that a resurrection would occur at the end of the age.  But note what Jesus says. “No Martha, resurrection isn't just something ‘out there.’”  It is right here!  I'm it. Martha, I AM the resurrection and the life.”
 
Jesus then said to her, “those who believe in me, even though they die, will live” (v. 25). He doesn't say, “whoever believes in the resurrection of the body,” but “whoever believes in ME!”  Jesus' concern is to divert Martha's focus from an abstract belief in what takes place on the last day, to a personalized belief in Him who alone can provide it.
 
The focus of our faith must not be in a principle or object, but in a person. There is and will be a resurrection because there is and always will be a person named Jesus who himself has conquered death and is himself life and resurrection!
 
The final point I want to bring to your attention this morning is how Jesus puts Martha on the spot. He asks, "Do you believe this?" (v. 26).  “You, Martha, not others.  You.  Do YOU believe this?”  He doesn't say, “Martha, what does your sister Mary think about all this?”  Jesus is asking Martha personally. Jesus is asking you and me personally. "Do YOU believe this?”  Note her answer in v. 27 – “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”  She declares her personal, confident, believing trust in Jesus as the Son of God, Messiah, apart from whom death will win, apart from whom there is no hope or life!  “Do YOU believe this?”  I hope and pray you do today.  Amen.

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood                          
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday, August 11, 2019)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor 

Psalm 23; John 10:11-21
 
A census-taker once asked a Mom how many children she had.  The mother replied, “Well, there’s Billy and Harry and Martha and…”.  “Never mind the names,” the census-taker interrupted, “Just give me the numbers, please.”  The mother angrily replied, “They don’t have numbers, they all have names!”  While this might be a funny story, in our modern world this is so true.  We are often reduced to numbers and statistics.  In this day and age, we are no longer identities, only our “number” is.  No wonder many people today have an “identity crisis.”  Thankfully, the Lord Jesus Christ is not like this.  He knows each and every one of us by our names, just like a shepherd knows each and every one of the sheep in his flock.  After all, Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
 
We Are Helpless on our Own
“I am the good shepherd,” Jesus said twice in John chapter 10:11 and John 10:14.  Of all the “I am” Statements, this one is probably the most popular “I am” and most loved for two basic reasons.  First, each of us instinctively knows how desperately we need a shepherd.  Deep down inside we know that we need guidance and leadership.  Deep down inside we know that we need shepherding to make our way down the roads of life.  I mean, think about it.  How many times in the past week you have asked someone for their opinion on a decision that you needed to make?  I am sure numerous times.  We all ask for help and guidance. 
 
It’s a commonly held belief that sheep tend to wander off easily, perhaps because they can’t see very far ~ less than 15 yards.  They are near-sighted.  And, no matter how many times you bring wayward sheep back, they are prone to wander off again.  Moreover, sheep are defenseless and dependent.  They don’t have much of a bite… no natural defense—no claws, no horns, no fangs.  They have no camouflage, so when they are being chased by a wolf they are out of luck.  They are vulnerable to all kinds of diseases.  To make matters worse, sheep are easily frightened and confused.  It doesn’t take much to scramble the simple mental yolk of a nervous sheep.  They’ve even been known to plunge straight over the edge of a high cliff in a panic, one following right after another.  They definitely need guidance!  So, we are drawn to this fourth “I am” statement because we know we need a shepherd.
 
No One is more Qualified than Jesus for this Task
Not only do we need a shepherd, but second, Jesus is the only One who is qualified for this task.  “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep,” Jesus says in John 10:11.  I want you to know this morning that God doesn’t compare us to sheep so often in His Word to put us down.  The Israelites knew what sheep were capable of and so they didn’t take offense at being called sheep.  We are likened to sheep so that we understand (1) We need constant care and guidance.  Look at what Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.”  Mark 9:36 says, “When Jesus saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.”  Scriptures like these should remind us that we have an inborn need for a Shepherd and second, Jesus is the only One who is qualified for this task.  
 
The Good Shepherd: Comfort and Challenge
No doubt that the fourth “I am” Statement brings to us so much comfort and encouragement, and at the same time puts before us a huge challenge.  The comfort and encouragement, as you can tell, in knowing that we have the best Shepherd ever.  In Psalm 23 we see the Shepherd as our friend, our leader, our sufficiency, our comforter, our assurance, and our eternity.  He is the only one who could say in Hebrews 13:5, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”  Best friends might leave us.  Parents might abandon their children.  People may fail us.  But Jesus will never disown His followers.  John chapter 10 puts right before our own eyes the comfort and the challenge.
 
Listening to and Following the Good Shepherd
Again, the comfort and encouragement come from the fact that we have the best Shepherd ever.  John 10:14 Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”  The challenge is found in John 10:27, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”  The challenge for us today is to listen to the Shepherd’s voice and follow His directions.  This is the Christian faith in a nutshell.  The is the ABC’s of the Christian faith.  We are to listen and follow.
 
Let me give you an illustration from the Middle East today.  It is fascinating having seen it myself when we lived in Egypt.  This is the same exact thing that Jesus is talking about in Palestine two thousand years ago.  So, let us envision a group of shepherds tending their flock.  Although several flocks might gather at a sheep pen or at the same watering hole, shepherds don’t try to keep them apart, because when a shepherd is ready to leave, he or she gives off a distinctive call or whistle or song and the flock gathers to that shepherd.  It is amazing.  They know whom they belong to; they know their shepherd's voice, and it is the only one they will follow.  When we lived in Egypt, I tried once to imitate a shepherd.  I dressed like a shepherd, sang the same song, and called the flock to follow me.  I got their attention for a second but not even a single one followed me.  It would seem that sheep aren’t all that dumb after all; they know whom they can trust and whom not to trust, and they respond only to that one voice.  If we are Christians, we are to listen and follow the voice of the shepherd.
 
Friends, so many voices call out to us every day.  They appeal to our emotions, our needs, our desires, our pride, and our fears.  They prey upon our sense of rootlessness, that nomadic spirit that has infected our age.  And into this spiral of confusion, we hear Jesus saying to us: “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.”
 
We should always be expecting to hear from God, because God always has something to say.  Remember God is the Word in John 1:1. God the Word, is always and ever speaking and so we need to pay attention – to be in right place, at the right time, with the right attitude; we need to shut out distractions.  We need to reduce the clutter and the noise; to have a clear focus in a very distracted culture.
 
In the Reformed (Presbyterian) tradition, we are taught to listen both individually and collectively.  Left to our own devices, without the wisdom of the community, individuals can sometimes imagine that God is saying all manner of things, but all individual understandings are to be checked out within the community of the faith.  It is as members of the Body that we can best clarify all that God has to say to us and for us.  Therefore, we need one another in the church, we need one another so that we might all hear, understand, and rejoice in the Master’s voice.  “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.  My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”  In the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen!

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood                          
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday, July 21st & August, 4th, 2019)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor   

1 Timothy 2:1-8
The apostle Paul has a word from God which we all need to hear. The word is found in his first letter to Timothy, chapter 2, verses 1–8:
Therefore, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior who desires all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
The main point Paul wants to make this morning is the command to pray, and he mentions three things about this command to pray that we should listen to very carefully. First, he mentions its importance: "First of all, I urge you to pray!" Second, he mentions the wideness of its scope: "Pray for all men, especially kings and all in high positions." Third, he mentions the content or aim of these prayers: they include thanksgiving and the request that our lives be spent in peace and tranquility to the end that men might be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.
Prayer Is of First Importance
First, let's focus on the importance of the command to pray for others. Why Paul thinks this is of first importance becomes clear when we look at the preceding context. Notice the word "then" or "therefore" in verse 1: "therefore, I urge that you to pray for all men." That word alerts us to the fact that Paul's command to pray for all men is a conclusion that follows from something he had just said. In the preceding verses (1:18–20) Paul charged Timothy to "wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience." And he warns Timothy that, if you reject a good conscience, you may make shipwreck of your faith, like Hymenaeus and Alexander did. A good conscience is a conscience that does not condemn us for the things we do or don't do.
So, Paul's charge to Timothy to hold on to faith by keeping a good conscience is important.
That is what Paul says in verse 1. Since you must keep a good conscience in order not to wreck your faith, therefore I urge you first of all to pray for all men. At the top of Paul's list of things that we must do in order to keep a clear conscience is to pray for other people. In order to see why failing to pray for people will lead to a bad conscience and so jeopardize our faith, we have to ask, "What is it that will prick a Christian's conscience in his relations to other people?" All God's instruction is summed up in this: Love God with your whole being and love your neighbor as yourself. With that as a foundation we can start to see why prayer for other people is at the top of Paul's list of things we must do in order to keep a clear conscience.
What Makes Prayer So Important?
First, prayer taps the power of God on behalf of others. We could try to help others, without praying for them. And, from a very limited perspective, we might do a little good that way. But the little good that we could do on our own is not worthy to be compared with the great good God can do for people that he sets out to work for. If we want the best for people, if we really love them, of first importance will be prayers on their behalf. The first thing you do for a person, if you love them, is to ask God to work for them.
God's influence is everywhere and immediate, so if we lift up prayer to him on behalf of the saints, we can reach around the world in an instant. If a Christian wants to do the most good possible to the most people in the short time he has, he will turn to God first, whose influence reaches to every mind in the universe.
Pray for All Men
The second major focus is the breadth or scope of Paul's command to pray. "Make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions." Have you ever been tempted to pray like this? "God, bless everybody in the best way possible. To you be the glory. Amen." That covers everything, right? A text like this, which commands us to pray for all men, might tempt us to pray in sweeping generalizations like that, since you can't begin to name all men. But God has not taught us to pray like that, and we can be sure Jesus did not spend whole nights praying like that.
It is a great blessing if each day we have our daily bread. It is a blessing if our trespasses are forgiven. It is a blessing if we are not led into temptation but delivered from evil. But Jesus does not teach us to say, "Bless the Lord." He teaches us to say, "Give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil." We have been taught to pray about particular kinds of problems. And when Paul needed help, he asked it for himself in particular.
If we give Paul serious reading, what he seems to be saying is this: "Timothy, push out the boundaries of your concern. Do not let your prayers be limited to any one group of people or kind of people. Enlarge the area of your love. Let your prayers embrace all kinds of people.
Isn't Paul's point the same as Jesus' when He said, You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy!" But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.
There is no category of people that we can say, "You should not pray for them."
Pray for Kings and All in High Positions
After Paul has stressed that we pray for all men, he singles out kings "and all in high positions" to make sure that we include them. Why? I can see at least two reasons.
The first is that these people had characteristics that made it especially difficult for the early Christians (and for us) to pray for them. For example, they were so distant, so remote, if not in actual miles, then at least in accessibility. It is hard to pray earnestly for someone you don't know, and especially hard to pray for somebody you never see. Or to pray for that president or congressperson whose policies you don’t agree with. Yet, this difficulty needs to be overcome, Paul says. You must pray for them: emperors like Nero, governors like Pilate, kings like Herod. Remember these men were really bad men. They may seem remote and inaccessible, but they are not remote and inaccessible to God.
Another characteristic that makes rulers hard to pray for is that they are often godless men, insensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. This was almost universally true in Paul's day. And in most countries around the world today I think it would still be true. It does not matter where or when we have lived, to obey God's command to pray for all in high positions will involve us in praying for many people who are indifferent or hostile to our faith.
But this should not cause us to hesitate one moment to pray for them, first, because God may save them and bring them to a knowledge of the truth, and second, because God uses rulers to accomplish his purposes whether they believe in him or not.
No king, no president, no premier, can stay the hand of the Lord when he has purposed to do a thing. "the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord. Like the rivers of water, He turns it wherever He wishes" (Proverbs 21:1). "Many are the plans of the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established" (Proverbs 19:21).
So then, we have strong encouragement to pray for kings and for all in high positions, whether they are believers or not, because our God reigns, and no one can stop His will from being done.
This is the second reason Paul stressed that we must pray for kings and all in high positions, because through them God is able to do so much good for others, whether the kings know it or not. Paul's thought is this, "If you want your prayers to do the most good for the greatest number of people, be sure to include in your prayers those persons whose decisions create the conditions in which the purposes of the gospel prosper." It is important to pray for leaders because the conditions they create either advance or impede the gospel.
Pray with Thanksgiving for the Spread of the Gospel
We can confirm that this is the way Paul is thinking when look at up our third point, the content of our prayers for kings and all in high positions. According to verse 1 our prayers must include thanksgivings. When Paul wrote this, he was probably under house arrest in Rome, awaiting trial before Nero who eventually executed him. Therefore, Paul is not naïve when he says, "I urge that . . . thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all in high positions." He sees things in much greater perspective than merely in relation to his own life or even his own ministry. The same emperor who executes Paul maintains the peace in the provinces where the gospel is spreading like wildfire. So, our prayers for kings should be seasoned with thanks.
But the main thing Paul mentions as the content of our prayer for kings and those in high positions is "that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and respectfulness" (verse 2). Taken by itself, that request might seem to fly right in the face of everything we've said so far. Is it true in the final analysis that all we are really after in praying for our leaders is peace and tranquility? That would be a misunderstanding of God's Word. Verses 3 and 4 sharpen the focus of what Paul is really after. Why pray that rulers will keep the peace? Because "this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior who desires all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." God approves of our prayers for peace and tranquility because he approves of the advance of the gospel. Peace is not the main thing; salvation is the main thing. Tranquility is not the goal; the knowledge of the truth of God, that's the goal.
We pray for advancement of the saving purposes of God in every land. And to that end we can say, "Almighty God, ruler of heaven and earth, grant to the president, congress, the senate, and the thousands of other people in high positions that the decisions they make will create the conditions in which the good news of Jesus Christ will bear the most fruit for the salvation of men and for your great glory. Amen."

First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood                          
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday, July 28 2019)
Russell Long, Elder