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First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (3rd Sunday in Advent, December 15, 2019) Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor Habakkuk 3:16-19; Philippians 4:4-9 It is reasonably easy to rejoice, to have joy, when things are going well in our lives. When work is going well and we are relaxed; there is money in the bank to cover the bills, and everyone is healthy, it’s relatively easy to rejoice. But many of us know how hard it is to be joyful when it seems that life is falling apart, when you have questions for God and you haven’t received a good answer. A little boy once asked his father, “Dad, how many people in the world?” Dad said, “I don’t know, son.” The boy asked his Dad again, “How many stars in the sky, Dad?” “I don’t know, son.” Dad responded. The boy continued, “How many fish in the sea?” “Don’t know, son.” “Dad, you don’t mind me asking you all these questions, do you?” “No, son. How are you going to learn if you don’t ask questions?” That is probably how a lot of us feel today: we ask question after question of God, and it seems that we just get a shrug of the shoulders from heaven. How can you have joy when you got questions of God, and the questions just aren’t getting answered? Today is the Third Sunday of Advent. JOY is the central theme of this Sunday. It’s the joy of the Lord’s coming. I met with an old friend this week who has been going through a tough time latterly and as he was getting ready to leave, I asked him: how can I pray for you today? He answered, “Pray that I may find and have some happiness. Life has been tough.” I said to him, “I will not pray for happiness, rather, I will pray for the joy of the Lord to be your strength.” Friends, our circumstances may or may not change, but what really needs to change is our attitude. That’s to find joy no matter what is happening in our lives. And yes, we can have joy regardless of our circumstances. For my meditation this morning on this Third Sunday in Advent, I chose a couple Scripture lessons, Habakkuk 3:16-19 and Philippians 4:4-9. Both Scriptures introduce to us people who have found joy in the face of misery. Let’s look at these two profound examples from God’s word, the Prophet Habakkuk and the Apostle Paul. First: Habakkuk: Joy in the Midst of TroubleHabakkuk is the fifth last book in the Old Testament, just three short chapters. The Book takes a form of a dialogue between the prophet and God. It’s a back-and-forth honest conversation between God and Habakkuk who is struggling with the way things are. Habakkuk is one of the minor Prophets. He prophesied from around 640 BC to 609 BC, just a few years before the Babylonians’ attack on the land of Judah. Habakkuk saw Judah’s rapid moral and spiritual decline, and also saw God’s upcoming judgement for the nation’s sin. Habakkuk saw the destruction, the famine, and the exile coming upon his people as a result of the Babylonian invasion, and he says in Habakkuk 3:16 “I hear, and I tremble within; my lips quiver at the sound. Rottenness enters into my bones, and my steps tremble beneath me.” Yet, in Habakkuk 3:17-19, the prophet makes a choice in the midst of trouble. He chose to trust and find joy in the Lord in the midst of trouble. He says, “Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails, and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.” Habakkuk challenges us to put our faith in God even during the worst of times. When Habakkuk reached the end of his journey, he had moved from a place of doubting God to a place of trusting God no matter what. “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord I will be joyful in God my Savior.” That is an unwavering commitment to God by Habakkuk. And I pray that God will also lead you to a place where you will learn to trust Him no matter what, where you may run along the heights in God’s presence with the feet of a deer. Habakkuk affirmed that even if everything he relied on failed, if everything that gave stability to his life crumbled, still he would trust the Lord. If Habakkuk were speaking today, he would say, “Though the stock market crashes, the company goes bankrupt, the economy heads south, my health falls apart, if everything I rely on falters – still I will trust in the Lord. My confidence in God will not waver.” In the second example we see a song of joy coming from a prison cell. Second: A Song of Joy from a Prison Cell In Philippians 4:4-7 Paul sang a song of joy from his prison cell in Rome. He writes to the Christian in Philippi saying, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” When Paul wrote this, he was in prison for sharing the good news of salvation in Christ alone. Paul commanded the believers in Philippi to rejoice, twice in verse 4 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” Paul is not calling the believers in Philippians to live a state of denial, but to realize the nearness of the Lord. “The Lord is near,” he says. “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Friends, yes – I truly believe we can have joy in the most challenging seasons of life. Luke chapter 2 tells us that the initial and simple message of Christmas, the message the shepherds first received was a message of joy. Luke 2:8-12 states, “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” When Christ is received as Lord and Savior, there will be true joy in our hearts. When we know that the Lord is Sovereign and that He is in control, we can have joy. When we know how much He loves us, we shall have deep joy. When we know how much He has forgiven us, our hearts will be filled with joy. When we encounter His amazing grace, we will have His joy in our hearts. The Prophet Habakkuk had that joy as well as the Apostle Paul and many others though the ages. Yet, I will rejoice in the Lord; I will be joyful in God my Savior. Amen.
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First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (2nd Sunday in Advent, December 8, 2019) Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor Psalm 46; John 16:25-31 Today is the Second Sunday in Advent. Peace ~ God’s Shalom “the peace of God” ~ is celebrated as the theme of this Second Sunday of Advent. Is peace possible? Is it attainable? Before we dig deeper into this topic this morning, let me make one important remark. God never promised that we, as believers, will be exempt from the challenges and problems of life and that everything will always go smoothly. Hardships and difficulties are faced by every single human being. However, God did promise that those who have placed their trust in Jesus can have peace in the midst of those hardships and difficulties. Psalms 29:11 states, “The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.” What is Peace? But what is peace? I believe “peace” is a misunderstood concept in our culture today. As you may know, the Old Testament word translated “Peace” is “Shalom.” Shalom means completeness, wholeness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord. It is the well-being of the total person. The Greek New Testament word for peace is “Eirene”, and it means “to bind together.” When you trust Jesus as your personal Savior, He binds you to Himself for all eternity. It is the faith that as you go through the valley of weeping, you’re not alone because God is with you. Peace is not the absence of trouble. Rather, it is the assurance that God is right there with you in the midst of your troubles. Listen to what David says in Psalm 27:1, “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 91 echoes the same truth. “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” … He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart” Psalm 91:1-2, 4. In other words, don’t wait for all of your problems to be solved and then decide to quit worrying and to have peace. It is actually the opposite. Decide to trust God no matter what is happening around you. Find that place of peace and make up your mind that you’re going to have peace right in the midst of the storm. Two short observations as we look at this topic today: First: Peace Originates in our Relationship with God We need to understand that the peace of God originates in our reconciliation with Him. Our entering into a relationship with Him marks the beginning of our ability to experience His true, heart-changing, supernatural peace. The Prophet Isaiah says these words in Isaiah 48:22, “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” As I mentioned, the Greek word for peace is “Eirene”, and it literally means “to bind together.” When we trust Jesus as our Savior, He binds us to Himself for all eternity. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” asked the Paul in Romans 8:35. “Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Paul’s answer is an affirmation of his faith and peace in all circumstances. In Romans 8:37-39 “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Peace originates in our relationship with God through Christ. Second: God’s Peace Always Transcends our Circumstances Yes, we can have God’s peace while in the middle of a storm. As you might know, in the center of any hurricane, there’s something called the “eye of the storm” where it is very calm and peaceful. All around there is chaos, winds blowing 100 plus miles an hour, debris flying left and right, danger everywhere; but as long as you’re in the eye of the storm, it is as calm and peaceful as can be. I am sure you’ve heard the saying, “Still waters run deep.” It’s a proverb of Latin origin and it has a great meaning. In the ocean, on the surface the water is always changing, depending on the wind, the tide, what time of year, even what time of day. It can be very smooth and calm. Later in the day it can be rough and choppy. When the wind is strong and the tide is just right there can be ten-foot waves where a few days earlier it was just small whitecaps. What’s interesting is if you go down about 30 feet deep, the water never changes. It’s as calm and still as can be. On the surface, water may change a dozen times a day, but 30 feet down, it never changes; always calm. That’s the way we need to be. In life, on the surface, there will be waves, wind, and tough times. That's just life. Circumstances will create waves up on the surface. But deep down in your spirit, you will experience a peace and calmness that surpasses all understanding. Isaiah 30:15 says, “This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” As long as you’re alive there will be something to deal with. But when you learn to go down to the deep waters, you have this calmness, this rest. This is what the apostle Paul did. All kinds of things came against him. He was shipwrecked, went days without food or water. He was beaten with rods, falsely accused, put into prison. Yet he said, “None of these things move me”. Paul wasn't living on the surface. He was stable, consistent, living in the deep waters. Friends, we don’t really know what the future holds, but we do know who holds the future. God has you in the palm of His hand. Nothing can snatch you away, neither the storms of this life nor anyone. My challenge for us today: don’t let the storm get in you. Hold your peace. Remain at rest. Psalm 46 says “Though the earth give way, and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging, we will not fear.” “Be still and know that I am God,” says Psalm 46:10. Friends, living in peace is intentional. It’s a choice because peace has a name. His name is Jesus, the Prince of Peace. In Ephesians 2:14, Paul says “He Himself is our peace.” Amen! First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (1st Sunday in Advent, December 1, 2019) Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor Isaiah 2:1-4; Luke 21:20-28 I believe the Pilgrim’s Progress is one of the best Christian movies ever produced. As you know, the movie is based on a book that has the same name. The book is written in 1678 AD by the English writer and puritan preacher, John Bunyan, and is regarded as one of the most significant works of religious and theological fiction in English literature. It has been translated to more than 200 languages. In one of the events in the Pilgrim’s Progress, we see Christian, who is the main character of the movie, and his friend Hopeful are being thrown into the dungeon of Doubting Castle. For four days they are brutally beaten by the cruel lord of the castle, Giant Despair. On the eve of their execution, Christian remembers a key. In his exhausted weakness he exclaims, “What a fool I am, to lie in a stinking Dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty. I have a key in my pocket called “Promise”, that will, I am persuaded, open any lock in Doubting Castle.” The key works! And the two pilgrims escape the horrors of imprisonment to Doubting Castle and Giant Despair. The “Key of Promise” continues to be effective today in liberating us from all our doubting castles and despair. God’s promises are His means of delivering us from the darkness of our fear, worry, self-hatred, rejection, and a multitude of other struggles that land us in the prison cell of despair and doubt. Today is the First Sunday in Advent and it also marks the beginning of the New Church Year. “Hope” is the central theme of this First Sunday in Advent. It’s the hope of Christ’s coming. The apostle Paul reminds us in Colossians 1:27 that “Christ in us is the hope of glory.” As we lit this morning the First Advent Candle, the Candle of Hope, we are reminded that our hope is found only in the Lord. Hope is not found in our health, wealth, or power. I pray that you will find that hope in God’s promises today and may this hope inspire your faith. The question I am asking today is simple yet challenging. How can we have hope? Where do we find hope? Is it even possible to have hope in spite of the fact that certain times we feel that everything is falling apart? Let me suggest two unshakable foundations for our hope: First: God’s Sovereignty Our hope is rooted in the sovereignty of God. God is sovereign. No matter what happens in our lives, He is sovereign, and He is in control. Sometimes it seems hard to believe so, but yes, God is sovereign, and He is in control. In our worst circumstances, when storms of this life hit our lives, we are not forgotten; we are not beyond the care of our loving God. In Luke 12:6-7 we read those great words of Jesus, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Jesus was referring to the bargains people used to make in ancient Israel marketplaces. You purchase two pairs of sparrows and get the fifth sparrow free. Though this fifth sparrow doesn’t count. It is worthless. It is basically forgotten, but Jesus says, “Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” You may be “hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” as the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9. Our main source of comfort in any trial, major or minor, is that our Father in heaven is sovereign. Second: God’s FaithfulnessBut second, our hope is also rooted in God’s faithfulness. Ever since the heavenly Father created time, everything has been in flux—everything changes, except God Himself. The environment changes with the seasons, and in a similar way, our life also goes through seasons. Some are filled with joy, while others are characterized by difficulty. But the Lord is faithful, and we can always take comfort in knowing this. Faithfulness is one of God’s unchanging attributes. It means that He always does exactly what He says He will do and acts in accordance with His nature. He can never deny Himself, so when He promises to “never leave you never forsake you” Hebrews 13:5, you can count on Him when you sail rough seas. God’s unchanging nature and faithfulness is an important foundation of our hope. Because He won’t change His mind about our salvation, we have the assurance of eternal security. Since He is the sovereign Ruler of the universe, we never have to fear that our world is out of His control. His plans were formed long ago with perfect faithfulness (Isaiah 25:1), and no one can frustrate them or turn back His hand (Isaiah 14:27). Because God is faithful, we can have peace of mind in any circumstance—even in the face of death. I like the words of Psalm 91:4. It says, “His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” We Are A People of PromiseBottom line is: we are a people of promise. In Luke chapter 21, Jesus speaks of some tough days ahead of God’s people. Luke speaks about a time of desolation that has come near, days of vengeance, people who will be taking captives, and getting trampled under the foot. Yet, in Luke 21:28 Jesus said, “Now, when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” So with this promise in mind, we enter this new church year to tell anew of God’s faithfulness. This is the promise that Jesus makes to us, that regardless of what catastrophic events might come upon the world as a result of human sinfulness, God will, in the end, be victorious! He will show up. He will never let’s down. In this First Sunday in Advent we proclaim God’s faithfulness, by both looking back in time, and observing how God has always been faithful to His promises in the past, so that we, living today, might live in the courage and assurance that His promise to us, will be kept as well. Let’s not stay in the “stinking dungeon” of doubt, fear, and despair, for we have a “key in our pocket called Promise.” Friends, lift up your heads, because our redemption is drawing near. Amen. First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday, November 24, 2019) Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor Isaiah 43:1-7; John 6:16-21 A Lutheran, a Methodist, and a Presbyterian Pastor are out in a boat fishing, well off the shoreline. The Lutheran minister says to his fellow fishermen, “I have left my cell phone in the car; I had better get it.” With that he stands up, steps out of the boat, walks on top of the water to the shore, fetches his phone, and walks back to the boat, again on top of the water. There is no reaction from the Methodist, but the Presbyterian Pastor nearly falls out of the boat. They continue to fish and soon the second Pastor, the Methodist, remembers the pills he forgot to take which he left in his coat pocket in the car. So just like the Lutheran before him, he stands up, steps out of the boat on top of the water, walks to the shoreline to his car, retrieves his pills, and returns to the boat, walking on top of the water. And just as before, the Presbyterian Pastor looks on in disbelief, while the Lutheran does not even turn his head. They fish for several more hours until finally the Presbyterian Pastor, who has been desperately thinking of a reason to go to shore, remembers he has left his lunch in the car. So confidently, not willing to be outdone by a Lutheran or a Methodist, he stands, steps out of the boat and onto the water, and quickly sinks to the bottom of the lake. The Lutheran Pastor leans over to the Methodist Pastor and asks, “Do you think we should tell him where the stepping stones are?” Let me say right from the start that John 6:16-21 is a miracle story. It is that plain and that simple. This is not a story about Jesus’ knowing where the rocks are. This is not a story where Jesus actually was swimming and the disciples, who had never seen someone swim before, thought he was walking on water. It wasn’t foggy, causing the disciples’ depth perception to be askew. This is not a post- resurrection story where Jesus was actually an apparition. It is a story about Jesus walking on water. It is a miracle, or as John would call it, “It is a sign.” The Setting of the Fifth Sign The account of Jesus walking on water is one of my favorite Bible stories. I want to tell you the story, even though it may already be familiar to you. It was just after the five thousand had been fed. Jesus sent His disciples away, aboard a ship, to the other side of the lake; the Sea of Galilee. Jesus dismissed the crowd and went up into a mountain to pray. As the disciples were sailing to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, to Capernaum, the sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. Halfway through their struggle against the storm, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But Jesus said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Jesus got into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going. Two lessons as we consider this Fifth Sign this morning; the first has to do with navigating our rough seas, and the second with Jesus being our anchor and our sure foundation. First: Navigating Rough Seas The gospel of John 6:17 states, “By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them.” Have you been there before? Have you ever been by yourself in the dark? Most of us don't like the dark. As kids sometimes we liked playing in the dark. Hide and seek. Sardines. Flashlight Tag. Sharks & Minnows. Playing games can be fun but unfortunately there's a worse kind of dark that some struggle with. Darkness of grief: Darkness of depression. Darkness of being alone. Darkness of feeling alone even when you're surrounded by others. Darkness of despair. Darkness of uncertainty. In darkness, all we want is a flicker of light that lets us know the way we need to go. The disciples found themselves in a life threating situation. They rowed in a storm for about three or four miles. They are tired, exhausted, frustrated, discouraged, and afraid. As your Pastor, I can tell that many of us right now are battling a tough storm. This could be a serious illness, or financial problems or job loss. Yes, sometimes we have to travel rough roads. Some of you right here today are rowing as hard as you can. And it is very hard work and I admire your perseverance. Second: Jesus, the Anchor of our Souls What is actually the point of this story? Was it told by John simply to add to the list of miracles performed by Jesus as a testimony to His divinity? Most likely it was, but there is more. For me, the true power of the story for the church is this: the adversity that we are working through is always more manageable when Jesus works through it with us. When we find ourselves rowing against whatever it is in our lives that is churning up the waves, having Jesus with us will make the rowing a lot easier. I am not saying this with the intention of its being just another churchy cliché. I truly believe there is a calming presence that Jesus Christ brings to us in the midst of our adversity that makes navigating that adversity much easier, regardless of the nature of the outcome. Again, there are some of you who know exactly what I am talking about. Jesus came and said, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Jesus will do the same for you. A diagnosis of cancer is never good. You have two options. You can face the adversity alone and row against the waves all by yourself, or you can ask Jesus to help you work through the adversity and to give you the strength to do whatever you need to do to come out on the other side, whatever “the other side” means. John Wesley tells a story when he was on a ship crossing the ocean going from England to Georgia in the Colonies. Wesley had never been on a ship before. They were 7 days from land and it was the third and most violent storm. They were worried that the ship is going to be lost in a storm at sea. Wesley wrote, “The sea spilled over the ship, split the mainsail, and poured between the decks as if the great deep had already swallowed us up.” The English passengers screamed in fright; the German Moravians calmly continued singing the psalms without intermission. Wesley was impressed with their faith in the face of death. He saw the difference in the hour of trial, between those who truly knew Jesus Christ and those who didn’t. The Prophet Isaiah wrote in 43:1-3, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” I like the way John wraps up this story. John 6:21 states, “Then they were eager to let Him in the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.” One moment they are in the middle of this lake, that stretches 7 miles from one side to the other, battling darkness, strong winds, and powerful waves. The next moment Jesus comes walking to them, they say get in the boat, and the next thing they know they have reached the shore. It’s amazing what Jesus can do and will do when we let Him in. Amen. First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Consecration Sunday, November 17, 2019) Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor Joshua 3:1-7; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 The Scripture passage we just read from Joshua chapter 3 tells us that the Israelites were on the threshold of the Promised Land. This is the moment they have been waiting for generation after generation. God has promised them a land and their ancestors carried that promise around in their heart. They went through slavery in Egypt. They were delivered from that slavery by the mighty hand of God and then spent 40 years wandering around the wilderness, the desert. In Joshua chapter 3, they are on the edge of the land that God has promised; they can see it. It is right across the river, but that river is at flood stage. There are no bridges. There are no boats. There is no safe place to fiord this river because of that flood stage, and yet they are at the edge and God is saying to them, “This is your land. I am going to take you in.” God’s promises are about to be fulfilled. But I want you to particularly notice Joshua 3:5 because that is the theme for this Sunday. “Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” They are right on the edge of the land. They are ready to grasp the promise that they have been carrying around in their hearts for hundreds of years and then Joshua goes around to all the people; not just the leaders, all the people and says to them, “Consecrate yourselves.” It's a word to everybody. What I find interesting here is that Joshua is going around and talking to people and he is not saying “check your shields and sharpen your swords because we are going into battle.” That would be a logical thing to say at this particular place in their history, but he is not. Instead, there is this issue of consecration, “consecrate yourselves for the Lord is going to do some amazing things among you.” Consecrate yourselves, what does that mean? The Meaning of Consecration Most of us don’t use that word very often in daily conversation. What does it mean to “consecrate” yourself? The word “consecrate” here in Joshua 3:5 is the Hebrew word “kawdash” — it means to be “holy”, to be set apart; sanctified. The word it comes from, “kadosh”, is the word the angels who minister around the throne of God cry out day and night: “kadosh, kadosh, kadosh”: “Holy, holy, holy. And because God is holy, He commands His people to be holy. In Leviticus 11:44 God told the people of Israel, “Be holy, for I am holy.” He says the same thing in Peter 1:16, reinforcing that in both Old and New Testament, God’s desire is for us to be consecrated, to be set apart, to be dedicated for His service; to be His own in the world. Consecration is separation from anything that would contaminate one’s relationship with a perfect God. Friends, the Lord promised in Joshua 3:5 that when we consecrate ourselves, He will do amazing things among us. The job is not done. The world is still on Jesus’ heart and that means that God will act. God is going to act among us. We have seen Him do it before and He is going to do it again in new ways. So we need to be ready. Are we ready? As your Pastor, I always pray for this congregation to be the church that Jesus Christ died to make us, nothing less. God has a calling for us that is much too wonderful for that. And so, we need to be ready. We need to be consecrated. So, let’s think for just a few minutes about what it means to consecrate ourselves. Let me suggest three things: First: Consecrate your Time We live in a very busy culture. Everyone is busy. This is an incredibly busy culture. Think of how often we use our busyness as an excuse for things that we don’t do in our spiritual life. I am too busy to read the Scripture. I am too busy to pray. I am too busy to serve. May be God is calling you today to make some tough decisions and radical changes so that you consecrate your time. You may need to say no to some things at home, or at work, and at the same time, you may need to make a bigger room for God in your time. Make yourself available to the things that God are calling you to do and see what difference this is going to make in your life. Second: Consecrate your Money I do not get to speak much about money. I leave that to our Trustees and the wonderful people who manage our finances. But let me tell you very briefly. Consecrating our money is a sign of a consecrated life. In other words, there is no real consecration without the consecration of our bank account. This is lip consecration. The Lord never said how much you should give to the Lord, but if we follow the direction of the Old Testament, we are to tithe, i.e. give to the Lord a tenth of our income, and this is just the starting point. Consecrating our money is one way to say to the Lord that we do care about His Kingdom. The New Testament calls us to give generously and give cheerfully. We have been given much, and as Jesus said in Luke 12:48, “To whom much is given, much is expected.” Third: Consecrate your Gifts You are all gifted. Yes, you heard it right. Each one in God’s family got at least one gift. I am sure most of us got more than one gift. We’ve got to consecrate our gifts. God has given us those gifts to use them in our personal lives, in our work, in our families, but those gifts are also given to us by the Holy Spirit to build the Kingdom of God NOT our own kingdoms. God wants to use our gifts for things that bring specific glory to Jesus Christ in the church, in the workplace, out on the street, in another country, God wants to use your gifts. Are we learning what they are and are we making them available to God, consecrate your gifts! Friends, the equation in Joshua 3:5 is easy, yet challenging. “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” God is going to do amazing things among us. I am convinced of it, not because we are worthy, not because we are skilled, but because God is faithful to His promises. But we do have a responsibility to consecrate ourselves, to be prepared, available, ready to use when this happens, to be in the right place facing in the right direction with our eyes and hearts open, ready to respond, ready to follow. Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you. Let’s get ready. Amen. First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday, November 10, 2019) Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor “Trust Jesus When Perplexed by Problems!” Psalm 23; John 6:1-15 This morning, we continue our study in the gospel of John. Basically, we are looking at the “Seven Signs” or miracles of Jesus, that John selected to include in his gospel. Today, we will be looking at the fourth sign, the feeding of the 5,000 found in John chapter 6. Aside from the resurrection of Jesus, the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels. Obviously, the gospel writers considered this a significant miracle. Matthew 14:21 emphasizes the miraculous aspect of this sign by saying, “The number of those who ate was about 5000 men, besides women and children.” Many Bible scholars believe the actual number fed that day could have been 12,000—15,000 people. This is one of the great miracles of the Bible. I want you to imagine with me the setting of this “Fourth Sign.” It is late. The people have been with Jesus all day. I bet they are tired and hungry. The local Burger King is closed for remodeling. The nearest Chick-fill-A is in Jerusalem, and Pizza Hut doesn’t deliver to the wilderness. The disciples make a very practical suggestion: “Send them away and let them find food.” That’s logical. The suggestion is not made from bad motives. In themselves the disciples had no resources to meet this enormous need. They had no food and no money. What else could they do? They could do nothing! The story is loaded with many great lessons. As I pondered this sign and what I should say to you this morning, my mind was drawn to a few lessons this great Scripture passage offers. First: A Stressful Situation The situation that the disciples of Jesus faced in John chapter 6 was a very challenging one to say the least. It was impossible to feed the few thousands gathered on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They are perplexed. Friends, here is the reality: sooner or later, you will come to the end of your knowledge, your wisdom, your skill, your strength, your eloquence, your creativity, and your personal charm. Life has a way of stripping away our self-sufficiency and showing us how weak we really are. As I said last week, you either in a storm, headed into a storm, or coming out of a storm. When that happens, you’ll discover what or who you really believe. We will discover what we actually believe when the moment of crisis comes. Charles Spurgeon once said, “To trust God in the light is nothing, but to trust Him in the dark – that is FAITH.” There is for sure a stressful situation, but there is also a compassionate Savior. Second: A Compassionate Savior What the Bible is saying to us here in John 6 is simple: Jesus is bigger than any problem we face. He was the answer back then. He is still the answer to every problem we face today. In a world filled with darkness and fear, Jesus Christ is the only solution for the troubles that surround. Our God is a compassionate God. He knows the pain and struggles we face. He understands. He is never too busy, or too distant to care. He knows the grief you feel today, for He felt it too. Psalms 34:18 reminds us that, “He is near to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Jesus Christ is all-sufficient to meet our overwhelming needs. In Jeremiah 32:17, the Prophet Jeremiah prayed, “Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You.” Third: A Faithful Response John’s account of this miracle tells us that it was Andrew, Peter’s brother, who found the young boy with the five barley loaves and two fish and brought him to Jesus. Jesus asked the disciples to give Him what they had. The little boy whose very smart mom had packed his lunch that day, gave all he had, 5 loaves and 2 fish. It is a faithful response from both Andrew and the little boy. They offered it all up, though it seemed so inadequate. The disciples must have thought Jesus was crazy to even ask for it. How will He feed thousands of people with so little? This is a huge task with tiny resources. But they still obeyed, they still brought it all to Jesus. And this single obedient act ushered the way for Jesus to perform that amazing miracle story still talked about today. This truth remains, obedience paves the way for great things to happen. He desires our hearts to be fully yielded to Him, and great miracles can occur as a result. Fourth: A Multiplied GiftJesus blessed the little and multiplied what has been given to Him. Everyone ate. They were all “satisfied,” says John 6:12. They are full and content. That's a lot of mouths to feed on such a small offering of food. But with God, it was enough, it was more than enough. Often times you feel that your resources are not adequate to meet the need. Yet, once we place them in His hands to do what He wishes with them, and in the process, release control to Him. He in turn blesses them and places them back in our hands, multiplied, more powerful than we could have imagined. This is a faith process, a faith experience. Too often we are overwhelmed with the vastness of the need and give up. Or we belittle our resources to the point that we never release them to God, but selfishly hang on to them because that is all we know and all we have. We are inadequate, we know, but we refuse to let go. Or we insist that God perform the task by Himself, without us participating in the process even in a tiny way. Friends, let’s trust Jesus when we are perplexed by problems. Jesus, the Bread of Life, meets us and feeds us where we do not think we have enough. The Good Shepherd is ours, or to be more accurate, “we are his. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture” Psalm 100:3. You may be dealing with a stressful situation right now. Remember you got a compassionate and loving Savior. Yes, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9. And in the midst of all of this, we, the disciples of Jesus today, are called to agents of hospitality; to step out in faith and deliver. In 2 Corinthians 6:10, Paul says, “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” Amen. First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday, November 3rd, 2019) Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor Isaiah 40:27-31; John 5:1-9 I believe, by now, you agree with me that the gospel of John has a very different flavor than the other three gospels. Bible Scholars call the first three gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the “Synoptic Gospels” because they have a lot of similarities. John, on the other hand, is not one of the Synoptic Gospels. It is a different gospel. It is a multi-layered gospel. It is a deep theology gospel. For example, when Matthew, Mark, or Luke say, “It is dark”, they mean you cannot see, but when John says the same thing, he means spiritual darkness in addition to the physical inability to see. Of the many miracles and healings that Jesus did, John selected only seven to include in his gospel. John called those miracles, “Signs” because they point beyond themselves. In other words, those miracles or signs are not an end in themselves. In our Fall Sermon Series, we are digging deeper into those “Signs” and examining their implications on our lives. We are up to the 3rd Sign, the remarkable healing of the paralytic at Bethesda Pool from John 5. A couple Sundays ago we looked at the setting of this “Third Sign”. It took place at a pool called Bethesda near the Sheep Gate. Bethesda means “The house of mercy.” The Pool of Bethesda was used for ritual purification purposes, where Jerusalem’s pilgrims would gather to get washed for worship. Over time, for a reason or another, the Pool was also believed to be a center for healing and John gives us the reason behind such belief. It was there that Jesus performed the third miracle John recorded in his gospel. A couple Sundays ago, I said the story of the healing of this man is a story of God’s abundant grace. Why this person got picked by Jesus from all the sick people who were there? We don’t know. Why you and me? I have no clue. It is God’s grace reaching out to us. We also said that the story raises another great point. It has to do with our hope. Our true hope is found in a person NOT a place. Our healing, our wholeness is in Christ. The invalid in our story put his faith in the so-called healing waters. Yet, this man’s life was transformed by a Person. He didn’t pay for it. He didn’t deserve it. It is a pure act of grace. This morning, I would like to add to that a couple more thoughts as we wrap up our study of this amazing story. Challenges as Part of Life Let me first of all remind you that challenges are part of life. The story of this man reminds us that we all have our challenges to face. As children we were either too short, too tall, too fat, or too skinny. Someone else was always smarter, or faster, or more popular. As adults we are either too young or too old, too inexperienced or too overqualified, too busy or too alone. Sometimes our challenges are more serious. We worry about our families, our health, and our finances. We grieve over a loss of someone close. We agonize over a rebellious child. The reality is, we all get our share of the disappointments and failures of life. Someone said, you either in a storm, headed into a storm, or coming out of a storm. And as we wrestle with life, we get accustomed to our predictable living that we become unaware there is more to which God is calling us. We get so accustomed to the familiar — day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year — that we fail to realize the difference between LIVING and simply EXISTING. Our status is quo, and thus we fail to recognize the abiding sickness which resides within our own souls. Like the sick man in our story, we could spend 38 years in our suffering before standing up, taking our mat and walk. Do You Want to Be Made Well? And here comes the compassionate Jesus and asks us the hard question: “Do you want to be made well?” We might find Jesus’ question surprising. In fact, it seems a very insensitive question. What was Jesus thinking? This poor sick man could have rightfully come back with some sarcastic response like, “Sir, I really enjoy being here completely unable to move!” But on the other hand, this man’s response makes me cringe. Instead of screaming and shouting, “YES,” he says, “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” John 5:7. There is something about the way Jesus asked the question, that made it not so foolish a question after all. The man’s answer was not as obvious as it must have seemed. Jesus wanted to know. Did the man really want to be made well or not? He had waited in this condition for 38 years and he lost all hope for healing. Perhaps he had even lost the desire to be healed, because the implications of being made well at this point would be too overwhelming to manage. The man might have been content to remain an invalid. After all, if he was cured, he would have to bear all the responsibilities of making a living for himself. Healing will bring about lots of change. Maybe it wasn’t such a dumb question after all. Being well holds more responsibilities. Being well holds more accountability. The Question Behind the Question But there is a question behind Jesus’ question. God’s healing power could not be let loose until the man assumed the responsibility of choosing life and risking the possibility of transformation! What’s true then is still true for us. The deeper question Jesus asks is, “Do you really want to be changed?” If we are content to stay as we are — no matter how miserable that may be — there can be no change, no possibility of healing for us. We must realize that miracles happen when our will cooperates with God’s power to make them possible. Let me tell you this shocking truth. Even God Himself can do little for us if we are comfortable with our place in life. What Will It Be? I believe Jesus asks us the same exact question today. Do you want to be made well? The well-being Christ offers to all of us is greater than our physical well-being. It has to do with the sickness of our souls, with our apathy, and timidity. St. Augustine said, “We are all restless until we find our rest in God.” This is what God offers to us in Christ — rest for our souls. But maybe we have something different in mind — something more material. Healing will come on God’s terms, not ours. In our story, it was not through the healing waters of Bethesda. It was through Jesus. I am sure the invalid was fearful of this new chapter in his life. Can you let go of your own fear of change and allow God to make all things new? A new life, a new way of living, that is the Good News of God in Christ. That is His invitation to you and me this morning: “Get up … walk … put one foot in front of the other … follow me.” Amen. First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday, October 20, 2019) Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor Psalm 25:1-11; John 5:1-9 Of the many miracles and healings that Jesus did, John selected only seven to include in his gospel. John called those miracles, “Signs” because they point beyond themselves. John’s selections were intended to teach important things about who Jesus is and what it means to believe in Him. This fall, we are looking at “Seven Signs” that John recorded in his gospel. We have already covered the first two signs, turning water to wine at a wedding in Cana in John 2:1-11, and the healing of the royal official’s son in John 4:43-54. Today, I am taking you to John chapter 5, to Bethesda Pool, to the House of Mercy. In chapter 5, John takes us to Jerusalem, to a remarkable healing at the Pool of Bethesda. “Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews” John 5:1. We’re not told what feast Jesus had come to Jerusalem for, so it’s probably a minor feast. The Pool of Bethesda John describes the scene of this “Third Sign” as you would expect an eyewitness to do for readers who hadn’t been to Jerusalem. “Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate,” John writes in John 5:2-3, there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed, and they waited for the moving of the waters.” Bethesda means “The house of mercy.” It was near the Sheep Gate, the gate through which the sheep traveled on their way to be sacrificed in the temple, just north of the temple precincts. The pool of Bethesda is an interesting place. For the longest time, scholars believed that this pool had never existed, because archaeologists hadn’t found any sign of it. But then, in the nineteenth century, an archaeologist discovered a pool, which he thought was the one described in John chapter five. Further excavations, in 1964, confirmed that the pool had been found, and that it was part of a collection of waterworks that included the so-called “upper pool” (Isaiah 7:3) of the Hebrew Scriptures. The Pool, as it was the case of many other pools, was used for ritual purification purposes, where Jerusalem’s pilgrims would gather to purify themselves for worship. In fact, when I visited Israel in 2017, I visited the remains of Bethesda Pool. The location is just as John described. But pilgrims to the city were not the only ones who came to the Pool of Bethesda. It was also believed to be a center for healing. John explains in John 5:3-4 “In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed, and they waited for the moving of the waters. From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease they had.” An Ill Man for 38 Years In John 5:5-9, John introduces us to the subject of Jesus’ healing that day. Of all the wretched people gathered at poolside that day, Jesus chose this one man. “One who was there had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.” We’re not told of the man’s particular problem, but we know he had been ill for 38 years. His was a hopeless situation. He was totally paralyzed. Most likely, he was brought to the pool by family or friends and picked up at the end of the day. Today and next time, we will be looking at the healing of this man and draw some practical lessons for our lives today. First: A Story of God’s Abundant Grace This man’s story is a story of God’s mercy and grace. There’s a very good chance that this man – with his disability – would have come to the Pool of Bethesda until his dying day. It’s very likely that, if Jesus hadn’t intervened, nothing would have changed for this man. We need to remember that this man wasn’t searching for Jesus. It seems that Jesus was the furthest thing from his mind. Truth be told, the Lord was searching for him. There’s a basic spiritual truth here. On our own, by our own reason or strength, we don’t seek the Lord. As a matter of fact, we avoid Him. On our own, His Word and His ways seem to be foolishness to us and we cannot understand them. As He always does, Jesus took the first step. Our Lord Jesus Christ always takes the initiative. We’re not sure why Jesus choose this particular person. One thing we know, he found mercy and grace in the eyes of God. In spite of this man’s hopelessness, the Lord shows up against all hope. Second: Our Hope is in a Person Not a Place The man came to the Pool of Bethesda to receive healing and wholeness. This man’s focus was on the pool, rather than on Jesus, the Messiah. He put his faith in the so-called healing waters. Yet, this man’s life was transformed by a Person who arrived unexpectedly and who left just as unexpectedly. The waters of the pool, which, for so long, he believed were the key to his healing, played no part in what happened. The plans he made for himself were very different from the plans Jesus had for him. As it turned out, this man didn’t have to work for his healing. He didn’t pay for it. He didn’t deserve it. He simply obeyed the Word. At end of the day, wholeness wasn’t to be found in this pool, despite the commonly-held belief. At the end of the day, wholeness and healing was found in Christ and in Him alone. The man’s infirmity is symbolic of sin and what sin does to people. As we’ve seen, the man had convinced himself that his healing depended on his own efforts and initiative. Friends, God salvation is offered by grace alone. It’s completely and totally undeserved. We are spiritually blind and dead and enemies of God. Without God’s intervention, we would die in our sins. “Do you want to be healed?” “Do you want to get well?” “Now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation” 2 Corinthians 6:2. I will stop here today and will say more next time. Amen. PrayerLord Jesus, we have sensed this morning that we are here, like a great multitude lying by the pool of Bethesda, waiting to be healed; trying various ways and means, hoping somebody will help. We have not yet listened to that wonderful voice that says to us in the inner heart, “Rise, take up your bed, and walk.” Grant that we will do so from this moment. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen. Psalm 102:18-28; John 4:43-54
Perhaps one of the most misunderstood words, not only in our culture today, but also in the church itself is the word “faith.” What is faith? Probably the most famous example of “faith” in the popular imagination and American culture today is Indiana Jones in the 1989 movie The Last Crusade. He has to get across this seemingly bottomless chasm. His dying father, Sean Connery, is whispering “You must believe boy, you must believe.” So Indiana Jones summons up this heroic amount of faith, and he courageously extends his foot out and falls into the chasm. But then, thud, his foot lands on solid ground. The camera pans around and you can see a rock bridge that had been invisible to him before. Indiana Jones had summoned up enough faith to get across the chasm. And people think, that’s faith! It’s a leap in the dark. Is that how you have thought of faith? A leap in the dark? As much as I love that scene from The Last Crusade, I believe John’s gospel is here to tell us what real faith is. In John’s gospel faith is walking into the light with our eyes wide open. And we do it because we’ve seen the signs and followed them to the true Light of the world. John tells us at the end of His gospel why he wrote it: “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” John 21:30-31. So that’s our hope as we study Jesus’ second miraculous sign in John chapter 4. That we would believe in Jesus this morning. The Problem of the Desperate Royal Official This is what we read in John 4:46-47, “Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.” Here is a powerful man; a “Royal official.” He was used to getting things done. This man’s son is sick. What do you think his first response will be? Well I’m guessing here, but I imagine the story went a bit like this. His son got sick and he thinks, well I’ll pay for the best doctor and we’ll get this sorted. His doctor comes, his doctor fails. His son gets worse. So he pulls a few strings and gets the king’s own physician. Still no improvement. Instead his son gets worse. Where does he turn? Well, maybe he’s got a contact at the imperial court who can put him in touch with the best of Roman medicine. Surely the Romans can sort this out. But they can’t. And his son is now on his death bed. It’s hard to think of something as tragic as a father planning the funeral of his son. It should be the other way around. Can you put yourself in the shoes of this otherwise powerful man? The royal official is brought to the end of his powers. And when you come to the end of yourself, that’s where faith comes. Because faith must mean you shift your allegiance. You used to trust something else, now you trust Jesus. A Journey from the Shifting Sands to the Solid Rock The man heard about Jesus. He leaves his son’s death-bed and makes the long journey from Capernaum to Cana. He had begun to make the journey from the shifting sands of his own resources and to put his trust in the solid Rock of Jesus. Yet, John 4:50 is such a surprise. A day’s journey for this royal official, the worry about his son, the expectations about Jesus – what’s going to happen? Jesus simply dismisses him again in 5 words. “Go; your son will live.” The man said, “Come to Capernaum with me and heal my son!” but Jesus said, “Go; your son will live.” That’s not what the royal official expected. The royal official takes Jesus at his word – and he acts on the basis of that faith. Then later this faith was confirmed – Jesus really was able to do what He said. This is how faith works. You trust Jesus. You move out in faith. You see how trusting Jesus makes sense of life and in that confirmation your faith increases and so you trust Him a bit more. And on it goes. Faith is continual. This story reminds us of the story of the Syrian army captain, Naaman, who had leprosy (2 Kings 5:1-19). His servant girl, a Jewish slave, told him about Elisha the prophet, who could cure him of his leprosy. He was desperate, so he put together a nice reward and went to the prophet. He expected Elisha to come out to him, stand and call on the name of the Lord, wave his hand over him, and heal him. But instead, Elisha didn’t even come out of the house. He sent his servant out to tell this important man to go and wash in the Jordan River seven times and his leprosy would be cured. Naaman was furious. This wasn’t what he expected. Besides, the rivers in Syria were better than the lousy Jordan. So he went away in a rage. But then his servants appealed to him and said (2 Kings 5:13), “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So Naaman went and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan River and was cured of his leprosy. He believed the word of the prophet, obeyed, and was healed. J. C. Ryle points out that Christ’s word is as good as His presence. Friends, the royal official comes to Jesus with Galilean “faith,” looking for a miraculous sign, but ends up going deeper to believe in Jesus as the Christ. Do you realize that your biggest need this week is to trust Jesus? Think about it for a second. What do you think of as your greatest need for this week? Now think of all the possible saviors you might look to, to provide you needs. Money? Power? Intelligence? Beauty? Charm? Hard work? Family? Friendships. Well Jesus offers Himself to you again this week as you all in all. He says trust ME – I am the God who speaks and it happens. I am the God who raises the dead. I can handle this week, trust me. Continually. Our biggest need this week is to trust Jesus. In the Name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit! Amen! First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood 21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday, October 6, 2019) Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday, September 29, 2019) Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pasto 2 Kings 4:8-37; John 4:43-54 This morning we continue our study on the “Seven Signs” Jesus did and recorded to us in the gospel of John. The last couple Sundays, we looked at the First Sign, turning the water into wine at a wedding in Cana, found in the gospel of John 2:1-11. In John 2:11, John concludes the First sign by saying, “Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” The Second Sign is found in John 4:43-54. It is the healing of the royal official’s son. One important element of sound Biblical teaching is the importance of looking at the setting, the context, of a certain Scripture passage. We did that all summer long when I preached on the “Seven I am Statements” of Jesus also in John’s gospel. So, what is at stake here in John 4:43-54? Well, Jesus got to spend the last two days in Samaria. The time in Samaria was spectacularly successful. It appears that the whole town of Sychar was turning to Jesus as the Messiah and the Savior of the world. The focus in Samaria was not on Christ’s miracle-working power, but on His word. “We have heard him for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world” John 4:42 stated. This is a better response than anything Jesus has gotten among His own Jewish people. Strange. But who are the Samaritans? The Samaritans or the Shamerim (שַמֶרִים), means the “Guardians, Keepers, Watchers (of the Torah.” Samaritans claim descent from the tribe of Ephraim and Manassa, two sons of Joseph as well as from the Levites. The Samaritans only accepted the 5 Books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). I think John did a great job in the introduction of the Second Sign setting the stage to compare the response of the Samaritans, the less religious, to the response of the Jews to Jesus’ message. Jesus is back to Galilee where Jesus grew up in Nazareth. Though less religious, the Samaritans were able to grasp Christ’s message. Think about those examples of the Samaritans in the Bible: The Samaritan woman in John 4 whose life was transformed by God’s grace; the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 who showed love, compassion, and generosity to a stranger; and the Samaritan leper in Luke 17:16 who showed gratitude for receiving God’s healing and came back to offer thanks to God. Remember Jesus just a few days back did His first miracle in Cana. About 15 miles east from Cana was Capernaum where the royal official with the sick son in this story lives. So Galilee is Jesus’ homeland in a special sense. He just left Samaria, which is not his homeland, and turning now to His own stomping grounds. Here is what John says in chapter 4:43-44 “When the two days were over, he went from that place to Galilee (for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in the prophet’s own country). In John 1:11 says, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” Yet, Christ intends to keep offering Himself to His own, and overall His own will not receive Him. Welcoming Without Welcoming But there is a strange thing that we see here and might need explaining. Jesus stated that a prophet has no honor in the prophet’s own country. Yet, John 4:45 says that when Jesus came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed Him.” The answer is that the “welcome”—the reception—is not what it looks like on the outside. There is a kind of receiving Jesus that has no true honor for his person in it. It’s just an interest in His signs and wonders. It was a false faith, a superficial “welcoming” or “receiving” of Jesus. John 7:3-5 state that not even His brothers believed in him. A Royal Official Shows Up It is in the midst of disbelief that we see a believing heart. A royal official shows up at the end of verse 46. There’s no indication of the official’s nationality or background, his religious conviction or his worthiness—only his faith. He had heard of Jesus, and His miraculous power, and begged Him to come and heal his dying son. Jesus didn’t go with him but simply told the man his son would live. The man took Jesus at His word and departed for home. The next day, while he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his son had recovered. From their discussion, he learned that his son had been made well from the very time he had spoken with Jesus. Because of this He and all his household became believers, saved by grace through faith. What Keeps Us from Seeing Jesus’ Glory? Least we become like the Galileans, I want us this morning to think about an important question. What keeps us from seeing Christ’s glory? Now none of us is part of Jesus’ hometown. So you may think this doesn’t apply to us. Yet, the Church today could be Jesus’ hometown. We may fall in the same trap the Galileans fell into during Jesus’ time. So let’s be aware of two dangers:
I will stop here today, but I will say more next week, Lord willing, an0ut the faith of the royal official and how we can take Jesus today at His word. In the Name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit! Amen! r |
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