What Are We Doing Here At Abundant Life? Share Part 1

Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:9-11, 23; Ezekiel 18:20; Romans 6:23; John 3:16; Acts 4:12.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday June 14, 2020.

We have been talking about the purposes of the Church and its members.  We will now look at the last purpose, which is to passionately share Jesus with those who do not know him.  It can be seen as part of purpose #2.  In a way, we are serving those who are lost by telling them the good news.  However, since it is quite different then the ways we serve other believers, it is best to give it its own purpose.  Unbelievers have only one overwhelming need and that is Jesus.  Everything else pales.  They need to connect to the Lord of life, and only those who know Jesus can help them do that.  If you feed a person’s belly, but don’t help them connect to Christ then you have not helped them in the way that they needed.  Of course, you can do both, but we must never lose sight of our true purpose in their life.

People need Jesus whether they know it or not, and Christians must be convinced of that enough to go out of our comfort zones.  So today, let’s talk about the fact that people need to hear the good news of Jesus.

Each of us is a sinner

The first two passages that I have listed impress upon us that each person on this earth is a sinner.  Even those who are trying to keep the righteousness of God fall short.  It is interesting that people typically feel like they are doing a good enough job, and that their good outweighs their bad.  However, the revelation from God tells us that this isn’t true.

Mankind wasn’t always this way.  Back in Genesis chapters one and two, we are told that God created humans good and without sin.  Yet, in Genesis three, Adam and Eve rebel against God’s command and purposefully sin.  Sure, they were deceived, but they still knowingly broke God’s command.  At this point, Adam and Eve entered into a fallen, dying state.  This fallen state would also affect all of humanity that would come after them.  The death that God warned them about was both physical and spiritual.

All humans born after Genesis three would also be dying beings who were separated from the direct presence of God.  This may seem unfair, but there is no logical way around it.  The choice of parents always affects what a baby experiences: where it is born, how well it is taken care of, whether or not it is raised for the Lord, and the list goes on.  We can scope this out to recognize that the choice of families determines what a neighborhood experiences, and the choice of neighborhoods determines what a city experiences, and so to the state, nation, and ultimately the world.

Of course, there is more to this than just our choices.  There is also the fact that the devil and his cohorts have interfered in our relationship with God.

Given enough time, every person born on this planet will become sinners.  Isaiah is speaking about a people, Israel, who knew God’s law and yet he recognized that none of them were righteous before God.  He revealed that God would one day put our sins upon another, the Messiah.  I will talk more about that later.  In the Romans passage, Paul also emphasizes that both Jews and Greeks (basically everybody that wasn’t Jewish) fall short of God’s glory because of their sin.

We are born to sinful parents, who are in a sinful world, and we have a propensity for sin, that is, a sinful nature.  This is quite evident in each person.  You do not have to teach a child to sin.  It comes naturally.  However, you do have to teach and train them to do what is right.  This does not mean that everyone becomes as sinful as they can possibly be.  It simply means that, in the middle of all our choices, none of us measures up to complete righteousness.  It would be good for us to remember this in our social discussions and arguments.  Usually, it is the first thing we jettison.  When I am railing against someone else’s sin, I should remember that I too am a sinner.

How about the aborted baby, or the baby who dies within the first year?  Technically they are not guilty of sin before God, but they are stuck in the human condition.  They die and go into a spiritual holding place where all other humans have gone before them.  Without Jesus, they would still be stuck there.  There are some who have taught that we are born having inherited the guilt of Adam.  I don’t believe that this is a proper reading of Romans 5:12 and other passages about the effect of the original sin.  It was death and separation from God that spread to all the rest of us, not Adam’s guilt before God.  However, if they had been allowed to live, they would have eventually become sinners too.  At some point, they would become aware that they were doing something wrong and yet, would do it anyways.  It is at that point that we become guilty before God for our own sins.

The judgment of God is upon us

Yes, man is a sinner, but Ezekiel tells us the decree of God.  The soul who sins will die.  The wages of sin is death.  In Genesis 3, we see God meting out judgment.  Though we could talk about painful childbirths and the sweat of our brow, the most important part of our punishment is that we die.  Before that day, Adam and Eve were not as we are today, growing old and dying.  However, this is not only true physically, but spiritually as well.  They were kicked out of the Garden and were separated from the presence of God.  This spiritual separation is the death of a relationship, but it also leads to an eternal spiritual death if it is not fixed.  We will all be held guilty for our own sins, not the sins of our parents, or our neighbors.  The question is not, did they sin, but what did I do because of their sin?  Usually, we use it as an excuse for our own sin.

This sets up a dilemma, not in the sense that God was stumped and couldn’t figure it out, but in the sense that there is a tension between God’s love and His Righteousness.  The Old Testament emphasizes both and even posits the need of a sacrifice to cover our sins.  God is love, so He wants to save us.  However, He is also just, so He cannot overlook our sins.  It is easy for us to say, “He’s God!  He can do anything that He wants.”  However, we fail to recognize that God cannot quit being Himself.  He is fully love and yet fully just.  We can overlook sin because we are sinful humans.  However, God is not.

Let’s look at an illustration.  If someone raped and murdered a loved one of yours, and then was arrested, confessed, and proven guilty at trial, what would you think if the judge chose to overlook the case and simply let the guy go free?  Something within us would cry out, “That’s not right!”  Even if we weren’t bloodthirsty for his death, we would still think that something more than just letting him go should happen.  We easily pick and choose when to demand justice and when not to, but God cannot.  As Paul says in Romans 6:23, He must give us the wages that we deserve.  The good news is that there is a way out of this, but we must not jump ahead of ourselves.

We cannot save ourselves

So, we are sinners, and therefore are under the judgment of God.  This last point is that we cannot save ourselves.  Many people will recognize the bad stuff of the world and its need for some kind of answer.  However, God tells us that we are in a situation that no human or group of humans can fix by themselves.

The smartest and best individuals of humanity cannot fix the sinful nature that is within each of us.  Paul says in Romans 3:23 that our attempts at righteousness fall short and are unacceptable.  In fact, they are woefully short.  Imagine someone giving you a glass of water, but it only has a couple of specks of feces in it.  Is that acceptable?  But, Lord, it is better than that other glass that is half full of crud.  It doesn’t matter.  A couple of specks of feces is still too much, and unacceptable.  Another way to look at this is this.  If the best among us only sin between one to three times a day, that is still between 365 to 1,000 times a year.  Over a typical lifetime, we would amass between 25,000 to 75,000 sins, and this is the best-case scenario.  If your plan to save yourself is to be a good person then hear what God’s Word is telling you.  It won’t work.  It falls woefully short in even the best of people, and most of us are average.  If your plan is to follow the wise people of this world who can lead us into Utopia then hear what God’s Word says.  It won’t work.  It not only falls short, but always leads to a destructive end because humans are sinful. Globalism won’t solve our problem.  It will only dismantle the protections that God installed at the Tower of Babel against an evil man ruling over the entire earth.  This is exactly what the book of Revelation tells us is on the agenda for the last days.  A man of sin will take over the earth and the world will eat it up.  However, it will also bring great destruction upon the world.

No, our righteousness falls short and always will.  What we need is God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  Jesus was, and still is, God’s solution for the world.  Because He loved us, God sent His Son to pay the price for our sins.  All who put their faith in him can have their sins covered by His righteousness, and then be justly allowed to join His family.  Only God’s plan will work.

As we close, I want us to remember that there is a whole world of people in need of the truth before they leave this earth, which few get to know when that is.  They are in the same situation that you were in before you met Jesus.  They are lost and without hope.  Some have never really heard the good news.  Some have heard a little of it, but it is fuzzy and without resolution.  Some have heard it, but also experienced a bad witness.  Perhaps they were in a cult, or were hurt and wounded.  Some have heard the gospel and have outright rejected Christ.  Yet, God loves them.  He made them to become like Him, to reflect His image, to dwell with Him.  This is the plight of the world around us.  They are under judgment and cannot save themselves.  Oh, the need is great for laborers who will go out into the field and share the good news of who Jesus is.  May God help us to have the guts to go do it!

Share I

Who Is My Savior?

Mark 11:1-11.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Palm Sunday, April 5, 2020.

This week, we are approaching the Passover celebration.  On this day, we celebrate what is typically called The Triumphal Entry.  One way of looking at this day is that we are celebrating this event as it should have been.  Jesus should have been received as the Messiah by his people.  This should have ushered in a time of peace in the world.  Instead, he was rejected and the world entered into a time that the Bible calls, “The Beginning of Sorrows,” and also, “The Birth Pains.”  Here, almost 2,000 years later, those pains are only increasing in intensity.

It is generally clear that mankind needs saving from its sins, though not all will use those words.  However, less clear to each of us is God’s contention in the Bible that all individuals are in need of saving, none excluded.  Christ came in such a way as to put the solution in front of each of us.  On that Sunday so many years ago, Jesus put the question before Israel as a whole, and yet also before each Israelite.  Who is my savior?  What is my choice?  Let’s look at our passage and work through these things.

The preparations of the Savior (vs. 1-6)

Our story opens with the arrival of Jesus in the Jerusalem district for his last time.  Within a week, he will be crucified on the cross.  He stops at this point to make some final preparations in order to enter the city.

However, we should take note that the previous 3 ½ years of the ministry of Jesus was all about preparing Israel for this day of choice.  Every miracle and every amazing teaching had been about preparing the hearts of Israel for a day of decision.  I don’t just mean the 24-hour period we call the Triumphal Entry.  I mean the whole week. 

Israel was being tested and they didn’t know it.  Most of them loved the idea of a Savior, a Messiah, but they did not love the idea of what Christ came to do.  He came to offer himself as a sacrificial lamb to deal with our sins, when they wanted a ferocious warrior to deal with their enemies.  Does that sound familiar?  Isn’t there a part in all of us that would rather have our enemies crushed than to expose and deal with our sins?  This is what this is all about.  It is about a choice that I must make regarding what I think can save me, or fix my life and my future.

Thus, it is important what we choose in the moment, but all momentary decisions will be tested.  You can make the right decision when it is easy, but your resolve to do the right thing will be tested.  Israel went from seemingly choosing Jesus to rejecting him in less than a week.  Their choice of Jesus was not nearly as strong as it may appear in our story today.  Ultimately, we are pulled away from faith in Jesus by the ways of this world, its power and prestige, its money and technology.  When you are fearful that the way of Jesus may not save you anymore, these are the things you will flail about and grasp tightly.  Yes, God had made great preparations leading up to that moment, just as He has made great preparations leading up to the moment that you were presented with the Gospel.  Yes, embrace Jesus, but also know that your embrace of him is going to be tested.

When Jesus stops near the Mt. of Olives, there are two villages that he stops at.  Their names are quite symbolic.  Bethphage means “House of green figs,” and Bethany means “House of my sorrow.”  Jesus had come to Israel expecting ripe fruit, but it was still green, inedible.  He came to those who were his own and should have embraced him with open arms, but they became to him a house of sorrow.  These things give more light on the whole incident following our passage today where Jesus curses a fig tree that had no ripe figs.  More on that at a different time.

The last preparation involves sending a couple of disciples out to secure a donkey’s colt.  From Matthew 21:7, we know that both the colt and the mother are involved.  Some details are left out or missing in Marks account, but it appears they were left out for the disciples too.  Jesus is not advocating stealing here.  Rather, he is telling them to get something and when they do exactly what he says, it goes exactly as he said it would.  A truism of life is that God often has us do things that do not make sense to us, like love our enemies, and forgive those who harm us.  However, he knows what he is doing.  He is preparing us to do what he has for us.  In these times, the lack of details regarding the benefit to these things often causes us to balk.  Yet, if we simply obey, we will eventually find that our Lord had everything figured out ahead of time, and we simply needed to trust his directions.  Whoever this owner is, he is willing to let the Lord borrow his donkeys, and Jesus knew that he would.  Now that the preparations have been made, Jesus is ready to head into Jerusalem.

The presentation of the Savior (vs. 7-10)

Up to this point, Jesus has resisted any attempt to present himself formally as a potential king for Israel.  However, on this day, he not only allows it, but he orchestrates it.  He is now forcing the issue and the question within Israel about the question of his identity.  Is he the Messiah or not?  This is a presentation event in which Jesus clearly presents himself to Israel; let me be your savior.

He purposefully sets up the imagery as one of a lowly person (humble) coming in peace.  He rides down the hillside of the Mt. of Olives, crosses the Kidron valley, and then up into the city on a donkey’s colt.  It is Matthew who connects this event to the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9. There it is said, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold your King is coming to you; he is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, a foal of a donkey.”  Apparently, they didn’t make the connection when it was happening.  They just knew that Jesus was finally doing something that looked like he was ready to take control.  They are ready for the Kingdom of God to begin.

Now, the riding of a donkey is in contrast to riding on a horse.  A horse has connotations of war, power, and prestige, whereas a donkey has connotations of humility and peacefulness.  Zechariah had revealed to Israel that, when the Savior came, he would come in such a way.  When we contrast this image with the one of Jesus coming on the clouds of heaven and riding a white horse in Revelation 19, the message is clear.  He was not here for war all those years ago.  He had come to do a far dirtier job than Mike Rowe could ever conceive.  It would be like a boxing match where they are introducing the boxers.  “In this corner, we have…” (someone who does not look like they will win).  Though many of Israel were excited on that day, it is clear that Jesus is still a mystery to them.  What kind of Savior was he?

Let’s look at the crowds and their praise of Jesus.  There are two dynamics going on in this crowd.  In Mark, it only focuses on the disciples of Jesus (more than just the 12) excitedly running ahead of him, around him, and behind him.  They are rejoicing as Zechariah said they should, but for uninformed reasons.  They believe he is here to kick out the Romans, wicked priests, and Herod.  They think he is going to set all things right in society.  The second dynamic is that word had gone ahead into the city, and so, crowds were coming out from Jerusalem to meet him.  Among these crowds, there were some religious Pharisees who did not think Jesus was the Messiah at all.

In Luke 19:39, we are told that the Pharisees objected to the things that the disciples were hollering about Jesus.  They shout to Jesus that he should make them shut-up.  Jesus is very humble, but there comes a time when some things must be done.  Jesus had to present himself to Israel as a potential savior because it was the Father’s will.  It was the reason he had come.  Israel had to have a choice.  Thus, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees who are trying to rebuke him.  “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”

The crowds can be right, but the crowds can also be wrong.  They are easily driven to shout with praise on one day and then shout with anger on another.  The point is not what the people around you are doing.  The point is always, what does God want me to do?  Just as God was presenting His Son Jesus to Israel during the week leading up to Passover, so He presents Jesus to us today.  He doesn’t look like we think that he should, and some people may be shouting his praises for all the wrong reasons.  The main point is what does God want you to do with Jesus.  He wants you to embrace him in faith, and rejoice in the fact that he has come to save you!

The phrases that these disciples are shouting out, are chosen purposefully.  They come from Psalm 118 and were understood by all to be referring to the Messiah.  Psalm 118:25 gives us the Hebrew phrase translated “Cause us to be saved, now!”  The Greek transliteration is Hosanna!  What a cry, that not only was on the lips of Israel that day, but is on the minds of people all across this world, today.  We want someone to rise up and save us from our problems and the problems of this world.

The second thing they are shouting comes from Psalm 118:26, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”  They are using biblical words from the prophecy that predicts his coming in order to praise him.  Oh Church, may we learn to take time just to stop and praise the Lord Jesus for what he has done and what he will do!  Sometimes we don’t know what words to use, but the Bible supplies us with many wonderful ways of praising the Lord Jesus.

The disciples and the crowds believe that Jesus has been sent from the Father and they are asking him to start saving them.  Some of these cries mention the kingdom of David.  In other words, they are ready for the Romans to be expelled and the Kingdom of David to be restored to the full promises that God gave to him.  Let’s look at verse 11 and bring this to a close.

The investigation of the Savior (vs. 11)

It may not have been quite so clear that day, but Jesus then takes time to investigate this place that is crying out for his salvation, both the city and its place of worship.  It is at this point that we sometimes forget that when we are making an investigation of Jesus as to his worthiness as a Savior, he also is making an investigation of us as to our worthiness as a disciple.

Luke 19:41-42 tells us that Jesus weeps as he approaches the city, but they are not tears of happiness.  He says, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.”  We may not realize it, but there are things that would make for our peace, whether in America, or in our individual lives, but we have to have the wisdom to choose them.  Be careful that you are not manipulated into rashly supporting things that actually make for your own harm, or the harm of our nation.  Jesus goes on to use another phrase in Luke 19.  This was their “day of visitation,” not of a friend wanting to chat, but of our Lord coming to inspect.

Israel had waited for the Messiah to come for so long, and now he was here, but he had come to make an inspection, and they weren’t ready.  Always remember that choice is a saw that cuts both ways.  Jesus has presented himself to you to investigate and to choose, or not to choose, as your savior.  Yet, at the same time, he is investigating you.  What is really going on in that heart of yours?  You say you want righteousness and salvation, but what do you really want?  What will you really choose when put to the test?  They were not ready for their surprise inspection that day, and I dare say that the United States of America is not ready today if Jesus were to come and investigate us.  Friend, you had better make sure that you are ready to stand before the Lord, before he shows up.  Only repentance and faith in him can save us and bring us into his grace.

Jesus then enters the city and goes into the temple compound.  He simply looks around at everything.  It is fitting that he should not rashly judge the things that he is seeing there.  The next several days will be filled with him coming into the temple area and confronting the things that were wrong with Israel.  It may feel anticlimactic, but the true climax was coming at the end of the week, when he would hang on a cross for them and for us.

The day ends with Jesus simply going back to Bethany to stay the night.  In the morning, he will return to Jerusalem to teach in the Temple area.  He will do this several days in a row.  At the same time, the city will increase with people coming from all around the world for the Passover feast.  This dynamic forces the hands of the religious leaders.  Jesus is being too audacious.  They can’t let this continue, or at least that is what they think.

We can get lost dreaming about what the world would be like if they had simply embraced Jesus as Messiah that week.  It is similar to dreaming about what the world would be like if Adam and Eve hadn’t sinned, or if early American settlers had not used slavery.  We can look backwards and blame all our problems on those who sinned before us in a never ending “if only…”  However, you can’t unspill spilled milk.  You can only ask the Lord to help you clean up the mess and move forward.  Sin is a mess that we can’t clean up on our own, whether as a world or as an individual.  God has put the humble and peaceful Jesus in front of you, and asks you to choose him as your savior.  He doesn’t always lead in the way that we think he should lead, but follow him to the end, we must! 

The day is coming when Jesus will split the skies and return to this earth as a glorious, conquering king.  Whether I am alive on this earth on that day, or not, is immaterial.  I will still be held accountable for my choice.  Choose this day whom you will serve because not choosing Jesus is the same as choosing what this world is offering.  It is offering unending worthless things that eat up your life and leave you empty in the end.  Come to Jesus and let him be your savior today!

Who is my Savior audio

More Parables I

Mark 4:21-29.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, July 07, 2019.

Today we will look at two more parables that follow on the heels of the Parable of the soils.  Both of them continue with metaphors regarding God’s Word in our life and how important it is for us to receive it, believe it, and live it out.

The parable of the Lamp under the Basket

Verses 21-25 change the metaphor from seed planted in soil to a lamp made to shine light.  Although we are not given a detailed explanation of this parable, Jesus makes several comments to enhance what he is saying.  The key is to recognize that, though the metaphor has changed, we are still talking about the purpose for the Word of God in our life.

Let’s look at the elements of this new parable and compare it to the parable of the soils.  If we were to break down the parable of the soils in light of this parable we would note that the seed corresponds to the oil in the lamp.  It is the Word of God coming into our life.  Though the oil is not mentioned, the word for lamp here refers to an oil burning lamp that would have a wick.  The purpose of shining light is mentioned and therefore implies the presence of oil in the lamp.  Sometimes you will hear people say that oil always represents the Holy Spirit.  However, the connection between the Spirit of God and His Word is inseparable, though distinct.

Next, the Lamp as a container corresponds to the soil, and is the individual who hears the Word of God.  We are sent the Word of God in order for it to do something within us and our life.

Lastly, the fruitfulness of the seed corresponds to the unhidden light of the lamp, and is the transformative effect of the Word upon the individual’s life.

The parable of the Lamp under the Basket is all about the purpose of God’s Word.  The only reason to put a lamp under a basket or bed is because you are not using it.  It cannot be lit because it would catch the basket and bed on fire.  Normally people have lamps because they intend to use them.  There would be a particular place, a lamp stand, where you would put the lamp and then light it when you need it to illuminate the room.  The point Jesus is making is this.  God made us to be a lamp through which His Word could bring light to the world that isn’t listening to Him.

Verse 22 gives a principle that is intended to explain, but sometimes misleads people.  “For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.”  On its own, this phrase serves as a kind of cautionary proverb that warns us about our private or secret lives.  Be careful how you live in secret because it will eventually become public knowledge.  However, in this context it relates to the Word of God coming into our life so that we can be a light to the world.  Thus, the point is not so much about a hidden life of sin, but about keeping God’s Word hidden and not shining it out to the world.  Up until Jesus, the Gospel regarding the salvation of mankind, Jew and Gentile alike, had been kept hidden.  Yes, God slowly and progressively revealed the Gospel throughout the Old Testament, but it really is in a cryptic and hidden form.  With the ascension of Jesus into heaven, the Church would become the light of God to the world.  It was not time to keep the Gospel hidden.  Our whole purpose is to let God’s Word transform us so that we will illuminate the dark world around us.  Will we cooperate with God in this purpose?

It is not enough for the lamp to be filled with oil.  We can hear the whole Bible seven times and yet it must be ignited.  This represents what we talked about in the parable of the soils.  We must understand the Word, believe that it is true and for our life, we must live it out, and we must hold onto it and the fruit it produces in our life.  Faith in God’s Word is the ignition point that begins to produce light.  This ignition first transforms us internally.  Then it produces an external transformation, which also leads to proclaiming the Gospel.  In fact, in Matthew 5:16 Jesus adds this regarding these lamps.  , “Let  your light so shine before men that they may see  your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”  Notice that the light is first and foremost our good works.  Remember, good works done by and for our own merit are filthy rags, but good works done by the Holy Spirit and for Jesus are truly a light to this world.  Sharing the Gospel with people is only one good work of many that represents the light.  Let’s first live the Word, so that we have earned the right to share the Gospel.

In verse 24 Jesus remarks that we should take care of the Word of God that we receive.  The emphasis is on hearing because most people were not readers, nor had a copy of the Scriptures.  If they were to receive God’s Word then they would have to go where it was being read, or happen upon someone who knew it and was sharing it.  Literally Jesus tells them to understand or perceive what they hear.  Don’t let it just come in one ear and out the other.   To the degree that you understand God’s Word and shine it out to the world around you, is the degree that God will give you more Word to understand.  In fact, if the lamp refuses to let the oil be ignited then God will quit sending it oil.  In fact, just as the parable of the soils had many obstacles to our faith in God’s Word so, those same obstacles stand in the way of us shining the Light of God’s Word to the world.  Just as the seed that did not grow to fruit was lost to the soil so, the oil that is not used to illuminate will be lost.  Yes, we are dealing with metaphors here and so, we should not become lost in the details of the metaphors, but instead focus on the spiritual truth they reveal.

None of us deserves the Word of God.  It really is His gracious mercy to us.  God is faithful to send His Word to those who do not deserve it.  Yet, this does not diminish the secondary truth that He will hold us accountable for the Word that we have received.  This connection between using and receiving ultimately catches up with us.  Over the long-term, how we appropriate the Word of God will affect how much more we receive.

The parable of the Growing Seed

The next parable is in verses 26-29.  We are back to the first metaphor of the seed being the Word of God.  However, here we are told that the “Kingdom of God” can be understood by this metaphor as well.  The soil can be seen as an individual, but here it is seen as a corporate thing involving all who believe. In the first century, the Kingdom of God was on the move through the new Church that Christ was building.  The people of God would take the Gospel to the ends of the earth and increase the Kingdom of God on earth, one person at a time.   Thus, the soil really represents the world as a whole.  Those who responded faithfully to the Gospel are good soil and those who do not are not good ground.

In this parable, Jesus mentions that the sower doesn’t understand how the growth occurs.  He just knows it works to sow the seed.  Similarly, we are God’s messengers through our lives and our speech.  We don’t understand completely how that works, and why one person believes and another doesn’t.  Nor do we know why one waits longer, but finally believes.  However, there are two things involved: the work of the Holy Spirit in their heart, and the response of the heart and mind of the hearer.  Will they let the birds, rocks, and thorns ruin the word in their life?  These mysteries of salvation cannot be solved.  Yet, we know that we are commanded to sow God’s Word and that it will powerfully save those who believe.

The parable ends with the emphasis that the field will be harvested when the grain has ripened.  God will not let it be lost or rot.  Yet, this metaphor is more complicated than it looks when it comes to harvesting.

In some ways, we see the idea of harvesting used to point to the act of bringing a person into the Kingdom of God.  The harvester is that servant of God who helps them to make that last step of stepping into the family of God and connecting to their brothers and sisters in the Lord.  I believe this is what Jesus meant in John 4.  In John 4:35 Jesus told his disciples, “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!..”  And then in verse 38 he told them, ““I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”  Jesus is clearly speaking about their work of preaching the Gospel and baptizing those who believe.  They would be harvesting those whose faith was ready to be reaped.

The apostle Paul also picks up this metaphor in 1 Corinthians 3, where he also adds the concept of the one who waters the seed.  A person is brought to salvation by the working together of those who put the word in their heart, those who come along and water that seed by continually reminding them and encouraging them, and then those who harvest them by helping them to step out in faith.  Some may object to this metaphor because cutting down grain sounds bad metaphorically.  However, those who come into the family of Christ are being separated from the world in which they have grown and are connecting to a new spiritual and life-giving source.  So, even though the analogy breaks down in some ways, it is still an apt and valuable picture.

We could also see the harvest individually in regards to the end of our life in this body.  When a believer comes to their death, their whole life has been completely lived.  The seed of God’s Word is as mature as it is going to be and they are taken into God’s barn.  The reaping here is done by God Himself as He brings us to Himself.

Yet, we noticed that the parable emphasizes the Kingdom of God as a whole, and therefore, the harvesting should be seen that way as well.  The Bible speaks of a separation, or harvest, at the end of the age (the age of the Church spreading the Gospel).  In Matthew 13 Jesus tells a similar parable about the Kingdom of Heaven and a harvest at the end of the age.  Matthew 13:39, “The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.”  This harvest has good fruit and bad fruit that must be separated.  God only intends to keep that fruit which comes from the Word He has sown, not that fruit which comes from other “words.” 

Revelation 14 also emphasizes this fact, but describes it in the terms of two different harvests.  The first harvest is described as a grain harvest.  It is the harvesting of the people of God.  The second harvest is described as a grape harvest.  It is the harvesting of the wicked.  They will be gathered together and tossed into the winepress.  This imagery is that of the wrath of God coming upon the whole earth for its rebellion against God.  Ultimately, the book of Revelation reveals that God is bringing us to a new heavens and a new earth in which nothing wicked will be allowed to enter.

May God help us to see the importance of both sides of this.  We must proclaim the Gospel to people and speak it as much as we can.  Whether we are planting seeds, watering them, or harvesting new believers, is not our concern.  Rather, our concern is that we are faithful at doing our part.  However, we must also be a transformed person.  We must believe God’s Word and cooperate with its transforming power, so that the world can see the fruit of God’s Word.  Yes, none of us do this without error.  However, we have an advocate with the Father.  If we will be faithful to respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, repent of our falling short, and stir up our faith in God’s Word, then He will shine his light through us into the world!

More Parables I audio

Your Personal End Times: The Great White Throne

Revelation 20:11-15.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on October 28, 2018.

Two weeks ago we were looking at that amazing time called the Millennial Kingdom, which lies in our future.  What a wonderful time that will be as we experience life on this earth without war and unchecked unrighteousness.  For the believer who has been resurrected, it will be even more amazing because we will not have a body that is bent towards its own lusts.  Yet, the Bible tells us that the 1,000 years of peace will come to an end when Satan is released from prison and he is able to deceive a vast number of mortal humans to go to war against Christ and His glorified saints.  This Final rebellion is quickly defeated as Revelation 20:9 says, “fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.”  We were then told that the devil would finally be thrown into the Lake of Fire where he will be tormented day and night forever and ever.  Some may wonder why God would put the devil in prison and then release him again.  Though the Bible does not give an explicit reason, it should not escape our insight that the devil and mortal man is given another chance to refrain from rebelling against God.  This seems to be the final argument in the case of God as for why all these are deserving of the Lake of Fire.  Regardless, it is a reality we must all deal with.  Even when given 1,000 years of peace and prosperity, multitudes would choose rebellion and the tyranny of sin over again when given the chance.

Our passage today follows on the heels of the fire falling from the sky and destroying the rebellion.  It focuses on a great day of judgment in which all the wicked dead throughout history will be brought up out of Hades and placed before the Lord.  You will remember that we previous spoke about a person who dies and is not in right relationship with God.  Such a person will find themselves in torments in Hades, the spiritual holding place we call the grave.  Most of what we have talked about has dealt with what the righteous will experience after death, but now we return to the wicked dead.  Though it was clear what their judgment would be when they died, technically they have not been sentenced yet.  One day their experience in Hades will be interrupted by this fire from heaven and they will be resurrected in order to stand before Christ for their sentencing.

The final judgment of creation will occur

Up to this point we have seen that the believers from every generation will have been resurrected and they will have glorified bodies (indestructible, imperishable, etc.).  They have already been judged.  In verses 11-15 we are dealing with the unrighteous dead.

Verse 11 begins with the earth and the heavens flee from the presence of the One who sits on the throne, but no place is found for them.  The idea is that they can’t hide and disappear from the scene as all the unrighteous dead are brought before Christ.  It is very likely that this passage and the fire that falls from heaven in verse 9 are tied to the prophecy that Peter makes in 2 Peter 3:10.  There Peter says, “But the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.  This doesn’t fit with what we have seen regarding the 2^nd Coming of Christ.  Though we typically think of the Day of the Lord as referring to the Second Coming, it actually refers to the whole period from the pouring out of God’s wrath, to Christ’s 2^nd Coming, including the Millennial Kingdom and the Great White Throne Judgment.  So basically the whole universe melts into plasma before the full glory of Christ.

Thus as this creation is removed, we see the source of its melting.  A Great White Throne towers above all the other thrones that have ever been mentioned in Scripture, even Christ’s millennial throne.  This is the heavenly throne of God.  It is white because of the purity of the One who sits upon it.  Simultaneously the Second Resurrection occurs.  Though the phrase is not explicitly stated here, it is a logical necessity from the details of verse 5.  There we are told that the Resurrections that have occurred before this are a part of a class called the First Resurrection.  It then pronounces a blessing on those who participate in the First Resurrection and a danger upon those who do not.  Elsewhere in the Bible the resurrection is always described in two phases or at least two kinds.  Daniel describes two different resurrections it in chapter 12 of his book when he writes, “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.”  Jesus described two resurrections and in John 5:29 the second one is specifically called “the resurrection of the condemnation.”  Paul describes it in Acts 24:15 as “the resurrection of the unjust.”  Thus the Second Resurrection is a time when all the wicked dead are raised up in order to receive condemnation and shame.

The picture is advanced as we see Hades completely emptied as all in it are brought before Christ.  It also mentions the sea being emptied of any in it and brought before Christ.  This is to emphasize that even those who could not be buried would be brought before Christ.  No one will escape this judgment, but the righteous who have already been judged as worthy of life.

We are also told that both the small and the great are brought before Christ.  No one will be too insignificant to escape this judgment, and no one will be too powerful to resist it.

Next we are told that books are opened and the Book of Life is opened.  The “books” plural are a record of the works and actions of each person.  The Book of Life is a ledger of all the “imagers” of God who have been created.  If they did not put their faith in god and His Christ then their name was blotted out of the book (see Psalm 69:28 and Acts 3:19).  When we put our faith in Christ, our name remains in the Book of Life and the record of our sinful works is blotted out.  Whether these are actual books in the heavens or merely symbols of God’s ability to record everything, it is clear that this is not a trial.  Though evidence is present, there is no rebuttal or counter evidence.  This is a sentencing phase where all will stand silent as the decision of Christ regarding them is made clear and carried out. 

Some have asked this question.  What about the righteous mortals of the Millennium?  It stands to reason that not everyone will join the Final Rebellion.  The glorified saints, of course, are able to withstand the fire that destroys all things.  Though it is not stated, it would seem very probable that any righteous mortals will be instantly transformed and caught up to the side of Christ along with the other glorified saints.  This will complete the First Resurrection.  The resurrected righteous from every generation will stand as witnesses to this judgment alongside Christ.

Those whose names are not in the Book of Life are cast into the Lake of Fire.  This is described in verses 14 and 15.  Up until this point, we have seen that the Beast and the False Prophet are the first to go into the Lake of Fire (at the 2^nd Coming) and then the devil is thrown into the Lake of Fire at the end of the Millennium.  It would seem appropriate that, as the devil is thrown into the Lake of Fire, so his angels would be thrown in as well.  Jesus himself said that hell was created for “the devil and his angels.”  (Matthew 25:41).  The wicked humans are now joining the fate of the wicked supernatural beings.  The Lake of Fire is a place of separation from God and all His goodness. 

Thus they will never again be able to interact with God’s creation, specifically the New Heavens and the New Earth that are to be created and appear in Revelation chapter 21.  Nothing that is wicked or potentially could become wicked will be allowed to go into the New Creation.  Adam and eve were in paradise, but they were also ignorant to evil and wickedness.  Thus they could easily be deceived.  The glorified Sons of God who enter into the New Creation will not be ignorant.  We will be completely convinced of the goodness of God.

Let me leave you with the challenge to make sure that you are right with God.  Unless you surrender your life and put your faith in Jesus, you cannot escape the torments of Hades, the Great White Throne Judgment, and the Lake of Fire.  Why choose death?  Choose the life that God puts before you today.  Some reject this offer and present all manner of arguments why God should not be worshipped, but this is folly.  You will not judge God, He will judge you; and you are not truly righteous, but He truly is.

Are you angry at the idea of judgment and resentful towards God and His supposed goodness?  You should read David Guzik’s commentary on Revelation 20:12-13.  Here is part of what he has to say. 

“i. Because this is a sentencing and not a trial, those who stand before the throne have nothing to say. Many think they will “tell God a thing or two” at the final judgment, as reflected in this letter to Dear Abby (a newspaper advice column) written some years ago:

 Dear Abby: I am troubled with something a reader wrote: “What right do we mortals have to demand an explanation from God?” Abby, that writer has never known the gut-wrenching pain of losing a child...

God didn’t answer my prayers, and I resent being told that I have no right to question God. If there is a God, and if I ever get to meet him face to face, you can bet your life I will have plenty of whys for him to answer.

I want to know why my little girl died and why that drunk was allowed to go on living. I love her more than my life, and I miss her so. I am mad that I am having to live in a world where she no longer lives, and I want to know why. Why shouldn’t I have the right to ask God?

Aren’t we supposedly created in his image? If so, surely he has a heart and soul capable of hurting just as I hurt. Why would he not expect to be questioned if he has anything to do with miracles?

I don’t fear the Lord. And I don’t fear hell, either. I know what hell is like. I’ve already been there since the day my precious daughter was killed.

Please sign me... A Bereaved Mother

ii. Of course, there will be no criticism of God on that day. This desperate woman will see not only the righteousness and goodness of God, but she will also see her own sin and rejection of Him more clearly than ever. One could only pray and hope she came to understand how the Father Himself knew the pain she experienced, and sent His Son to give her hope and redemption.”

Great White Throne audio