John # 28: An exposition of John 11:1-44. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, June 26, 2011.
Monthly Archive for June, 2011
The Cross #3: This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, June 22, 2011.
Gospel of John #27: An exposition of John 10:27-30. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, June 19, 2011.
Intro:
Have you ever known something for years only to find out it wasn’t true? I mean you knew it. You had it on good authority. There was no doubt in your mind as to its truthfulness, you had no reason to question it, then one day you discover it is not true. American humorist Josh Billings said, “It’s better to know nothing than to know what aint so.” When I was pastoring in Masham I had come to Tulsa for something and I ran into an old friend. He told me the heart-wrenching story of the tragic death of one of our classmates. I went home saddened by the death of my friend. Through the years I had opportunity to pass the tragic news on to a few of our other classmates. Not long after we had moved to Tulsa I was sitting in the waiting room to see my new doctor. As I thumb through a magazine I heard the door open and I did what we all do, in that circumstance, I looked up to see who was coming out from seeing the doctor. There stood my deceased classmate! That’s when I knew I was in the right place. This doctor is good because for a guy who’s been dead 6 years - he’s looking pretty good. In that instance I was glad that my “assurance” was “false assurance” but it made me wonder, “What else to I know that ain’t so?”
I don’t like uncertainty.
I much prefer stability and certainty.
One our our most cherished doctrines is the doctrine of eternal security.
Commonly referred to as, “once saved, always saved.”
A precious and often misunderstood doctrine.
Misunderstood even by our own folks.
I prefer to call it the perseverance of the saints.
True saints persevere to the very end.
Or preservation of the saints, God preserves His own.
After all salvation is God’s work.
We are saved by grace, kept by grace and we’ll enter into glory by that same grace.
Salvation is by God’s grace from beginning to end.
One of the bedrock passages for this glorious truth is found in the 10th chapter of John’s Gospel.
Text: John 10:27-30
Let’s put everything in context.
John has just told us of Jesus’ encounter with the Pharisees.
Our Lord had healed a man blind since birth (John 9).
Now that is a glorious thing.
But the Pharisees could not rejoice in it because it was done on the Sabbath.
They have been upset with Jesus from the beginning of his public work (starting in Capernaum).
You remember they got mad back in chapter 5 because he healed on the Sabbath.
John tells us a division arose among the Pharisees because of this event (John 9:16).
In the first part of chapter 10 Jesus takes aim at the Pharisees.
He speaks about those who are supposed to be shepherds but prove to be impostors.
He they are thieves, robbers and hired-hands but that He (Jesus) is the Good Shepherd.
The Good Shepherd who:
Knows his sheep - personally and intimately.
Provides for his sheep - saved, secure and satisfied.
Loves his sheep - sacrificially, universally, and deliberately.
Again there was division because of Him (10:19-21).
Now a few months later, during the Feast of Dedication there is another confrontation.
I want to focus on just part of what Jesus said - 10:27-30.
Thesis: The biblical Gospel allows the believer to rest in the assurance of salvation.
Often this doctrine is misunderstood and abused. Rightly understood it is not, “say the magic words” and then live however you want the rest of your days because everything is alright. Salvation is about conversion not decision. There is a world (make that an eternity) of difference between the two.
Buried within our Lord’s response to the questioning crowd is this marvelous word about assurance. I want you to see three reasons for our assurance.
- Our assurance is based on the promise of the Lord Jesus. (10:27-28)
- Our assurance is anchored in the power of God. (10:29)
- Our assurance is secured by the unity of the Father and the Son. (10:30)
Conclusion:
There may well be some things I know that aint so but of this I am certain - my salvation is secure. It is secure because of the promise of the Lord Jesus, the power of God and the unity of the Father and the Son.
The Cross #2: An exposition of Genesis 18:16-33. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, June 15, 2011.
1 Corinthians #22: An exposition of 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, June 12, 2011.
Intro:
It is a much discussed topic within evangelicalism. What is the church? What should the church look like? What is appropriate? What is not appropriate? What about membership? Formal or informal? Should we practice church discipline? All matters of “ecclesiology” or matters related to the doctrine of the church. 9 Marks Ministries originated with Mark Dever out of Capital Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C. 9 Marks is dedicated to the recovery of a biblical understanding of the church. I listened to a panel discussion recently from The Gospel Coalition’s annual conference this past April that asked, “What does the biblical church look like?” It was a fascinating discussion among three pastors. One a Southern Baptist, another a Presbyterian and the third, the pastor of a Bible Church. One of the more interesting rabbit trails was the question, “In light of the recent trend towards video streaming and multisite churches, will we have live pastors in 70 years?” Will there be a man who knows and seeks to live the faith in the context of that body of believers who stands to deliver the Sunday message or will people gather to watch a video of a man from another place or perhaps even another time? I mean people love John McArthur and Adrian Rogers and David Jeremiah - perhaps they’ll just play their messages. And if that were to happen, what would it mean? What would it say about the nature of the church? Within the Southern Baptist Convention there is a movement that is concerned about the erosion of explicitly Baptist understandings of church polity or government and it is identified as the “Baptist Identity” movement. Their concern is that, in many cases, we are loosing our Baptist distinctives. Obviously they are concerned about the means, mode and proper candidate for baptism but also congregational form government; a symbolic rather than sacramental understanding of the Lord’s Table; and the proper role of church discipline. I will have to say how we define and understand church does matter. The Scriptures are not silent on this subject.
When the apostle Paul came to address the issue of spiritual gifts in his first letter to the Corinthian believers he makes it abundantly clear that the nature of spiritual gifts and their distribution among believers are tied directly to the nature of the church. Our text this evening is found in the 12th chapter of 1 Corinthians beginning with verse 12.
Text: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31
The church at Corinth had its share of troubles.
There were divisions and factions (around their favorite preachers & economic/social standing).
There were problems related to sexual immorality.
Believers were bringing lawsuits against one another.
There were marital issues.
Paul repeatedly called on them to “grow up” and to live holy lives.
In chapters 11-14 he comes to deal with matters of public worship.
In chapter 11 - wearing veils & the Lord’s Table.
In 12-14 - spiritual gifts.
In chapter 12 - all are gifted for the common good.
In chapter 13 - love is to be their guiding principle.
In chapter 14 - he deals with the abuse of gifts, specifically the gift of tongues.
In this section we discover the nature of the church and the believer’s responsibility to the church.
I just want to point out 4 things as we walk through this text together.
- Our God has sovereignly established His church as a body. (12:12-13)
- As a believer you are part of that body and as a member of that body you have a role to play. (12:14-20)
- As a part of the body you are dependent on the other members. (12:21-26)
- Each of us should strive to fulfill our role without inflating our own importance and without minimizing the importance of others. (12:27-31)
There is no room for pride, arrogance, envy or disdain within the church.
Why?
Because God has arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he choses. (18)
Because God has composed this body. (24)
Because God has appointed… (28)
The church is a body.
As a child of God you are part of that body.
We are dependent on one another.
We each have a role to play.
Gospel of John #26: An exposition of John 10:1-18. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, June 12, 2011.
Intro:
Do you ever worry about getting too comfortable? Don’t misunderstand me, we all want to be “comfortable.” We all would prefer comfort to pain. We would rather have plenty of money at the end of the month than to have to scrimp and save to get by. We prefer to have clothes that fit rather than to squeeze into that suit and endure the wedding. Most of us have that shirt or that pair of paints or those shoes that we just love to wear. They may not look so nice or be all that stylish but it doesn’t matter they’re comfortable. You may have even rescued them a few times from the rag box or the trash can but like an old friend, you’re just not ready to let them go. I understand that but in other areas, comfort can be a problem. When you get comfortable with a job you become lax. Details become less important. Time restraints are often ignored. Enthusiasm, passion and zeal are lacking and if not corrected you may find yourself in the unemployment line. When you get comfortable in relationships you take things for granted. Rather than being appreciative you become demanding. What was once considered a favor is now expected. Relationships become strained, nerves get frayed and distance is created. Before long you’ve grown apart and there is nothing to keep you together. So, I worry about getting too comfortable.
There is an area of life where I’m convinced “comfort” is deadly. Comfort is deadly to faith. You can be too comfortable with the Gospel. If you’re not careful you can become so comfortable with the language of faith, with the truths of the Gospel that it can be deadly to your spiritual growth and development. The truths of the Gospel become like an old shirt, you wear them well. You are familiar with them and you begin to take them for granted. You are familiar and comfortable with the language of faith and you mistakenly translate that as being familiar with God himself. Trust in God’s grace becomes presumption upon His grace. Forgiveness once understood to be the precious gift of God’s mercy and grace is now expected. Salvation once received with wonder and profound gratitude is now held as your divine right. The wonder is gone. The joy is lacking. Your faith is lifeless. Not because you do not believe. Not because of some “crisis of faith” that caused you to doubt. You got comfortable. The Gospel became routine. How do you recover? How can we regain the joy and the wonder of salvation? Come to the Scripture and take a good, long look at the Savior. Look to the beauty and the wonder of the One who died to set you free. Look to Him who bore your sin. Look to the Shepherd of your soul. Our text this morning is found in the 10th chapter of John’s Gospel.
Text: John 10:1-18
Thesis: The wonder, the grace and the glory of the Gospel are made clear through Jesus’ revelation of himself as the Good Shepherd.
You really must see John 10:1-18 in its context. This talk of thieves, robbers, hirelings and the true and good shepherd follows the events of chapter 9. Jesus healed a man who had been blind since birth. The Pharisees, who were the shepherds of God’s people, refused to see the miracle and to rejoice is God’s goodness and grace. In fact they cast out the man who had been healed because he refused to join them in their disdain for the Lord Jesus. Those who were charged with caring for, feeding and protecting the people of God pushed the man aside in their pursuit of maintaining the purity of their traditions while Jesus loved and cared for him giving him both physical and spiritual sight.
The opening words of chapter 10 are aimed directly at the Pharisees.
There are three things I want you to note.
- The wonder of the Gospel is found in the Shepherd’s relationship to His sheep. (10:1-6)
- The graciousness of the Gospel is demonstrated by the Shepherd’s provision for His sheep. (10:7-10)
- The glory of the Gospel is manifested in the Shepherd’s love for His sheep. (10:11-18)
Conclusion:
I would suggest that when you consider the relationship between the Shepherd and his sheep; the Shepherd’s gracious provision for his sheep; and the profound love our Shepherd has for us the Gospel is anything but common. Such could never be considered routine. Rather it demands our eternal gratitude and our most profound worship.
The Cross #1: An exposition of 1 Corinthians 2:1-2. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at
Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, June 8, 2011.
Gospel Essentials #6. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, May 25, 2011.
An exposition of Matthew 18:21-35. This message by guest preacher Rev. Bowden McElroy was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, June 5, 2011.
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