BY HAROLD LEE
Last week in Mr. Buchanan’s sermon, he asked a question. He mentioned over in—he asked the question, “Why, when it talked it about the fish, was there exactly a hundred and fifty-three fish and when it talked about the people present at Pentecost, there was “about” a hundred and twenty?” And the answer came to me this week. It was my very wise son Eric that brought this up to me. Oh, it was Tom. Okay. Was it Tom? Alright. See he took the credit for it until I publicly—he found out he was… [Laughter.]
The reason I thought it was Eric and it made sense, we live on a small lake. And we, over the last few weeks, have gone fishing quite a bit. And, of course, the reason fathers and sons go fishing is to compete with one another. How many fish did you catch? Okay, I caught more, but mine were bigger. Or you caught more and mine were bigger or whatever. But anyway that’s what Eric said. He said, ‘Dad, here’s it is. It was written by John. John was a fisherman. Fishermen always know exactly how many fish they catch.” And also remember he didn’t say they were big fish and that’s also fits with a fisherman.
Remember Acts was written by Luke. He was a physician. They are very imprecise. “Take a couple of aspirin and see me in the morning.” [Laughter.] “Or if you take this, you’ll either get to be feeling better or worse.” Or, “It’ll take a week or so.”
So again, it just—you probably have to go back. Now I want you to plant your tongue firmly in your cheek with that. But anyway, I thought well, maybe God allows. He does inspire the Bible but He also allows the personality of the writers. So, John being a fisherman knew exactly how many fish and Luke being the physician knew “about” how many it was. So anyway, that’s collective if Tom’s in it and Eric’s in it. So that’s our answer, Mr. Buchanan, until somebody can come up with a better one.
That had nothing to do with the sermon today! [Laughter.]
Brethren, as has already been mentioned, at sunset tonight the second Holy Day Season, and, of course, we look at them as Seasons. There are three Seasons in the year. And the second one will begin. I know it formally begins, but because Pentecost is always on Sunday, it follows a Sabbath. There’s two back to back Sabbaths on this. So I really think—although I’m not going to stand up and declare but—we are in that second Season, that second Season that depicts, as was brought out in the sermonette, the final or the end of the harvest. But this one is the shortest of all three and it can almost come and go before you’re prepared for it.
The other two, the Spring and the Fall, take a lot of preparation, both spiritually and physically. Many of you, probably most of you, have already decided and made a lot of plans about where you’re going to be for the Fall, for the Feast.
So again, this one can sort of sneak up on you and then you blink and it’s gone. And in a way, it doesn’t take quite, perhaps, the preparation. Or doesn’t—let me say it this way: it doesn’t force us to prepare as much as the others.
I feel, as the years have past, that we’ve come to realize that this second Season is not just a stand alone Season that sort of stands by itself, but it’s very closely tied to the Spring Holy Days. And that’s been brought out, I think, very clearly over the last couple of years how it’s derived from the Spring Holy Days and the Wave Sheaf that takes place. So it’s not only very closely tied, it’s reckoned from the Spring Holy Days.
And although it’s the shortest of the three, I personally think—and this is just my opinion—that we as a Church have deepened our understanding, perhaps, of this Holy Day, this Season, perhaps more than the others. I think twenty or thirty years ago we didn’t think about the Bride. We didn’t think about being a part of that. We reckoned it as the Church was born or was formed on Pentecost. We reckoned it as the Law was given. But we’ve really come, I think, to take a more personal understanding of it over the years. And, perhaps—and again this is just my opinion as I think about it—it seems to be that our understanding has deepened on this one more than the Spring and the Fall. Again, I just find that interesting.
But we know this Season depicts the invitation that we as the firstfruits individually were given much like, perhaps, even the wedding day for a Bride. And, again, we didn’t correlate that I don’t think twenty or thirty years ago.
What I would like to do today is to have us focus on this Season and the—I’m going to call us “firstfruits in progress” because that’s what we are—and I would like for us to go through a brief checklist.
A long time ago one of my loves was aviation and in flying, those of you that deal with flying know that after the preflight, after the pilot goes around and you get in the plane, and you buckle the passengers in and give them the briefing, and you buckle yourselves in, the next thing is you pull out a checklist and you start going through a checklist. Before you land, as you are coming within range of the airport, there is another checklist, a landing checklist, that’s pulled out. And it’s very important that those steps are followed. All of those items on there are recalled and, of course, checked out. Otherwise, disaster can happen.
I actually have—and I’m not exaggerating—I actually have a FAA accident report that was joint between Boeing where a Boeing 747, Captain Siraj going into Islamabad Airport did not lower the landing gear on a 747. They went back and looked at the tapes and in fact, there was an alarm that was heard and they pulled the circuit breaker to shut the alarm up because it was distracting them from landing and that was the alarm that said, “You haven’t lowered the landing gear.” And had they followed the checklist—of course, fortunately that doesn’t happen very much. I remember and I don’t know. It’s been so many years. We had a checklist that was a mental one in landings. It was called “GUMPS,” gas, undercarriage, mixture. Gas, both tanks. Undercarriage, make sure the wheels are down. Mixture, full rich. Prop, high RPM. And then safety. In other words, look around and look for other aircraft.
So again, checklists were part of my past. As I get older and my memory gets shorter, I tend to have more checklists now than I used to although I make them and then forget where I put them. So I’m not sure it helps.
If you want a title for today’s sermon, it is A Checklist For The Firstfruits.
I’d like to just go through a series of points that we as firstfruits consider. And, as with the Spring Holy Days, to do a self-evaluation as we consider the calling, the tremendous calling that we’ve been given.
And when God took
I would like for you to turn over to Deuteronomy 32
though. God clearly told
Deuteronomy 32:7. “Remember
the days of old,
And that word “remember,” we always, perhaps, look at it two-dimensionally just to remember something, but that word is Strong’s 2142, zarkar, and it means to mark. In other words, as to be recognized, to mention, and it also means to think on, to be mindful of. So, as we think, we are to discuss it, to talk about it.
It says
Deuteronomy 32:7. “Remember
the days of old, consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he will show you; your
elders, and they will tell you: 8) When
the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, when He separated the
sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of
the children of Israel. 9) For the Lord’s portion is His people;
Remember they were redeemed. They were purchased.
Deuteronomy 32:9b. Jacob is the place of His inheritance. 10) “He found him in a desert land and in the
wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept
him as the apple of His eye. 11) As an
eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking
them up, carrying them on its wings,
Steve covered this very thoroughly in a recent sermon. Just the implications of that and the love that He had and the care that He had!
Deuteronomy 32:12. So the Lord
alone led him, and there was no
foreign god with him. 13) “He made him
to ride in the heights of the earth, that he might eat the produce of the
fields; He made him draw honey from the rock, and oil from the flinty
rock; 14) Curds from the cattle, and
milk of the flock, with fat of lambs; and rams of the breed of Bashan, and
goats, with the choicest wheat; and you drank wine, the blood of the grapes.
Brethren,
Look over in Luke chapter 3. God did take them as the apple of His eye. God did take them as His special treasure. God had a plan. He made a covenant with Abraham and He was going to carry through on that, but after a while it became to be expected. No, it came to be demanded that they were treated differently. Luke chapter 3 verse 7. We’re going to break into a thought here.
Luke 3:7. Then he said to
the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! [This is John.] Who warned you to flee from the wrath to
come? 8) “Therefore bear fruits worthy
of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’
In other words, “We have a right. We have a heritage that says that we have a right to this.”
Luke 3:8b. For I say to you
that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
Turn over to John chapter 3. Brethren, there’s one thing that we must never forget. John chapter 3 and verse 16, I think this is a very familiar verse. Maybe you don’t even need to turn. I really think this is probably one of the first verses that a child commits to memory.
John 3:16. “For God so loved
the world
That word “world” is kosmos. And if you look, any reference that you look
that word, the definition includes the inhabitants of that. It doesn’t say, “God loved
John 3:16b. that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life.
I’m planning a more complete sermon on this verse because there’s tremendous meaning in that.
But for those of you that have a red letter edition, I want you to notice that this verse was quoted by Jesus Christ. It’s red in your red letter edition. It’s something that I don’t think we traditionally think. We think John wrote it, but, as a matter of fact, Jesus quoted it in a conversation with Nicodemus. He was delivering the gospel to one of His students. Nicodemus, as we know, was a Pharisee but he was a student. And He was actually delivering the gospel to him when He was saying that.
Jesus Himself said that God’s agape love and ultimate salvation extended or will be extended to the entire kosmos which includes all of mankind. And that’s directly quoted from His own words.
Brethren, we didn’t, due to our heritage, due to our position, our intelligence, our wealth, our looks, our strength—pick anything—our calling was not due to that. Brethren, God selected us but it was not because of anything that we humanly could attain. And I think if we understand that, it will sober us and it will humble us. Brethren, we are not better than the others that are still in darkness. God just extended the mercy to us as the firstfruits. And to understand that deeply should humble us and cause us to be very thankful.
John chapter 15 and verse 16, He says
John 15:16. “You did not
choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit,
and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name
He may give you. 17) “These things I command
you, that you love one another.
And, Brethren, how we should wish that we could attain this! I’ll talk about that later.
John 15:18. “If the world
hates you, you know that it hated Me before it
hated you. 19) “If you were of the
world, the world would love its own. Yet
because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore
the world hates you.
2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Our calling, Brethren, is God’s extension of mercy to some now not because of our qualities. 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 13, it says
2 Thessalonians 2:13. But we
are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord,
And why are we “beloved?” Is it our qualities? Is it our character? Notice, it tells us.
2 Thessalonians 2:13b. because
God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the
Spirit and belief in the truth.
With His plan it was when They sat down and They said, “There will be firstfruits and this is the role that the firstfruits will be. And We will call them and they will be a special treasure. And then ultimately those firstfruits are going to work with Us in bringing many sons to glory.”
1 Corinthians chapter 15.
One of the reasons that I like to read Paul’s writings, if there was a person that was an example of someone that had the proper perspective—and I’ve mentioned this before—remember Paul. Paul had it all. He as far as someone that could stand up and say, “I have a right to be here,” it was Paul. If there was someone that could say, “I gave it all up,” it was Paul. But notice Paul, 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 3.
1 Corinthians 15:3. For I
delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to
the Scriptures, 4) And that He was
buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5) And that He was seen by Cephas, then by
the twelve. 6) After that He was seen by
over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the
present,
By the time that he was writing this.
1 Corinthians 15:6b. but
some have fallen asleep. 7) After that
He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.
8) Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due
time. 9) For I am the least of the
apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the
And again, if there was a human physical reason that one could claim the rights to be among the firstfruits, it would be Paul. He had the pedigree. He had the education. He had the character. He had the intelligence. He had the zeal. But he knew why. Verse 10.
1 Corinthians 15:10. But by
the grace of God I am what I am,
There’s nothing he’s taking personally to himself for him being where he is. He says, “It was by the grace of God.” Brethren, if one of the original apostles can say that, who are we to rise above that?
1 Corinthians 15:10b. and
His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they
all, yet not I,
Again, he said, “I worked hard but it wasn’t me.”
1 Corinthians
Brethren, we as the firstfruits should have a very deep respect for our calling in realizing just how blessed we are in being given the invitation that we’ve been given. And that understanding should humble us because none of us can claim the right to being a part of the firstfruits harvest. None of us can say, “You know, God called me because anything except His mercy that He extended to me.” Brethren, to be the firstfruits is a privilege, a tremendous privilege, a privilege that should cause us to thank God endlessly, and not an inherent right.
Number one on our firstfruits’ checklist—and I’ll just articulate these—Do I understand that my calling is an extension of mercy from God and not due to any qualities that I possess? 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 9, it says
1 Peter 2:9. But you are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people,
And remember this is being written to the spiritual Church.
1 Peter 2:9b. that you may
proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous
light; 10) Who once were not a people but are
now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
In your own study, look how Jesus Christ—I’ve got an ant over here. I wonder if it came out of Mr. Coulter’s grain there. I don’t know. Well, it’s not under here. In your own study, take a look at how Jesus Christ while He was on the earth interacted with and viewed the general population that He encountered. He set us an example that I think we should follow. He, to the people, was very soft toward the people. He understood that they were blind. He understood that they were lame. He understood that they were ignorant. And He didn’t hold that against them. It was the leaders that He was very direct with. And He set us an example that we should follow.
Before I move on I want to clarify. I’m not advocating soup lines. Start doing those kinds of things. But, Brethren, there are some, if we’re not
careful, that can develop a disdain for the people. I’ve heard people that are looking forward to
Christ’s returning and those people getting their comeuppance. In other words, “Just wait until Christ comes
back! I was mistreated and they’re going
to have to answer for that.” Brethren,
they’re blind. They don’t understand. Remember Christ asked His Father as they were
killing Him, “They don’t understand what they’re doing. They’re blinded.” Stephen said, “Don’t lay the charge to
them.” There’s going to come a time that
we’re going to be trying to work with those people. Not to hurt them, not to punish them, not to
get back at what’s done because they don’t understand. And the only reason we’re not there is
because God’s extension of grace for us.
Remember Christ agonized and wept over what was going to happen to
Brethren, the world is blind and it’s only by God’s grace and God’s mercy that we see. Let’s never forget that our calling is not due to our greatness. It’s not due to our qualities, but it’s God’s willingness to extend mercy to us in this time.
Look over in Genesis chapter 19. We’ll go to the second item on our
checklist. Genesis 19, this is the
account of
Genesis 19:1. Now the two
angels came to
If you look at the commentaries, Clark’s Commentary
says that the term “sitting in the gate” implied either he was conducting
business. So in other words, it was his
town, his society. Or even that he was a
magistrate that was settling disputes.
So he either was there buying and selling or he even had, perhaps, a
political position of being a magistrate where people would come and he would
settle disputes. And I tend to think the
last one based on some subsequent things that were said to him about judging
them. But anyway, the point is
Genesis 19:2. And he said,
“Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the
night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” And they said, “No, but we will spend the night
in the open square.” 3) But he insisted
strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house.
Now just think about this for a second. Suppose you—and I’m just going to pick
So again, it was a similar thing where he realized that they were in danger.
Genesis 19:3. But he
insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked
unleavened bread, and they ate.
And again, this is a very interesting time setting for this. I think there’s some things behind this.
Genesis 19:4. Now before
they lay down, the men of the city, the men of
“My friends, my fellow villagers, please”
Genesis 19:7b. do not [act]
so wickedly!
He even appealed to them.
Genesis 19:8. “See now, I
have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to
you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since
this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.”
Here was
Genesis 19:12. Then the men
said to
And this was in the evening.
Genesis 19:14. So
And again, I think there’s some analogies here. I have not studied them but I find it
interesting. “
Genesis 19:14. So
So again, he did it all night apparently. I’ll bet
Genesis 19:15. When the
morning dawned, the angels urged
Now remember, he was out warning people but when it came time to actually get out of Dodge, he was, “Well, let’s see. I need to do this,” or “I really am not quite wanting…”
Genesis 19:17. So it came to
pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your
life! Do not look behind you nor stay
anywhere in the plain. Escape to the
mountains, lest you be destroyed.” 18)
Then
Skip down to verse 24 for the sake of time.
Genesis 19:24. Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on
Verse 29.
Genesis 19:29. And it came
to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered
Notice this!
Genesis 19:29b. Abraham, and
sent
Again, this was a part of that covenant where God made with Abraham. His love and His desire was this was Abraham’s kin.
Brethren, how have we individually allowed ourselves to
become affected by society around us?
Again, here—and I’m not picking on
All you have to do is look at our entertainment. I remember an instance where—and my memory is a little vague on this because it happened more than a week ago—but we had recommended a movie to some friends or maybe it was the other way around. But I remember my comment was, “Well, you know it’s a good movie. It’s just a little raw language in it but it’s really a good movie.” Well, it ended up we rented the video with these friends and we sat there. And let me tell you, we were all embarrassed. I sat there, “Oh, I can’t believe I recommended this.” By what was not only said, but what was done in this movie. And I realized how desensitized you become to all of that. You just sort of gloss over it. Not that you would participate in it but you don’t see it for what it really is. And the first time we had looked at it, we just hadn’t absorbed that.
Go over in 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 6. I’m going to just break into the thought but
this is the account of
2 Peter 2:6. And turning the
cities of
And then parenthetically it says
2 Peter 2:8. (For that
righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)—
I would say that every one of us are tormented by what we see around us. That we see the injustice. We feel it. It torments us. But we are also desensitized by it. The Bible records that he was oppressed and troubled around him and he didn’t participate, but we read that he had become numb to it. That he had tried to make, perhaps, peace with it.
How about us today in this society? If we look at society, the question is who do we hold in high esteem as a society? Is it our entertainers? Is it the actors? The sports players? All you have to do is to look to who makes the money. I still can’t imagine that a ball player is really worth a hundred million dollars. That just boggles my mind. That is a one and eight zeroes. Seven? Eight zeroes. We hang on the words of actors who if you think about it, they spend their whole lives pretending to be somebody else. And yet to us those are the important people, those are the beautiful… I don’t know. And we value—and I’m saying “we”—the society, we value their words. We care who they think ought to be president. We care what they think about lots of things. And by comparison, a tradesman or an engineer, which actually produce something, are devalued to the point that they can barely make a living. What is that? There’s too much month left at the end of the paycheck or something. I mean that’s all of us. Now do I watch sport events? Do I watch TV? Did I watch the Stanley Cup and see the Redwings in overtime take their fourth cup? Do I watch baseball? Do I watch football? NASCAR?
It was a few years ago that Freda and I along with some others went down to the Yucatan Peninsula and we visited two of the larger, more popular Mayan ruin sites, Tulum was one and I think the other was Chichen Itza. I know I’m going to get a call from someone, our transcriber, saying, “How do you spell that?” And I’ll send it but anyway. But I think that was the one that we went to but there’s two major structures that have survived the Mayan ruins and that is the temple of the religious worship, the pyramids, and the sports arenas. Those were the two permanent parts of their society. Those were the prominent characteristics of the culture.
In fact, at
Look at
And, of course, I can remember when they used to say basketball wasn’t a contact sport. And somewhere along the way it became a contact sport. And I don’t know. I guess my favorite was hockey. So what does that say about me? I don’t know but now we’ve got—I’ve never seen one of these. I’ve only seen the ads but they actually lower a cage down now on an arena where people go in and fight but the cage, they can’t get knocked out of the ring. So they just sit there and get—I don’t know what happens to them. Maybe they fight to the end. I don’t know but again that’s our entertainment. And we can become desensitized by it. And again, I’m not saying “you,” I’m saying “we,” the society as a whole. I think it’s part of the human experience as much as eating or working or what else. But I’m not saying it’s all bad. Paul used the concept of sports in the form of athletes winning and competing in a number of his letters to make some very valid spiritual points. So I’m not saying it’s all evil, but it has come to be that.
Number two on our checklist: To what degree have I allowed this society to negatively affect me and the godly values and character that God is developing in me? Let me just say that again in case you’re taking notes. To what degree have I allowed this society to negatively affect me and the godly values and character that God is developing in me? And I think that’s only a question that we can ask ourselves and we can answer ourselves.
Look over in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 17.
Ephesians 4:17. This I say,
therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest
of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,
I’ve mentioned before the epistle to the Ephesians was what
was called a circular letter. And it was
to be read and then passed around to all the churches in
Verse 18.
Ephesians 4:18. Having their
understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the
ignorance that is in them, because of the [hardening] of their heart;
Look around us today, Brethren. Does society cause us to become hardened and to become unfeeling? What are our shows? Sex in the City, Desperate Housewives, The Ghost Whisperer. I don’t know all of them. Do we let that into our minds? And if we do, will it affect us?
Verse 19.
Ephesians 4:19. Who, being
past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness
with greediness.
Brethren, has God called us to another way? Even while we’re still immersed in this
society just like
Verse 20.
Ephesians 4:20. But you have
not so learned Christ, 21) If indeed you
have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:
I find that a very interesting statement. Here he is writing to the Ephesians, a
Brethren, have we also, because we have God’s Word, have we heard Him? Have we been taught by Him? There’s a test answer to that. We don’t have to leave that in the rhetorical realm. Let’s continue on and here’s how we will know.
Ephesians 4:22. That you put
off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according
to the deceitful lusts,
So there’s the test. There’s the answer that we evaluate how we have put off our former conduct.
Now don’t turn there.
1 John
Ephesians 4:23. And be
renewed in the spirit of your mind.
Look over at 2 Corinthians 4. That shows us very clearly that this is a process that takes all of our lives. 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 16, it says
2 Corinthians 4:16. Therefore
we do not lose heart. Even though our
outward man is perishing, yet the inward man
is being renewed day by day.
Brethren, for God’s people there’s not a diamond carpool lane that once we’re called we can kind of pull over and just sort of sail past everybody. We were not called to be in the diamond lane. Just like the rest of the world, we’re out there taking our punches. We’re in the bumper to bumper, stop and go, just trying to make forward progress. And the struggle of putting off our former man with the deceitful lusts that we’re immersed in every day is a process that takes day by day, one that we all face.
The question is: To what degree have I allowed this society to negatively affect me and the godly values and character that God is developing in me?
Number three on our checklist. Look over at 1 Peter chapter 1 and we’ll start in verse 13. It says in 1 Peter 1:13
1 Peter 1:13. Therefore gird
up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the
revelation of Jesus Christ; 14) As
obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts,
And we just talked about those. So we put those off, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life.
1 Peter 1:14b. as in your ignorance; 15) But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16) Because it is written, “Be holy, for I am
holy.” 17) And if you call on the
Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work,
So don’t think God doesn’t care what we do.
1 Peter 1:17b. conduct
yourselves throughout the time of your stay here
in fear; 18) Knowing that you were not
redeemed with corruptible things, like
silver or gold, from your aimless conduct
In other words, you just kind of drifted. There was not a goal. There was not a point. You were just sort of going through life.
1 Peter 1:18b. from your
aimless conduct received by tradition
from your fathers, 19) But with the
precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20) He indeed was foreordained before the
foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.
So again, what the plan was, what His role was to be was set before the foundation, before the world was created. But our understanding was recent.
1 Peter 1:21. Who through
Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, [Why?] so
that you faith and hope are in God.
In other words, it’s not in the physical. It’s not in this world. It’s not in this society. It’s in God.
And here’s the summary of this.
1 Peter 1:22. Since you have
purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of
the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
Item three: Do I have a fervent sincere love of the Brethren?
Now I recently gave a sermon showing how our spiritual understanding was directly related to how we loved the Brethren. And if we lacked it, we were spiritual blind. But to carry it further, the litmus test—this is a fairly strong statement but just bear with me—the litmus test of whether we’re even going to be in God’s Family hinges on this. Having a love of the brethren, Brethren, is just that important.
Turn over to 1 John 3. Let me ask a question. Will having a love of God’s people get you a place in God’s Family? I’m just going to ask the question. Will having a love of God’s people get you a place in God’s Family? 1 John 3 verse 14, it says
1 John 3:14. We know that we
have passed
And that word “we have passed” is a single word, Strong’s 3327, metabaino, to pass from one place to another. In other words, to remove or to depart. The Greek word means “translated.” In other words, it means to be picked up from here and placed over here. And it’s used many times in the New Testament. It talks about where Jesus and the disciples “departed” the area. In other words, He departed this place.
It says that
1 John 3:14. We know that we
have [departed] from death to life,
In other words, we went from death to life. Why?
1 John 3:14b. because we
love the brethren.
And then it goes on to clarify.
1 John
That departing and arriving, that translation I believe 1 John very clearly says it’s because we love the Brethren. And if we don’t, we’re still back over here in death.
Verse 14.
1 John 3:14. We know that we
have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in
death. 15) Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and
you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
How do we define this love that we must have for the Brethren?
1 John 3:16. By this we know
love,
Verse 16.
1 John 3:16b. because He
laid down His life for us.
We just read John 3:16 about God’s love.
1 John
In other words, in the same manner. Likewise if you want to say.
1 John
Hold your finger there and turn over to Romans 12 and verse 1.
Romans 12:1. I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which
is your reasonable service.
I’ll just ask you to consider something. The sacrificial system of offering the blood of animals, which we know that the life is in the blood, was discontinued when Christ Himself offered Himself as the ultimate sacrifice. We know that for a fact. At that point the need for physical animal sacrifices ceased. Now offerings or sacrifices to God was an act of worship. Let me make a statement. The offering of sacrifices by God’s people has not been done away with. The animal sacrifices have but we offer our lives as a sacrifice as well as part of our worship. This verse says to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice and that’s our reasonable service.
The two words translated “reasonable service” are logikos latreia. Logikos is the word that we derive “logical.” In other words, it’s reasonable. It’s logical. It follows. It stands to reason. Latreia means to worship. It’s derived from the word; the Greek word is eidololatreia, for idolatry. It means the worship of idols. Latreia means worship.
The verse is telling us as part of our worship to God, we are to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice. Let me read it out of The Revised Standard. This is Romans 12:1.
Romans 12:1. I appeal to you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
The Jewish New Testament, which I think is even a little more clearer because it comes from the Jewish perspective.
Romans 12:1. I exhort you
therefore, brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer yourselves as a
sacrifice, living and set apart for God.
This will please Him. It is the
logical temple worship for you.
You see this is talking about, because sacrifices are a way to worship God, it’s part of our worship to God. And offering ourselves, just as Christ did—now He was offering as a sin offering—ours is a living sacrifice. God didn’t require that we die but that doesn’t mean that we don’t offer sacrifices to God. It’s ourselves.
Continuing on verse 2.
Romans 12:2. And do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
And we read a little earlier in 2 Corinthians 4 that that’s a day to day process.
Romans 12:2b. that you may
prove what is that good and
acceptable and perfect will of God. 3)
For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to
think of himself more highly than he
ought to think,
In other words, don’t put yourself up on a pedestal. Don’t think that you’re somehow a little cut above.
Romans 12:3b. but to think
soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4) For we have many members in one body, but
all the members do not have the same function,
And thank God for that!
Romans 12:5. For we, being many, are one body in Christ, and
individually members of one another. 6)
Having then gifts
Notice not talents. It’s gifts.
Romans 12:6b. differing
according to the grace that is given to us, let
us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our
faith; 7) Or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8) He who exhorts, in exhortation; he who
gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with
cheerfulness.
These are not all the things that are just given to a few. This is given to the body. And I think as we go through there we can put names on some of these. We are not all experts in all of these things because they’re gifts.
Romans 12:9. Let love
Which is agape.
Romans 12:9. Let love be without hypocrisy.
In other words, not just in words, not just a show, but in action.
Romans 12:9b. Abhor what is
evil. Cling to what is good. 10) Be
kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love,
So not only do we have the agape love, we have the brotherly love. Someone said, “God says I’m supposed to love my brother but I don’t have to like him.” Well, I don’t know how you get around this. It says you not only have to have the agape love, you have to have the brotherly love. Of course, I don’t know. I look at my brothers and we sure had a lot of fights. So, I don’t know.
It says
Romans 12:10. Be kindly affectionate to one another
I’m sure none of you had that though. You probably got along with your…anyway.
Romans 12:10. Be kindly affectionate to one another
with brotherly love, in honor
Now here’s the tough part.
Romans 12:10b. giving preference
to one another;
Uh oh. Why can’t I just admire them from afar? Why do I have to give preference? That’s tough. But, Brethren, understand we are to possess both the godly love and the brotherly love.
Okay, back to 1 John 3. I just want to read verse 17 but I’ll reread 16 for continuity. 1 John 3 and we’ll go back and I’ll reread 16 as well. It says
1 John 3:16. By this we know
love, because He laid down His life for us.
And we also ought to lay down our
lives for the brethren. 17) But whoever
has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart
from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
If we consider what we just read, our concern for each other should be both spiritual and physical, and our help. There’s many ways that this can manifest itself. Let me just give you a couple. This is not a comprehensive list. I just tried to think of some of the things as the way that we serve one another: phone calls, encouragement, cards, meals, clothing, sharing rides, visiting, listening, giving the most precious thing that we humanly have and that’s our time. There’s things that many of you do and we don’t even consider that we’re expressing that. And that’s good because God does get the credit. But, Brethren, we are to be this way with one another. And we all have our talents. We all have our areas where we can offer more. I don’t think we all are able to do all of this. There’s other pressures. There’s other things. But these are the things—and again, you can add to that list. But I do think it’s incumbent on us to sit down and evaluate: How am I serving the body? How am I contributing to my brother? How am I helping them? That’s our calling, Brethren. That’s our reasonable service. That’s our act of worship. And it’s very part of our worship to God and to Jesus Christ.
Look over in Galatians chapter 6. Galatians chapter 6 verse 2, it says
Galatians 6:2. Bear one
another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Remember we know “fulfill” means to fill it up, to really
complete it. “Bear one another’s
burdens.” I want you to think about what
this is telling us. I will almost
guarantee you it’s telling us more than we first think when we read it. I’ll even go as far as to say this is an area
where I think the
Let’s look closely at this: “Bear one another’s burdens.”
The word “bear” is Strong’s 941, bastazo. And Zodhiates’ The Word Study, there’s three definite meanings to this and it’s used in these three. One is to take up and to hold, especially in the hands, and it means physical and spiritual. Jesus bore our sins. Someone bears a heavy load. The second meaning is to carry or to endure, to bear a name, to bear shame. In other words, you carry that with you. You bear it. The third is to carry as attached to one person and then they clarify: to endure with patience. In other words, “to bear” means to endure with patience. So think about that.
Then let’s look at “burdens.” The New King James uses the word “burdens.” The word “burdens,” plural, is used six times in the Bible. And only once in those six times does it really mean a physical burden. Don’t turn there. 2 Chronicles talks about the 70,000 and the building of the temple. And there were 70,000 men to bear the burdens of carrying the stones from the quarry to the temple site. And in that area it was talking about. Every other place it’s talking not about physical burdens but it’s talking about other. Deuteronomy 1:12—don’t turn there—but the question there from Moses, “How can I alone bear your problems and your burdens and your complaints?” He wasn’t talking about “Look, let me take your sack of groceries to the house.” He was talking about the things that burdened people, that weighted them down, if you will.
Look over in Hebrews chapter 12.
A burden, Brethren, is simply something that is very difficult to carry. It’s something that weighs us down. It’s something that impedes our progress.
Hebrews 12. What is the biggest burden that we carry? Hebrews 12:1.
Hebrews 12:1. Therefore we
also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay
aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the
race that is set before us,
You see the burdens that we carry—and we all carry these—are our problems, our sins, those things that we deal with that we try to overcome that weight us down. And every one of us struggle with these burdens. Brethren, when we bear one another’s burdens, it’s not only if it’s possible that we can help, but we are also patient with one another in them working through it. Bearing another’s burdens means we are patient with them. We don’t come down on them. Now I’m not talking about someone like in Corinthians that was flaunting their sin. I’m talking about a person that is just everyday fighting it out just like you are. And sometime we want to look down on them. We want to move them out. We want to disassociate with them because their problem isn’t the same problem I have. And bearing their burden means that we patiently endure and in any way we can help, prayers, encouragement, whatever it is, for them to work through that. It doesn’t mean we ostracize, we criticize, we isolate, we belittle, we backbite. We bear one another’s burdens. And, Brethren, bar none every one of us are carrying a load. And we need to be patient with one another and we bear it by being patient, by encouragement, by not running down.
And when we do those things we are showing each other and to God that we have a fervent and sincere love of the Brethren. Consider it as you go through your checklist. Number three, I’ll just reiterate again: Do we have a fervent and sincere love of the Brethren?
Item four on our checklist. I know all of you have been in the middle of a sore trial and have wondered and even asked, “What does God want from me? Uncle! I don’t know how to deal with this. What is God looking for? What does He want me to learn? What does He want me to understand?” Look over in Job chapter 23. We’re not alone in this. I would say to a person we’ve all been there. Some of us are there right now and thankfully these come and go. Job 23 verse 1, I’m just going to break into this, not to try to set it up. But Job 23:1, it says
Job 23:1. Then Job answered
and said: 2) “Even today my complaint is
bitter; my hand
And that word “my hand” is a single Hebrew word. And the translators inserted “my” because of the way that they took it. But The New Revised Standard, The Revised Standard, The New King James all insert “His hand.” I don’t think it’s The New King James because I’m reading out of The New King James but it says
Job 23:2b. His hand is
listless because of my groaning.
The Revised Standard, let me read it out of that.
Job 23:2. Today also my
complaint is bitter, [because] his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning.
In other words, “I need relief. I’m being crushed here. He’s being heavy handed with me.”
Verse 3.
Job 23:3. Oh, that I knew
where I might find Him, that I might
come to His seat! 4) I would present my case before Him, and fill my mouth
with arguments. 5) I would know the
words which He would answer me, and
understand what He would say to me. 6)
Would He contend with me in His great power?
No! But He would take note of me. 7) There the upright could reason with Him,
and I would be delivered forever from my Judge.
In other words, “What is He looking for? I wished—I want to talk to Him. I want to ask Him, ‘What am I to learn? What do You want?’ If I could just find Him, if I could just get some answers! What does God want from me?”
We have the privilege of seeing the story of Job unfold and know that God was very involved. God wasn’t off somewhere and He’d come back every so often and look. He was very involved in this. And He was working out a very definite purpose with Job.
Training us, Brethren, is not easy. You parents with children know it’s not easy. It’s not easy to have to sometime be very seemingly harsh with your children. But you see the end and you stick with it. You know it’s worth it.
The pain that Job experienced was tremendous. But it was temporary and it produced good fruit in the end.
The only guarantee we get is that we are all going to have severe trials. But they’re for our training. They’re for our edification and they’re not for our destruction.
Look over in Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews 12 and I’ll just pick it up in verse 5. It says
Hebrews 12:5. And [have you]
forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the
Lord, nor be discouraged when you
are rebuked by Him; 6) For whom the Lord loves
Who He agapes, who He has a very intimate close relationship
Hebrews 12:6b. He chastens,
and scourges every son whom He receives.”
7) If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what
son is there whom a father does not chasten?
8) But if you are without chastening, of which all have become
partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.
In other words, if you are in the diamond lane, you need to consider if God’s even working with you. The fact that we have trials, the fact that it’s tough means God is involved in our lives.
Hebrews 12:9. Furthermore,
we have had human fathers who corrected us,
and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in
subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
10) For they indeed for a few days chastened us as it seemed best to
them, but He for our profit, that we
may be partakers of His holiness. 11) Now
no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless,
afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been
Notice this word!
Hebrews 12:11b. trained
by it.
Those trials are for training. And those that have been trained by it, it produces peaceable fruit. Brethren, God’s not trying to see if He can make us give up. Remember what He has invested in us. It’s for our salvation and not for our destruction. It’s for God to shape us into what He wants as sons. It’s not to destroy us.
“What does God want from me?” Brethren, we don’t even need to turn there. I’m going to quote it, Micah 6. We’ve read it many times. Micah 6 verse 8, let me just read it for you.
Micah 6:8. He has shown you,
O man, what is good; and what does
the Lord require of you
Here it is.
Micah 6:8b. to do justly, to
love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
Brethren, God did not create us to take something from us. We were created to share eternity with Him and to receive eternal life. Remember John 3:16. He gave us a priceless gift, His Son. And our relationship with Him and the Son will be eternity of sharing, of giving, of serving.
There’s special privileges associated with being a
firstfruit. Even in ancient
Be turning over to 1 Corinthians chapter 2.
As we observe and celebrate this special Holy Day Season, let’s be mindful of the priceless gifts that we’ve been offered. Let’s use our checklist to evaluate our relationship with God and with each other. Do I understand that my calling is an extension of mercy from God and not due to any qualities that I possess? To what degree have I allowed this society to negatively affect me and the godly values and character that God is developing in me? Do I have a fervent and sincere love of the Brethren? What does God want from me?
1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 9.
1 Corinthians 2:9. But as it
is written:
And this is quoted from Isaiah 64:4.
1 Corinthians 2:9b. “Eye has
not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things
which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
Brethren, that’s our destiny! That’s what’s waiting for us. That’s what God and Jesus Christ earnestly desire to give us.
When we experience trials, we can take comfort in these words. Let’s think on these things as we celebrate what’s ahead. That is tomorrow, the completion of the harvest of the firstfruits.
Transcribed by kb