1. Hiding behind fears of practicing your righteousness in order to be seen by others (Mt 6:1)

You may be tempted to not show mercy because you think your motives are not right: You want to do that just so others will see you do it so just don’t do it!

2. Neglecting justice and love of God for the sake of religious duty (Lk 11:42)

Here you may be tempted to recall all that you have done in God’s name and all that you are doing in God’s name so that you won’t have to meet that need right in front of you.

3. Doing so much stuff that you don’t have time to be compassionate. Owning so much stuff that you don’t have the time or resources to be compassionate (Is 58)

When you have the opportunity to buy or do something new ask yourself these questions: Does doing this or owning this open up greater opportunities to show mercy? Or will doing this or owning this reduce my availability to see and meet needs?

4. Allowing fears to make your decisions

We are to make decisions based on who God is and what he has promised and commanded. You must not allow your fear concerning what might happen to you, your body, your family, your stuff, your reputation, or your finances to make your decisions. With the Spirit of Christ, the abiding presence of the Father, biblical maturity, and wise council go out among the wolves.

Christmas Eve Celebration

By Paul Duncan, pastor Mambrino Baptist Church

R1: Tonight on Christmas Eve we remember that God’s timing is perfect- Galatians 3:4

ALL: Jesus is coming!

Place a watch in the center of the table

R2: God promised Adam and Eve that the seed of the woman would crush the Serpent’s head- Genesis 3:15

ALL: Jesus is coming!

Place a hammer in the center of the table

 R3: The prophet Micah said the Ruler of Israel would come from Bethlehem- Micah 5:2

ALL: Jesus is coming! (or: Our King is Coming)

Place a dress-up crown into the center of the table or you could have a child make one out of paper in preparation of this night.

R4: The prophet Isaiah said that the people who lived in deep darkness would see a great light- Isaiah 9:2

ALL: Jesus is coming! (or: The Light of the World is coming!)

Place a battery operated candle or flashlight in the center of the table

 R1: An angel appeared to Joseph and told him to take Mary as his wife- Matthew 1:20

All: Jesus is coming!

Place a wedding ring in the center of the table (a piece of costume jewelry works well)

R2: You shall call his name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins- Matthew 1:21

ALL: Jesus is coming!

Place a cross in the center of the table

R3: Zechariah the priest said that God will raise up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David- Luke 1:69

ALL: Jesus is coming!

Place a horn in the center of the table

R4: So Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem- Luke 2:4

ALL: Jesus is coming!

Place a nativity scene in the center of the table but hold out baby Jesus, the angel, the shepherds, and the wise men

Dad or Grandad: Pray for your family asking that God would help everyone to understand the great blessing of Christmas.

Sing: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, hymn 76 in the Baptist Hymnal or you can find a good version on Youtube.

*Leave all the items on the table because you will add to them Christmas morning

Christmas Morning Celebration

R1: While Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem the time came for Mary to give birth and Jesus was born- Luke 2:6-7

ALL: Jesus is here!

Place baby Jesus in the nativity

R2: An angel appeared to shepherds and said, “I bring you good news of great joy because Christ the Lord has been born in the city of David- Luke 2:10-11

ALL: Jesus is here!

Place the shepherds at the nativity

R3: Then an army of angels appeared and said, “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth”- Luke 2:12

ALL: Jesus is here!

Place the angel at the nativity

R4: When the wise men saw the child they worshipped him and gave him gifts- Matthew 2:11

ALL: Jesus is here!

Place the wise men at the nativity

Dad or Grandfather: The two most important times of the year are Christmas and Easter. At Christmas we celebrate the fact that Jesus, the Son of God, has come. At Easter we celebrate the fact that Jesus, our Savior, died on the cross for our sins and three days later rose again. James 1:17 says, “Every good and erfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” The greatest gift we could ever receive is the gift of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Today we celebrate the fact that our Savior Jesus Christ has come, he has rescued us, and one day soon He’s coming again.

Sing: Joy the World! The Lord has Come, hymn 87 in the Baptist Hymnal or you can find a good version on Youtube

Pray: have one of the children pray and thank God for sending Jesus

Note to parents or grandparents

R1, R2, R3, and R4 stand for readers. I change the actual scripts before printing and put in the names of the people who will be reading this way it is much less confusing. If kids are constantly asking, “What number am I?” it can be a distraction. If you have children who aren’t reading yet you can work with them to memorize their parts or simply include them in the statements that everyone will make.

I want to leave it up to you to decide who puts the items in the center of the table or in the center of the room if you have more people than places at the table. The person reading can place the item or an adult can place all the items at the appropriate time. Use your better judgment concerning the ability of the children to do this without getting distracted or fighting over who gets to hold the item.

I plan to do the Christmas Eve celebration just before bed (after pajamas are on and teeth have been brushed) and then do the Christmas morning celebration first thing in the morning (if you have an early riser who likes to eat and might get fussy go ahead and give him/her a snack).

Items you will need for the Christmas Eve celebration

Watch or clock

Hammer

Dress up or paper crown

Battery operated candle or flashlight

Wedding ring

Cross

Horn

Nativity scene minus Jesus, angel, shepherds, and wise men

Items you will need for the Christmas morning celebration

Jesus for nativity scene

Shepherds for nativity scene

Angel for nativity scene

Wise men for nativity scene

Thesis: First came John then came the glorious Sunrise.

Before the angel Gabriel visited a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph he had another visit to make. You see, there was another couple out there and their names were Zechariah and Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God. They walked blamelessly in all the commandments and statues of the Lord. But they had no child, Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.

Now Zechariah was a priest and he had gone up to the temple to serve as priest. One of the special duties of the priest would be to go into the Holy Place inside the temple, trim the lamps, and burn incense on the altar of incense. Now they didn’t burn incense to make the room smell better. You see the priest, in this case Zechariah, was doing something quite profound when incense was burned. Luke 1 tells us that when Zechariah entered the Holy Place to burn incense there was a multitude of people outside praying. Now all those praying people had entered by way of sacrifice on the great altar and they had entered by washing in the great sea of water. These were people who had literally seen their sins atoned and their bodies washed clean. Now they were praying and the smoke rising up from the altar of incense was the equivalent of their prayers rising to God. These were cleansed people who had come to meet with God. And God responded with a message.

The angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah in the temple and when Zechariah saw the angel he became wildly afraid. Gabriel had a message. You see, Zechariah’s prayers had been heard. Zechariah had been praying for his wife to have a child and just as the smoke from the incense rose to the heavens so too had Zachariah’s prayers risen to God. Gabriel told Zechariah that Elizabeth would have a son. They were to name the boy John. His birth would be joyful because God would do great things through this boy. John would be filled with the Spirit from his mother’s womb. Through him God would reconcile many of the children of Israel to himself and God would reconcile families. The disobedient would turn to the wisdom of the just and this child would prepare the way of the Lord.

Pretty amazing isn’t it that our God answers prayer? But Zachariah didn’t believe it. So God punished Zachariah by making him unable to speak until his son was born. It appears also that Zachariah wasn’t able to hear (Lk 1:62). You see, if Zachariah wouldn’t listen to and believe what God said then he would listen to no one and speak no word until God’s word came true.

And God’s word came true. About nine months later Elizabeth gave birth to a boy. When the people gathered together on the eigth day they were going to call him Zechariah after his father but Elizabeth told them to call him John. There was a bit of a disagreement so they signaled the deaf and speechless Zechariah. He called for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed and he spoke blessing God. Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied saying,

Read Luke 1:68-80

In this moment the Holy Spirit shows Zechariah what God is going to do through Jesus, the Son of the Most High (1:32), and John, the prophet of the Most High. So Zechariah begins with praise.

I. Praise God for what He has done (vs67-75)

Zechariah begins by blessing the Lord. The right response to all that God has done and all that God is going to do is to give God praise. Thank Him. Praise Him. Tell of His greatness. Celebrate His faithfulness to His people. Rejoice in who God is. This is what Zechariah does in verse 67, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel.” Now let’s see exactly why Zechariah praises God.

1. God has come (Gen 50:24-25; Ex 4:31; Lk 7:16)

Verse 68, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited his people.” This is Exodus language. Before Joseph died he prophesied that God would visit his people and bring them out of the land of Egypt and give them the land he had sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gen 50:24). Fast forward 400 years. Moses and Aaron gather the elders of the people of Israel who were in Egypt and tell them that God has come to rescue them. “And the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.”

Fast forward another 1400 years and here is Zechariah worshipping God because God has visited his people. And God’s visitation comes in Messiah’s visitation (vs68; 78). Grab onto this. After Jesus raised the widow’s son from the dead, Luke 7:16 records this, “Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has arisen among us!’ and ‘God has visited his people!’” The prophet like Moses has come. But better still, God has come. Praise God for the incarnation. Praise God for Christmas. God has come!

1. The Son of God accomplishes redemption

Verse 68 says, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people.” Jesus came to accomplish redemption for the people of God. Psalm 130:7 says, “O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.” Colossians 1:14 says, “In Christ we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Hebrews 9:12 tells us that through Jesus’ perfect life, atoning death, victorious resurrection, and glorious ascension he has secured for us “eternal redemption.” Through Jesus God has come and accomplished redemption. Zechariah speaks as if it’s already happened. It is a sure promise; a done deal. Let’s keep going with verse 69 so we can rejoice with Zechariah.

“God has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.” God had promised redemption through the line of David. Zechariah hints about what we looked at last week; a better king than David. The imagery of verse 69 is great. In those days there were no massive engines but there were powerful animals. One of the most powerful and strong would have been the wild ox. So the horn became an image of great strength even efficacy. That’s why the great altar in the courtyard where the sacrifices were burned had four horns. Those horns symbolized the fact that those faithfully offered sacrifices had great power, they were efficacious, and they worked. The altar of incense also had four horns that symbolized the powerful prayers of the faithful.

When the Holy Spirit wanted to describe the coming work of Jesus he did it with the image of a horn of salvation. Jesus came to accomplish a salvation that was powerful, strong, and efficacious. Our Savior is not a baby in a manger. No, he is a ruling King whose power to save is unstoppable.

A horn of salvation has been raised up for us just as God had said. Look at verse 70. A horn has been raised up in the house of his servant David, “as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” God said he would do this. Let me give you one from the prophet Jeremiah. This is Jeremiah 23:5&6. “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’” Christmas, the birth of the Christ, is what God had been talking about for a long time.

God said, verse 71, “that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.” Now Zechariah doesn’t have the details but he has the big picture. It is important for us to realize that Zechariah has no concepts of the first and second comings of the Messiah. All Zechariah sees is the completed work. Therefore, Zechariah brings the works of salvation from sins and liberation from political enemies together. But we as recipients of the complete Bible understand that the first coming was for salvation and the second coming will be for kingly rule over all this earth and every kingdom. Keep that in mind.

Verse 71 promises peace for God’s people. No longer will they be held captive by the likes of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, or Rome. Because of the Messiah God’s people will be saved from their enemies and from the hand of all who hate them. This is political or national freedom. This will occur when Christ returns. Let’s get back into Luke 1.

A horn of salvation has been raised up in the house of his servant David. The Messiah will come to free God’s people and he will come, verse 72, “to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham.”

1. Our redemption shows God’s mercy

Remember, after Abraham had been willing to offer up Isaac God promised, “I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice” (Gen 22:17-18). But God’s people didn’t obey his voice. They repeatedly and continually disobeyed the covenant. But the prophet Micah understood what Zechariah saw. Micah said this, “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old” (Micah 7:18-20).

At Christmas we get a clear view of God’s mercy. We shouldn’t have a savior. We shouldn’t have any hope of eternal life. But in the birth of our Lord we see the mercy promised to our fathers. In that manger and on that cross we see that God remembers his holy covenant. Our God is merciful. Our redemption proves it.

But God doesn’t redeem us just to show his mercy. God redeems us through faith in Christ so that we might serve him. God has raised up this horn of salvation, verse 74, “to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.”

1. God saves for service (vs74-75)

When God brought his people out of Egypt he said he did so in order to make them a kingdom of priests (Ex 19:6). God has redeemed his people in order that they might serve him. But as you know from reading the Old Testament the people of God did not want to serve God. They need new hearts. They, like us, need the powerful New Covenant in Jesus’ blood.

Zechariah saw then when he saw liberation from the hand of our enemies. This is a new Exodus through Jesus Christ so that we might be a kingdom of priests. God’s design is to give you freedom both physically and spiritually. Physical deliverance allows you to serve God without fear persecution. Many of our brothers and sisters don’t have that so they long for the second coming. Spiritual deliverance allows you to serve God without fear of his wrath against your sins. This spiritual dynamic is explained as “serving him in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.”

Christ has come to create a people who will serve God all their days in complete holiness and righteousness. You are to go to your work and serve God there. You are to go to the movies and the lake and Christmas parties and serve God there. Because of Christ and his powerful transforming grace you are to be a priest in your home to your spouse, your children, and your grandchildren. We are a holy people set apart for God. There are no days off. If you want a day off from being holy and serving God in righteousness then you probably haven’t experienced the powerful grace of Christ.

Christ has come to redeem his people. The prophets said it would happen, God promised it to Abraham, and now the fulfillment is for us “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that we may proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). And I like this: Zechariah praised God for what he was going to do through Christ. We get to praise God for what he has done through Christ.

Now the question arises: What about John? Zechariah gets 12 verses and 2 of them are about John.

II. Understand John’s role (vs76-80)

1. John is the prophet of the Most High (76)

Look at verse 76 with me, “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High.” Just as God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,” now he will speak through John. And John “will go before the Lord to prepare his ways.” Isaiah gives us the picture of every valley being lifted up and every mountain and hill made low so that the glory of the Lord can be revealed (Isaiah 40:3-5). John is like a road crew for the coming King. His job is to remove every impediment to the glorious Christ. And what is the biggest roadblock, valley, or mountain? Is it Rome? Do the people need political freedom in order to be ready for the Christ? No, they need what we need. Verse 77, they need God “to give knowledge of salvation in the forgiveness of their sins.” John preached repentance and his was a baptism of repentance in preparation for the coming king.

Hear me clearly on this one: there is no salvation without the forgiveness of sins. And how is this forgiveness possible? Should we work hard and do good things and maybe we’ll be saved? Is salvation by works? Never, salvation is, verse 78, because of the tender mercy of God. God provided salvation for them through the coming Messiah because of his deep abiding mercy. And God has provided salvation for us through the Messiah that has come because of his deep abiding mercy. Verse 78 is huge. Everything hinges on the tender mercy of our God. Aren’t you so glad that your salvation doesn’t depend on you being good enough. Instead your salvation depends on God being merciful. This merciful God sent John to prepare the way. And remember, John was the prophet of the Most High. Now let’s think a little more about Jesus.

1. Jesus is the Son of the Most High (32)

John came giving the knowledge of salvation through faith in the coming King because of the tender mercy of God. Now verse 78 goes on to tell us that that “the sunrise shall visit us from on high” also because of the tender mercy of God. We know that “sunrise” refers to Jesus because there is only one other person mentioned in this prophecy who visits his people and that person is God. Verse 68 told us that God has visited us and we saw that he did it through the Christ. Outside of this passage Ephesians 5:14 says, “Awake, O Sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” In Revelation 22:16 Jesus calls himself the bright morning star. Let’s keep going into verse 79 and the images will make good sense.

The reason for the sunrise is “to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Christ has come to rescue us from sin and death. He has come to pull us out of the despondency and depression caused by the struggles of this life. Christ has come to shine upon us and lead us out of death and into life. He came to guide our feed into the way of peace. This is exactly what he did. His life and sin atoning work, his teaching and ministry, can be described as light shining into the darkness.

Let’s bring this home to Granbury and Glen Rose. You and I will gather with friends, family, and neighbors over the next couple of weeks and there is a battle raging around us. 2 Corinthians 4:4 tells us that the god of this world who is Satan has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. But as we proclaim Christ as Lord, God shines the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Before the thick of Christmas is upon us we need to pause and ask what we are proclaiming in all these activities and with all these presents. We must realize that it is quite possible that Satan could be using us and our good intentions to blind the minds of unbelievers. If there is not a gracious and clear proclamation of Jesus as Lord in your life then you might actually be having a blinding effect on your loved ones this Christmas.

Remember, Christ has come so that we might serve God in holiness and righteousness all our days. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the light that will lead you and your family and your friends out of darkness, despondency, and death. Go from this place and proclaim Christ. Tell people why Christmas matters. Point people to the cross, the empty tomb, and the tender mercy of God. The Light of the world has come. May our words and deeds shine forth with his marvelous light.

Thesis: David’s life points to Jesus, the great and coming King.

The days leading up to Jesus’ birth were days filled with expectation; there was a buzz in the air. God was doing something magnificent because something magnificent needed to be done. The religious teachers and people of the day were holding onto the promise of a forever king who would come from the line of David. In 2 Samuel 7:16 God promised David, “Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.” The people knew that promise so when Jesus entered Jerusalem for the Passover, Mark 11:9 tells us, “those who went before and those who followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

The people saw in Jesus the promise of the coming king. They even made plans at one point to force Jesus to become king (John 6:15). They wanted Jesus to be their deliverer and their king. But like the many things we want, they did not fully understand what getting what they wanted would mean. They did not understand all that it meant for Jesus to be the fulfillment of the promise of a Davidic king. So today, in hopes of increasing your wonder and celebration of Christmas, I want to show you that Jesus is a better king than David. This is the season of the coming King. But, Jesus is not another king like David. Jesus is the great King. Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Let’s worship with our minds as we read Mark 12:35-37.

A thousand years before Christmas,

I. David knew his Lord was coming (Mark 12:35-37)

1. The Christ is David’s Lord

King David had it figured out but there was a misunderstanding in Jesus’ day. The scribes were rightly teaching that the Messiah, the Christ, is the son of David. They understood that this coming anointed One would be a part of David’s family tree. Matthew chapter 1 and Luke 2 tell us that Jesus fulfilled that promise when Jesus became Joseph’s son. Jesus was of the house of David because Joseph was of the house and lineage of David (Matt 1:1-16, 20; Luke 2:4).

Let’s make sure we’re tracking together. God promised that the Messiah would come from the line of David. Jesus is the Messiah and by his adoption Jesus is also from the line of David. God fulfills his purposes through adoption! But adoption was not the misunderstanding. The misunderstanding involved how the Messiah could be David’s son but greater than David.

Jesus puts the question like this in Mark 12:37, “David himself calls him Lord [that is he calls the Christ Lord]. So how is he his son?” Sons aren’t greater than their fathers. The father has all authority over the house, over the family, until his death. And think about David. God did amazing things through David. And remember that promise I read from 2 Samuel 7:16? It is David’s house and David’s kingdom that will be made sure forever. It is David’s throne that will be established forever. How can a son in David’s house, a king who sits on David’s throne, be greater than David? Bottom line, how can David call the Christ his Lord?

When Jesus quotes this verse from Psalm 110:1 he makes David a spectator and Jesus puts this Christ, the son of David, in the center of attention. David calls his son “Lord”.

The scribes had a problem and so do we. They couldn’t understand the greatness of the Messiah. They saw and understood bits and pieces of biblical truth but the messiah they created was lesser than David, only a son of David.

Over the past three weeks we have seen these truths: Jesus is a better man than Adam. In the person and work of Jesus all the promises made to Abraham are or will be fulfilled. And Jesus is the prophet Moses said would come; an even better prophet than Moses. Today it’s important that we understand that Jesus is a better king than David. As we look at Jesus against the backdrop of David’s life we see that Jesus is a much better king than David. Jesus is David’s Lord.

Let us quickly look at David’s life

II. David was a good king

1. David started as a faithful shepherd (1 Samuel 17:31-37)

Read 1 Samuel 17:34-35

As a shepherd David learned how to keep sheep. In those days God grew him in wisdom concerning feeding sheep, leading sheep, and protecting sheep. In those days with only the Lord and lambs, David learned what it meant to depend on the Lord and he learned what it was like to be delivered by the Lord. In 1 Samuel 17:37 as he prepared to face Goliath, David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” You don’t grab a mad lion and kill it on your own and David knew that. He knew that God had delivered him from the paw of that lion and God would deliver him from the hand of Goliath. David, by the power of God, delivered the people from their fear of Goliath and possibly slavery to an earthly king. But Jesus, by the power of God, delivers us from our slavery to sin and fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15). Jesus is a better king than David. But I get ahead.

David was a faithful shepherd. He cared for his sheep by leading, feeding, and protecting them. And

1. David was a faithful king (1 Kings 2:33)

Now a faithful king is a king who rules justly and secures peace for his people. Solomon knew his father was this type of king, blessed with peace from God. So Solomon said in 1 Kings 2:33, “But for David and his descendants and for his house and for his throne there shall be peace from the Lord forevermore.” In the same way that God had delivered David the shepherd, God had also established David the king. David understood this so before he died he “commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, ‘Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not given you peace on every side? For he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and his people.’”

A faithful king secures peace for his people by removing every threat to their peace. We’re not talking about peace through compromise though there is a place for that. We’re talking about peace through the defeat of every enemy and the removal of every threat. God brought peace to his people through David the faithful king. But think about this: Did that peace last? David defeated the enemy that surrounded the people of God but he was powerless to defeat the sin inside the people of God. For this we need a better king than David. David was a faithful king but he wasn’t perfect.

1. David was sincere but sinful (1 Kings 11:4-6; 15:3)

David was a man after God’s own heart. When king Saul got the boot for not being wholly devoted to God, the prophet Samuel spoke God’s word, “But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people” (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). 1 Kings 11:4 and 15:3 both say that David’s heart was wholly true to the Lord his God. David honestly wanted to do what God wanted him to do. David loved what God loved and trusted God for everything. We’ve seen the blessing poured out through David the faithful shepherd and David the faithful king. He was sincere. He belonged to and loved the Lord. But David was also sinful.

David committed adultery and then had her husband killed in an attempt to cover up his sin (2 Samuel 11). When rape occurred between his step-children, when Amnon raped Tamar, David became angry but did nothing (2 Samuel 13:21). Then when Absalom killed Amnon for raping Tamar David held a grudge. David, who committed adultery and murder but was forgiven refused to forgive his son for killing a guilty man.

God did amazing things through David but David was sinful. David was a good but limited king. God’s people need a great king.

III. Jesus is the great King

Let’s remember David and worship Jesus. David was a faithful shepherd

1. Jesus is the Good Shepherd

In John 10:1-18 Jesus explains what it means for him to be the Good Shepherd. Verse 16 tells us that Jesus has sheep that are not just ethic Jews; he has sheep that are not of that fold. Jesus will bring them in and they will listen to his voice. That’s you and me. As the good Shepherd Jesus will call out to us and bring us into his flock. He’ll go before us and lead us. Jesus will protect us and he will never flee in the face of danger. Like David, Jesus is a shepherd who knows how to lead, feed, and protect his sheep. But there is more to Jesus the good Shepherd than this.

Jesus will save us and give us life. Look at verse 11. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Then the middle of verse 15, “I lay down my life for the sheep.” David put his life on the line so that God’s people could be delivered from an earthly king. David risked his life for the people. Jesus gave up his life so that God’s people could be delivered from God’s wrath. Jesus, the good Shepherd, gave his life as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 2:2; 4:10). David was delivered from his enemies. Jesus was delivered up for our trespasses (Romans 4:25)

Jesus doesn’t just strengthen you for battle. Jesus died in your place because of your sins. Because Jesus is the sinless Son of God he had the authority and worth to be the propitiation for the sins of the world. There is a Shepherd who knows your weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15; 5:2). He knows exactly what you need and he has the power to secure it for you. Today if you hear his voice, if you hear him calling you to follow him, do it. Follow the good Shepherd. He laid down his life for you. He is able to lead, feed, and protect you. Repent of your sins, place your faith in Jesus Christ crucified and risen for you, and you will be saved. Follow the Shepherd and join his flock. Jesus is an infinitely better shepherd than David.

Let’s continue. David was a faithful king

1. Jesus is the King of kings

David defeated the enemies surrounding the people of God. Jesus defeated the sin and deadness inside the people of God.

David was sincere but sinful. Jesus was sincere and sinless.

We began by reading 2 Samuel 7:16. God promised David, “Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.” Now think about it. At the height of David’s power he ruled over several nations. God expanded David’s rule and many kings became subservient to David. But David is nothing compared to Jesus.

Revelation 1:5 calls Jesus, “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.”

The Old and New Testaments have a wonderful blending of titles between God the Father and God the Son. Deuteronomy 10:17, “the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.” Daniel 2:47, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings.” 1 Timothy 6:15, which can refer to the Father or the Son states, “[he] is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.” In Revelation 19:16 when Jesus rides out to defeat every earthly and spiritual enemy we read this, “On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”

Jesus is the King of kings because he rules over every nation. The worship of all people rightly belongs to our sovereign King. He is king because he is the ruler but he’s also the king who brings us peace. All David could do was bring political peace so that God’s people could worship God and bring their atoning sacrifices to God in the temple. All King David could secure was the possibility of peace. But King Jesus doesn’t deal in possibilities. Jesus delivers peace.

As Jesus looked to the cross he delivered peace. John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” The very peace of the eternal Son is the peace Jesus delivers to you. Jesus secures peace not through political treaties but through the bloody cross. He took your sins on himself. Those sins of yours that placed you in a state of enmity with God were taken off of you and paid for by Jesus when he swallowed all of God’s wrath on the cross. David could not secure peace with God but Jesus has. Jesus removes our sins and he gives us his righteousness. Now, through faith in King Jesus, you are loved like the Son. In John 17:23 Jesus tells us that he came to make the church the united and loved people of God. In John 17:23 Jesus says that the church will be so united as one people that the world will know that the Father sent the Son and the Father loves us even as he loves the Son. How can the Father loves us as much as he loves the Son?

God loves you like he loves his Son because you are united by faith to the Son. By faith you are in Christ. You are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Therefore, when the Father looks at you he sees Jesus and he loves you like he loves his only Son. King David could not produce this radical reconciliation with the Father but King Jesus has. And this reconciliation is for you. The Father loves you and sent his Son so that you wouldn’t perish under his wrath but have and enjoy the very life of the Son himself. Eternal life, salvation, isn’t for those who are good or work hard or give to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering. The life and love of the Son are for all those who believe. Embrace the reign and blessings of King Jesus.

It is fitting for us to think about this question

IV. How then should we respond to the King?

1. Enter the kingdom of the beloved Son

1. We must repent of our sinful self-rule

2. We must embrace his perfect rule

3. Now we trust his ability to provide

He is the good Shepherd and the King of kings

?Show animated video All I have is Christ?

Colossians 1:15 tells us that “[The Father] has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

King Jesus has done what King David never good.

1. Worship the King

In the hustle and bustle of the Christmas rush, meals, parties, and “get-togethers” we would all do well to make time to pause and ponder what Christmas is all about. The better king has come and he is worthy of all our worship. Parents and grandparents take some time to think about the message you are sending this Christmas morning. Work and pray hard that your family’s heads are filled with the true vision of a glorious Savior who is Christ the Lord.

Read together. Sing together. Worship the King together. And now it is time to do just that. We close our worship gathering this morning with that great hymn, O Worship the King. Let us join our voices and give Jesus the worship that He deserves. It’s hymn number 16 and He alone is worthy.

Thesis: The supremacy of Christ is seen against the backdrop of the life and prophetic work of Moses.

We are officially celebrating Christmas and celebrating Christmas means celebrating Jesus. In our sermon series so far we have seen that Jesus is worthy of all worship because He is the Second Adam; our new head. Every blessing that belongs to Him belongs to those who by faith are joined to Him. He is the reason for justification. He is the provider of our righteousness. He is the defender of his people and the one who defeats our enemy. Jesus did what Adam could not do. He is a better man than Adam.

And Jesus is worthy of all our obedience and adoration because he’s the eternal Son. From eternity past Jesus was perfectly righteous believing and loving the Father. So, long before Abraham believed God the Son believed. And every promise made to Abraham has and will find its fulfillment through the person and work of Jesus. Abraham’s faith looked backward to the eternal Son of God and Abraham’s faith looked forward to the coming day when all the nations would be blessed through Jesus. The seed of Abraham, the offspring of Abraham, is Jesus Christ.

Adam points us to this seed of the woman. Abraham points us to this single offspring who will receive the promises made to Abraham. And this morning, Moses points us to a coming prophet who is like Moses but better than Moses. If Jesus is a better man that Adam than Jesus is also a better prophet than Moses. My goal is to show you that the supremacy of Christ is seen against the backdrop of the life and prophetic work of Moses.

Read Deuteronomy 18:15-19

I. A prophet has been promised

God made a promise to His people

1. God will raise up a prophet like Moses (vs 15, 18)

In Deuteronomy 18 Israel is at a turning point. They are about to enter the Promised Land and Moses is about to die. The leader who walked them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and around the wilderness is facing his last days. God has spoken over and over through Moses to the people. He brought encouragement, correction, and leadership. He’s the only leader they have ever known. What will happen when he’s gone? Will they act like the nations around them and go to fortune tellers? Will God’s people listen to those who enquire of the dead, study the stars, or interpret signs? No.

God’s people must not act like the world. God’s people must listen to God alone and God will speak to them through prophets. God will not leave his people without a leader. He will raise up a prophet from their brothers. This prophet will be a Hebrew, one of Abraham’s offspring. So, God’s people will always have access to God’s Word. They will always have the truth. But God’s people will ignore that Word, reject that Word, disobey that Word, and at times lose that Word but God will never abandon His people. A prophet has been promised and God will raise him up. Now this is what he’ll do

1. This prophet will speak to the people for God (vs 16-17)

When the people came out of Egypt and gathered at Mount Sinai, in the area of Horeb, they were confronted by a terrible sight (read Exodus 19 and Hebrews 12 to get the full picture). The people came into close proximity to the infinitely holy and powerful God. This God spoke to them from the thunder and they were terrified. Terror seems to be the pattern for all those who hear God (Isaiah, Ezekiel, John). The people begged for God to speak to them through Moses because they realized their sinfulness and God’s holiness. Their impotence and God’s omnipotence were unmistakable. This is what they say in verse 16, “Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.” Sinful people in the presence of almighty God should fear for their lives. God told Moses that the people were right in what they asked for so He promised to speak to them through His prophet.

God promises in verse 18, “I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.” Certainly there were many prophets who spoke God’s word. We have 17 books in the Old Testament that are rightly credited to prophets. But none of those prophets said of himself what Jesus said, “The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works (John 14:10),” and “What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me (John 12:50),” and “I speak of what I have seen with my Father (John 8:38)”, and “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death (John 8:51),” and “I have given them the words that you gave me (John 17:8),” and “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you” (John 15:3).

You see, there were prophets who spoke God’s words but none claimed for themselves what Jesus claimed. None of those prophets claimed to be the Son of God. Not one prophet claimed that his words brought life and cleansing. Jesus knew that as the Son of God He was speaking God’s word to God’s people in a way that none had ever done before. Here already we see Jesus surpassing Moses and every other prophet. But before we rush ahead and think that we can listen to Jesus and ignore the other prophets lets be reminded

1. Ignoring God’s prophet will bring judgment (v 19)

In Deuteronomy 18:19 God says through Moses, “And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.” God does not take too kindly to those who ignore His Word spoken through His prophet. Hebrews 2:2 reminds us of God’s authority invested in the words of His prophets, “the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution.” Don’t get distracted by the truth that God delivered His message through angels. Focus on this: if you disregard or disobey or distort God’s Word He will personally deal with you.

So here is the big picture from Deuteronomy 18 regarding God’s word through His prophet. As God’s dependent people we need God to teach us. You need God’s Word. And if you stood before God in your sin and he spoke to you it would be so terrifying that you would beg for him to stop speaking. It is only the righteous, the cleansed, who can bear to hear God’s Word. So God has promised prophets. These prophets will speak God’s Word to God’s people. If God’s people do not listen they will receive a just punishment for their disobedience. God spoke through Moses and promised a prophet.

II. Jesus is the prophet

1. God’s people were looking for THE prophet

In John chapter one we find a great account of prophecy fulfilled in history. It begins with the religious leaders of the day asking John the Baptist, “Who are you?” (John 1:19-23). John tells them “I am not the Christ.” So they ask him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He told them “No.” So they ask him, “Are you the Prophet?” He told them “No.” John the Baptist wasn’t the Prophet he was preparing the way for the Prophet who is Jesus.

Later in the same chapter Andrew tells his brother, “We have found the Messiah” (41). Philip told Nathanael, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” They found the One Moses wrote about. The people were looking for the promised one, the prophet like Moses, and he was found. He is Jesus. Now let’s turn our attention to Hebrews 3

III. Jesus is the greatest prophet (Hebrews 3)

Read Hebrews 3:1-6

1. Moses was a servant. Jesus is the Son (v5)

God did amazing things through Moses. Remember the plagues, the Exodus out of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the giving of the Law, and all the miracles along the way. God rescued His people through the prophet Moses. Moses was faithful. We should look back into history as recipients of God’s grace poured out on His people and say, “thank you God for Moses.” But we should never give to Moses the glory and honor that are due to Jesus.

Verse 3 puts the comparison this way: think about a house and its builder. When you see a beautiful house do you praise that house for building itself? No, a beautiful house can’t build itself. Instead, you give greater glory to the architect, designer, carpenter, and builder of it all. You and I are to give glory to God for what he has done. We are to slow down and ponder the magnificence of our great Creator-Redeemer God.

Now Moses was faithful in God’s house but Moses has no rights. Moses doesn’t possess ownership. Moses was faithfully doing what the owner, the builder, was telling him to do and that is an honorable thing. But there is another. There is a Son. Moses spoke about this Son. Moses testified to the things that were to be spoken later. Specifically, Deuteronomy 18:15, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen.” Moses prophesied that there is a coming One who will speak monumental things. This greater prophet is none other than Jesus, the very Son of God.

1. The Son has spoken (Hebrews 1:1-4)

Turn in your bibles to Hebrews 1:1. We’ll read through verse 4.

For a long time and in many different ways God has been speaking to his people through the prophets. But things have changed. In these last days, the days of Jesus God has chosen to speak to his people through his Son. This Son is the Creator and Owner of all things. Everything rightfully belongs to Christ. And He is magnificent. He is the radiance of the glory of God. The way the sun emits its burning glorious beams of light so too does the Son of God shine with all the glories of the Father. He is beautiful and he is powerful. This Jesus is exactly like his Father. He is the exact imprint of the Father’s nature. Jesus is fully God and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. You and the stars and the seasons and penicillin and vitamin C all exist because Jesus sustains everything by his power. Everything in this universe depends upon Jesus for its existence. Praise him!

And this glorious Creator and sustaining Son is our Savior. He has made purification for our sins. By his atoning work on the cross all our guilt and shame have been swallowed up in him. He made purification for sins then he took up his rightful place at the right hand of the Majesty on High. Jesus has completed his saving work and is right now honored by the Father with the best seat in the house.

Here is the point: You have a message from this Son. The very perfect and powerful Son of God has spoken to you. For thousands of years God has been speaking through his prophets but now things have changed. Now He has spoken to you through his Son. There is no greater message than what you hold in your hands. The Bible without any mixture of error is the very Word of God spoken by prophets and spoken by the Son. You have a message from the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You have a message from THE prophet that all of creation has been longing for. There is no greater Word out there. There is no more authoritative word to be had. The Son has spoken. Therefore,

1. Listen to the Son (Hebrews 2:1-4)

Turn to Hebrews 2:1. We’ll read through verse 4.

Think about it. The law was delivered by angels and when it was ignored people died. Think about Moses’ prophecy concerning the Passover lamb and the angel of death. If you ignored that message you died. Touch the Ark of the Covenant and you died (2 Samuel 6:5-7). Do your own thing in the presence of God and you died (Leviticus 10:1-3). If that and more is true concerning the message delivered by angels how much more should we pay attention to the message delivered by the Son?

We are being warned about the danger of drifting. Here’s how you know you are drifting: you are not paying close attention to what you have heard from God. You’re doing your own thing. Maybe your praying a little and maybe your reading the bible a little but you’re not diligent concerning listening to the Word. Specifically you are not paying close attention to this great salvation.

Drifters are those people who give little to no thought concerning what it means to follow Christ today. Drifters are people who go about their daily routine ignoring the power of God to accomplish the purposes of God for that day. Drifters are good people but they are not godly people. Drifters go to school and go to work. They are faithful to their wives and faithful to their husbands. Drifters go to church and give to the poor. They raise children and love their grandchildren all while neglecting the very reason God saved them. Drifters make salvation a thing of the past; something that happened when they listened to Jesus then but for some reason they’ve grown to believe that this great salvation has no implications for every minute of every day. Oh, but Hebrews 2:1-4 comes like that trumpet blast on Mount Sinai in Exodus 19.

Let’s make it practical. Do you go about your daily life relying on your own strength? Or, do you go about daily life relying on the wisdom and power of God? Have you connected working hard with your great salvation like Titus 2:14 does? Does the fact that you possess eternal life effect the way you parent, do your job, go to the doctor, rest, even eat or drink?

How would a Spirit-led disciple of Christ do your job? How would a Christ-follower raise your children? How would Jesus interact with your spouse? How would someone who is born again by the power of the Gospel interact with your neighbors? Your salvation, the great work of God to cleanse you and make you new, has implications for every minute of every day. Are you listening to the Son? I want to close with this story; hopefully it will help bring it all home for you.

IV. Conclusion

Shortly after noon on April 4, 1943 the B-24 bomber Lady Be Good departed Soluch airstrip on the coast of Libya, with her crew of nine. It was their first combat mission in World War II.  This was a high altitude bombing run on the port at Naples, Italy. Lady Be Good turned back 30 minutes before the target either due to poor visibility or engine problems caused by sand at the takeoff site.[1] As the day waned and darkness fell they were required to find their base using only their radar and their instruments. Because they had flown the route before, they knew the approximate amount of time they would be airborne.[2]

However, they were unaware of the fact that they were being pushed along by a strong tailwind. When their instruments indicated they were over the landing field far earlier than they expected, they refused to believe it. They continued to fly into the night while they looked for the familiar lights of their destination. Eventually their fuel supply ran out, the crew men parachuted, and the plane crashed in the desert. Seven of the eight crewmen survived only to later die in the dessert. All the crewmen were dead because they preferred to trust their instincts rather than the instruments that would have brought them home safely.

God in his kindness has given his Word to you as a certain guide. Life is too complicated to be lived on the basis of instincts, feelings, and commons sense. It is far better to trust the Creator’s revelation of himself than to do what “seems right.” Your life is like that B-24 bomber. If you are going to live a fruitful life, if you are going to arrive safely, it will only happen as you listen to the Word.

On December 18 we will pass out our bible reading plan for 2012. This year we are going to focus on listening to God through reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on God’s Word. As your pastor, my hope is that you will pay careful attention to God’s Word each and every day. We have the sure and perfect Word. We have the instruments by which we can navigate every circumstance. The question is: Are you going to pay attention to those instruments or are you going to try it on your own?

Thesis: We were once dead and condemned in Adam but now we’re alive and righteous in Christ.

Over the next six weeks are going to celebrate the glories of Christmas. The plan is to take four key figures from Old Testament history and show you how Jesus is far better. We want to feel the insufficiency and inability of the human race so that we can rejoice in the sufficiency and ability of Jesus Christ. We start this morning with Adam.

Adam, as you may know, was the first human. He didn’t evolve he was created. God personally put Adam together and breathed life into him. You see, Adam wasn’t created as a new and improved model of a monkey he was created in the image of God. Adam and all humanity after him were to represent God on this earth by taking care of creation and establishing holy God-honoring families, communities, and cultures. Humanity was created to reflect the holiness, joy, and cooperation of the Trinity all over this planet.

God placed Adam in the Garden and gave him instructions regarding how life works. God then blessed Adam with a wife named Eve and they lived happily together in a beautiful perfect world. There was harmony in every aspect of life. There was no sin or rebellion in any avenue of existence. Humanity was right with God, right with each other, right with self, and right with all creation.

Can you imagine a world with no arguments or frustrations; God never feels distant and you never feel guilty? This is the perfect beginning of it all. Humanity has entered the scene and God said it is “very good” (Gen 1:31). From this point, from this one man and one woman, all of humanity will come. This man and woman created in the image of God will fill the earth with God’s image bearers through procreation. Like begets like so on and on it goes as perfect people follow God’s perfect example bringing all of creation to its perfect end.

So what went wrong? Let’s read Romans 5:12-21 and see how in Adam everything went wrong and in Christ everything is made righteous. Read Romans 5:12-21

I want to fight to keep the universal truths applied to our situation

I. The terrible state of your neighbor and the nations

1. Your neighbor is sinful

Verse 12 tells us plainly that sin came into the world through one man. Verse 15 refers to the “one man’s trespass”. Verse 16 points to “that one man’s sin” and the “one trespass”. Verse 17 mentions the “one man’s trespass”, verse 18 “one trespass”, and verse 19 “the one man’s disobedience”. So obviously this one man’s deed is very important.

Adam, who had a perfect sinless nature without one ounce of evil within, of his own free will decided to turn his back on God and do his own thing. Adam rebelled against God by disobeying his command. So it is right to understand sin according to these ideas: sin is rebellion, going against, disobeying, or trespassing the command of God. Sin is the rejection of God and His good plan. Adam and Eve went where they should have never gone, they went against God. And that one man’s sin brought sin into the world.

The universal invasion of sin into every nook and cranny of creation is a fundamental biblical truth. The bible is clear: the sin of Adam brought death to all men, verse 12, “because all sinned.” The bible is equally clear that every human from that point forward is sinful because we all sinned. All of humanity is wrapped up in Adam. He is our representative and every person who comes from him will be like him; like begets like.

Think about it this way: When God creates a life does he create that person with a nature like the rest of humanity? What I’m asking is does each new child possess a sinful nature bent toward selfishness and evil like our forefather Adam or does God step in with each conception and give that child a nature completely unlike that of its parents? The resounding truth of Scripture is we are all by nature children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3). That means you and me and your neighbor came into this world a spiritual still-born unable by our sinful natures to obey or please our holy Creator (Romans 8:7-8). The natural person born in sin does not accept the things of the Spirit of God because they are foolish to him. In fact, the natural person is not able to understand the things of the Spirit of God because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14).

There is a bumper sticker on the chariots of fire that reads, “It’s a spiritual thing you wouldn’t understand.”

Because of the sin of Adam every person born of his line, that means all of humanity, is born in a state of sinfulness. We get more information with this next phrase:

1. Your neighbor is under the reign of death

There is a logical progression here: sin brought death and since sin is everywhere death is everywhere. This is true even before Moses came on the scene and God gave his specific commands. Think of murderous Cain, the flood generation, and the rape of Dinah all were committed under the reign of death and before the law was given. So these sins were not transgressions of specific commands like Adam’s sin but they were sin nonetheless and punished by death.

Hold onto this truth: Death reigned over everything from Adam until Moses and death has spread to all men. Verse 15 says, “many died through one man’s trespass.” Verse 17, “because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man. And verse 21, “sin reigned through death.”

Now we hate to admit it but the bible is clear on this point: humanity does not rule its own destiny. Sin rules our destiny and it does so through death. Hebrews 9:27 says, “it is appointed for man to die and after that face judgment.” Sin is a wicked task master a despot and a tyrannical ruler who promises many things but delivers only death. So, what is your destiny? Where are you headed? Your destiny is death. Why? Because of sin; you are locked in and it is inescapable.

Let’s keep making it personal. Your neighbor is under the reign of death. His destiny is sure because of his sinfulness. Her future is established and firm because of her rebellion. But you have the Gospel. You have the means of freedom. You have the power unto eternal life. You can do something about it. Church we must return to a biblical worldview. We must see our neighbors and the nations the way God does: sinful and under the reign of death.

1. Your neighbor is judged and condemned

All of humanity due to sinfulness stands condemned before God. Verse 16 tells us that “the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation. Verse 18 says that “one trespass led to condemnation for all men.” Our unbelieving children, our sinful neighbors ruled by death, the nations who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ do not stand before God as neutral. Instead, all of humanity stands before God judged and condemned. Because of our sinfulness we are judged, pronounced guilty, and sentenced under the reign of death.

Because of Adam, and our connection to him, all of humanity is rightly defined as sinful, rebellious, under the reign of death, judged, and condemned. I hope you see more clearly now why we need a better man than Adam. I hope instead of trying to argue with God claiming to be something that you are not you will embrace the solution to what you truly are.

We need a better man than Adam. Remember, Adam was perfect without sin but at the first sign of temptation he caved and all of humanity was cast into sinfulness through him. We need God himself to come in the flesh (Jn 1:14). We need one, born of a woman and born under the law, to live a righteous life in our place. We need a redeemer (Gal 4:4). Bottom line is we need a second Adam.

II. The truth concerning Christ

1.  Adam was a type of the Christ (v14)

Verse 14 calls Adam, “a type of the one who was to come.” Characteristics of Adam’s life are blurry images of the life of the one to come. Here it is crucial to see that Adam is lesser and Christ is greater. God wants us to understand that there are benefits to comparing Jesus and Adam. There are lessons to be learned. In fact we see the riches of Christ more clearly against the background of the poverty of Adam. What we must bear in mind is that these two men are representatives. All that they are is given to those who belong to their line. Picture all of humanity as being in or under Adam. But those people who are born again are now in or under Christ. The curses and condemnation due to Adam are passed on to his line. The blessings and righteousness due to Christ are passed on to his line.

1. Christ gives more than Adam lost

Verse 15, “But the free gift is not like the trespass.” I understand this to mean that the strength, the endurance, and potency of the work of Christ are leaps and bounds ahead of Adam. Let me show you what I mean. Verse 15, “For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.” The wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Adam ushers in death but Christ comes and turns the tables, he flips over the tables of death, and provides eternal life. The plan to do this for sinners for enemies is surely by the grace of God. The outworking of it all, the righteous life, atoning death, and victorious resurrection of Christ in my place are surely by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ. This grace abounds for you. Will you not take it? Will you not choose to walk away from the death and condemnation of Adam and instead find the life and righteousness of Jesus? Repent of your sin, place your faith in Christ, and you will be saved. Why do you stay with that dead-beat? Jesus is far better.

Verse 16, “And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.” Okay, chew on this: Adam sinned one time and death and condemnation for all mean is the product. Now add 4,000 years of sin. Not just one sin but 4,000 years of sins pile up. Jesus enters the scene and offers himself freely. He took the sin of the world upon himself. He died in our place. He was our atoning sacrifice. Adam brought condemnation. Jesus brought justification.

Justification is that great gospel blessing when God pronounces you not guilty. In Adam you are guilty. In Christ you are not guilty. So if you are in Christ by faith then you have been declared innocent of all wrong by God himself. Why? Because Christ took all your sin upon himself and suffered under the weight of the Father’s punishment for your sin. But more than taking your wrong away, Jesus gives you his righteousness. You see, this also points to the greatness of Christ.

Jesus doesn’t bring you back to neutral. Jesus doesn’t take away your sin and sinful nature and then give you a crack at temptation in the Garden of Eden. Jesus rescues you from the reign of death and by his life you are equipped to reign in this life.

Verse 17, “For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.”

If you are united with Christ by faith then the reign of death is broken. You have been transferred into a new kingdom. It’s a kingdom of never-giving up love. It’s a kingdom where all those who enter are immediately given the blessings of the King himself. By his atoning death and his perfect righteousness you are able to reign in this life through him. Walk according to Christ and you will know love and joy; the perfect joy of Christ. Walk according to Adam and you will know guilt and condemnation.

1. It all boils down to one act

Verse 18, “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”

The one trespass was Adam’s sin when he chose self-sufficiency over God-dependency. The one act of righteousness was when Jesus willingly gave himself for you on the cross. That one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. One man shoved all of humanity into the grave but one man turned it all around. Calvin said it well, “As by one man sin entered into the whole world, and death through sin, so by one man righteousness returned, and life through righteousness” (Calvin, 205).

I want you to see an important phrase in verse 18. It’s the phrase, “for all men.” All of humanity has been ruined by sin. We stand condemned because of that one trespass. But here is the good news. You don’t have to stay condemned. You don’t have to stay dead. All men that are joined to Christ by faith will be given justification and life for all men.

Right now if Gerald Sandusky confesses his sins, if he hates what he has done, and places his hope completely in the death of Christ for those sins then Gerald Sandusky can experience justification and life. Do you believe that? Do you believe that Christ’s work is greater than Adam’s sin? Do you believe that Christ is sufficient for all of humanity? Do you believe that Christ is sufficient for you? Is Christ big enough for your husband, your wife, your prodigal son or daughter, your vengeful coworker, or your ex?

Do you see that God promises that faith in that one man who did that one act changes everything? Christ brings grace, life, and justification. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

III. Christmas marks the beginning of the end of sin and death

On that first Christmas morning 2000 years ago a trumpet sounded but it wasn’t a call to wake up and open presents. That first Christmas morning signaled war had begun. God himself had declared war on sin and death. The battle would wage for 33 years as the Son of God lived a perfectly righteous obedient life. The Son of God, the last Adam, would face temptation but he would not give in. Instead of ruining humanity Christ would redeem humanity and he would do it through the cross and resurrection.

Friend, what Christ offers you this morning is a change at the core of who you are as a person. What Christmas is all about is a new king. If you will receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness then you will reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Right now God himself will welcome you as one of his beloved children. You will not need to fear death. You will find strength to fight God’s battles. You will be equipped with the Spirit to stand firm against sin and our enemy.

Christian, ours is a reign of grace through righteousness. We’re marching toward eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Here is where we must end this morning. Who do you belong to? Do you belong to Adam or do you belong to Christ? Are you under the reign of death or are you reigning in this life because of grace and the free gift of righteousness? I want to talk with you about these things. I want you to reign in life. I want grace to rule over us. I want us to know we are headed toward eternal life together following Christ the entire way.

As we sing our final hymn I want you to answer that question: Who do you belong to? Do you belong to Adam or to Christ? Today it can change. Call out to God and you will be saved.

Thesis: Christians are an everlasting family.

Today is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. It is also the last sermon in our series looking into the “one another” passages of the New Testament. From here, Lord willing, we will begin a sermon series looking at our six core values.

I hope these sermons on the church have challenged and encouraged your thinking concerning the church. I hope the Spirit has convinced you of the truth and your life looks more like Jesus’ because of it. As we finish this series I want to take what we’re learning about the local church and apply it to the universal church. By local church I mean that specific body in which God has placed you for regular worship, equipping, and the using of your gifts. The local church has a pastor or pastors who will give an account for your soul. By the universal church, however, I mean everyone on the globe who has been born again through faith in Jesus Christ. Mambrino Baptist Church is a local church that is a part of the universal church.

Now, because we’re all busy and ill-informed and a bit selfish it’s safe to assume that the majority of us give little thought to our persecuted brothers and sisters around the globe; the suffering universal church. You’ve heard some mention of an organization and magazine called Voice of the Martyrs but that’s about as far as you’ve gone. This morning I pray all that changes.

Each sermon over the past two months has touched on the themes we find today in Hebrews 13:1-3. In some senses we have been very focused on us; we’ve looked inward a great deal and I think it has been necessary. But now it’s time to take what we’ve seen in God’s word about the local church and follow it outward to the universal church.

There are three words I want you to hear, understand, and live out in everyday life: love, serve, and share.

Read Hebrews 13:1-3- love, serve, share

I. Protect your love for the saints (v1)

The command of verse 1 is simple

1. Let brotherly love remain

Don’t stop loving one another. From the letter as a whole, and particularly from chapter 10, we learn that the Hebrew Church was a persecuted church. They have had a hard struggle. They’ve endured suffering. Publically they’ve been mocked and injured. They’ve even had their property confiscated. During all this they have not abandoned each other. They’ve been partners with those so treated. They had compassion on those who were in prison. Now they are being told in chapter 13, ‘Let brotherly love continue.’

When times are hard the easiest thing to do is draw into your self. When your family is suffering and being abused for the gospel it is easy to forget about your brothers and sisters in Christ; you’re suffering for crying out loud! But in difficulty, in suffering, “let brotherly love continue.”

I’m going to walk us through some passages that will help us continue loving one another. As we meditate on and live out these passages brotherly love will remain.

1. Jesus has made us family (Galatians 4:4-5)

Another way to say it is like this: we are family by way of adoption.

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Those Christians who let brotherly love continue are those individuals who understand that salvation is about more than entering the kingdom or gaining eternal life. Salvation is entering a new loving family. Remember, once you were not a part of God’s people. You were outside the promise; outside the covenant. Then God rescued you and he did it through adoption. God chose to bring you into His family. Ephesians 1:5 says, “He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ.”

Through the work of Christ you were bought and cleansed. Through the work of Christ in his righteous life, atoning death, and victorious resurrection you were adopted into the Father’s family. You now are a part of a family, a forever family, and we owe it all to Jesus.

And the church, this forever family, is a loving family because

1. God has taught us to love (1 Thessalonians 4:9)

Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.

Through the Gospel every believer learns to love one another. If you are a Christian, a person who has heard and believed the good news concerning the person and work of Jesus, then God has already taught you what it means to love one another. 1 Thessalonians 4:9 removes the ignorance excuse. None of us can claim that we don’t know what true love is; to do so is to say you don’t believe the gospel. None of us can claim that we’ve never experienced true love. God has poured out his love for us through Jesus Christ. God has taught us to love.

1. Jesus set the standard for love (John 13:34; 1 John 3:16)

We began this series with these passages:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

When a person hears the gospel she is introduced to true love. When a person believes the gospel she experiences true love. As an adopted child of God she is placed in a family that loves. And the bible defines love as the giving of yourself for the gospel-good of another. Think on the depth and tenacity and sacrifice and joy of Jesus’ love. That is how we are to love one another.

1. God gives us the power to love (2 Peter 1:3)

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to live and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.

You see, knowing God and possessing the power to live a godly life are inseparable. You and I will love one another like Jesus does only as we live reconciled to the Father. Now, some of us can’t love because we aren’t reconciled to God. Difficult people aren’t the problem your unrepentant heart is cold and dead. You need to be born again in order to love like Jesus. But still, some of us live angry unloving lives because we believe God is angry with us. Some Christians choose to live according to the relationship the old un-reconciled man had with God. Instead, as adopted children of God through faith in Jesus Christ, live knowing that God loves you, God is no longer angry with you. You are His chosen, holy, and dearly loved child. As you walk in that love you will be equipped to love.

Put it all together: because we are family, because we have been taught to love, and because we have been equipped to love “let brotherly love remain.”

We can easily pick that up and pray for the persecuted church. Put some effort into getting to know the persecuted church. Pray that your love for the persecuted church would remain. Pray that God would not let your comfort and ease crowd out your love for those who are suffering. Pray that God would not let your suffering and busy-ness crowd out your love for those who are suffering. And pray for the suffering. Pray that their love for the church would remain.

Christian, protect your love for the saints.

II. Don’t forget hospitality (v2)

Verses one and two go together: if brotherly love remains than hospitality or serving one another will not be forgotten. If brotherly love disappears than so will the tangible display of that love. So how does hospitality work?

1. The love of Christ makes us hospitable

You were any enemy of God yet the Father loved you and sent His Son to die for you. You are no longer a slave. You are a son of God. You are an heir. You are a part of the family. You were once an enemy but now you are seated at his table. How many enemies are seated at your table? How many of those sharing a meal in your home were once living life hating you?

The question must be asked: has the gospel lost its power to reconcile or have the people of God stopped believing the gospel has power to reconcile?

As we dwell in and abide in the love of Christ it transforms us so that we begin to love like Christ. So how do we abide in the love of Christ? It starts with a biblical understanding of the love of Christ. You get out a big thick juicy concordance or bible program and you search the Scriptures. You swim in these things; immerse yourself in them. Allow the truth to transform your mind. From there you choose to live according to the truth. Christian, every day you have a decision. You can either live according to a lie, namely, God doesn’t love me. Or, you can live according to the truth, namely, God loves me. The more you understand God’s love the more readily you will see that love worked out in your life.

So, abide in Jesus’ love and obey his commands; do not forget to show hospitality to strangers. And then comes a good reason to do so, Hebrews 13:2, “for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

Abraham welcomed three strangers into his home who turned out to be the Lord and two of his angels (Genesis 18). Lot welcomed those two angels into his home and by so doing he wasn’t destroyed (Genesis 19).

Welcoming strangers into your home can really be a good thing. But don’t expect every stranger to be an angel. Instead, know this: we serve Christ by serving others.

1. To serve others is to serve Christ (Matthew 25:40)

In Matthew 25 Jesus divides the sheep from the goats; he divides the people of God from the people who belong to the world. And the thing that divides them is feeding the hungry, giving the thirsty a drink, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and those in prison. The Christians ask Jesus, “When did we see you like this and serve you?” Matthew 25:40, “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”

So let me give you an exception to the rule. The rule is when you serve a fellow Christian, a brother of Christ, it is as if you are serving Christ. The exception is that sometimes that person you are serving will be an angel. So,

1. Don’t overlook hospitality

To overlook something means to forget it or neglect it. We do not intentionally overlook things. Hebrews 13:2 doesn’t mean, “don’t refuse to practice hospitality.” Instead it means don’t get so wrapped up in yourself and your family and your friends that you forget to welcome in and serve the stranger.

When is the last time you had a member of this faith family into your home? It might be for a meal, for dessert, or for a time of prayer. When is the last time you had a neighbor, a coworker, a stranger into your home so you could serve him or her?

Some in this church have opened their homes and lives to the fatherless, the widow, and the stranger. I am grateful for God’s grace poured out in this way. May you and I look in to the mirror of God’s law wrestle with the idea that the empty bedrooms and the empty chairs at dinner time could be caused by our sinful refusal to practice hospitality.

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers.”

III. Link up with the persecuted (v3)

Hebrews 13:3 commands us to “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.”

1. Remember those in prison

The context of chapters 13 and 10 make it clear that we are to remember those who are in prison because of the Gospel. Remember those persecuted because they obeyed God. Now, I’m not saying we forget about people who are in prison because they committed some sin and are being punished by the government. What the text is saying, however, is that we should give special attention to those brothers and sisters who are thrown into jail for preaching the gospel.

In verse 2 we are told to not neglect or overlook hospitality. That means don’t let serving others in practical ways get pushed out of your daily lives. That’s deterioration by neglect. In verse 3 we are told to remember those in prison. To remember means to recall or make yourself aware of information concerning those in prison so you can do something about it. This is adopting a proactive stance towards those in prison.

Maybe you can remember it this way

1. Be an Onesiphorus (2 Timothy 1:16)

Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:16, “May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.”

Onesiphorus remembered those in prison. Can anyone in prison for the gospel say that of you?

One of the reasons we don’t remember those in prison is because we don’t know anyone in prison. Let me show you a website that can change all that: www.prisoneralert.com. PrisonerAlert.com is a ministry of The Voice of the Martyrs. This website provides an opportunity for you to join in the vital and important ministry of intercession and solidarity with those who suffer for the faith. You can sign up for prisoner alerts. You can get prayer requests. You can even write a letter of encouragement that will be translated, and when safely possible, delivered to that prisoner.

Be an Onesiphorus, remember those in prison as if you were in prison with them. If you were in jail because of the gospel what would you want the church to do for you? Do that for them. Pray for, refresh, and link up with your persecuted brothers and sisters. And it’s not just about prisoners. Hebrews 13:3 also tells us to

1. Remember the mistreated

You have a body. You know how badly it hurts when someone hurts you. It can be the physical pain of starvation or abuse. It can be the emotional pain of being singled out and made fun of for living in step with the gospel. Do you know anyone who is currently being mistreated, abused, and afflicted for the gospel?

Together we are the body of Christ but for some reason we have a mental disorder. We aren’t care about or even know about those members of the body that are in pain. It’s like the church is in shock walking around as if everything is fine when actually there are gaping wounds. Let me close with a question:

IV. What will it look like for you and your family to love, serve, and share?

1. This morning your faith family is going to try and remove the ignorance excuse.

You’ve seen the truth from God’s word and we want to provide you with the means to walk according to God’s word. We want you to remember, to pray for and care for and share in the suffering of the persecuted. As we sing our final hymn you’ll see six people begin passing out a packet of information. This is information produced by The Voice of the Martyrs specifically for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. You’ll get a little brochure introducing you to a woman named Padina. You’ll get a little prayer card focusing you on one of several restricted or hostile areas in the world today. And you’ll get a magazine with several short articles introducing you to the suffering and persecuted. There’s a map inside that magazine that highlights the 54 nations who are hostile toward the Gospel. There’s also a card inside that magazine where you can sign up for a free subscription to the monthly magazine that will keep you informed concerning the persecuted church. Please take some time today to look through the materials and because of the gospel let brotherly love continue, don’t neglect hospitality, and remember the persecuted.

I appeal to you church, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Does everyone here have a well thought out biblical picture of how that is supposed to look in life? Does the liturgy of your daily life follow the leadership of Christ? Honestly, how do you know?
My prayer and desire is that at the end of this sermon you will have a clear idea in your mind concerning how a living sacrifice should look. Our help comes in Romans 12 verses 14-21. Here’s the big picture: Being a living sacrifice means you give yourself for the good of others, even your enemies.
Guys, this is a gut-check passage. When we hear this passage correctly it causes a crisis of belief; is God really worth it? Will Jesus catch me if I fall? Will the Holy Spirit give me the strength to obey? As I abide in Jesus’ love and obey these commands will I gain greater joy? Do I really believe the Word?
Some of you, when you hear the truth, will be like the disciples in Mark 10 who upon hearing of the difficulties of entering the Kingdom were exceedingly astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” (Mark 10:26). So before we get there it is necessary to hear the commitment of God. Jesus said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27).
What you are about to hear is impossible on your own but it’s not impossible with God. So let me divide us all up into 3 groups; all of us fit into one of these types. The first are those who will hear this word and not care. You will listen, clearly see that you are falling short, and you won’t care. Most likely if that’s you then you are not a Christian. The second group will be those who hear this word, see that you are falling short, and you’ll therefore think you aren’t a Christian. But listen, do not mistake the Spirit’s work of sanctification, pointing out your indwelling sin and calling you to holiness through faith, as proof of an unregenerate heart. Repent of your sins, stand firm in grace, and move forward because you really are a Christian. In the words of Hebrews 6, “don’t lay again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith towards God. Go on to maturity because you are a Christian.” The third group is made up of those in whom this word will resonate as the very Word of God. You’ll hear it, count the cost, see your inability, see the impossibility, and trust the power of the Gospel to make you able.
Let’s turn our eyes to the text, Romans 12:14-21, and what it looks like to be a living sacrifice.

I. A living sacrifice speaks only good words (v14)
Here is the truth concerning all those who want to be Christians, all those who want to be living sacrifices:
A. All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12)
People are going to persecute you. What are you going to do? People are going to pursue you in order to hurt you, stop you, destroy you, or even kill you. It might be that one evening in the near future people bust into your home, capture you, lie about you, torture you, strip you naked and crucify you on a billboard alongside I-20. It happened to Jesus. It has happened to Christians throughout the ages. What is your settled faithfilled reaction to persecution?
Romans 12:14, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.” Speak good of those who try to humiliate or destroy you; bless them. A living sacrifice walks by faith understanding that following Christ means leaving no room for curses. You don’t get to respond with words that sting. Christian, unwholesome words, words that tear down are never an option. Our sarcasm is not funny its sin.
As a living sacrifice you have only one option described in different ways: bless those who hurt you (Rom 12:14), speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15), say only what builds up (Eph 4:29). Christian this doesn’t apply only to our conversation with fellow believers. A living sacrifice speaks ONLY good words even to those who hurt, torture, and try to kill us.
There are no days off. There are no loop holes or exemption clauses. Do you feel sufficient for this calling? Let’s keep going.
II. A living sacrifice shares life with others (v15)
Let’s start with the easier of the two in verse 15
A. Weep with those who weep
Sympathy is not all that hard for those of us who have any affection toward our fellow man. When we see pictures of families weeping in Japan after a natural disaster it stirs our emotions and we feel sorry for them. When we hear of a child fighting cancer or leukemia we weep with those who weep. One of the hardest parts of preaching a funeral is standing by the casket as a widow gives a tearful kiss to the husband she loves. It is good, right, and Christian to weep with those who weep. It is also good, right, and Christian to
B. Rejoice with those who rejoice
Kids, when it’s your birthday party and you get all the attention and all those cool presents how do you feel? You feel happy right? Another way to say it is you rejoice; you have joy because of what happened to you. But when you go to a friend’s birthday party and she gets all the attention and cool presents how do you feel? When your brother or sister gets exactly what you want how do you feel? Are you just as happy that she gets all the good stuff as you are when you get all the good stuff? Do you rejoice with those who rejoice?
Adults, we’re not free from this sin. How do you feel when a friend or family member gets a big raise or a promotion? Do you rejoice as if you had received the raise?
Teenagers, what about when one of your friends gets some new shoes or the new iPhone 4G? Do you rejoice with those who rejoice?
Suddenly ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ doesn’t seem all that easy. There are no days off. There are no loop holes or exemption clauses. Are you living as a sacrifice? Let’s keep going.
III. A living sacrifice enjoys harmony because of humility (v16)
A. Get over yourself
Twice the Apostle Paul described his life as “being poured out as a drink offering” (Phil 2:17, 2 Tim 4:6). Let me read Philippians 2:17 for you, “Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.”
The drink offering in this situation was like the opener for the big band. The drink offering was good but it wasn’t the big deal. It wasn’t like the burnt offering or the sin offering for the sacrificial offering on the Day of Atonement. Paul is saying, “Even if I go out with a whimper or fizzle out to make way for you to do great things then I’m glad. I’m happy. I rejoice with you all.”
So, never be wise in your own sight. Refuse to be that person who thinks he has it all figured out. We all know those people who consider everyone else to be idiots. My way is the right way and if you weren’t dumb you’d see that.
One of the greatest things that will help you get over yourself is associating with the lowly. Now lowly isn’t bad or negative. Jesus said we should learn from him because he’s lowly (Mt 11:29).God comforts the lowly (2 Cor 7:6) and gives grace to the lowly (James 4:6). This is one reason I go on mission trips. I want to find, link up with, and learn from the lowly. I want to walk with those saints who do greater things than Christ.
I’m thinking here about Johnny Huffman in Louisiana and Pastor Omaru in Niger, Africa. The only people who call them are people who need something. Yet there is a faithfulness and a fruitfulness about them that is unmistakable. When I associate with the lowly I stop thinking about how the world is full of idiots and I start to see just how big of an idiot I am. I think you’ll find the same holds true for you.
And as you lay aside your own pride and learn from the lowly you will find it much easier to live in harmony with others. Verse 16 commands us simply to “Live in harmony with one another.” This has to do with priorities; with the way you think and view life. Maybe we should ask a basic question: Do you even care about living in harmony with the people around you?
If you tune a thousand pianos to the same pitch fork when they all simultaneously hit that center C they will be in harmony. Tune yourself to the sinful desires of your flesh and there will be no harmony with those around you. Care only about yourself and your family, refuse to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice, and your life with lack harmony. But tune yourself to Christ, be a living sacrifice, and you will find that harmonizing with those around you will come much easier.
But what about those times when you speak only good words, when you share in people’s joy and suffering, when you pursue humility and harmony, but people still hate you?
IV. A living sacrifice destroys his enemies (vs17-21)
The only real way to destroy and enemy is to make him a friend (William Barclay). From verses 17-21 I’m going to rapid fire 7 principles that all living sacrifices must hold to as they love and pray for those who persecute them.
A. Do not repay evil with evil (17a)
Refuse to get sucked into sin. When kicked the flesh wants to kick back, harder. When someone says something that stings us we want to sting them back. A living sacrifice refuses to go there but going there leads to nowhere good. You decide that the evil buck will stop with you. Do not repay evil with evil.
B. Think before you react (17b)
“Give thought to what is honorable in the sight of all.” When someone does something evil to you this is your M.O.: Ask yourself, what is good? What is wholesome? It’s been abused and misused but it’s so true, ask yourself what would Jesus do? 9 times out of 10 when someone has hurt you the first thing that comes to your mind will not be good. That is why we are told to think about how we are going to respond. Take time to consider if the people around you will count your response as good and honorable.
But someone will say, “If I don’t respond immediately and exert myself and my authority then people will walk all over me. I’ll lose face. My reputation will be damaged and I’ll lose credibility.”
Hear this: God isn’t concerned about your reputation or credibility. God is concerned that you only say what is good and do what is honorable. So, think before you react.
C. Do everything possible to gain peace (18)
You can’t please everyone. Some people will hate you for no reason and refuse to forgive you when you ask. But you can’t control them. What you can control is you. So, if possible, as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Speak the truth in love. Do not sit quietly as God is mocked. Do not turn a blind eye when someone suffers injustice. But if someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your shirt, give him your coat as well. And if some soldier puts a gun to your head and forces you to carry his stuff for one mile go ahead and go two miles with him. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you (Matthew 5:39-42).
Still feeling sufficient for the task of offering yourself as a living sacrifice? Let’s keep going
D. Leave vengeance to God (19)
Verse 19 begins with the affectionate title ‘Beloved’ because this is so hard. Paul tenderly walks his Christian brothers and sisters through this and so should we. “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’”
It is here that the call to walk by faith is unmistakable. The wrath of God is what will be poured out on all God’s enemies on the last day. The wrath of God is not for today but for that day after Christ returns. So, we’re being told to let God handle it at some point in the future; at a point that we may never see it. When wronged trust that God will make every wrong right. When evil is done and left unpunished in this age do not grow bitter knowing that all evil will be punished in the age to come.
Retaliation and revenge are characteristics of unbelievers. If there is no God and if he’s not just then I better get my revenge. But since there is a just God who is all-wise and all-knowing and all-powerful we can let Him handle it. Get over your hurt. Not because it didn’t happen or it wasn’t all that bad. Get over your hurt because God will finally and perfectly take care of it.
But be careful, don’t sit around licking your wounds because God’s going to get ‘em. Don’t fuel your bitterness by rejoicing in their pain or coming judgment.
E. Sacrifice for your enemy (20)
There’s a change in verse 20, “to the contrary” we’re getting a course correction. Don’t seek your own revenge. Don’t sit around imaging how bad it’s going to hurt when they finally get what’s coming to them. Instead, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” A living sacrifice is a person who goes out of her way to meet the needs of her enemy. Compassion for your enemies is a characteristic of a brother who offers himself as a living sacrifice.
Think about that person who hurt you or hates you. How can you meet his/her needs? This is how Christians are commanded to think. It’s right there on the page. Verse 20 also tells us why we do good to those who hurt us, “for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
When you consistently pray for, love, and do good to your enemies it’s going to destroy him. He’ll either become your friend or he will be eaten up with anger because he cannot destroy you. That idea pushes us into our last verse, verse 21. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
F. Don’t get niked by evil (21a)
In the original the word “overcome” is nika’o. We have a brand of clothing called Nike. It means to be victorious, to conquer, or to overcome. A living sacrifice is someone who lives and prays and sacrifices and speaks so that evil will not overcome what is good. Do not get niked by evil
G. Nike evil with good
Conquer the evil in you. Be victorious over evil in your marriage and in your family. Overcome the evil in our communities, nation, and world. But don’t overcome evil with evil. Don’t assassinate abortion doctors. Overcome evil with good. 1 John 5:4 says, “Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”
You will overcome the evil around you and in you as you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to his word. Believe his promises. Abide in him and you will do what is good. Separate yourself from him, refuse to walk by faith, and you will accomplish nothing good.
Church, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. The truth concerning Jesus Christ poured into our lives by the Holy Spirit provides the power we need be living sacrifices. You can’t do this. I can’t do this. With man this is impossible. Don’t attempt this on your own. Don’t try to be like this so that you’ll become a Christian. You can’t do this. But it’s possible with God.
You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. You can be a living sacrifice. Now that we’ve filled in the blanks and you have all the details concerning what it means to live as a Christian here is my final question
V. Which of the three groups do you belong to?
A. Are you a member of that group that doesn’t care?
You just want revenge and you want to go to lunch. If that’s you this morning would you please take a moment and pray a simple prayer? Pray, “God open my eyes to what is true concerning Jesus Christ.” Take that prayer with you and offer it up to God throughout the week.
B. Are you a member of that group who is now convinced that you can’t be a Christian because you are so far off the mark?
This is spiritual warfare. If you are convinced you are cut off from Christ do you think you will be living dependent upon the power of Christ to love your enemies? Refuse to be distracted. Fix your hope on the power of the Gospel. The more you live dependent on the power of God the more easily you will see how your life has truly been changed. The more you discipline yourself to walk by the Spirit the more easily you will recognize his voice when he speaks to your spirit telling you that you are a child of God. Don’t get distracted.
C. Are you a member of that group who is convinced of the power of the gospel?
Go from this place and live for the glory of the One who loves you and gave His Son of you. Trust him as you love your enemies. Destroy those enemies with good making them your friends. Walk in humility and live in harmony with one another. Share in the needs of the saints. Only speak good words.
Church, with man this is impossible. But with God all things are possible. Please join me in praying that God would fill this church with living sacrifices.

1. Here is a helpful article utilizing the Creation, Fall, Redemption, Consummation structure for the storyline of the bible

Take some time to read it and digest how the pieces fit together. Keeping the big picture is always difficult when studying the details. Allowing the details to reshape our understanding of the big picture is equally difficult.

2. The sniff test

Instead of bringing out some of the finer distinctions between good biblical theological systems I want us to talk about those things that as we hear them they just don’t seem right. You might not be able to put your finger on it but it just don’t smell right. That is the sniff test. Looking back now, I made it through undergrad on the sniff test.

3. Thinking caps

I hope none of us are exactly at the place we want to be in our relationship with God or our understanding of the bible. We press on! Maturing as we should will cost us but it will also pay dividends. Spend the week thinking about God and how he has faithfully revealed himself through Scripture.

4. Labels

I will do my best to stay away from theological labels. Where the shoe fits we’ll wear it but we won’t go out shopping for shoes. As we listen to God through his Word he will transform us. If that puts us in one camp instead of another so be it but claiming camps or defending camps or conquering camps is not the goal.

Thesis: We are to encourage one another out of sin and into love and good works.

As we look into God’s word this morning I want you to think about bricks. When bricks are made they must be hardened. The two most common ways bricks are hardened are either by firing them in an oven or baking them in the sun. Now think about your soul. How is your soul hardened? In Hebrews chapter 3 we are told that the deceitfulness of sin hardens us. Bricks are hardened by the sun. Christians are hardened by sin.

God in his grace has warned us about the effects of sin on our souls. It is not good that any of us be insensitive toward the Holy Spirit or cold and unresponsive to the God who is worthy of all glory and honor and power. So God in his grace has given us the means of escaping the soul numbing effects of sin. I think at this point it will not surprise you that the phrase “one another” has something to do with the cure. Loving one another and serving one another naturally lead to encouraging one another. As you love and serve others you will come face to face with that person’s weaknesses and struggles. When it happens (and it will) you have a decision to make, will you faithfully encourage your loved one or will you quietly let the hardening effects of sin take over? Will you come with biblical helpful encouragement or will you in bitterness add to the hardening of the soul? Be self-controlled sober-minded and prayerful God is calling us to encourage one another.

We’ll read two passages this morning: Hebrews 3:12-15 and 10:24-25.

I. Christians care for one another’s hearts (3:12; 10:24)

1. We must come alongside one another’s faith

Let’s take verses twelve and thirteen together, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called today, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

We must come alongside one another. The word ‘exhort’ in verse 13 literally means to call out to, appeal to, or beseech. The word in the original is parakaleo which sounds an awful lot like paraklete; a New Testament word for the Holy Spirit (John 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26). Paraklete describes the work of the Holy Spirit as he comes alongside the believer to comfort, guide, help, and encourage. And one of the ways the Holy Spirit acts as paraklete is through our faithfulness to exhort or parakaleo one another. The Spirit wants to exhort, comfort, help, encourage, and come alongside Christians through you.

Unfortunately we’ve defined “worthwhile ministry” as doing church stuff to the most people; the bigger the group the better the ministry must be. This error is precisely why it is easier to get someone to teach a Sunday school class than it is to get someone to come alongside and personally disciple an individual or couple; 10 people are worth the sacrifice but 2 are not. Let’s throw out this terrible mistake and define ministry in the church according to Scripture. Ministry is any opportunity you have to come alongside a brother or sister and encourage him/her to be more like Jesus.

In this sense everyone who claims the name of Jesus Christ is a minister. It is your responsibility and calling to find ways to help your faith family avoid unbelief and reject sin in all its deceitfulness. And we do this with words. Last week we looked at 1 Peter 4:11 and the speaking gifts, “whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God.” God has placed you in this church so that you will come alongside your brothers and sisters in order to call out the truth of God to them. Encourage one another’s faith.

Verses 12-15 are chalk full of the heart.

Protect one another from an unbelieving heart. Come alongside and encourage those struggling against sin; that’s heart work. Holding our original confidence firm to the end is all about clinging to and loving Christ our savior. Verse 15 warns us to obey and not harden our hearts against God. Our Father wants us to be concerned about what is going on inside of one another.

Let’s take stock for a moment. Of all the things that you and I have said over the last week what percentage would fall in the category of heart work? You see, as the Gospel decreases in our conversations then expect the deceitfulness of sin to increase. But, as Christ increases in our conversations expect faith and fruitfulness to increase. So how much Jesus was in your conversations with your spouse, your children, your church family, and your friends? Where there is sin let us repent and walk faithfully alongside one another.

What I want you to see in this passage is that Christians, plain ole followers of Christ care for one another’s hearts. The goal is that none of us is hardened by sin or refuses to obey God. Sharing Gospel truths with one another daily how we help one another. We come alongside and encourage one another’s faith with the truth of the Gospel. We exhort one another out of sin and into love and good works. And we should start small because

1. Unbelief always starts small

Israel’s unbelief in the wilderness started with the gathering of straw in Egypt. The moment God said, “let my people go” life became more difficult for his people. The temptation to complain and ultimately to believe God doesn’t care or isn’t going to change things always begins small. One author wrote, “How different might have been the story of the Israelites in the wilderness if only they had daily fostered among themselves a constant faith in God instead of mutually inciting a spirit of rebellion and unbelief!” (PE Hughes, 147) When faced with small things and little disappointments we will be tempted to complain and grumble to one another.

You must decide if you are going to be a grumbler who hurts the hearts of others or an encourager who guards the hearts of others. And I guarantee that if you don’t commit yourself to being an encourager you will be a complainer. We need encouragers. I need encouragers.

1. We need daily encouragers

What is the prescription for encouragement in Hebrews 3:13? Exhort one another daily. Church we are so blessed to have home phones, cell phones, text messaging, email, the real post office mail, facebook, something called google plus, and the like. Opportunities to encourage one another every day have never been easier. But with all of these advances has come a deceptive “busy-ness”. We’re too busy reading and listening to the mundane and meaningless to encourage someone with the magnificent and meaningful. Join me this week in a commitment to encourage one person a day with the hope of Christ. You might share a verse. You might share a phrase. You might point them to a helpful sermon or audio clip online. You might share something beneficial from this sermon. The point is that the people around you need daily encouragement from you.

Hebrews 10:24 puts it this way, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.”

God wants you to put some energy and thought into how you are going to help others along. Think about how you can help that person you’re mad at or frustrated with love and do God-things. Pray about it. Dig into the Word for it. Intentionally say something that is going to help that person love more and serve more. Dream with me about what this church will be like when husbands and wives are considering how to daily stir one another up and then we actually do it. What about when teenagers stop dreaming about the best come back line to slam someone and instead speak the gospel truth for the good of others? What about when grandparents are used by God to reverse the hardening effects of sin on their children and grandchildren? Church we need to get together and stick together

1. Hebrews 10:25 warns against unexcused absences

“Let us consider how to stir up on another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Jesus is coming soon. In the mean time this world will go from bad to worse. You are not meant to make it through on your own. You were saved to encourage. The weaknesses in each of us cry out for gospel exhortations. Simply put, you cannot give what others need and you cannot receive what you need outside of the church. And I don’t mean just Sunday morning 11am worship. Hebrews 3 prescribes daily exhortation. Don’t neglect daily meeting together for encouragement around the Word.

The temptation here is to think that the problem is we are all too busy; too busy to give time daily to one another. But that’s just deceit. The problem isn’t that we’re too busy. The problem is a small unbiblical view of sin. We have downplayed the power of the world, the flesh, and the devil to distract and destroy us so we do not seek out daily encouragement. We have downplayed the power of the Holy Spirit working through us so we leave the real ministry for the big boys and girls. You have an enemy who wants to devour you and you have the Holy Spirit you wants to use you to keep others from being devoured. Meet together and encourage one another with the truth. I need it. You need it. We need it.

In 2 Corinthians 2:10 Paul tells the church not to be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. Did you know that Satan’s plan is to keep you away from access to gospel-centered encouragement? He wants to get you off by yourself and deceive you. You and I need the church. Here’s why:

1. We often don’t see our sin that’s why it’s called deceitful

I begin to think that what I’m doing or saying is actually good or appropriate when it is not. I convince myself that I should be angry about what was said when I should not. I agree with my heart that what I’m going to do really isn’t all that bad when it is. The humble Christian who listens to the exhortations of his/her church will be well equipped to reject the deceitfulness of sin. The fragmented self-centered church will see its family members hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Think about oatmeal. I cook my oatmeal in the microwave which is incredibly quick and easy but potentially dangerous. If I don’t pay attention that oatmeal will boil over and make a big mess. If I don’t take care of that oatmeal, watching it, it will turn out badly for me. I will have a big hot mess. It’s not smart to touch boiling oatmeal so you have to let it cool. And here is the greater danger: forgetting or avoiding that spill. If you let that oatmeal harden in the microwave you are in for a big job.

Being the church is like cooking oatmeal in a microwave. We are to take heed of or watch one another. We are to stay close by one another daily helping one another along. We do this because we love and long to serve one another. We know what can happen when the oatmeal of life boils over and hardens so we exhort one another. And it’s a marathon.

1. We must come alongside one another to the end

Verse 14 is pretty much straight forward, “For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” Take care of one another and come alongside one another for the long haul. Those who do not remain in the faith, those who do not hold their original confidence firm to the end, do so because they never came to share in Christ. Look at verse 14. We have come to share in Christ IF we hold our original confidence firm to the end. Holding onto the Gospel to the end is the product of being joined to and sharing in Christ. Many people start well and make bold professions of faith but it is only those who cling to the Gospel and fight the hardening effects of sin and lean on their church and let people care for their hearts that have come to share in Christ. Anyone can start well but the pressures of life overtime will reveal if you have an evil unbelieving heart or if you have been made new in Christ (See Mark 4:1-20).

Being the church isn’t something we do for a couple of hours a week on a quarterly basis. Being the church means we see our need for brothers and sisters to come alongside of us and guard our hearts until death or Jesus returns. Being the church means we see the need of our brothers and sisters to have us come alongside their faith until death or Jesus returns.

Here is where it all begins

II. Listen to God

Look with me at verse 15, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

1. Do what God is leading you to do

If God is telling you right now that your faith is weak or you’ve been deceived by sin do what God is leading you to do. If years of sin have hardened you toward God and others then listen to his voice. Right now I want to offer you the chance to do what God is telling you to do.

If God is telling you right now to go and pray with someone or go encourage someone then do not harden your heart. There is great joy for us as we abide in Jesus’ love and obey his commands.

This is what we’ll do. Charlotte is going to play one verse of that great hymn Only Trust Him. As she does I want you to pray and ask God what he wants you to do. Weigh your thoughts against Scripture to be sure it’s not your sinful flesh speaking and do what God tells you; do not harden your heart. As we listen, pray that your faith family seated around you will do what God tells them to do.