Sermon On the Mount

 

PRAYER

 

The subject of prayer is seldom talked about or discussed, but I believe it to be a subject of extreme importance and vital to our walk as believers in Jesus Christ. Perhaps the most heart wrenching prayer ever recorded was the communication (prayer) between Jesus and His Father just prior to His crucifixion. It was actually an intercessory prayer for those who were going to form the Church (John 17). Jesus asked the Father to glorify Himself (Jesus), to protect the believers, to sanctify the believers, for the unity of believers and the ultimate glorification of the believers: John 17:1, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.” Talk about being unselfish, this is the ultimate. He was praying for the people who were going to form the Church in these early days of Christianity. What is vital for us in this passage is that Jesus did not use an organized prayer. He merely spoke His heart to the Father: “My prayer is not for them alone (disciples), I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” AND that is what He wants us to do; talk to Him in worship and prayer. In Mathew 6:7, Jesus says, “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetitions, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose they will be heard for their many words.” This verse speaks volumes about praying and states the opposite of those who believe in ‘meaningless repetitions,’ as Jesus said. It is a simple, uncomplicated way of prayer and worship from Jesus Himself. As a matter of fact Jesus further explains to them in Matthew 6:8, “Do not be like them, (babblers) for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” God is omniscient. Jesus then proceeded to tell them in Matthew 6:9, “This, then, is how you should pray:” Our Father who art in Heaven, etc. We all know this as the ‘Lord’s prayer’, i.e. everyone but the Father Himself. What Jesus was saying to them was this was to be a model for us when we do talk, or communicate, or pray to God. We are to recognize the sovereignty of God in prayer. We should pray for His return and to follow His will as it is best for us. We should ask God for assistance each day and to be by our side. (He always is with us; it’s that we forget He’s there. This thought reminds me of the song, ‘Footprints in The Sand’ (When we think He is not there He actually is). We are to pray for help to love and forgive others just as Jesus did for us, and finally, to help us in our trials and temptations. This also, reminds me of a most beautiful song called: What a Friend We Have in Jesus.

 

Some time ago, some cousins and I were discussing the Bible and they asked me how I prayed. Rather than explain how I prayed, I simply bowed my head and told the Lord what was in my heart at that very moment and thanked Him for the opportunity of having the very discussion I had asked Him for prior to our visit. Believe me friends, God answers our prayers. Today is a good example of communicating with God (praying). I was having a struggle with myself over a topic to write about (Satan is alive and well and always active), By the way, there is a book called ‘Satan is Alive and Well,’ and I would encourage you to read it. It’s always nice to know what Satan, our enemy, is up to. So I just told the Lord I was having a difficult time and asked Him to help me, (He just loves us to ask; ‘Ask and you shall receive’, remember?). Before I knew it, I was reading the Bible and out popped Matthew 6:7, “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.”

 

One last point I would like to touch on is our consideration to the conflict one can create with organized prayer. Jesus wants us to love Him, honor Him and only Him. We are to have no other God’s before Him, and therefore, should not engage in those practices that could result in conflict with this commandment. We are to remember we truly have a loving God, but He is also a jealous God who loves and watches over His flock very closely with an intensity not to disregard. May the Lord always enrich and bless you each day.

 

 

 

 

 

Sermon On the Net

THE CRUCIFIXION

 

 

It seems everyone is talking about The Passion of Christ movie. The comments are both positive and negative. Let’s keep in mind that many people have seen the movie resulting in a myriad of various comments. If we consider all the various beliefs in the world today, it is no wonder there will be differing opinions. I have a comment or rather a question. Is anyone focusing on what I believe to be the real issue? What is the real issue? Is it that Christ died on the cross for sinners? Is it the Roman’s fault? Is it the Jew’s fault? The main issue of the picture is obvious; it is a display of a very horrible and humiliating crucifixion of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Most people know that Jesus was crucified and the reason why. They may not accept or believe the Biblical explanation and that is their prerogative. Remember please, if you will, that Jesus voluntarily offered Himself as a sacrifice on the cross for sinners. In the Gospel of John 3:16, Jesus said that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life; “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

 

Let’s consider an issue the movie doesn’t show and yet is extremely important; Old Testament Prophecy that accurately predicts the coming, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus. Psalm 22 is very descriptive of the crucifixion. These prophetic statements are true, proven by their fulfillment as we see in the Gospels; Matthew 27:35 says, “When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.” Even external sources such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered within the last century, validate the authenticity of the Bible. In lieu of discussing the movie which in itself would be argumentative, let us examine what makes this story credible.

 

Psalm 22 is one of the most quoted of all Psalms. It is a prophetic description of what was to happen to Jesus on the cross. This prophecy dates back approximately eight hundred years before the crucifixion; to the best of my knowledge. The point here is that these words were written long before Jesus appeared on the earth and were fulfilled in Jesus on the cross. In Psalm 1, David said, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” See Mathew 27:46 for the exact same words uttered by Jesus on the cross; “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This probably reflects the desertion that Jesus felt while dying on the cross for the sinners of the world. Psalm 22:11-18 describes the crucifixion; Verses 11-13 foretell of the troubles near to Him and that no one was there to help Him. Verse 14 describes the piercing of the spear in His side and His bones being out of joint because of the way He hung on the cross. Both water and blood poured out of Jesus signifying shed blood and a broken heart. Verse 15 describes more of the physical aspects of the crucifixion. Verse 16 describes the nailing of His hands (wrists actually) and feet”…they pierced my hands and my feet.” Verse 18 describes the division of His garments by the soldiers casting lots. In Mathew 26:31 Jesus tells the disciples they will fall away and scatter like sheep, see Zechariah 13:7’…strike the Shepard that the sheep may be scattered.’ Psalm 69:21 speaks of Matthew 27:34,’…  they gave Him wine to drink mingled with gall.’ Psalm 22:7 speaks of Matthew 27:39…’hurling insults at Him.’

 

When Jesus yielded up His spirit (more on this later) the veil in the Temple was split from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). It is interesting to note that the veil was renewed every year and was so strong that two teams of horses tied to each side could not tear it apart. The veil barred all the people, except the High Priest, from the presence of God, but when it was split in two at the very moment Jesus yielded up His Spirit (Matthew 27:51), access to God was now available to all who come to the Father through Jesus. This was a very significant event, which one could say was the very beginning of true Christianity.

 

Although I have not fully investigated the following statement I know it comes from several reliable sources. There have been in excess of 500 prophecies already fulfilled in the Bible. This is not fortune telling, it is the infallible Word of God, the Bible proving itself over and over again. The Bible in its entirety is its own best testimony. No one has ever been able to find one word of contradiction. The fulfillment of the large number of undeniable prophetic statements that have come true causes one to wonder why so many deny the truth and accuracy of the Bible; both the Old and the New Testament. It has been said that the Old Testament is the New Testament contained and the New Testament is the Old Testament explained. In 2^nd Timothy 3:16 it states that ‘all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;’ and 2^nd Peter 1:21 states ‘for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but by men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.’ These verses, as well as many others, are telling us that God is the author and the writers are the instruments. As I stated in the second paragraph of this letter, the real issue, for me, is this paragraph. We can and we should take solace that the Bible is truly the inspired Word of God. Each of us would be well served if we read and studied the Bible every day. Believe me when I tell you that God will indeed bless you. When you do, you are communicating with God as He wishes. Proverbs 16:7 says, “When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.”  

 

Matthew 27:50…”And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice he gave up His spirit.” Please note that Jesus was not killed by anyone nor was He overcome by natural events; He released His Spirit. There is so much more on the crucifixion I could write, however there is one final point I would like to make about the last words Jesus spoke just before He gave up His Spirit. Those words are found in John 19:30 when He said,”…It is finished” and He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit. The meaning of these last words, very simply, is the payment for the sins of the world was made in full and final. There is nothing more that anyone can do, nor should anyone want to, but to believe what Jesus said so many, many times; “…..believe in me and you have eternal life…” (John 3:16). Believing what Jesus said is all there is my friends; we don’t need any help from any organizations who proclaim themselves to be “Christians” under the guise of some name or whatever. The Word of God, the Bible is all that we need for salvation. What I am saying here does not preclude the need for fellowship, actually the Bible does indeed tell us to fellowship. I’ll write a letter soon on the topic of fellowship. It’ll be interesting. I’ll give you a hint…it won’t be about ‘churching’. I’m talking about genuine, old time Biblical fellowship.

 

 

 

 

Seromn On the Net

DO NOT JUDGE

 

In John 3:17-18 Jesus is saying He did not come into the world to judge it but to save those who believe in Him; “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in God’s one and only Son.” Believers are not to be judged on their own merits regarding salvation, whereas unbelievers will be. God will look at believers through Jesus and will not see our sinful nature. Unfortunately for the unbeliever this is not true. Unbelievers will stand naked before God and will be condemned because they rejected Jesus by not accepting Him. And there is no second chance. Hebrews 9:27 says, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” John 5:24 Jesus emphasizes that believers will not come into judgment; “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” Believers pass from separation (death) from God to union with Him through Jesus. By the way, do not confuse the judgment of non-believers with the rewards to be given to believers when they are in Heaven, predicated of course, on their lives on earth and service to God. See 1^st Cor. 3:14, “If what he has built survives, (service to God) he will receive his reward.”

 

John 6:29 makes a very important point on the issue that Jesus raised while talking to the multitude; “The work of God is this, to believe in the one He has sent.” In verse 27 Jesus tells them, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life.” In other words- works or working for salvation doesn’t result in salvation-wasted effort equals wasted time. Remember, I didn’t say it, Jesus said it. I could spend a great deal of time on this subject of works and sacrifices but I know it would not sit well with some people. Please consider what Jesus says throughout the Gospels when He talks about salvation. In essence Jesus says believe in me, period; end of story. As a matter of fact, Jesus said there are 3 things He wants us to do:

 

1)     Believe in Him…John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave

his one and only Son, that whoever believes in his shall not perish.”

2)     Love Him…Matthew 22:37, 38 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This the first and greatest commandment.”

3)     Love you neighbor…John 15:17, “This is my command: Love each other.”

 

I don’t see anywhere in the Bible any additional requirements other than these three, so why do religious people concern themselves with working their way into Heaven? The answer is they simply do not believe what Jesus says throughout all the Gospels. What about the Christians who keep on trying to work their way into Heaven? The answer is I don’t know, that is between them and God as to their status. The Christians that I am concerned about are those who profess to be believers in Jesus and yet continue to be chained to those principles and practices of religions that are not found anywhere in Scripture. Ephesians 2:8, 9 sheds light on this subject: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works so that no one can boast.” I wish I could go further in developing this point but I must remind myself that my only concern, and it is a deep concern, is for people to listen to what Jesus is saying and to believe in Him

 

John 10:1. Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.” John 10 is an interesting chapter with a point or two worthy of a detour, if you will take a short journey with me. In the beginning of the chapter Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees and trying to explain to them the way to salvation, but to no avail. They simply were not listening nor did they understand His words because they were not His sheep. Verse 16 is very interesting because He is talking about us. We, i.e., anyone who believes in Jesus are the other ‘sheep’ that He is talking about. As He says He will bring us into the ‘fold’ with the other sheep (saved Jews) and we shall become one ‘flock.’ John10:16, “I have pthet sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and they too shall be one flock and one shepherd.” If you recall in my last letter I mentioned that the veil in the Temple was torn from top to bottom (Luke 23:45) and this signified that the way to God was now open to all who believe in Jesus. There you have the reason Jesus came to the earth, to die on the cross to pay for the sin of mankind. His death is an invitation to anyone, any age and any time. Again, folks, we have so much to be thankful for in Jesus. 

 

 

 

Sermon On the Net

WATCH

 

Mark 13:37: “What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch.” Jesus had just finished describing the end times to the Disciples when He finished the discussion with the word, ‘Watch.’

 

Think of the word ‘watch’ to mean, ‘wait and you will see.’ Yes we will all see the end times but the big question for everyone is what kind of a seat will you have; better still will you even be in the stadium, so to speak? To get inside the stadium one must have a ticket. Where does one get a ticket? Certainly not at Ticket Masters and not even at the gate because then it will be too late. The day I ‘heard’ Jesus was giving free tickets I very happily accepted His offer and I am now in possession of a free ticket. And the best part is I can’t lose it nor can anyone take it from me. So today listen to Him ‘speak’ to you; try John 3:3 and 5.

 

PRAYER MINISTRY

 

1st Thessalonians 5:16: “Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in all circumstances.”

 

We really need to pray for our believing brothers and sisters world-wide. And need to dig in and evangelize every chance we get. I fear some are sleeping at the helm and while our ship won’t hit the rocks others will. Remember your first love?

 

Bunny (my wife); Vista Knoll Nursing home patients; District Prayer Ministry; Dennis P.; George and family; Angela, cancer; Nick (me); Military; Emma and Alex; Tom H.; Patti L.; Perry; Jan; Doug; Jim & Michelle M; Sherry & Ellie O’C.: Dillon; Lynn; Donna; John M; Ross & Connie; Barbara B; Joan T; Pat Z.; Oguazi; Pam; Bruce; Jaime;.

 

Rms.11:29, “For God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.”

 

Web site: www.hiswayisfree.com        E-mail: ndelsesto@cox.net         

 

 

 

 

 

:

 

 

 

 

Sermon On the Net

NOW IS THE TIME

 

Now is the time for each one of us to accept the Lord as Savior, unless you have already done so. If you have then it is time to know what Jesus said and what He meant by what He said. If we listen to what He said and meditate on His Words, then, and only then, can we be free of the chains of religious bondage. I do not profess to understand every thing He tried to tell us, but there is plenty that He told us in very simple terms that do not require one to be a rocket scientist. I cannot emphasize enough how vital it is for us to know what He said and what He meant. If you believe He is our Savior, then listen to Him.

 

In the Gospel of John 1:39, Jesus’ answer to the inquiring future apostles was, “Come and you will see.” How prophetic this answer was, “Come and you will see.” You must understand here that Jesus was saying that we must first come or go to Him and then our eyes will be opened. Then and only then will we see. One might say this is a step of faith, and indeed it is. No one asks to see the airplane he is about to board, fly, and then gets on. No, we simply, in an act of faith get on and hope it will fly. I believe, personally, that my faith in Jesus is more assured than any thing I might do on earth. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do see.” Romans 10:17 says, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” So, here we have Jesus at the beginning of His ministry telling us that the first step towards salvation is to accept His invitation; ‘come and see.’

 

In John 2:16 Jesus said to those who sold doves, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market?” Obviously Jesus was very angry because they were profaning the house of God. Please understand this passage in that the temple was the place where God resided in the Holy of Holies, before Jesus was crucified. Only the High priest could enter this area. However, when Jesus gave up His Spirit (died on the cross) the veil (covering the Holy of Holies) was split or torn open from top to the bottom, Luke 23:45, “And the curtain in the temple was torn in two.” This meant that the temple was no longer the house of God, quite the contrary; the house of God now is to be the individual where the Holy Spirit resides. In essence Christianity was born at that moment in time. Salvation was now open to all. By the way, although I have not personally researched this, it is said by Bible scholars that the veil was quite thick and made of leather; quite a feat, but then again please remember who caused it. At the risk of being redundant and boring I would like to reiterate two points not to be overlooked:

 

1)     We are the church (the word ecclesia means called out, a group, people), see Hebrews 12: 23 ‘….to the church of the first born whose names are written in heaven.’ i.e. the body of Christ.

2)     Direct access to God is now available and directly through Jesus.

 

In John 2:19, Jesus says “Destroy this Temple (His own body) and in three days I will raise it up.” This is a prediction of his crucifixion and resurrection and was actually said for the benefit of His apostles for they remembered it when they saw it happen.

 

In John 3: 3-8 Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” In this passage Jesus is trying to explain to Nicodemus (remember he was a member of the Pharisees and a Jewish ruler) that a person must be born of the flesh and then must be born of the Spirit. To be born of the Spirit is to accept Jesus as Savior and then the Holy Spirit resides in that person (the church) forever.

 

John 3:15 and of course 3:16 (perhaps the most famous and most quoted verse in the Bible). Let’s remember who is saying this, Jesus is. Sometimes the source of this scripture gets lost in the enthusiasm of the moment. I’ve heard many people say, John 3:16 says……but as we know Jesus says it. John is just reporting what he heard Jesus say. Jesus is the one who says ‘believers will not perish but have eternal life.’ And all that is required is a step of FAITH. As Jesus said to Andrew, one of the two following Him, in John 1:39, “…Come and see.” I pray for those who have yet to ‘come and see’.

 

Let us all take a moment and praise Jesus for His unconditional love.