The Next Sermon From The ‘Cron

The next sermon I plan to preach (this Sunday Jan. 20) will be over the following text:

¹⁰I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. ¹¹For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. ¹²What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” ¹³Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? (1 Corinthians 1:10-13)

This passage will be the foundational text and will be built upon by related sections in 1 Corinthians chapters 3 and 4.

Meanwhile, keep reading The Bruised Reed. I’m about halfway through and will attempt to finish up this week. After that I’m going to reread it to take notes and hopefully by the end of next week post a review.

Since we are now full-term (38 weeks — see sidebar) that means all posting will, of course, be subject to Baby Newell’s decision to be born or not, so stay tuned!

Sermon - “There’s No Excuse For That!” Romans 1:19-21

The Silent Holocron usually dedicates Monday space to the sermon that will be preached the following Sunday. Since Stephen has been grossly negligent in posting his sermons, the next few will be “catch-up” posts until we get to Romans 2:12-16 or thereabouts, where Stephen is currently located.

What can be known about God is clear to them, because God has shown it all to them. God’s eternal power and character cannot be seen. But from the beginning of creation, God has shown what these are like by all the things he has made. That’s why those people don’t have any excuse. They know who God is, but they did not glorify him or even thank him. Their thoughts are useless, foolish hearts are in the dark.

With these verses, Paul continues his masterful offensive that ought to leave no doubt that everyone needs the Gospel. Having shown clearly that sinners suppress the truth, he then moves to a proposition that ought to surprise even the atheist:

Everyone Knows About God.

God has clearly shown us in creation that:

• God is the CREATOR
• God is ETERNAL
• God is INVISIBLE
• God is POWERFUL
• God is WISE
• God is ACTIVE
• God is GOOD

God also keeps the universe from blowing up!

Think about this short list for a moment. Even if you don’t believe in God, humor me and think about it for a moment. What would it take for someone to create our physical universe? What kind of Person would it have to be? Such a Person would have to be all the things listed above, and more. You could come up with this list all by your lonesome, without a Bible to tell you about it. I bet you could even come up with a few descriptors the Bible doesn’t use.

And just by the mere fact that you are able to conceive of the kind of Person it would take to create our physical universe, Paul forcefully declares:

You Have NO EXCUSE!

If you know all of these things, there is only one thing you must do: WORSHIP GOD. There is, quite simply, no way around it. If such a Person were to exist, you are quite frankly required to submit to Him. He made you and keeps the universe together in such a way that you are able to be alive. He has provided for your every physical need. You should recognize you have no rights whatsoever that were not first given by Him. You should understand that you have no room to talk or even to complain! You should thank Him profusely and offer yourself to Him gratefully.

The fact of the matter, sadly, is that even though everyone knows all of these things, no one wants to worship God. Everyone flatly refuses to worship God! Everyone, everyone refuses to recognize God for who He is. Every single person who has ever lived, is now living, and will live in the future refuses to worship Him. Why? Because we are ungodly people.

This failure to worship God despite knowing who He is, is a lot like hearing people who know sign language coming to a Deaf gathering but refusing to sign in a room full of Deaf people. It is a gross, profound insult. And to insult God is to sin. And, quite frankly, if you know sign language (or know who God is), you have no freaking excuse for not signing around us (or not worshipping God).

We Refuse to Glorify God

Because we sinners suppress the truth, we do not give God glory. We do not give thanks to God. When we do that, our thoughts become worthless and our hearts become foolish. Our hearts are “in the dark.” Some Bibles say that our minds become “stupid.” I love this word in this context. It makes a very forceful statement. No one likes to be called stupid. Yet that is exactly what it would be to refuse to sign at a gathering of Deaf people. That is exactly what it would be to refuse to worship God despite knowing who He is. Utter and total stupidity. The way the Bible says this makes it sound like ungodly people are “useless, foolish, and clueless.”

A saying comes to mind when I think of this kind of refusal. “Who died and made you God?” Indeed, what makes you think you have the right not to worship Him? What makes you think you are so much better than Him? Just knowing who He is ought to be a humbling experience. Instead, ungodly people rise up in complaint and stubbornness.

There is, quite simply, no excuse for that.

Why God Sent Jesus

God sent Jesus…

• Because you and I knew who God is, but tried to hide the truth. In contrast, Jesus knew who God is and proclaimed it!
• Because you and I did not want to worship God and give Him glory. In contrast, Jesus wanted God to be glorified in all things!
• Because you and I have become useless, foolish, and clueless. In contrast, Jesus was useful to God, wise, and looked for God’s plan in everything He did.

That That is why Jesus died on the cross. He died on the cross because we could not do these things, but He could!

Jesus, Our Only Hope

Because we are useless, foolish, and clueless, our only hope is for God to show us mercy. If God shows us mercy, He will change us into useful, wise people who know His will. And the Bible is very clear that God has shown us mercy by sending Jesus. Won’t you submit to His mercy today? Won’t you gain wisdom and purpose today? The Bible tells you in John 3:16-17 that

For this is how God loved the world: He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.

What’s Your Excuse?

Sermon - “The Wrath of God Revealed” Romans 1:18

The Silent Holocron usually dedicates Monday space to the sermon that will be preached the following Sunday. Since Stephen has been grossly negligent in posting his sermons, the next few will be “catch-up” posts until we get to Romans 2:12-16 or thereabouts, where Stephen is currently located.

Revealed is the wrath of God from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness. (Romans 1:1

An Abrupt Shift

After speaking so positively about the Christian life in the first half of chapter 1, Paul suddenly shifts gears. It is as if he has kicked things up a notch. After laying down a foundation for himself and a basis for the Christian life, Paul suddenly goes on the offensive. Those of you who are football fans might understand what Paul seems to have done here if I use a football analogy.

By The Script
In football, it is not uncommon for teams to script the first 15 plays they will run on offense. The team will run a set of plays designed to set the tempo and probe the defense. What this is intended do is establish who they are and what they will do. It will test the opposing defense for any weaknesses that their game plan can exploit. It is fairly common for these scripts to lead directly up to the “big play” that is designed to firmly establish the offense as the one setting the tempo. Often you will see teams at the beginning of games run the ball generously with a lot of short, quick passes. Then all of a sudden a “bread and butter” play is called and the team goes directly to their strength. The quarterback will send a receiver deep and hit him with the pass. The offensive line may suddenly assert itself and open up a gaping hole into the secondary which the running back hits for a 20-yard gain.

Paul has done exactly that in the first half of Romans 1. He has carefully laid out his credentials, his purpose in writing, and what he intends to say to the Roman believers. Capping his script, he boldly declares in verses 16 and 17 that the Gospel is his purpose for writing. Now, with verse 18, Paul hits his “bread and butter” play. And he does so in spectacular fashion.

Revealed!

The word Paul uses here, apokaluptetai, is from the same word that gives us the name of the last book of the Bible. It means to reveal. To reveal something means show something or make it known to people. What is interesting about the word in this verse is that in Greek, it is in the past tense. This suggests to us that whatever Paul is about to tell us, it has already been revealed or shown to us. The way in which the word is used tells us that this thing Paul is about to talk about was shown in the past and is still being shown today! What has been revealed?

The Wrath of God

Paul states clearly that it is the wrath of God that has been revealed. What is “the wrath of God?” Well, first of all, “wrath” means strong anger that causes punishment. This means that God is angry enough to punish the person He is angry with. Paul is saying that God’s anger has been revealed in the past and is still being shown to us today! But just what is God angry about?

Ungodliness

God is angry with the ungodliness of humanity. What is ungodliness?

“Ungodliness” is refusing to accept God. It is the flat refusal to acknowledge Him as Lord over all. This does not even have to be a conscious refusal, as Paul will show later in this chapter. Simple failure to accept Him as God is enough to be counted among the ranks of the ungodly. It is a rejection of Him, and more specifically, of His Son, Jesus.

Ungodliness is living a sinful life. It is a refusal to follow God’s Law, especially as it is written in the Bible. Paul will later show that the Law is written in the hearts of humans, so as to leave no one with an excuse.

Ungodliness is doing things that are shocking and outrageous. Now, let me make something very clear. All sin is shocking and outrageous to God. All sin, no matter how “small” or “insignificant,” is a direct insult to a holy God. It is utterly and totally outrageous that anyone would even dare to insult the Creator of the universe. How dare we? What gives us the right? He brought us into this world, and He alone has the power to take us out! Shocking.

Would you not be angry if someone treated you in this way? So then it is no surprise that ungodliness angers God.

Unrighteousness

God is angry with the unrighteousness of humanity. What is unrighteousness?

“Unrighteousness” is not living in a holy way. If one is not godly, one cannot be righteous. Sin prevents us from being holy creatures, as the Bible commands. And because of this failure to do as God has commanded, God is angry.

Suppressing the Truth

Paul then links the ultimate insult towards God to ungodliness and unrighteousness. Sin suppresses the truth. What does that mean?

To “suppress” something means to hide something or keep it secret. What does sin do to hide the truth?

• It convinces us that we are in control.
• It convinces us we don’t need God.
• It convinces us that our way is better than His way.
• And most horribly, sin convinces us that we can save ourselves. We got ourselves into this mess, therefore we can get ourselves out.

How do we know these things?

Well, first of all, each time we sin, it bothers us less. Just look at some of what we consider to be horrible sins: Pornography, killing, drugs and alcohol addiction, lying, bad language, and gossip. Do you notice what happens the more you do these things? You become less sensitive to them. In fact, the less sensitive you become, the more you have to do it in order to feel something from it. In other words, the more we sin, the more immune we become to sin.

Second of all, when we become immune to sin, several things happen. We begin to love and enjoy sin. We don’t want to do what is right. We don’t want anyone to tell us it is wrong. We start to hate the truth. We try to silence the truth. We kill the truth when we can’t silence it.

Does this sound familiar? One need look no further than attacks against Christianity to get a good example. A more common example is the attacks against religion by homosexual groups. They are in love with the idea of being gay. They love their sin. For some reason I cannot fathom, they even enjoy gay sex! They don’t want to have natural sexual relations. They do not want anyone to tell them homosexuality is wrong. They hate the Bible and anyone who tells them it is wrong. They try to silence those who say it is wrong through misinformation, intimidation and false accusations of hatred, bigotry, and intolerance. They have not yet tried to kill anyone (to my knowledge), but they are already trying to kill the Bible by vainly and stupidly trying to say that the Bible does not really mean what it says.

I can’t help but notice how similar this process is to another situation in history. The exact same process happened to Jesus. and what makes it worse is that Jesus is the truth.

Jesus Is the Truth!

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).” Jesus was hated, attempts were made to intimidate, slander, and silence Him, and He was ultimately killed, all because He is the truth. But there is a big problem…

You Can’t Kill The Truth!

Only the truth can save us from our sins. You ask, “How can the truth save me from my sins?”

When You Believe The Truth…

• Jesus takes your sins onto Himself. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that Jesus was made to be sin for you, that God’s righteousness might become real in you.
• Your sins are forgiven because of His death. Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14, and 1 Peter 3:18 make it very clear that Jesus’ death on the cross secured forgiveness of sins for believers.
• You begin a new life in Jesus. Romans 6:4 makes it clear that just as Jesus was raised from the dead, those who believe in Him are also raised to a new life in Him.
• Sin becomes horrible to you again, and you will not want to sin any more.. Paul vividly shows this struggle in Romans 7:15-25. He says, “I just don’t get it! Why do I sin? I hate sin! I despise it! I can’t wait to be rid of it!” He thanks Jesus for giving him this attitude! Only one who has been forgiven and given eternal life can have such an attitude to sin.
• You will be able to change your life! Ephesians 4:17-6:20 is the textbook on what new life in Christ does for you. You are able to put away your old life, your life of sin, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, put on the new life that Christ has given to you. You will be able to do what is right. You will be able to live in harmony with others. You will be able to trust in the protection of God when you face sin and temptation.

Now, to close, I have a question for you:

Do You Suppress The Truth?

Do you? If you believe I have spoken about you today, then the Gospel is for you. Don’t suppress the truth any longer. Don’t resist God’s grace any longer. Surrender to Him. He is calling you graciously to accept Christ. Jesus said in John 8:32, “You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Let go of your unreasonable hatred of the truth. Let go of your selfishness. You know the truth. Surrender to Him today, and you shall be free forever! Pray that He will give you faith to believe, and you will no longer be in chains, but in freedom!

Sermon - “The Just Shall Live By Faith” Romans 1:17

The Silent Holocron usually dedicates Monday space to the sermon that will be preached the following Sunday. Since Stephen has been grossly negligent in posting his sermons, the next few will be “catch-up” posts until we get to Romans 2:12-16 or thereabouts, where Stephen is currently located.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jews first and also to people who are not Jews. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed out of faith into faith, as it is written, “Righteous people shall live by faith.”

What Is Righteousness?

To be righteous means to be without guilt or sin, to be holy. In the Bible, righteousness has to do with two things: faithfulness (Romans 3:1-5) and good works (Romans 2:6-11) What do I mean by that? Well, in order for a person to be righteous, he must first have faith. Romans 3 makes it very clear that unbelief is unrighteous. Many people who are not saved think they are “good” people. But they do not believe in Jesus. No matter how “good” a person you are, if you do not believe in Jesus, the Bible is clear — you are not righteous! The Jews in Paul’s day believed that they were righteous simply because they were Jewish. Paul says, “No! What good is being a Jew if you do not believe?” Contrast that with today. What good is being a “Christian” if you do not really believe in Jesus? What good is being a Christian if you do not really believe the Bible?

Next, for a person to be righteous, he must do good works. While faith is important, Scripture is also very clear that simply believing is not enough. Remember that even the demons believe the truth about Jesus (James 2:19), yet they are not saved! Something more than simple faith is necessary. One must do what is right. Romans 2:6-11 makes it very clear that only those who have done upright deeds will be saved. This illustrates a very clear point that I am sure all of you know: Faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26). True faith, righteous faith, is only real if it is accompanied by good works. A faith that does not prove itself by doing good is not real faith, but fake faith.

At the same time, Romans 4:5 seems to suggest to us that only faith can make a person’s works righteous. This tells us that you cannot separate faith and good works. They go hand in hand. Many of you will strongly affirm your faith in Jesus. But you are not willing to serve the church! You are not willing to serve each other! According to what the Bible says, is your faith real? If your faith is real, you should want to volunteer at church. You should want to do things for each other.

The Bible says in Romans 10 that this kind of faith, the kind of faith that reveals itself in good works, can only come from God. It is not something you are able to do all by yourself. God Himself must give you the ability. Remember what Romans 3 says? “There is none righteous, no not one, no one understands, no one seeks after God.” In our hearts, you and I don’t want to have faith in Him. You and I don’t want to do what is right. Instead, we want to do what is right for ourselves only. Only God can change our hearts so that we have the kind of faith that acts righteously.

How Do I Become Righteous?

In the Old Testament, one became righteous by faithfully keeping the Law. Romans 2:13 states: “It is not those who hear the Law who are righteous before God, but those who do the Law who will be justified.” Israel placed their faith in the Law of God to make them righteous. As such, people such as King David sought to develop an attitude of delight in God’s Law. This is the essence of true faithfulness to the Law — delight in what the Lord has commanded. The Psalms are awash in this language! Such trust and delight is pleasing to God.

But even then, there is a problem. Faithful keeping of the Law entails being perfect in the eyes of the Law. Remember, Jesus clearly stated that we must be perfect, just as the Lord is (Matt. 5:48). But none are righteous! None can perfectly keep the Law (Romans 3:10-12)! How, then, can I become righteous, if I cannot keep the Law perfectly? There is only one way: You must believe the Gospel!

“Out of Faith, Into Faith”

Paul uses an interesting construction here. First, he says the righteousness of God is revealed “out of” faith. Some Bibles translate this as “from” faith. This seems to mean that the Gospel is something that comes from born-again believers (BABs). What do I mean by that? See, BABs already have faith. Because they already believe, they share that faith with other people. That means evangelism is the job of every believer!

Second, Paul says the righteousness of God is revealed “into” faith. This seems to mean that the Gospel is revealed only to people who will believe (have faith). This is an incredible statement. Only the elect of God, chosen from before the foundation of the world, will be able to grasp and respond positively to the Gospel! This concept secures the success of believers in evangelism. No matter who or how many people a believer witnesses to, the word of God that the believer shares will not return to the Lord a failure!

Remember, faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). Only those to whom God gives the gift of faith can see His righteousness when they hear the Gospel. This is why many people ignore the Gospel, or even mock and insult it! God has not seen fit to give the gift of faith to everyone.

The entire phrase “out of faith, into faith” seems to mean something like “continuing faith.” I am awed at such an idea! This means that the purpose of the Gospel is to keep faith going. What a God-glorifying purpose! How does the Gospel “keep faith going?” It does so by:

1. By winning new believers,
2. By helping believers obey God,
3. By encouraging and lifting up believers, and
4. By being the foundation of the church.

The Gospel was created by God to bring about and sustain faith in Him. Oh, praise the Lord for His glorious gift!

Righteous People

Now, we turn finally to the last section of this verse. Paul begins by stating that “righteous people shall live by faith.” Let’s start by asking, “Who are righteous people?”

I think Scripture is clear that a “righteous” person is anyone who believes the Gospel and who trusts Jesus as Savior and Lord. Such a person has developed (or is developing) a trust in and delight for the Law of God. Such a person seeks to conform his or her mind and heart to the commands of God, by virtue of the atoning sacrifice of Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Why is this person “righteous?” What makes such a person righteous?

Scripture is also very clear on this matter. In fact, later in the book of Romans we will be studying this very thing. I will provide you with a summary of what the Bible says on this issue. Quickly, a person is righteous:

1. Because of the promise of the Gospel – Jesus perfectly obeyed the Law and died in our place.
2. Because Jesus rose from the dead to seal (to prove) that He had done what He promised.
3. Because when God looks at a BAB, He sees Jesus’ righteousness.

Living By Faith

Lastly, Paul says that such righteous people shall live by faith. What does it mean to “live by faith?”

To “live by faith” means that we have obedient faith. Do you remember when I preached on this, from Romans 1:5-7? To recap, obedient faith is a faith that obeys God’s commands. It is not something that you feel, rather, it is something that you do. Obedient faith is not a “feeling” faith, but an “active” faith. It is the means by which we receive God’s grace and His purpose for our lives. If we “live by faith,” then we show our faith by our actions (James 2:14-26). Once again remember the words of James 2:26 — Faith without works is dead!

I want to close this morning by asking a question that many people, maybe even some of you here today, are asking. How do I start living by faith? There is only one way to live by faith:

Trust the Gospel!

Do you trust the Gospel? Do you delight in God’s Law? Do you have faith in Jesus? If you don’t, I invite you to trust Him today. If what I have been given to say to you this morning has touched your heart, I truly believe that God is calling you to live by faith. God is calling you to be His. Do not forsake so great a salvation! Surrender yourself to the Lord, to Jesus who died to take away the sins of the world. Faith will be yours. Grace will be yours. Eternal life will be yours. Trust in Him today!

Sermon - “I Am Not Ashamed!” Romans 1:16

The Silent Holocron dedicates Monday space to the sermon that will be preached the following Sunday. Since Stephen has been grossly negligent in posting his sermons, the next few will be “catch-up” posts until we get to Romans 1:26-27 or thereabouts, where Stephen is currently located.

Romans 1:16 — For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

In this verse, Paul is boldly declaring his pride for the Gospel. Yes, pride. Pride, for the wrong reasons, is a bad thing. But it is never wrong to be proud of what God has done in bringing Himself glory. Pride in what God has done, with the proper attitude, ought to make us praise Him and give thanks to Him.

And Paul undoubtedly has a proper attitude about his pride in the Gospel. He is not embarrassed by the Gospel; rather, Romans 1:8 shows us that instead he is thankful for it! Indeed, as we can see from the previous verse (v. 15), the Gospel gives him energy. Remember, he was eager to preach the Gospel!

Ashamed of the Gospel?

But some of us are ashamed of the Gospel. What does it mean to be ashamed of something? To be ashamed of something means:

• To be embarrassed by it.
• To be unwilling to do something because of fear about it.
• To be upset by it.
• To feel guilty about it.

Furthermore, this brings us to two kinds of shame: “good” shame and “bad” shame.

“Good” shame is when:

• We feel guilty about something we have done.
• We feel embarrassed about our actions.
• We are humiliated or humbled because of something we have done.
• We feel responsible for our actions.

Why is this called “good” shame? Because “good” shame can lead us to repentance. When in the presence of the Gospel, this is called “being convicted of sin (John 16:7-11).” “Good” shame is when the Holy Spirit makes clear to us that our sin is abhorrent to a holy God. This is one aspect of “the fear of the Lord.” When we know that our actions are wrong, we ought to feel guilty. We ought to feel embarrassed. We ought to feel some degree of humiliation or experience some degree of humbling. And we most certainly ought to feel responsible! It is the proper response to the knowledge that an action one has committed is wrong. Pay very close attention to this concept. Paul will then show its exact opposite later in this chapter.

Bad shame is when:

• We become afraid of something/someone.
• We become embarrassed by something or someone and refuse to be involved.
• We try to hide our involvement from other people.

Why is this called “bad” shame? Let me draw this out a little bit. “Bad” shame contains all the elements of “good” shame. The person experiencing “bad” shame certainly feels guilty, embarrassed, humiliated or humbled, and responsible. The problem arises when a person responds to the shame inappropriately. One’s shame then becomes “bad” because the purpose of shame is turned in on the one experiencing it. Instead of repenting, one runs from it! “Bad” shame, then, is simply a person hiding from the truth. One is attempting to avoid the consequences of one’s knowingly wrong actions.  Why do you think that some people who have lived exemplary lives have those lives unraveled in a moment, when some past indiscretion — and a single, momentary indiscretion at that — suddenly surfaces and catches up to them? Because instead of repenting of their sin, asking forgiveness, and/or accepting the consequences, they became afraid. Maybe they feared what they would lose. Maybe they feared the opinion of others. So they hid their involvement.

Another example is glaringly obvious from many of our Deaf brothers and sisters. In some families all over the globe, deafness is an embarrassment. Some parents of Deaf children go to incredible lengths to hide a child’s deafness or “correct” it. They will spend an absurd amount of money on surgeries, technology, and speech therapy to make their children “hearing.” Others go another direction — they neglect the child. I have been told that is not unusual in other countries to find lots of Deaf children abandoned or in orphanages. The parents have refused to become involved with their child. Here in America, that takes on a different form — the parent becomes embarrassed not just at the child’s deafness, but at their seeming inability to provide what the child needs. The child is either ignored or sent off to a residential school for the Deaf. That is not a shot at our Deaf schools, just a simple statement of fact. Some parents will send their Deaf child to a Deaf school simply because they don’t want to or think that they cannot provide for the unique needs of a Deaf child. Having the child away at school brings momentary relief their embarrassment.

Once again, please understand, this is not a shot at parents of Deaf children nor at our Deaf schools, but a simple statement of fact. There are indeed some parents like this, and there are plenty of Deaf people whose stories contain heartbreaking accounts of parental neglect and abandonment.

But in all, there is only one proper response to both forms of shame:

The Gospel!

Let me start by asking a question: What is the Gospel?

The Gospel is:

• Jesus was sent to Earth to give eternal life to all who believe in Him (John 3:16)
• Jesus died for our sins and was raised from the dead (1 Cor. 15:3-4)
• Only those who believe in Him will be saved (John 3:16, Rom. 10:9)
• If we believe in our hearts and confess that we trust Him, we will be saved (Rom. 10:9-10)

Yes, the Gospel really is that simple. And the Gospel is powerful.

The Power of God for Salvation!

The Gospel is God’s power revealed. This is a truth that we cannot afford to deny. Many people have foolishly made careers out of doing this very thing. Quite frankly, Paul has some choice words for them later in this chapter.

The Gospel is, quite simply, more powerful than our sin. It is more powerful than our shame. Through the Gospel, God can (and has for all eternity) destroyed our sin and shame! For those who believe, their sin has been destroyed on the cross. For those who die refusing Christ, they and their sin are eternally destroyed in hell.

The Gospel itself is powerful! Why is the Gospel powerful? Besides the fact that the Gospel is the very words of God, it is the means by which the Holy Spirit brings a person to faith. No person can ever be brought to faith in Christ unless the Gospel is preached to them in some way, shape, or form. We don’t ever come to Christ just thinking about the thickness of a certain brand of toilet paper (though I’m sure some creative genius could come up with a tract about it). We come to Christ through the Gospel alone. It could be there in snippets or it could be there in the fullness of truth, but it is there. And the Holy Spirit uses what is exposed to a person to bring that person to faith.

And what a glorious movement that is! When the Holy Spirit works on a person who has heard the Gospel, “good” shame and “bad” shame is caused. It is worth noting that even if the Holy Spirit is not working to bring someone to faith, there is still a reaction. However, that reaction may or may not include good shame. Bad shame is much more likely. Further, a third reaction enters the picture — apathy. The person simply does not care. If a person is not marked by God for salvation, bad shame and apathy are the likely reactions to the Gospel. These are the kind of people who will go so far as to make entire careers out of trying to debunk the Bible, denigrating Christianity, “counter-evangelism,” and various other anti-religious activities. Thankfully, we do not know whom God has predestined to salvation. Our duty is simply to proclaim the Gospel to all, in the hope that each person has been marked out as Christ’s.

Because the Gospel causes these reactions in people, it is very clear that the Gospel will force us either to repent or to reject Christ. There is no middle ground! Even the Greeks who told Paul they would “think about it” (Acts 17:32) made a decision not to accept Jesus right that moment. That is rejection. The old Baptist evangelists are correct on one count — it is a horrible thing to leave a Gospel presentation without accepting Christ. You really could die in the next minute and end up spending eternity in hell.

The Gospel is how God saves people. Now, I’m going to say something serious and important. The Gospel is for God’s chosen people only. Who are the “chosen ones?” The chosen ones are not the Jews, not any longer. Some will take humongous issue with that statement. I might even get called anti-Semitic. But God’s people are not an ethnic race. God’s people are all those who believe in Him. All who believe in Christ are His. This is why Paul often says “to the Jew first and then to the Greek.” Paul will explain this concept more deeply later in Romans.

What does this mean? If you belong to God, then the Gospel is for you. Yes! For you! You don’t need to be ashamed anymore — if you believe in Jesus, your shame has been taken away and crucified on the cross! How do I know I belong to God? You know that you are His if you believe in Him and love His people. This is a repeated theme throughout the New Testament. Christians are marked by two things: their faith and love they have for their Savior and their love for each other.

However, if you do not believe, if you are ashamed of Jesus, the Gospel is not for you. Jesus stated in Luke 9:26 that “whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels (see also Mark 8:38).” He also elaborated in Matthew 10:32-33 that “everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” It is a serious thing to reject the only name under heaven by which people can be saved. Which leads me to a final question:

Are You Ashamed of Jesus?

Well? Are you? Or do you belong to Him?

If you really believe you belong to Him, you are experiencing “good” shame. Repent of your sins and place your trust in Jesus. If you are ashamed of Him, you are experiencing “bad” shame. Pray that God will grant you repentance from your shame and sin, that you may place your trust in Jesus. Believe in Him and you will be saved!

Saturday Sermon: “Eager to Preach the Gospel” — Romans 1:13-15

The Silent Holocron dedicates Monday space to the sermon that will be preached the following Sunday. Since Stephen has been grossly negligent in posting his sermons, the next few will be “catch-up” posts until we get to Romans 1:26-27 or thereabouts, where Stephen is currently located.

Romans 1:13-15: I want you to know, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

The last time we were together I told you about “Famous Faith.” Remember what that is? Paul was telling the Roman Christians that their faith was so good that it had become well-known throughout the Roman Empire. And because their faith was so famous, Paul wanted to visit them and hang out!

Paul’s Dream Vacation

Paul tells the Romans in verse 13 that he had “often” planned to make a trip to Rome to see them. In fact, in the book of Acts Paul says that he wants to go to Rome, no matter how dangerous the trip would be for him. How dangerous was this journey for him? Before he went, he made a trip to Jerusalem for the Passover. The disciples warned him that if he went to Jerusalem, he would be handed over to the Gentiles (the Romans) and quite possibly even be killed (Acts 21:1-14). But Paul said that he was ready to die for the Gospel, and in fact had been told by the Holy Spirit that the events that would culminate with his imprisonment in Rome were imminent (Acts 20:22-24).

A Working Vacation
The reason Paul wanted to go to Rome was quite simple: to lead people to Jesus. He is saying in verse 13 that he does not want anyone to be left out! Indeed, he has preached all over the Empire, except the western Roman Empire, and does not want those in Rome and beyond to be untouched by what God was doing in his life and ministry. He knew he had been blessed by God, and that his duty was to share those blessings. But unfortunately, he was blocked time and time again. It was not yet God’s timing for him to go to Rome.

This means that Paul believed everyone must be told about Jesus. It was not enough that only those in the Middle East, Asia (Turkey), and Greece hear the Gospel, but those in Gaul (France) and Spain must hear it as well! In fact, in verse 14 Paul says exactly that: I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. It is his God-given duty to preach the Gospel to every person he could possibly encounter, and for Paul this meant every person in the Roman Empire.

The Duty of Evangelism

Paul has an interesting way of saying this, however. He is commanded to preach to Jews and non-Jews, the wise and the foolish. Now just wait a minute. Is he really saying what I think he is saying? The Gospel is not only for wise, intelligent, smart people; it is also for foolish, silly, ignorant people! The death and resurrection of Christ is intended for both those who will believe and those who will die without Him. To refuse to preach the Gospel to all people, then, is the biggest sin and heresy we could ever engage in as Christians!

Now let’s consider that from a Deaf point of view. Many of us are “high-functioning.” We are the wise, intelligent, smart ones. Just as many, if not more, are “low-functioning.” They could be considered the foolish, silly, ignorant ones. Many of us know Deaf individuals who have little or no education, or are mentally retarded, or have the maturity of a child. Or maybe our hearing families and friends have lumped us all into the “low-functioning” group simply because we are Deaf! When that happens, you know what goes on; we get excused from everything simply because: “Oh, he/she is Deaf, it’s all right, they don’t need to know, just let them get by.” But Paul says he’s got news for us: Jesus is for us, too! We cannot just let our “low-functioning” brothers and sisters just get by without Christ, we have got to explain to them about Jesus! Some of these people really make our day better. Think about how much more joyful it would be to spend eternity with them praising the Lord!

What I’m trying to explain to you is that everyone is equal when standing in front of the Gospel. The Gospel does not discriminate! When we stand in front of Jesus — whether it is from someone preaching about Him, or whether we are reading the Bible, or whether we are in front of Him at our Judgment — we stand on our own two feet. It will not matter if we are Deaf, hearing, genius, retarded, rich, poor, UL Cardinal, UK Wildcat, or UT Volunteer. Each of us will be responsible for how we have responded to the Gospel.

Are you making sure everyone you know understands the Gospel and knows God has commanded them to repent and believe in Jesus? Or are you condemning them to an eternity of Hell because you didn’t want to tell them about Jesus?

Eager to Preach the Gospel

Lastly, Paul says that he is eager to preach the Gospel to the Romans.

Paul knows that his duty is to tell everyone about Jesus. He knows that if he goes to Jerusalem, and as result to Rome, he could very well die. He also knows that up until now he has been prevented from going to Rome and preaching there. Yet Paul is frustrated and cannot wait to go!

In that, we receive our strongest lesson of all from Paul about evangelism. We should be just as eager to share Jesus as Paul was. That, sadly, is our greatest failing as Christians. We have not been excited about evangelism. We have been more concerned with looking cool. We have been more concerned with not embarrassing ourselves in front of other Deaf people who do not believe. We have been worried that others will gossip about us simply because we are Christians. Listen — Paul faced something much, much worse than embarrassment and gossip. Paul faced certain death. And he didn’t care at all. Not one single bit! Paul knew that prison and death were being used by Satan to tempt him not to go. But he knew that God rewards us not through sitting in our comfortable chairs watching 24 on Monday nights, nor does he reward us by being cool in front of the community. No, God rewards us when we run the race, keeping the faith (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

But…

We have a very big problem, one that seriously hinders our ability to keep the faith, if not preventing us totally:

Some of us are ashamed of the Gospel!

Join me next time as we examine Romans 1:16 - “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes….”

A Layman’s Advice For Preachers

Tim Ellsworth, a fellow Tennesseean, recently wrote an immensely good post called A Layman’s Advice For Preachers. It is so good, I cannot in good conscience merely tell you to follow the link. Here it is in its entirety.

I’m not a preacher. Though I’ve done it a few times, preaching is not what I’m called to do, nor do I consider myself to be any kind of expert in sermon preparation.

I do, however, know a few things about what preaching should be. Just as you don’t have to be a chef to know if the food you’re eating tastes good, you don’t have to be a preacher to know if the sermon you’re hearing has any value.

So to those of you who are preachers, here’s one layman’s encouragement and advice to you as you proclaim the Word of God to God’s people.

1. Preach the Bible. That sounds simple enough, but sadly, it’s growing more and more uncommon in today’s pulpits. And when I say “preach the Bible,” I don’t mean “Pick a topic and tell me what the Bible says about it.”

Instead, pick a text from Scripture – any text will do – then tell me what that text means and how it applies to my life. I desperately need a deeper understanding of Scripture. Give it to me.

2. Preach the gospel. I’ve listened to too many sermons where the gospel was nowhere to be found. What I need more than anything in my life is the gospel. I need to be reminded of what God did for me through the work of Jesus Christ. If your sermons don’t include any mention of the gospel, then you have failed your listeners.

If I’m ever at a point where I’ve moved beyond the gospel, I’m in a bad place. So please don’t think that just because I’m a Christian, I don’t need to hear the gospel anymore. I need to hear it every day. I need to hear it in every sermon. Don’t leave it out.

3. Talk less about yourself and more about God. Too many times after I’ve listened to a sermon, I could tell you quite a bit about the preacher, but precious little about God. There’s nothing wrong with using personal examples from time to time, but keep it to a minimum.

As an I example, I can cite a sermon I heard about a year ago from Vance Pitman, pastor of Hope Baptist Church in Las Vegas. Vance was preaching at a conference I attended. I’d never heard him before and didn’t know anything about him. After the first time I heard him preach, I still didn’t know anything about him – but I knew more about God. He exalted the Lord in his message, and not himself. Follow this pattern, and your listeners will benefit.

4. Don’t tell me about the Greek and the Hebrew all the time. Yes, I think studying Greek and Hebrew has value. Greek was one of my majors in college, so I know how valuable it can be. But while it’s OK for you to study the Greek or the Hebrew in your sermon preparation, you don’t need to make it a point to inform your listeners of that. Constantly referring to Greek and Hebrew words and constructions comes across as arrogant.

And please, if the Greek word means the same as the English word, don’t spend 10 minutes dissecting the language to tell me that.

5. Keep the humor to a minimum. Too many preachers think it’s their job to get their listeners to laugh. It’s not. Your job is to proclaim to them the Word of God. If you spend the first 10 minutes of your sermon telling jokes, and I’ve heard preachers do this too many times, you’re telling me that you don’t have anything important to say.

There’s nothing wrong with interjecting humor from time to time. But when you’re finished preaching, what I should remember most is what you had to say about God – not the joke I heard you tell.

6. Have a structure to your message. Don’t just give me a running commentary about the passage on which you’re preaching. Decide what the main points of the text are, and build your sermon around those main points. Clearly listing your main points makes it easier for the listener to follow what you’re saying.

7. Don’t read your sermon. When it’s time to preach, I hope the sermon is so burned into your heart and mind that you don’t have to read it verbatim. Using notes is fine, but you’ll lose your listeners if you stand up and read.

8. Believe what you’re saying. Preach with emphasis and earnestness. Make me think you believe in the importance of what you’re saying. If you speak like you’re bored with your subject matter, don’t expect me to be interested.

I’m grateful to God that for most of my life, I’ve been blessed to listen to men regularly whose preaching was exalting to Christ and challenging to me. My father was the first one who fit that description. My pastor now, Lee Tankersley, does as well.

I respect the position that pastors and preachers hold. Your work is important. It has eternal ramifications. Listeners like me need for you to take your task seriously, as the wellbeing of our souls is at stake.

May God help you to fulfill what He’s called you to do.

Sermon - The Results of Famous Faith: Romans 1:9-12

The Silent Holocron dedicates Monday space to the sermon that will be preached the following Sunday. Since Stephen has been grossly negligent in posting his sermons, the next few will be “catch-up” posts until we get to Romans 1:19-21 or thereabouts, where Stephen is currently located.

Romans 1:9-12: For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you–that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.

Famous Faith Is…

Before we began this series, I preached a sermon on “Faith.” That sermon was preached to introduce you to the concept of faith. In this chapter of Romans, Paul talked about obedient faith in the previous verses. In verse 8, Paul tells us that obedient faith tends to make itself famous. Let’s review what obedient faith, famous faith, looks like. Famous faith is:

• Obedient faith (Romans 1:5)
• Humble faith (James 4:10)
• Faith that trusts God alone (1 Cor. 2:5)
• Mustard seed faith (Matt. 17:14-21)

What does this faith do? In today’s verses, Paul is telling the Christians in Rome what their faith does in his life. If you and I have Famous Faith, what happened in Paul’s life will happen in the lives of other Christians as well!

Famous Faith Causes Prayer.

When we have Famous Faith, other people are led to pray for us (v. 9). One thing I have noticed from looking at prayer lists at different churches, and especially prayer lists in our own church, is that people usually will not pray for people they do not know. We will pray for our friends in church, at work, in school, or in our neighborhoods. We will pray for family members and friends of our families. We usually will never give prayer requests for people outside of our circle of acquaintance.

But what really sticks out to me in these prayer lists is that quite often, we will pray for famous people. We will pray for celebrities - some of you requested prayer for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ baby! Many of you have asked for prayer that some celebrities will be saved. We will pray for politicians. Not a week goes by when one of you asks for prayer for President Bush, the government, elections, or something related to politics. We will definitely pray for athletes! I remember when Cory Lidle, the New York Yankees baseball player, was killed in a plane crash. Some of you asked to pray for him and his family. Some of us actually prayed that the Yankees would recover! We often pray during games for favorable outcomes for “our” teams! We will also pray for famous Christians. Many of you prayed for famous pastors in America. I asked you to pray for SBC president Frank Page this summer and fall. Some of you have requested prayer for your favorite Christian authors. Some of you have asked for prayer for my seminary professors.

But to summarize, we will always pray for celebrities in America. Famous people naturally draw our attention to them. Jesus understood this. That is why the Bible says that Jesus became famous and got more famous as His ministry progressed.

Famous Faith also creates…

Fellowship.

Famous Faith creates in other people a desire for fellowship with those who have Famous Faith (v. 10-11a). We naturally want to be around famous people. We all want to hang out with Alex Rodriguez, Peyton Manning, Brian Brohm, Dwayne Wade, George Bush, John Piper, Pastor Tim, Marlee Matlin, Ben Stiller, Brad Pitt, and all these other famous people. In the same way, we want to be around strong, faithful Christians with powerful testimonies. We want to be associated with them. We want to be influenced by their example. We hope that, through them, we can become better Christians. And this is a Biblical idea - Paul once told the Corinthian Christians to copy how he lived (1 Cor. 4:15-17), so that they can learn how to live a life of faithfulness to Jesus.

But I must warn you - we must never substitute living like another Christian for living like Jesus. Other Christians are nothing more than guides on our walk with Christ. They are pointing us towards Jesus, not themselves. If an older Christian advises you or another young Christian to live like them because they are holy, or because they believe all the right things, or because your church is wrong, or for whatever reason, run away! Our duty as Christians is to point young believers to Jesus, not to ourselves. If I ever tell a young Christian to copy me, I must have a goal of showing them how to be like Jesus, not Stephen. If I try to make them a “mini-Stephen,” I have sinned!

And last but not least, Famous Faith brings…

Encouragement.

Famous faith creates the desire to encourage others (v. 11b). When we meet a famous actor/actress, we always tell them how good their movie/TV show is. If we were to meet President Bush, we would tell him that we have been praying for him and his administration. If we met our favorite athlete or favorite team, we would tell them how much we enjoy watching them and that we are cheering for them.

In the same way, we always lift up strong Christians with encouragement and prayer. Maybe we write a letter to our favorite author telling them how much we enjoy their books, or how our lives were changed by what they wrote. Maybe we tell our pastor that his message caused us to think about things for the first time. Maybe we give someone the greatest encouragement of all by accepting Jesus as our Savior and Lord. When we see Famous Faith, we want it to keep going! We want it to live forever! So we encourage it whenever we can.

Famous faith causes us to want encouragement (v. 12). We feel good when someone famous says something positive to us or teaches us something. I would have been absolutely thrilled if I had met my baseball heroes as a young boy, and they had said positive things about how I played. When my professors said positive things about things I wrote for class, I felt good. I’m sure that when you met your heroes and they said something good and encouraging to you, you were uplifted. In the same way, when strong Christians lift us up, we feel encouraged. We feel as if we are growing, that we are doing something right. And remember, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him! Encouragement brings us that holy satisfaction with God that we need.

Let’s review what we have learned today. If we have Famous Faith…

• Other people will pray for us.
• Other people will want to be around us.
• Other people will encourage us.
• Other people will be encouraged by us.

Famous faith is the bedrock of the church! Without it, a church cannot thrive and grow. God will not be glorified. And Christ most likely will never be preached. And if Jesus is not preached, no one will ever be saved. So, to close I have a question for you:

Do You Have Famous Faith?

I’m going to tell you the same thing I told you last week. If you don’t have Famous Faith, the only place it can be found is in Jesus. Pray today that God will give you the faith to believe that He is the only Savior, and the ability to place your trust in Him as the only way to God. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (Romans 10:9-10)”

Don’t wait! Jesus has knocked on your door once with His death on the cross for our sins, and with His resurrection from the dead, He has knocked again, calling all who will believe to repent and place their trust in Him. Don’t ignore His call, only to find yourself at the Day of Judgment having to tell God that you refused to have Famous Faith. If you belong to Him, God can and will change your heart of stone into a heart of flesh, one that can live famously. Come to Him today!

Sermon - “Famous Faith: Romans 1:8″

The Silent Holocron dedicates Monday space to the sermon that will be preached the following Sunday. Since Stephen has been grossly negligent in posting his sermons, the next few will be “catch-up” posts until we get to Romans 1:18 or thereabouts, where Stephen is currently located.

Romans 1:8:
“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.”

Give Thanks!

Paul, continuing his introductory address to the Roman church, praises them for the exact thing he has just declared about himself; namely, that the Roman church has received the same obedient faith that was given to him. As such, Paul wants the Romans to know that he is thankful for them.

Paul is quite obviously thankful that, in the place that would claim his life, there are brothers and sisters in Christ present with whom he can fellowship with and be ministered by. Rome at this time (likely the time of Nero) is a hostile, dangerous place to be a Christian. With the rise of emperor worship, it is dangerous to refuse to worship Caesar, more so to preach an exclusive way. What a relief it must be, to Paul, to have members of his spiritual family around him in such an inhospitable place!

Paul is teaching us, the modern reader, that giving thanks to God for fellow Christians is the first thing we ought to do. Whenever we find ourselves away from our church homes and extended Christian fellowship, our first thought should be for our brothers and sisters that may be in that location. Where are they? Will I be able to meet with them? Will they be able to meet my needs while I am away from my primary Christian family? Finding them, then, must bring about thanksgiving and praise to God for them.

Famous Faith

Next, Paul gives thanks for the faith of the Roman Christians. Having found those who call themselves saved, Paul discovers that they are indeed those he has previously heard about! Wonderful! I’m around the greatest believers in the Empire!

This thanksgiving teaches us something important. Remember, faith is a gift, and as such gifts must be received with thanksgiving. We should be thankful for God’s gifts. Not only that, we should be thankful when God gives things to other people. Such a concept is counter to our modern culture. Today, we become jealous when someone else gets something beneficial. We want it too!

But such jealousy misses the point. My pastor, Tim Bender, always says that instead of saying, “I’m jealous,” we should say, “You’re blessed!” Perhaps another person’s blessing could end up saving your life or the life of someone important to you. Perhaps that person’s blessing could give you comfort when you are hurting. Perhaps that person’s blessing could indirectly affect your fortunes. We should never become jealous of another person’s gifts. Be content with the gifts God has deigned to give you, and be thankful for them. And thank God that He gives His gifts to all His children.

I was touched once by an infertile couple’s story. This couple struggled for ten years to have children, and when they finally conceived, they gave direct credit for not giving up to God’s gifting of other couples in their support group with children over the years. They readily acknowledged the hurt and envy they experienced when, time after time, God chose to bless these other couples and not them. But it was telling for them when, after God called their number, those couples who had gone before them became their greatest confidantes, coaches, and supporters. Those couples had blazed a path so that this couple might have wisdom and prayer from fellow believers to guide them through their adventure.

Paul, furthermore, is thanking God that the faith of his Roman brethren is famous. They have famous faith! What exactly is famous faith? Famous faith is:

• Obedient faith (Romans 1:5)
• Humble faith (James 4:10)
• Faith that trusts God alone (1 Corinthians 2:5), and
• Mustard seed faith (Matthew 17:14-21)

Such faith can do nothing but advertise itself and its giver. When we are obedient, we are working our faith. When our faith is working, we are humble enough to point to the One who died and rose again for us. When we are humble enough to do that, we trust in Christ alone and His will for our lives as revealed in Scripture. When we trust Christ and His Word, we have powerful faith that cannot be ignored. Mustard seed faith! See the Sermons category in the sidebar for Pastor Tim’s excellent and revealing sermon on mustard seed faith.

I’d like to close this sermon with a few illustrations of what famous faith is and what famous faith is not.

Famous Faith Is NOT:

All about ME, baby!

A matter of stopping your negative self-talk and starting to claim the positive fruit God wants in your life!

Denying the Trinity and declaring God wants me to be rich!

Hatred against things I’m afraid of.
(Note: Any and all hatred against homosexuals–and all other types of sinners–is deeply disgusting and thoroughly condemned by The Silent Holocron. The “God Hates Fags” church and its adherents are more accurately described as a cult, as they do not belong to any denomination and preach very un-Christian behavior. Furthermore, they cannot rightly be called a church, as their membership is largely the immediate and extended family of its controlling, tyrannical, bitter pastor. Please pray that God will put a stop to their foolishness.)

Refusing to allow my faith to determine how I act (hypocrisy).

Using my faith to manipulate others into supporting me and my agenda, even though I’m not all that firm in my faith.
(Note: Anyone who seriously doesn’t believe “faith” is being used by politicians to curry favor seriously needs to crawl out from underneath the rock under which they’ve been living. Additionally, anyone who thinks Bush is a serious believer ought to ask themselves why he would, in the days after 9-11, pledge himself to Muhammad and Islam knowingly, if he’s such a “strong believer.”)

Staunch right-wing politics, legalism, and anti-intellectualism running rampant.

Claiming to speak for God.

Famous Faith IS:

Being a student of God’s Word.

Seeking to be a consistent, fervent prayer warrior.

Faithful involvement in the worship and ministry of the church of which I am a member.

Seeking to be conformed to the image of Christ in every part of my life.

Before we leave, I want you to seriously think about this question:

Do You Have Famous Faith?

If you don’t, the only place it can be found is in Jesus. Pray today that God will give you the faith to believe that He is the only Savior, and the ability to place your trust in Him as the only way to God. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (Romans 10:9-10)”

Mustard Seed Faith — Matt. 17:14-21

The Silent Holocron devotes Monday space to the sermon to be preached the following Sunday.  However, since Stephen did not preach yesterday and will not preach this Sunday, he will share with us Pastor Tim Bender’s sermon from this past Sunday (yesterday).

Matthew 17:14-21 (NCV)

When Jesus and His followers came back to the crowd, a man came to Jesus and bowed before Him. The man said, ‘Lord, have mercy on my son. He has epilepsy and is suffering very much, because he often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to y our followers, but they could not cure him.’“Jesus answered, ‘You people have no faith, and your lives are all wrong. How long must I put up with you? How long must I continue to be patient with you? Bring the boy here.’ Jesus commanded the demon inside the boy. Then the demon came out, and the boy was healed from that time on.“The followers came to Jesus when He was alone and asked, ‘Why couldn’t we force the demon out?’ Jesus answered, ‘Because your faith is too small. I tell you the truth, if your faith is as big as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. All things will be possible to you .’”

Our Faith is Like a Mustard Seed

1. Mustard Seed Faith Begins As A Grain
Grain faith is small. When each of us were saved, God gave each of us a certain amount of faith (Romans 12:3). That faith is God’s gift to us. It is enough to save us, but it is not enough for that faith to remain a seed. God wants us to invest and grow our faith. How do we do this?

Grain faith must be planted. A planted mustard seed uses up water in 72 hours, and grows leaves in 2 to 3 days. By that time, it is ready to handle whatever weather conditions it may face! In the same way, we must plant our faith squarely in God. Our trust must be in none other than Jesus. We must not trust money, possessions, family, friends, jobs, education, etc. We must soak up the nourishing water that is the Word of God. That is the only way we will be able to grow and face the challenges of life in this fallen world.

2. Mustard Seed Faith Turns Into A Plant.
Planted seed is greater than herbs. The mustard plant, Pastor Tim said, was more valuable than other herbs such as parsley, sage, etc. Why? Because it is larger than other herbs. Those plants are small; whereas a mustard plant can grow into a tree!

Our faith should never be smaller than when we were born-again. If we actually have less faith than when we accepted Christ, there is something seriously wrong with us! In that respect, we should never discourage young believers from using their faith. Oftentimes we will see a young believer who is all fired up and excited for the Kingdom, and they are hyperactive, wanting to do everything they can. What do we do? “Shush! Don’t make a fuss, young-un! You’re embarrasing me!” That, says Pastor Tim, is like crushing the mustard plant before it can grow into anything of substance! It is like putting your foot over the place where the seed will sprout and not allowing it to grow! That is wrong and sinful.

Planted seed must be well rooted. An interesting fact is that the root of a mustard plant grows three times faster than the stalk. It becomes well-grounded in its habitation. In the same way, our faith in God should be three times stronger than our living by sight. We must be well-rooted in our Lord. How? Through the Word and daily living by it.

3. Mustard Seed Faith Turns Into a Tree

Tree faith must grow. Mustard trees grow up to 21 feet tall, and the root is down to 63 feet in the ground! The seed has a destiny - it is to become a tree. God set the natural order of things in such a way that each of His creations has a purpose to fulfill, according to His pleasure. When God made the mustard seed, He told it, “I have a goal for you. You are, when you are planted, to become a tree.” In the same way, God has a purpose for our faith that must be fulfilled.

Tree faith must have branches. Mustard tree branches grow up to 72 feet long! It covers the entire area in which it is planted. In the same way, our faith needs to spread out three times more. It must not merely only cover us when we are at church. It must not merely cover us for ourselves, our own personal struggles and needs. It must cover our brothers and sisters in Christ, those we pray for, those to whom we witness. It must cover all whom we seek to reach for Christ through our ministry as believers.

4. Mustard Seed Faith Turns Into A Great Tree
Great tree faith is not seasonal. Like evergreen trees, mustard trees don’t shed their leaves or change color. Our faith is not something we can set aside until Sunday or Wednesday, or for when the pastor is around. Our faith is not something that we keep hidden (”changing our color”) when we are around non-believers. Our faith is something that is to be used daily, just like we use our eyes to see daily. Remember, we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Our faith is to proclaim loudly that we belong to Jesus. Which leads to the next point:

Great tree faith is attractive. Pastor Tim told us an interesting thing about the mustard tree. Sheep love the mustard fragrance and will lay under the tree. Sheep love the fragrance of the tree. Christians are to love the sweet fragrance of God poured out in His Word through the preaching of the Gospel and fellowship with Christians. They are to love being in His presence!

Also, the leaves of the mustard tree close at night, and water drips from the leaves onto the wool coat of the sheep to kill ticks, fleas, and lice. The oil of the plant is curative. Imagine! The fragrant oil of the Lord is curative for the Christian! He heals us of the consequences of our sins, and protects us from further temptation. But unless we, like the sheep, “lay under” (trust) Him, this will not happen.

Then Pastor Tim shared a fact with us that reminded me of my post On Sheep and Goats. Goats hate the fragrance of the tree, and may even attack the tree! The fragrance of the mustard tree, the oil, is repugnant to them. They can’t wait to get away from it! If it gets on them, they are miserable. Miserable! Their distaste for the mustard tree is so intense that they will ram the tree attempting to destroy it, and in some cases even to the point of death. They will ram against the tree so many times, so forcefully, that their skulls fracture, their horns break, they bash themselves to death against the trunk of the tree.

Non-believers despise God and His Word. Many will not consciously admit it, but they do. Non-believers do not want to place their trust in the Lord, and as such will get as far away as they can from God and His people, and at the very worst will attack them. It takes a work of the hand of God Himself to change a goat into a sheep. Truly, we did not choose Him, He chose us!

Great tree faith has powerful influence. Nothing grows under a mustard tree’s branches; no weeds, insects, or even bird eggs. In plant form, the mustard plant is considered a weed; it chokes out and kills any other plants around it. In tree form, the oil from the tree is poisonous to certain plants and animals. The ground underneath the tree is bare dirt. No ants or other bugs live around it. Birds may nest in it, but the oil and fragrance will kill a hatchling. In the same way, the world is powerfully influenced by our faith. The world should not influence our faith; instead our faith should destroy the influence of the world!

Great tree faith is resilient. Interestingly, a mustard tree can withstand a 3 1/2 year drought. If you go to California, you will see many thriving mustard trees despite the heat and drought, provided they haven’t burned in wildfires. Remember, as a 2-3 day old plant, it is ready to face whatever weather conditions it is presented! In the same way, our faith must not depend on seeing God move all the time. We must not depend on “signs,” or “hearing His voice,” or on “seeing God moving,” or what have you. Our faith must depend simply on trusting in Him.

True faith does not need constant contact with the Lord. God does not speak to people all the time. We cannot depend on answered prayer and such. We can’t say, “Oh, I will try praying and see if God answers. If He is real, He will answer.” That is bull, plain and simple. God doesn’t have to prove a thing to us. He doesn’t kowtow to our expectations of Him. On the contrary, it is we who must kowtow to Him. And as such we are to merely trust that He will answer when He is good and ready. We must merely trust that He has a purpose and plan that will not be thwarted. We must merely trust that what we want from Him may not necessarily be what we need or even what He wants to give us.

Pastor Tim concluded with this scripture from Mark 4:30-31 (NCV):

“Then Jesus said, ‘How can I show you what the kingdom of God is like? What story can I use to explain it? The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, the smallest seed you plant in the ground. But when planted, this seed grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants. It produces large branches, and the wild birds can make nests in its shade.’”

There are 8 points Pastor Tim wants us to remember from this sermon:

1. God has given you an amount of faith (Romans 12:3).
2. Your faith should be alive, active, increasing, growing daily.
3. Don’t be afraid to use and share your faith.
4. Stop playing it safe with your faith.
5. Stop depending on someone else’s faith.
6. Living the 5 Purpose Driven Life purposes: Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry, Mission will help your faith to grow.
7. Reading/studying/meditating on the Bible and consistent prayer will help your faith to grow.
8. Ask the Lord to increase your faith (Luke 17:5).