The Plowman

 

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Gospel of John #44: An exposition of John 16:12-16. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, November 6, 2011.

Intro:
It was an eventful evening.  Our Lord and his disciples gathered in the upper room to share the Passover meal.  It was during that meal he stunned them with the announcement that there was a betrayer in their midst.  How was that possible?  How could they not have known?  Who was it?  While they were still reeling from the revelation he hit them again.  “Peter, before tomorrow morning you will deny that you even know me.”  These revelations along with news of his arrest and brutal death was more than they could handle.  In love and kindness our Lord sought to equip and encourage his shell-shocked followers.  He told them he would send a Helper to remind them of all that he had told them and to guide them.  He reminded them that their life was in him.  He was the vine, they were the branches and as they abide in him they would bear much fruit but apart them him they could do nothing.  He told them, in advance, that the world would hate them just as it hated him.  In the face of that hostility they were to proclaim the Gospel and stand their ground.  Information was coming fast and furious.  Trying to take it all in was a bit like drinking from a fire hose!  It must have seemed like a dream.  It couldn’t be happening.  Not like this.  Not now.  So much of what he said that night seemed impossible to believe.  What he said next was outrageous!  Our text is found in chapter 16 of John beginning with verse 5.

Text: John 16:5-15

It seems blasphemous to even think it.
I can’t even imagine what their response would have been that night.
“I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away…”

How can that be?
He is the Christ.
He is the Lord’s anointed.
What about the kingdom?
How is it advantageous to the kingdom for the king to go away?

Think about what Jesus said.  Let it settle in.  Have you ever thought, “Oh, I wish I could have been there and walked with Jesus?”  Have you ever wished you could have been there when he opened the eyes of the blind, made the lame to walk?  Would you have liked to taste the fish and loaves as part of that vast multitude fed by the boy’s lunch?  Yet Jesus said you are in a better position.  It is to your advantage he’s no longer here.  Does that make sense to you?  How can that be?

As we look carefully at what our Lord said in this text we discover that…
Thesis: We are blessed beyond measure by our Lord’s departure from this earth.

That just sounds so wrong.
How is that possible?
The answer is found in the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
We Baptist get a little antsy when it comes to talking about the 3rd person of the Trinity.

“Be careful preacher, we don’t want to do what they have done.  We don’t want to become fanatics!”  I don’t know too many Baptist who are on the verge of getting fanatical about the Holy Spirit.  Truth be told I’d rather calm down and fanatic than try and resurrect a corpse!  The fact is we have nothing to fear from the Holy Spirit.  You cannot be saved apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.  Unless the Spirit illumines your understanding and quickens your heart you will never believe the Gospel.  Apart from the Spirit’s power and enabling you cannot grow in your faith or serve Christ and his kingdom.  Every child of God is a charismatic (little c) grace-gifted, spirit empowered believer.

In our text our Lord gives two reasons for why his departure is to our advantage.

1. Because when he departs, the Lord Jesus will send the Holy Spirit in full convicting power.  (16:7-11)
2. We are blessed because of the Spirit’s confirming work in the life of every believer.  (16:12-15)

 

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An exposition of Psalm 75:1-10. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, November 2, 2011.

 

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1 Samuel #03: An exposition of 1 Samuel 2:11-36. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, October 30, 2011.

Intro:
I have a picture on my computer that is a poster.  It is like those motivational posters, the ones with a word and then an uplifting phrase to go along with it.  This one says, “Despair: remember it’s always darkest just before it goes pitch black!”  I have to admit I’m not an optimist.  I never see the glass half full.  I tend to dwell on the negative.  I know what you’re thinking.  “Gee I was going to go see the pastor next week about my problem.  This is a great thing to learn.”  When I say I never see the glass half full I mean in my circumstance.  I’m pretty good at telling you to be encouraged.  I’m just not good about taking my own advice.  Don’t you find it is easy to be discouraged?  When things go from bad to worse don’t you find it easy to pile it on and say, “Of course this is the story of my life.  Nothing ever goes right for me.  I’m not sure what else can go wrong but I’m sure I’ll find out tomorrow.”  When I add to the equation my general suspicion about people and their motives - it get’s bad.  That’s why the book of 1 Samuel is so interesting to me.  The story is set in a bad time.  We are in that period of time when there was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in his own eyes.  That time when the nation spiraled through the cycle of the Judges - corruption, judgment, repentance and a cry for deliverance, God was merciful and provided a deliverer and the nation enjoyed peace and prosperity and until they fell into corruption and the whole cycle started over.

Now this was not an endless circle, it was a spiral downward.  With each completion of a cycle they were not at the same point but worse off.  As we approach the middle and last half of 1 Samuel chapter 2 we find just how dark those days were.

Text: 1 Samuel 2:12-36

Hannah has just completed her song of praise to God.
That glorious statement of God’s power and provision.
That there is none holy like the Lord, a rock like no other.
That section ends with Samuel “ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.”

Samuel God’s gracious answer to Hannah’s prayer is acting in the role of priest with Eli’s oversight and supervision.  If you stop there it sounds pretty good.  But we’re just at the beginning of the story.

Listen as we begin at verse 12 - 2:12-17.
This is incredible!
These men are priests - their father is apparently the high priest.
They service in Shiloh at the house of the Lord.

Note how they are described: “Now the sons of Eli were worthless men.  They did not know God.”  They were priests!  They were responsible for worship and the sacrifices.

Worthless men = Sons of Belial.
Hannah’s prayer 1:16 - “…do not regard your servant as a worthless woman” (daughter of Belial).  Ironic isn’t it?

We find sons of Belial in Judges 19:22 and 20:13 and the awful story about the worthless men in Gibeah violating the Levite’s concubine and the bloodshed that followed.  Paul asks the rhetorical question in 2 Corinthians 6 - “What does Christ have to do with Belial?”  The obvious answer is nothing.  Godliness and ungodliness have no common ground.

1 Samuel 2:13-17 goes on to speak of the corruption of these worthless men.
They were not satisfied with the portion given them by the law of God.
They sought additional provision.
The custom spoken of is an extra-biblical custom of these greedy, corrupt priests.
They were literally and figuratively growing fat on this practice.

But their greed went even further - 2:15-16
Conclusion - 2:17 - thus their sin was very great, they treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.

Do you get the picture here?
Do you see the corruption, the greed, the contempt?

Now look at 2:18-21.
What a contrast.

Here is the principle:

1. In times of great corruption and moral decay the people of God can rest assured that God is at work and deliverance will come.
2. In times of great corruption and moral decay the unrighteous can rest assured that justice delayed is not justice denied.  There is coming a day of reckoning.

Conclusion:
There was public, scandalous sin at Shiloh.  It was ongoing; it was unchecked.  Nothing was being done about it.  No wonder God’s people were cynical about worship and sacrifice.  If Hophni and Phinehas threaten to destroy God’s people then Hophni and Phinehas will be destroyed to spare God’s people.  It is a work of judgment.  It is a harsh reality and yet at the same time a gracious reality.  God protects his people.

God’s people must always remember he is at work, deliverance will come.

The unrighteous must remember God is not mocked, there is coming a day of reckoning.

One last thing…

Our hope, our confidence, our peace as the people of God rests in the fact that God’s purpose cannot fail!

 

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The Gospel of John #43: An exposition of John 15:17- 16:4. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, October 30, 2011.

Intro:
In some circles he is the face of Evangelicalism.  He does pastor the largest church in the United States.  His message is one of hope and optimism.  You’ve seen his smiling face.  You may have even read one of his best selling books, Your Best Life Now or his new book Everyday a Friday.  Joel Olsteen’s gospel is one of joy, happiness and prosperity.  His message draws thousands to his Houston area church every weekend, while millions are drawn to his televised messages.  Olsteen says, “Our message is about the goodness of God…It seems just that people come alive when they realize God is for me, he’s got a plan for my life and I can do something great. I can be who he wants me to be.”  In Olsteen’s gospel there is no room for heartache, pain and struggle.  If you believe, if you have faith you will be happy!  You will succeed!  Who doesn’t want to believe that?  That is a wonderful message.  Of course it doesn’t play well if you are a Christian in the Sudan and your home has been confiscated and your life threatened because you dared to publicly profess faith in Christ.  In Iran pastor Youcef Nadarkhani is set to be executed because he refuses to recant his faith in Christ.  More that 200 million of our brothers and sisters in Christ, in over 60 countries, face persecution daily.  This year nearly 165,000 of them will die for their faith.  I’m not sure the gospel of Everyday Is A Friday is going to be of much help.  We live in a very different world than a few decades ago.  The Church, once a player in our culture, has been removed from the table.  While there remains a few faint reminders of the church’s influence, for the most part, society has moved on.  Culture is becoming increasingly antagonistic toward the Church and its message.  What are we to do?  How are we to respond to our hostile world?

It was the night of His betrayal.  Jesus and his followers were gathered in the upper room for the Passover meal.  It was quite and evening!  He startled them by telling them there was a traitor in their midst, “One of you will betray me.”  They were devastated by the news that he must be handed over, tried, convicted and executed.  He knew their world was about to be rocked so in love and kindness he sought to prepare them.  “I’m not going to leave you orphaned.  I’ve asked the Father and he is sending a Helper.  He will guide you into truth and remind you of all that I have said.”  As part of the preparation he told them of what to expect from the world.  That’s where we pick up the story.  John chapter 15 and verse 18.

Text: John 15:18-16:4

The question before us is this: In light of the world’s intense hatred of Christ, His Gospel and all that is associated with Him, what are we, the people of God, to do?

Three things are clear.

1. We are to expect opposition.  (15:18-25)
2. We are to speak the truth with courage and boldness.  (15:26-27)
3. We are to stand our ground.  (16:1-4)

Conclusion:
What is the point of such a passage?  It is to remind us that we are part of something greater.  It’s not about our comfort and happiness in this life.  The Gospel is not about a better life now.  You cheapen the Gospel when you make it about such trivial matters.  It is about the kingdom of God.  It is about God’s glory and eternity.  And we are to give our lives, if necessary, in service to the cause of Christ.

The message of Christ then and now is this: In this life you will face persecution.  In this world you will have trial and tribulation - yet take heart, I have overcome the world.  One day you will reign with me in glory.  Until that day, stand your ground.  Proclaim my Gospel.  Live for my glory.

 

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An exposition of Psalm 25:1-22. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, October 26, 2011.

 

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1 Samuel #02: An exposition of 1 Samuel 2:1-10. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, October 23, 2011.

Intro:
Do you ever stop and evaluate your prayers?  I don’t mean that you record them and then grade them according to content and delivery.  I mean have you given thought to what you pray for and about?  Have you considered the aim of your prayers?  I’m often convicted by the prayers of others.  Their direction and their insight.  When I read the prayers of those who’ve gone before whether the prayers of the Puritans or the prayers of Scripture I find their focus often differs radically from mine.  My prayers seem so petty.  My concerns seem selfish.  My prayers are often “local.”  I said, “local” not “loco!”  My prayers often center on me and mine.  Of course it is not wrong to pray about personal needs and concerns.  In fact we are command to “cast our cares upon Him.”  We are to be anxious about nothing but in everything with prayer and supplication let our request be made known but, at some point, our praying has to move beyond the immediate to the eternal.  We must be more concerned about the great issues of the kingdom of God not just our little corner of the world.  I guess that’s why I find the first two chapters of 1 Samuel so interesting.  In these two chapters are two prayers.  Both prayed by Hannah.  Both sincere and directed toward God but very different.  This evening I want to focus on the second prayer, found in the opening verses of chapter 2.

Text: 1 Samuel 2:1-10

Remember Hannah was heart broken over the fact that she was childless.
Her husband, Elkanah, loved her very much and tried to do all he could for her.
Elkanah’s other wife, Peninnah enjoyed tormenting her rival.
Peninnah had many children and constantly threw it in Hannah’s face.

One day while in Shiloh for worship Hannah went to the tabernacle and poured her heart out to God.  She knew it was God who had closed her womb but rather than allowing that to embitter her toward God she fled to God as the only means of relief.  Only God could change her condition.  “O Lord of Host, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life…”

Knowing the character and heart of God based on His past dealings with His people she prayed in confidence.  God heard her cry.  We read that she went on her way and at, and “her face was no longer sad.”
Shortly thereafter she conceived and in due time gave birth to a son and named him Samuel.
After his birth Elkanah announced to the family it was time to go to Shiloh again and worship.

Hannah said she would not return until the boy was weaned and she would then go and present him to the Lord and he would remain in Shiloh in service to God.

1:24-28 tells of her fulfillment of her vow.

Then with the beginning of verse 1 of chapter 2 she prays.
But this is a much different prayer.
The first was in bitterness of soul - the second with great joy.
The first begged for God’s mercy - the second rejoiced in God’s power and glory.

Here is what I want us to learn…

Thesis: The experience of grace leads to God exulting prayer.

The word “exult” means: to rejoice, be joyful, be happy, be delighted, be elated, be ecstatic, be overjoyed, jubilant, or rapturous

That’s what her prayer is like.
Some read her prayer and conclude that the language is over the top.
That the language is hardly appropriate to the circumstance.
I beg to differ.

There are three things to note as we work through this prayer.

1. Exulting prayer stands in awe of God’s incomparable glory and power.  (2:1-3)
2. Exulting prayer sees beyond the immediate circumstance and glories in God’s sovereign rule over all the earth.  (2:4-8)
3. Exulting prayer aims towards God’s ultimate triumph over His enemies and the enthronement of His righteous king.  (2:9-10)

Conclusion:
Is it wrong to be consumed with our own heartaches?
No.
Is it wrong to plead with God to be merciful and kind?
Of course not.
But when God answers understand that His answers are great.
They move well beyond the immediate to the eternal.
Lift your eyes.
Glory in God’s great work.

The experience of grace leads to God exulting prayers!

 

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Gospel of John #42: An exposition of John 15:12-17. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, October 23, 2011.

Intro:
Incredible.  Spectacular.  Unbelievable.  The difference is night and day.  That is why it is described as passing from death to life.  It is called “the new birth.”  To come to faith in Christ is to enter into a completely new kind of life.  It means to undergo fundamental change.  That is why it bothers me when there is no visible difference between a pagan and one who claims to be a child of God.  To be a Christian is to be different.  You should not have to have a program to point out the different teams - it should be obvious!  Your life, as a Christian, should be distinctly different from the nonbeliever.  Yet statistically, in today’s world, there is virtually no difference morally or ethically.  I understand that we are all sinners.  I know that we are in the process of being made holy.  We are not there yet.  It is a lifelong process.  I get that.  But when the divorce rates is the same inside the church as outside the church, something is wrong.  When there is little to no difference in lifestyle inside the church, something is wrong.  I’m not suggesting that you must trade your SUV for a horse and buggy.  I’m not saying that you your wardrobe must be limited to basic black and certain shades of gray and brown.  I am suggesting that your lifestyle should differ from your lost neighbor.  I am saying that your worldview ought to stand in sharp contrast to that of the atheist.  Your values should clash with the secularist.  When you read the Gospels you find our Lord talking a lot about character.  He makes it clear, in the Sermon on the Mount, that character precedes conduct.  What we do flows out of who we are.  He said, the Christian is to be “known by their fruit.”  A good tree produces good fruit.  A bad tree produces bad fruit.  A good tree cannot produce bad fruit and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit.  In other words a “professed faith” ought to be backed up by a life of faith.

Yes we are saved by grace alone through faith alone but not by a faith that is alone.  Genuine faith produces works of righteousness.  As Jesus says repeatedly in John 15, and elsewhere, “If you love me you will do what I say.”  It is the night of His betrayal.  He is in the upper room with His apostles.  He is instructing them, equipping them, preparing them for the trial that is to come.  He pulls no punches, He refuses to “sugarcoat” it, He speak directly and powerfully to issues central to their survival and their carrying on the work of the Kingdom.  Our text this morning is found in John chapter 15 beginning with verse 12.

Text: John 15:12-17
Our Lord is clear…

Thesis: Life in Christ radically alters the believer’s life.

This is basic, or fundamental to the Christian life yet almost forgotten.
For too long we’ve talked of “putting faith in Christ” without stressing what that means.
It has come to mean, “pray a prescribed prayer and then live however you want to live.”
Walk the aisle, get baptized, get your name on the roll - then kick back - you’re done.
THAT’S NOT THE BIBLICAL MODEL!

Scripture talks of “conversion.”
Conversion means change - radical, fundamental, to the core change.
When you come to Christ your life changes fundamentally.

It is not that you become a Christian version of what you were before your faith in Christ.  Rather if any man is in Christ he is a new creation.  The old has passed away and everything is made new.

Our Lord speaks of three great changes in our text.

1. Life in Christ demands a totally new approach to life.  (15:12-13)
2. Life in Christ enables intimacy with God.  (15:14-15)
3. Life in Christ grants ambassador status.  (15:16)

 

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From Psalm 44:1-26. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, October 19, 2011.

 

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1 Samuel #01: an exposition of 1 Samuel 1:1-28
October 16, 2011

Intro:
It is a book filled with political struggle and intrigue.  The story of major shifts in the religious and political life of the nation.  It contains epoch-making events that will not only shape the nation but impact the world.  Yet it begins by calling our attention to a humble woman living in the backwaters of the hill country of Ephraim, weeping over her dead womb.  Why?  In what possible way does her pathetic tale intersect with this great story?  Her name means, “favored one” but her condition betrays her name.  How can a “favored one” be barren?  Why should we care what happens to this childless nobody?  It matters because this is just the kind of place, and just the kind of circumstance that catches the attention of our God.  We begin our study of the book of 1 Samuel with a look at the story of Hannah.  Our text is found in the first chapter of  1 Samuel.

Text: 1 Samuel 1:1-28

We need to begin with some background.
1st and 2nd Samuel were originally one book.

They along with the book of Kings (now 1st and 2nd Kings) comprised a 2 volume set telling the story of the 500 year period of Israel’s existence under a monarchy.  When the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Greek, in the 2nd century B.C., the 2 scrolls Samuel and Kings were divided into 4 books.  Writing Greek took twice the space of writing Hebrew.  For convenience the Church has maintained the division.

4 figures dominate - Hannah, Samuel, Saul and David.

The book opens at the end of the Period of the Judges described in Judges 21:25 as a time when - “…there was no king in Israel.  Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”  You remember the “cycle of the Judges.”  There would be apostasy, followed by a foreign oppressor, the people of God would repent and cry out for a deliverer, God would raise up a deliverer, they would be set free, enjoy a time of peace and then start the whole thing over again.  This was basically a 200 year period of anarchy.

Dale Ralph Davis provides a helpful outline of the book in broad strokes:

1. A Prophet from God’s Grace (1-7)
2. A King in God’s Place (8-14)
3. A Man after God’s Heart (15-31)

This evening I want us to walk carefully through the 1st chapter.  We need to be cautious when dealing with Old Testament narrative.  We must do more than simply retell the story.  In addition, we also must be careful not to just find moral lessons or examples to follow or avoid.  It would be easy to read the first chapter and say, “Hannah is a great example of faith for us to follow; and let’s make sure we’re not like Peninnah or Eli!”  I would agree Peninnah and Eli are poor examples while there is much to commend in both Elkanah and Hannah but they are not the point!  The story is not primarily about Hannah - but about Hannah’s God.

Here is what I want us to see in this opening chapter…

Thesis: Our understanding of God directly impacts our praying and informs our worldview.

If we really believe there is a God and we believe He has revealed himself to us through the Scriptures, that belief will impact everything in our lives.  It will impact the way we think and direct the way we act.  It will shape our view of the world around us and how we interpret world events.  Genuine belief in God is not relegated to discussions on Sunday morning in Sunday School.  He dominates our thinking daily.  We see His hand everywhere.

There are three things I want us to see in this text.

1. In times of trouble and great distress the righteous have nowhere to turn but to the Sovereign Ruler of all things.  (1:1-10)
2. Our God’s sovereign and gracious rule inspires honest, transparent and confident prayer.  (1:11-17)
3. The Righteous respond to God’s good grace in quiet confidence and steadfast obedience.  (1:18-28)

Conclusion:
Here is where we must be careful.  Are we to assume that Hannah was particularly righteous thus God heard her prayer?  Are we to believe that she was extraordinarily fervent in her prayer so God granted her request?

It’s not about Hannah.
I’m sure there were other barren women whose prayers were every bit as fervent.
I’m confident that good and godly women wept daily with no answer, no relief.
Why Hannah?
Because God sovereignly, graciously chose to do something great.

His kindness was not just to Hannah but to the nation and ultimately the world!

 

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Gospel of John #41: an exposition of John 15:9-11. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, October 16, 2011.

Intro:
It is really sad.  A pathetic description of life.  In fact I hesitate to call it life but one leading social commentator described modern man’s “life experience” with these words:  …were the truth to be known most people are born and years later die without really having lived at all…they eat, sleep, they work and reproduce; they study and forget; they play it safe and tip-toe through life with no greater aspiration that to arrive at death safely!  To borrow from the Preacher of Ecclesiastes, “Vanity, vanity.  All is vanity!”  Our culture is infected with a sense of meaninglessness.  There is a “deadness” to our world that seems to permeate every area of life.  Life, for the most part, is without meaning or purpose.  Teenage suicide.  Senseless violence.  Corruption.  Abuse and neglect.  They are all the bitter fruit of meaninglessness.  Empty lives, restless souls, hopeless futures - where does it end?  Where is it we find life and meaning?  Where do we go to find a purpose, something worth living for?  The answer is found in the Gospel.  Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life and that life in abundance!”  On another occasion Jesus said, “This is eternal life, Father, that they know you.”  We continue our look this morning at the words of Jesus to His followers on the night of His betrayal.  Our text is found in John chapter 15.

Text: John 15:9-11

For three years they have walked with Him.
They have given themselves to Him as Lord and master.
Now he’s talking about death, going away, leaving them.
Their world is about to be rocked.
No amount of instruction will protect them from the sock they are about to experience.
To see your leader arrested, tried, convicted, executed in a matter of hours is too much to bear.
Especially if you believe Him to be Messiah!
How can the Lord’s anointed be slaughtered before establishing the kingdom?
This one whom the winds and waves obey - how can He be “taken?”

Knowing that the events would be overwhelming Jesus gave them teaching designed to encourage and strengthen after the fact.  One of the keys is stated in 15:5 - “I am the vine, you are the branches.  Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

As we explore the words of 15:9-11 we discover that…

Thesis: A life of genuine significance, meaning and purpose can only be found in an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ.

It was Augustine who said, “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.”

You will never know joy and lasting peace until you know Christ.
Listen to what I’m saying.
I did not say you can never know joy or peace until you know Christ.
Due to general grace even the unrighteous have moments of joy and peace.
I said you will never know joy and lasting peace until you know Christ.

Joy and peace, meaning and purpose are the fruit of a living, loving relationship with Christ.  This is part of what sets our faith apart from the religions of the world.  It is about relationship.  It is personal and intimate with the person of God.  It is a restoring of relationship.  It is a return to what God intended from the beginning.  Getting back what was lost in the Fall.

There are three things I want to call to your attention.

1. This abiding relationship is grounded in an unshakeable love.  (15:9)
2. That unshakeable love produces loving obedience.  (15:10)
3. That loving obedience results in resounding joy.  (15:11)

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Conclusion:
Have you noticed there is a progression?
These things are related: they build on one another.

This unshakeable love upon which this relationship is built produces loving obedience which results in resounding joy!

A life of genuine significance, meaning and purpose can only be found in an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ.