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#426: Jesus, the Lamb of God Oct 12, 2021

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Episode 426 - Show Notes

What an interesting statement! He announces Jesus as the lamb of God, that in itself was strange, but he goes on to make this bold claim: he is the one who takes away the sin of the world. John, of course, was prophesying Jesus’ death on our behalf that would come three years later.
To understand John’s announcement of Jesus we have to go back to the Old Testament, in fact, we need to go all the way back to the Book of Genesis. In chapter three we see that when Adam and Eve sinned, they tried to cover their sin themselves by sewing leaves together to wear. But God had to kill an animal Himself and shed its blood in order to provide an acceptable covering for Adam and Eve. This led to the sacrificial system throughout the Old Testament by which the wrath of God against sin could be satisfied.
Each year, Israelites sacrificed a lamb as payment for their sins. The sacrifice did not completely forgive and remove their sins, but it did push it forward one year. Hebrews 10:4 says, “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
The Old Testament sacrificial system was one of always looking forward. The people lived with anticipation of a Messiah. They lived in anticipation of complete forgiveness of their sins by God.
And then came the day when John the Baptist announces Jesus as the lamb of God. He is boldly saying, “Everyone, this is what we have been waiting for. Our salvation has finally come.”'
On the cross, John’s words come to prove to be true. Jesus, the sinless lamb of God, would be slain. He would become our sacrifice. He would be our substitute. Jesus would die in our place. The justice of a righteous and holy God would be satisfied. Sin would be accounted for. The payment had been paid.

John 1:29 - “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

1 John 2:2 says, “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Revelation 5:9 says, “By your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

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#425: God's Agenda Oct 11, 2021

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Episode 425 - Show Notes

This week I read an article by a pastor who was getting ready to go to India to do missionary work. He said that he had been praying what he called a “frightening” prayer: “Lord, do things I’m not used to.” That strikes me as an excellent prayer for all of us. It’s easy to pray for our own agenda to come to pass: “Lord, make all my dreams come true.” But you move into a different realm when you say, “Lord, I want to move beyond the normal, the ordinary, and the expected. My agenda represents my own understanding of the future, but you may have other things in mind. So please do things I am not used to.”
God will take situations that seem bad and use them for his good. A scattered, persecuted church doesn’t seem good at all, but the result was the scattered church preached the gospel wherever they went and the God’s church and his kingdom expanded.
Today I believe God is at work in your life and mine. Let’s work with God. Let’s surrender to his plans. Let’s go with God even when we don’t understand and even when he does things we are not used to. In the end, God’s will and his plan are fulfilled.
Would you be willing to pray this prayer? “Lord, do things I’m not used to.”

Acts 8:4 - “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.”

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#424: Facing our Giants Oct 10, 2021

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Episode 424 - Show Notes

Giants come in all shapes and sizes. I’ve never met a person who didn’t battle their own giants, and for most of us, this giant has a name. His name is fear.
When we focus our attention on the obstacles rather than the objective, fear will overcome our faith. This can easily happen to us, can’t it? We focus our eyes on the problem, the difficulty, the obstacle, or the giant. Suddenly, we become convinced we cannot move forward.
When we keep our eyes on Jesus, our giants lose their size and their power in comparison to our great God. I’ve discovered that fear, anxiety, worry, and despair all melt away in the presence of God.
Knowing the victory has been promised, you and I have a choice to make. Will we let fear keep us from what God has given us or will we step out in faith to possess it?
Let’s conquer the giants of fear and live in the victory Jesus provides.

Numbers 12:32-33 - “All the people we saw there are of great size. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
Hebrews 12:2 says, “Fix your eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

1 Corinthians 15:57 - “thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

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#423: The Humanity of Jesus Oct 09, 2021

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Episode 423 - Show Notes

There is a God-given desire in the hearts of mankind to know God. Many are searching in all the wrong places seeking to fill a desire that can only be met by God.
Jesus left the glory of heaven and stepped into our world and into our lives. Humanity longed for a real encounter with God, so he stepped out of the heavens, out of the realms of glory and became real.
God was no longer just speculation or a voice from the sky or someone you read about in a book. He was a God you could touch, you could feel, you could hear, you could see. He had flesh and bones, he suffered, became tired, he grieved, he got hungry, he was frustrated, disappointed. He was just like you and me.
The New Testament often refers to Jesus by two terms: the Son of God and the Son of man. Jesus was fully God and fully man at the same time.
So, what does this mean to us. Why does the humanity of Jesus matter to you and I? Here’s why: In order to purchase our salvation, the justice of God had to be satisfied. If God overlooked our sins, he would not be just and holy. Our sin had to be accounted for.
In the Old Testament, God temporarily instituted a system of sacrificing animals as a foreshadowing of Christ’s sacrifice for us. The book of Hebrews says “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb of God, sacrificed His human life and shed His human blood to cover the sins of all who would ever believe in Him. If He were not human, this would have been impossible.
In addition to our salvation, the humanity of Jesus enables Him to relate to us on a personal level. He experienced what we experience. Only a human could sympathize with our weaknesses and temptations. In His humanity, Jesus was subjected to all the same kinds of trials that we are, and He is able to sympathize with us and to help us in our times of need.

John 1:14 - “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Colossians 1:15 - “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” Verse 19 says, For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.”

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#422: Weakness is an Advantage Oct 08, 2021

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Episode 422 - Show Notes

You see, weakness is actually an advantage. I know this seems wrong and counter-cultural to most in our world, but as long as you think you are strong, independent, and can do it without God, you won’t have his strength.
It’s when we run to God in our weakness that we gain his strength. Isaiah 40:29 says, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”
Pride keeps us from being used by God. The Word of God tells us God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. We need a healthy dependence on God and a realization of how much we need his power in our lives.
If we could only see this and believe it. When we are weak, then we are strong. So often, like Gideon, when we feel weak, inferior, and insignificant, we think we can’t do anything for God. We look around and others seem so strong and more capable. But remember, God has all the strength we need. He’s looking for men and women who will make themselves available to him, even in their weakness. God takes us and uses us for his glory.
God intentionally works with the most unlikely material so that everyone can see the glory belongs to Him. Are you feeling weak today? You might just hear God say, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
Where will God take you, where will he lead you, what will he ask of you, and what will he empower you to do? Give the control of your life to God. Make him your LORD. He will use your weakness as an advantage.

Judges 6:14-16 - “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

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#421: The Question of Suffering Oct 07, 2021

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Episode 421 - Show Notes

If we were to go out to a local street corner and ask people what their questions of God would be, there is no doubt the question of suffering is at the top of everyone’s list. You’ve struggled with this haven’t you? I mean, why would a good God allow suffering? Why do bad things happen to good people?
We have to start with the recognition that we there are some things we don’t know. We have finite minds. We can’t see what God sees, know what God knows, or understand what He understands. This is why we have faith. If we knew it all, we wouldn’t need faith. We would simply know it all. But with faith, we trust a God who sees and knows what we can’t.
The question of suffering is a huge question and one we can’t completely answer in only five minutes, but let me give you a few things to think about. First, suffering is universal. While it may seem like some people have it easier than others, the truth is everyone suffers in one way or another. It comes to all of us because of our fallen, sinful world.
While we all experience some kind of human suffering, we need to recognize that God is not immune to our suffering. Some people think of God is distant and immune to suffering. But the God of the Bible is not above suffering Himself.
So, God understands suffering from our perspective because he experienced it. When we suffer God has empathy. As a loving Heavenly Father he cares when his children are suffering.
No matter what happens to us in this life, God will use it all to help us grow to be more like Jesus. Sometimes it’s true that we grow more in the hard times than the good times.

Romans 5:12 - “Just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.”

Psalms 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Romans 8:29 says, (God) “predestined us to be conformed to the image of his Son.”

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#420: The Ministry of Reconciliation Oct 06, 2021

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Episode 420 - Show Notes

The Scripture teaches us that we were separated from God. There was brokenness in our relationship because of our sin. It would take a death to reconcile us to our Heavenly Father. God took the initiative. He made the first move. Jesus stepped into our world and gave his life as a sacrifice for us. The precious blood of Jesus reconciled us to God. You and I must see that this is the gospel message. We were lost and needed a savior. It is through Jesus that we are reconciled to the Father.
God initiated this ministry of reconciliation, even though He is the innocent party in the estranged relationship. He reconciled us to Himself; we did not reconcile ourselves to Him.
Now that we have been reconciled to our Heavenly Father, and now that the relationship has been restored, you and I are called to be “ministers of reconciliation.”
God has committed this ministry to us. He has called us. We have been given this assignment. You and I have been given a task by our Heavenly Father. God has committed it to us. This means he is trusting you and I to carry out this ministry.

2 Corinthians 5:17-20 - “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

Romans 10:14 - “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”

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#419: Called to Serve Oct 05, 2021

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Episode 419 - Show Notes

In my experience, we don’t typically think about this type of serving as a ministry, and especially a not a calling. Doesn’t God call people to preach, teach, and lead? Does he really call people to mop floors and take out the trash?
It’s so easy in our culture to desire a title, a position, influence, glory, and lime light. But this is not where real ministry happens. You don’t need a business card to do ministry. All that is required is a willingness to serve. When you don’t care who gets the credit, you can accomplish great things for God.
The Bible says in Matthew 20:28 Jesus “came not to be served but to serve.” Likewise, we too are called to serve. Not only are we called to serve but we have been gifted by God to serve.
1 Peter 4:10 says, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.”
All around us there are serving opportunities. Would you be willing to step into your calling to serve? In simple, practical tasks we can make a difference.

John 13:3-5 - “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”
John 13:12-17 we learn why. The Bible says, “When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

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#418: You Are Not Invisible To God Oct 04, 2021

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Episode 418 - Show Notes

I wonder how many, right here in my own community feel alone, isolated, and forgotten. How many feel invisible to God and others?
Proverbs 15:3 says, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”
No one is out of God’s sight. God sees all. He knows all. No one is forgotten or ignored. Our Heavenly Father loves and cares for us all. God is a God of compassion. Jesus came to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. He came to save us, forgive us, and transform us.
You are not invisible. You are not insignificant. The God of eternity sees you and knows you and loves you.
God misses nothing. He sees it all, the good and the bad. He sees you on your best days when you are strong in faith and walking in victory. He sees you on your bad days when you fail, and when you give in to temptation.
God sees you when you are sick, when you are lonely when you are discouraged, and even when you are depressed. God sees you when you are afraid, anxious, and stressed out.
But here’s the best news. Not only does he see us, but he is also with us. The God who is so powerful that he spoke and the world came into existence is with you right now. You are not alone. You never have been. Reach out to him right now in prayer and worship. His presence provides the reassurance you need.

John 1:45-50 - “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”

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#417: Letting Go of Your Past Oct 03, 2021

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Episode 417 - Show Notes

One of the big things that keeps Christians from living in the freedom Jesus provides is our past…our old life. There is history, from which, we have a hard time letting go.
The truth is, we all have a “past.” There are sins, mistakes, poor choices, and failures in our story. The guilt and shame of our past can keep us from the life Jesus has for us. Through the power of God, we put the past behind us and walk forward in God’s freedom. Our biggest sins are not too big for God’s grace.
Obviously, Paul is not telling us to literally not remember anything. Certainly, we should remember who we were before Christ found us. We should remember the times we have seen God’s faithfulness demonstrated. We need to remember the mistakes we've made so that we can avoid them in the future.
Paul is also not telling us that we don't have to fulfill the responsibilities of the past. If we have wronged someone we should try to make it right. If we have stolen from someone we should make restitution. If we have a problem with someone we should seek to be reconciled.
When Paul talks about forgetting he is telling us that we can’t and must not live in the past. What happened in the past is past and we must keep going forward. His past does not define him. He will not let the past keep him from what God has ahead of him.
How we deal with the painful times of the past will determine how we live in the present. We must learn from the pain and then move on. What God has forgiven should never be taken as a burden again.
Satan wants to keep you focused on your past, your mistakes, and your failures in an attempt to keep you from moving forward in Christ.
But Satan does not get the final word in your life. I love Romans 5:20 which says, “But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” Your sinful past does not disqualify you from God’s grace. It makes you a candidate.”

“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14 NIV)

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