An exposition of Genesis 48:21. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, March 9, 2011.
Monthly Archive for March, 2011
This Wednesday-evening Bible study by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on March 2, 2011. (My apologies for the long wait. pwh)
Sunday PM
1 Corinthians #16: An exposition of 1 Corinthians 9:19-27. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, March 13, 2011.
Intro:
It seems to me it is pretty clear from even a casual reading of the Scripture that we, as the church, are not called to live in isolation. We are not called to cower in a “holy huddle” and bide our time until the Lord takes us home. Our Lord commanded that we be “salt” and “light.” Both images demand that we understand our role as one that impacts the world. Light illumines and gives understanding. Salt acts as a preservative - not overturning decay but slowing it. The call is to “go into all the world and preach the Gospel” not “get your stuff and go set in the corner!” But how do we go about it? How do we accomplish the task assigned? What is to be our attitude toward the culture? Are we to battle the culture? Are we to transform the culture? Are we to ignore it? Should the church in China look like the church in Turley? Should believers in the Sudan worship the same as those in West Tulsa? The new word is “missional.” We are to be “missional Christians.” There’s even a workshop this month sponsored by our state convention on being a missional church. What does that mean? To be missional means to think and act like a missionary. When a missionary goes to a different country they spend time learning the language and observing the culture. If they are going to effectively communicate the message of the Gospel they have to know how the people of that region think. They have to be able to speak their language. They must build a bridge of understanding before they can bring the Gospel to them. We no longer live in a monolithic culture. The world has gotten much “smaller.” The world has come to us. I don’t know if you know this but Tulsa is a very multicultural city. We’ve got a large number of identifiable people groups from around the world right here. That’s one of the reasons why Tulsa is a “test city” for many new products. Because a marketing company can get a great cross-section of people from a concentrated sampling right here. Just look around you every day. Take note at school, in the grocery store, the mall wherever you are you will find a mosaic of people. Mosaic is the proper word. America used to be called a “melting pot.” People came from all over the world and they became “Americans.” There was a blending of people. Now we have hyphenated Americans. They do not lose their ethic identity. Whether you like that or not is not the point. It’s fact. It’s the way things are today. Here is what is sad - the most segregated place in Tulsa on a Sunday is the average church.
We are segregated not just along racial lines but economic and cultural lines as well. The fact is we are just more comfortable with folks who look like, think like and act like us. But is that indicative of the Gospel? Is that in keeping with the power of the Gospel or the Gospel mandate? I don’t think so. Further such thinking has little or no affect the community. So how do we change that? The apostle Paul gives us some good advice in chapter 9 of his first letter to the church at Corinth.
Text: 1 Corinthians 9:19-27
The subject of chapters 8-10 is Christian liberty.
Our freedom in Christ.
Paul points out the fact that this freedom is not absolute.
It is limited by love.
Love for Christ, love for fellow believers, and love for the lost.
In the first 18 verses of chapter 9 Paul show this “love principle” in action.
Though he is entitled to material support from the churches - he does not accept it.
It was a matter of conscience for Paul - others were not wrong for receiving support.
He chose not to for fear that as a trailblazer the advance of the Gospel may be hindered.
Now in our text this evening he applies the principle in another way. What is clear is that Paul’s lifestyle of self-denial is fueled by a profound love and driven by a supreme allegiance. It is fueled by his love for Christ and driven by his allegiance to the Gospel above all else.
New Testament scholar D.A. Carson, in dealing with this text, outlined 4 characteristics of a “world Christian.” By world Christian he means a follower of Christ who is not held captive by his own cultural context. The 4 characteristics are:
Allegiance to Jesus Christ and His kingdom above all national, cultural, linguistic and racial allegiances.
Commitment to the Church, Jesus’ messianic community, not just his local turf (tribe, body).
See themselves first and foremost as citizens of the heavenly kingdom.
Single-minded and sacrificial in evangelizing and making disciples.
The apostle Paul is a great example of this kind of believer and that is what our text is all about. As we work our way through 9:19-27 we are going to discover that…
Thesis: Impacting the culture demands a Gospel-oriented lifestyle.
I want to point out three things from this text.
- Such a lifestyle demands a profound understanding of Gospel truth. (9:19-22a)
- Such a lifestyle requires a worthy goal. (9:22b-23)
- Such a lifestyle demands dedicated discipline. (9:24-27)
Gospel of John #18: an exposition of John 6:22-59. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, March 13, 2011.
Intro:
They are among the saddest words recording in Scripture, “…after this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” He was enjoying unrivaled popularity. Crowds followed Him everywhere. They hung on His every word. They were prepared to take Him by force and make Him king! Now they walked away. Why? What awful thing had He done? He said something they didn’t like. Something that didn’t set well with them. It didn’t fit into their theological grid. That’s the trouble with truth. It’s unyielding. It is what it is and you cannot handcraft it to fit your need. When they asked what it would take to do the work of God…He told them. He gave them the plain, difficult truth. Not difficult in the sense that it was beyond understanding. It’s not that they were unable to unravel the complex formula to get at the truth. It was difficult because it was understandable. The difficulty was in accepting the truth. So they walked away. The crowd then, much like the crowd today, was fickle. As long as they got what they wanted they were on board but the minute they are made to feel uncomfortable, or had a thought challenged, or a cherished truth questioned they were gone. Well what upset them so? Was it something about moral or ethical standards? Was Jesus meddling in their personal business? Was it about money? Think more foundational. Think of something essential. Our text this morning is found in chapter 6 of John’s Gospel.
Text: John 6:22-59
The first 21 verses of chapter 6 lay out three great truths:
The feeding of the 5000 demonstrates the power of God to supply your every need.
Jesus’ walking on the water demonstrates the power of God to calm your every fear.
Jesus’ response to the adoring crowd makes it clear He will not be used.
Jesus and His disciples have again crossed over the Sea of Galilee to escape the crowds.
Yet the crowds have followed.
When the crowd reaches them - they want to know how and when Jesus made the crossing.
They saw the disciples leave and Jesus remained on the other side.
There’s no extra boat - how did you get here?
Jesus ignored their question (I would have said, “I walked”).
Rather than answer their question He launched an offensive - a rebuke (6:26-27).
Though it is not stated here, we could easily insert 6:6 - “…he said this to test them for he knew what he was going to do.”
6:26-27
Truly, truly - a statement without fear of contradiction - a truism.
You seek me out of material desire - you want a free lunch.
You are not motivated by spiritual desire but rather physical want.
Stop wasting your life in pursuit of that which is destined to perish.
Seek that which is eternal.
Seek that which only I can give you.
You know that God has set his seal of approval on me.
Key - 6:28 - “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
What must we do to be saved?
How can we be united with God in His work?
Jesus gives them the short answer - 6:29 - “…this is the work of God, that you believe in him who he has sent.”
The response of the crowd is stunning! 6:30-31
That feeding of the 5000 was impressive but Moses fed a lot more than that for a lot longer.
Let’s see you do something big so we can know this is a “God thing.”
All of this sets up the “Bread of Life” discourse which runs from 6:32 through 6:58. In which we learn the plain, difficult truth about the biblical doctrine of salvation.
Thesis: The biblical doctrine of salvation is distinctly God-centered.
Our greatest difficulties with the Scripture is not what we do not understand but rather what we do understand. Some things are just too clear and therefore make us uncomfortable.
I’m convinced that we are all theologians.
We all have our notions of what God is like, what the Bible says, and how we are to live.
I’m also convinced that most people believe in “salvation by death.”
Driven by some sort of works salvation.
It’s about me, my performance…that is not the biblical picture.
I want to point out three truths from our text.
- Saving faith is focused on the person of the Lord Jesus. (6:32-40)
- Salvation originates in the heart of the Sovereign God. (6:43-51)
- Eternal security naturally results from a vital union with Christ. (6:52-59)
Conclusion:
Biblical salvation is focused on the person of the Lord Jesus.
It originates in the heart of the Sovereign God.
Eternal security is the result of a vital union with Christ.
That’s good news.
That is the Gospel.
Does it offend you? Will you walk away? Where will you go?
6:60 - When many of his disciples heard it, they said, This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?
6:66-69 - After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
67 So Jesus said to the Twelve, Do you want to go away as well?
68 Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,
69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.
1 Corinthians #15: An exposition of 1 Corinthians 9:1-18. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, March 6, 2011.
Intro:
“Self-centered, self-serving and myopic” not a flattering description but one that too often describes those of us who have the honor and privilege of serving the church of the Lord Jesus. That’s not an easy thing for me to say. I just don’t like talking against my own kind but I have to be honest. Let me quickly add it is not just a description of those who serve as pastors but the same can be said about many of those who sit in the pews. I’m afraid that for those of us who are “at ease in Zion” a common affliction is that we become self-absorbed. It is all about my wants, my desires, my longings and above all, my comfort. Such an attitude quickly leads to an insistence on “my rights.” The church at Corinth was a wonderful, confused, mixed up, sinful bunch of folks or as I like to call them, “Your average Baptist church.” Paul, with a pastoral heart wrote to them in response to some questions they had raised and in response to some reports he had received. You can divide the book into three parts: Divisions, Disorder and Differences. They had their share of problems but you will note that Paul addressed them as “saints.” These are genuine believers. These are those who have been brought from death to life by the power of the Holy Spirit. The apostle calls them to live up to their name. You are saints. You are those who are set apart by the Spirit of God - now act like it!
In chapters 8-10 the subject is Christian liberty.
As followers of Christ we are “free.”
We are not subject to a yoke of bondage.
We are not restricted by Old Testament dietary laws, ceremonies and days.
But we are not free to “do as we please.”
We are not free to do whatever we want because we are under grace.
In fact, according to chapter 8, Christian liberty is limited by love.
I am to be more concerned about my brother’s well being that about my liberty.
I will set aside my rights for the sake of his good.
Some then come to chapter 9 and think that Paul takes off on a tangent.
Perhaps this is an insertion of a portion from a separate letter.
As far as I can tell this chapter makes perfect sense as the natural flow of the thought.
Paul is showing that he is not calling on the Corinthian believers to do something he, himself, is not willing to do. Love limits freedom and here is an example from my own life. Here is one of the ways I live out this principle. Our text is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 9.
Text: 1 Corinthians 9:1-18
As we work our way through this text Paul establishes two facts and then points to a higher priority.
- Paul, as an apostle and a minister of the Gospel, was entitled to material support from the churches. (9:1-14)
- Paul, as a matter of conscience and personal choice, refused such support. (9:15-18)
Paul was compelled by a superior priority - (9:12b, 23)
Conclusion:
It’s not about rights - it’s about what is right.
Love causes me to limit my Christian liberty.
Love for Christ, love for my brother, my sister in Christ, love for the lost.
The “take home” principle is this: Love for Christ and concern for the advancement of the Gospel trumps all rights and privileges.
Gospel of John #17: An exposition of John 6:1-21. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, March 6, 2011.
Intro:
Do you believe in miracles? I know we live in a sophisticated time. Ours is a scientific age and some would suggest that we are just too intelligent to believe in miracles but I want to go on record as one who unashamedly, unapologetically believes in miracles! Our God is a miracle-working God. I asked, in a classroom setting once, if the class believed in miracles. One scoffer said, “Yeah I believe in miracles. Just last week my wife turned our car into a telephone pole.” Even a casual reading of the New Testament reveals our God is a God of miracles. Opening the eyes of the blind; making the lame to walk; calling the dead to life. The Lord Jesus was and is a miracle worker. If you are too sophisticated for that well…your just too sophisticated. John 6 is a miracle chapter. This morning I want us to explore the first 21 verses of John chapter 6.
Text: John 6:1-21
John tells us his purpose in writing is evangelistic - John 20:30-31.
“…these things are written that you might know the Jesus is the Christ and that you might have life by believing in his name.”
As we approach chapter 6 Jesus is still gaining in popularity.
Large crowds follow him everywhere.
At the same time controversy is mounting.
While the masses adore him - the religious establishment despises him.
John has just told us of the healing of the man at the Pool of Bethesda.
While the crowds rejoiced the leadership wanted someone punished for violating the Sabbath.
As Jesus justified his actions the charge of blasphemy was added.
John 5:19-47 records Jesus’ defense as he calls on various witnesses:
God the Father who affirmed that Jesus was His one and only Son.
John the Baptist who testified to the purpose of His coming - the Lamb of God…
The miracles testified to the truthfulness of His message.
The Scriptures testified to the glory of His person.
Now in the opening verses of chapter 6 we find 2 miracles and 3 important lessons.
- The feeding of the 5000 demonstrates the power of God to supply your every need. (6:1-13)
- Jesus’ walking on the water demonstrates the power of God to calm your every fear. (6:16-21)
- Jesus’ response to the adoring crowd demonstrates the fact that He will not be used. (6:14-15)
.gif){kind=small}
