11/2 Fundamental Thoughts - Sermons

“Who Art Thou?”

John 1:15-34  John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.  (16)  And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.  (17)  For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.  (18)  No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.  (19)  And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?  (20)  And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.  (21)  And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.  (22)  Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?  (23)  He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.  (24)  And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.  (25)  And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?  (26)  John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;  (27)  He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.  (28)  These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.  (29)  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.  (30)  This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.  (31)  And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.  (32)  And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.  (33)  And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.  (34)  And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

INTRODUCTION:           Here within this text the Pharisees (v 24) are trying to determine whom John the Baptist really is. 

              They knew of Baptism, they used it to cleanse a Gentile was when they converted to Judaism.

              They expected Elijah and the other prophet Moses talked about.  It is Christ's claim of being the Messiah that sent them to question John

              John tells them he is not the Christ and that he is not Elijah.

They expected John to be the one who would bring them out from under the Roman yoke.  He was not that prophet. 

              So the question remains “Who Art Thou?”             (v 22)

I.            JOHN BARE WITNESS OF HIM.                                         (v 15)

(Luke 3:16)  John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

A.            A Forerunner of Christ

(Isaiah 40:3)  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

(Isaiah 40:5)  And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

                             1.           Make straight the way                                (v 23)

2.               A highway for our God

3.               The glory of the Lord

                                           i.            Shall be revealed

                             4.           All flesh shall see it

              B.           Whose Shoe Latchet                                                  (v 29)

                             1.           I am not worthy to unloose

                             2.           If John the Baptist was unworthy

                                           i.            What are we?

              C.           He Is Preferred Over Me.                                         (v 30)

                             1.           He was before me

                                           i.            First born law

II.           WHY BAPTIZE THEN, IF NOT THE CHRIST                 (v 25)

(Matthew 3:6)  And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

(Mark 1:4)  John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

               A.           Confessing Their Sins      

(Matthew 3:6)  And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

                             1.           Repent ye           

                                           i.            Walk away from your sin

                                           ii.           Turn to God,

                             2.           Bring forth (Signs) fruits meet

                                           (Acceptable) for repentance

              B.           John Said "I Saw The Spirit"

                             1.           Descend from heaven

                                           i.            Like a dove

              C.           I Knew Him Not 

                             1.           He Baptizes with the Holy Ghost

                                               

III.         BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD.

              A.           Christ Is The Lamb of God

                             1.           As the great sacrifice

                                           i.            An atonement for our sin

                       

              B.           Christ As The Lamb of God

                             1.           Removes the sin of the world

                                           i.            For the convert

              C.           Jesus Takes Away:

                             1.           The guilt of sin

                                           i.            By his death

                             2.           The power of sin

                                           i.            By His grace

                                           ii.           Sin shall not have dominion over us.            

(Romans 6:14)  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

              D.           It IS Our Duty To Behold Him

                             1.           In faith see Him

                                           i.            Taking our sin away

                             2.           Do not hold fast to the sin of our past.

                                           i.            Get away from it.

                             3.           Christ will either:

                                           i.            Take our sins away or

                                           ii.           Take us away

CONCLUSION:  “Who Art Thou?”  The Pharisee’s question John the Baptist, asked “who are you?”

My job is to ask you that same question.          Who are you?   Are you a born again, died 

 in the wool, separated, hate sin, King James Bible believing Christian?            Are you?

Which one of the items; do you not believe describes you? 

              Are you born again as Jesus requires in

John 3:7, …ye MUST be born again.

              Are you absolutely without any doubt saved? 

Can you go to your deathbed knowing that you are eternally secure.  John said in:

(Matthew 3:8)  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

Can you?                           Are you as separated as you can get? 

What about the TV, movies you watch?  What about the music you listen to?                What about that sin that you haven’t dealt with?

              Do you hate sin?  You should. 

Are you doing your best via Jesus in prayer to eliminate the sin in your life?

              You see we seem to segregate ourselves from church. 

The world today wants everything their way.  What I do in my home is my personal business and has nothing to do with the church. 

              That is true, until it becomes a shame on the Body of the Church.

              You see God knows what is going on there. 

He wants it corrected, so no shame comes onto bride.  

Do you know Him?           In John verse 3:16 Jesus uses the word "Believeth" and Paul uses the word "Believe" in Romans 10:9.

We need to understand that those words require something of us.  We MUST believe, and it MUST be a sincere belief.

We MUST also understand the there are two things we MUST believe.

              1.           We MUST believe Jesus is the Son of God.

              2.           We MUST believe we each are sinners.

Without this understanding salvation cannot happen.

              Once we have accepted Jesus and do understand that we are a sinner, then and only then can we look to God for acceptance.

(Romans 10:9)      (Romans 10:13) 

So what are you going to do?         Accept Him now, step boldly forward, come to the altar                     Ask Jesus to accept you just as you are.

Then thank Him for accepting you.              Then ask Him to forgive you of your sins. (And mean it)

11/2 Fundamental Thoughts - Sermons

Where Do We Stand?

Deuteronomy 27:14-26  And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice,  (15)  Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.  (16)  Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.  (17)  Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.  (18)  Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen.  (19)  Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.  (20)  Cursed be he that lieth with his father's wife; because he uncovereth his father's skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen.  (21)  Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.  (22)  Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.  (23)  Cursed be he that lieth with his mother in law. And all the people shall say, Amen.  (24)  Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbour secretly. And all the people shall say, Amen.  (25)  Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.  (26)  Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Introduction:   We see that Moses has divided the Nation of Israel into three parts.  Six families on one mountain top to represent the blessings of God, the remaining six families on an adjacent mountain top to represent the curses of God.  Moses then puts the Levites in the valley between the two mountains to read the curses to the congregation.                Their “Amen” is a statement that says “We understand if we do not follow God obediently this curse will be added.”

              These instructions are strong, and we as individuals, under the Grace of God, and they are still meant for us also.  Not necessarily as a curse, but a means by which we will lose reward.

              As a nation, it will result in its destruction, just as Israel was destroyed.  It appears our nation is either on the road to that destruction or is directing itself towards that road and very quickly approaching.

              Today we will look at “The Blessings of Obedience,” “The Curse of Disobedience,” and finally “The Coming Judgment.”

I.            THE BLESSINGS OF OBEDIENCE         

Deuteronomy 28:7-10  The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.  (8)  The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.  (9)  The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.  (10)  And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.

A.              It Shall Come To Pass                                      (vv 28:1-2)

Deuteronomy 28:1-2  And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:  (2)  And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

1.               On high ground   (Above all nations)            (v 2)

2.               If we will listen (hearken)

              i.            To the voice of the LORD thy God

                             3.           Listen He give all these blessings

                                           i.            They will overtake us

                                                          a.           Just listen and obey

                                                          b.           “Trust and Obey”

              B.           Our Enemies Will Be Smitten

                             1.           If we are obedient

Joshua 1:5  There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

                                           i.            World War II

                                                          a.           Our enemies defeated

                                           ii.           But what about

          a.               Korea

          b.               Viet Nam

          c.               Iraq

         d.               Afghanistan

         e.               War on Terror

                                          iii.          Have these foes been defeated?

                                          iv.          The progressives (Communists) within

              C.           We Will Be An Holy People                         

Deuteronomy 28:9  The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.

                             1.           If we will keep His commandments

Numbers 6:27  And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.

                             i.            God at one time put His blessing on this Nation

II.           THE CONSEQUENCES OF DISOBEDIENCE      

                                                                    

Deuteronomy 28:15  But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

Deuteronomy 28:22  The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.

A.              It Shall Come To Pass

1.               If we will not listen to the voice of God

              i.            We will be smitten (Crime rate)

                             a.           With many curses

                                          (Cancer/Heart)

                             b.           With the sword (Murder rate)

                             c.            We will be pursued until we perish

              B.           We Will Become An Astonishment

Deuteronomy 28:37  And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.

2.               A proverb

              i.            Look at the mighty USA now

                             a.           A pawn among pawns      

              C.           All This Because We Will Not Listen To God  

Deuteronomy 28:45-46  Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:  (46)  And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.

                             1.           All this will come upon us

III.         THE COMING JUDGMENT                 

Deuteronomy 28:49-51  The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;  (50)  A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:  (51)  And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.

A.              A Nation Against Us

1.               From far away

2.               Swift as an eagle

3.               Whose tongue we do not understand

B.              A Nation

1.               With a fierce countenance

              i.            Will not regard

                             a.           The old

                             b.           The young

2.           We will be destroyed

CONCLUSION:   All that we have studied this morning, the process may have already begun.  I fear it is further down the road than I want to admit.

              The Islamic / Arabic tongue is for the most part an unknown tongue.  When we have witnessed the aftermath of their suicide bombings, we see that innocent, young and old are not regarded.  Just like we saw in the 9 / 11 slaughters, just like the Temple shooter, the underwear bomber, and more recently the Times Square bomber, innocent was not considered.                         However, God tells us:

Deuteronomy 30:15-16  See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;  (16)  In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

He has put before us “…life and good and death and evil.”  I am afraid our government has chosen death and evil, and has put us, as a Nation, on a path that has taken us beyond the point of no return.  If we haven’t passed it we are very near it. 

              Just study ancient and world history, from a pre 1920’s History book.  Study the rise and fall of Roman, which started out as a Republic, changed to an Empire and finally changed to a great fall.  Look at Egypt pre-Joseph, a capitalistic nation, with farmers, business, people owned land, people owned homes, they had freedom.  Then the Pharaoh had a dream. 

              Our dream has come and may likely be gone.  So as individuals, we are facing a great humbling experience, are you ready to face the Lord.  If you have accepted Jesus, you know these are the signs that in a short while our Lord and Saviour Jesus the Christ is coming back for us, Oh “What A Day That Will Be.”

Deuteronomy 6:5  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

              We need to Love our God with ALL our heart, with ALL our soul and with ALL our might.  Not some of it, ALL of our being.

              God tells us in:

1 Kings 19:18  Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

We can see God will have a remnant, and because of Jesus dying on that Cross, we have His Grace and Mercy.  Those who have truly accepted Jesus will be the remnant, until Christ returns for us.

              We as Christians have made a choice, the choice of life and good.  If you have not accepted Jesus, then by default you have made the choice to stand with death and evil.

              If you know you are on the wrong path, this is the day, the time, the moment, the hour to get yourself on the right path.

              God knows who you are, He knows what you have done and what you are going to do.  He knows all the wrong (sin) you have committed.  God placed His only begotten Son on that “Old Rugged Cross” just for you.  He forgave you of your sins that very hour.  All He asks from us is to believe and confess your belief not only to your heart, but also to people.  Show your Salvation.

Romans 10:9 

Believe that God raised His Son from the grave, and tell others, God will save you.             

John 3:16 

God placed His Son Jesus on that Cross just for the possibility that one day we would accept His Son as our Saviour and be blessed with a Salvation beyond our dreams.  A heavenly home, a mansion built by my Carpenter Jesus the Christ.  He didn’t drive nails, He spoke it into existence just as He spoke the Universe into existence.