The Plowman

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#08 in the “Gospel of John” series: An exposition of John 3:16-18. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, December 12, 2010.

Introduction:
This is such a difficult time of year for me.  I can’t take the pressure.  You see I’m a lousy gift-giver.  It wasn’t until I was an adult I learned what a good liar my mother was.  She always acted as if my Christmas gift was a stroke of shear genius!  “Oh Rodney they’re beautiful.  Thank you!”  I was so proud.  I thought of going into the consulting business.  I was sure area stores would have been interested in my skills.  Looking back I’m wondering what was so great about another pair of house shoes?  As a parent I made sure I was ready with another present while they opened the one in hand.  The minute I saw the “look” I shoved another at them and said, “Here.  Open this one.”  One year I got it right.  Jessie was thrilled by her new tricycle.  Then Zac said, “Hey Jessie that’s just like mine.  I’ll go get mine and we can ride them together!”  It was his – with streamers and a basket.  At best our gift-giving is a mixed bag.  There’s no joy like the joy of getting it right, and there’s no heartache quite like a miserable failure.  When it comes to our gifts we win some and we lose some.

I know that I could stand here and rant and rave against the commercial abuse of the Christmas Season.  That would be easy enough.  We all know things have gotta out of hand.  People paying what they do not have to buy something that will not last in an attempt to bring joy that is destined to fade.  I could wave my Bible and declare that Christmas has nothing to do with gifts but that wouldn’t be true…would it?  The Christmas story includes the tale of those who traveled a great distance in order to honor the one “born king of the Jews.”  They came bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”  But more importantly the story of Christmas is the story of life’s greatest gift.  God’s gift of love and grace.  The gift of the Christ.  Our text this morning is found in John chapter 3.  It is perhaps the best known passage in all the Bible.  It is the verse that translators first use when translating the gospel message into the heart language of the people.  Our text is John 3:16-18.

As we work through these few verses we are reminded that…

Thesis: The extraordinary love of God provides life’s greatest gift and demands your absolute devotion.

Three things I want to quickly point out.

1. A great gift finds its motivation in a profound love.  (3:16)
2. A great gift far exceeds expectation and overwhelms the imagination.  (3:16-17)
3. Such a great gift demands an appropriate response.  (3:17-18)

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The Gospel of John series, #07: an exposition of John 3:1-21. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, December 5, 2010.

Introduction
He was a very religious man.  An upstanding man with an impeccable reputation.  He was admired by all and considered a pillar of the community.  He was the kind of man every mother hoped her daughter would bring home.  Every father hoped his son would grow up to be.  Yet he was miserable.  Joyed seemed an allusive thing.  It seemed joy was always just beyond his grasp.  He had it all – wealth, position, fame but something was just not right.  There was that nagging feeling that there was more to life.  He was convinced there must be something else.  Then it happened.  He caught of glimpse of it.  Life full blown.  Life lived to the fullest.  Life abundant.  He found it in a most unexpected place.  He found it at the feet of an itinerant preacher.  An outcast with a reputation for hanging out with some pretty unsavory characters.  He was strangely drawn to this young miracle-working rabbi from Nazareth.  So one night he paid him a visit.  We read about it in the 3rd chapter of John’s Gospel.

Text: John 3:1-21

John the beloved is telling the story of Jesus’ life and ministry.  His purpose is evangelistic.  “There are many other things Jesus said and did but these are recorded that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that you might have life in his name” (John 20:30-31).  We’ve witnessed the testimony of John the Baptizer – “Behold the Lamb of God.”  We’ve watched as our Lord has initially gathered his first disciples.  We’ve seen that first miracle and witnessed his power and compassion.  We’ve just seen a powerful statement of his Lordship as he cleansed the temple.  We’ve witnessed his white-hot anger as he was consumed by zeal for His Father’s house.  No doubt he had become “the talk of the town.”  Due to the signs and wonders that accompanied his early ministry there was already talk of his being the Messiah.  In our text we learn he caught the attention of a highly placed, highly respected leader who wanted to know more.  As we listen in on their conversation we discover that…

Thesis: Life abundant and eternal is the result of the radical, gracious work of God in the heart of the individual.

This is one of the best known, most recognized chapters in all the Bible.
This is that “born again” passage.
It contains that verse that keeps popping up at sporting events – John 3:16.
But that term – “born again” has been used and abused to the point it is almost meaningless.
Some of you will remember 1976 was dubbed the “Year of the Evangelical.”
That’s because presidential candidate Jimmy Carter declared he was “born again.”

Since that time pornographer Larry Flint has claimed to be born again.  Though that did not get in the way of his publishing Hustler magazine.  I read this past week about a woman who after being “born again” found great freedom in “stripping for Jesus.”  Add to this theological confusion the fact that the term has come to be identified with turning over a new leaf or jump-starting a career.  Companies who’ve managed to remake themselves are described by Forbes magazine as being “born again.”  All of this is to say we need to come back to this text and walk slowly through it and discover what our Lord was saying to Nicodemus and in turn to us.

There are three great truths concerning biblical salvation I want to point out in our text.

1. Mere external goodness is not enough.  (3:1-3)
2. Our only hope is a radical transformation.  (3:3-8)
3. That transformation demands that we abandon ourselves and trust in Christ alone.  (3:9-21)

Conclusion:
Salvation without a code, without a system, and without a ritual.
It is about trust, reliance and commitment to the person of the Lord Jesus.

You can never be good enough.
You need a radical transformation.
That transformation demands that you abandon any hope of achieving it on your own and trust wholly in Christ alone.

Life abundant and eternal is the result of the radical, gracious work of God in the heart of the individual.

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The Gospel of John series #06. An exposition of John 2:13-25. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, November 28, 2010.

Introduction:
Have you ever come to church and been disappointed with what you experienced?  Church was less than what you were hoping for or needed?  Let’s go even a step further – not only where you disappointed you were angry.  Fed up.  Felt as if you had had it.  Well, you are not alone.  This morning we are going to see what happened one day when Jesus “went to church.”  What happened may surprise you.  It might even shock you.  But, if you’re open, it can prove to be very valuable as a means of informing your worship.  We read about it in the 2nd chapter of John’s Gospel.

We are at the beginning of our Lord’s public ministry.
He has initially gathered some of his disciples.
They’ve attended a wedding in Cana of Galilee and there he performed his first miracle.
A miracle not to rid the earth of evil.
Not to bring judgment to the wicked.
It wasn’t to heal a cripple or rescue one possessed of the devil.
It was to save a young couple from humiliation.
It was a demonstration of power and compassion.

After a few days of rest and relaxation with his family in Capernaum Jesus and his disciples make their way toward Jerusalem for the Passover.  Passover was the major feast of the Jews.  It was a time of remembrance as they looked back in celebration of God’s delivering them from Egyptian bondage.  You remember God warned that the death angel would pass through the land of Egypt bringing death to every house.  The only way of escape was to take a lamb, slaughter it and place its blood above the door and on either side.  When the angel saw the blood he would “pass over” the house and thus death would not enter.  As all of Egypt mourned the children of Israel were expelled from the land.  Passover was a joyous celebration of deliverance.  Pilgrims from around the world made their way to Jerusalem to celebrate.  Jewish males within 15 miles of the city were compelled to attend.  Conservative estimates suggest that the population of Jerusalem swelled to 2.25 million during the Passover.

The atmosphere was electric.  The streets where filled with laughter and music.  But as our Lord and his traveling companions approached the temple the laughter and joy gave way to a very different emotion.  We read about it beginning with verse 13.

Text: John 2:13-25
It is no accident that this event is recorded immediately following the wedding in Cana.  It is to be viewed in contrast to that event.  The actions of our Lord in Jerusalem are to be seen in contrast to those of the wedding.  The quiet, unassuming yet powerful miracle worker is also the sovereign Lord of the temple.  The Lamb of God is also the Lion of Judah!

Too often the meek and mild Jesus of contemporary culture is an idol fashioned from a sentimental reading of only portions of the Gospel.  We witness in this text the white hot anger of God’s righteousness as our Lord is consumed by zeal for his Father’s house.  Such a picture is startling to modern eyes.  In a culture long on tolerance and short on truth such actions seem unreasonable.  But in light of the whole counsel of God we should expect nothing less.

As we work our way through this text we are gong to discover that…

Thesis: God-honoring worship demands a godly focus and a genuine faith.

Both aspects are essential.  Our focus must be right and our faith must be real.

1 want to point our two things.

1. God’s righteous anger burns against perverted worship.  (2:13-17)
2. God’s holiness refuses to reward superficial faith.  (2:18-25)

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The Gospel of John series #05. An exposition of John 2:1-11. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, November 21, 2010.

Introduction
Have you ever felt insecure, isolated or unimportant?  Have you ever been in a difficult spot and wondered if anybody really cared?  Do you ever wonder if God cares?  Do you ever find yourself thinking, “Well I know this is important to me, but I can’t bother God with it.  I mean He has His hands full with famine, poverty, war and all that other stuff.  Why would He be concerned about my problems?”  That’s a legitimate question.  Why would He?  Think about it.  In the grand scheme of things how important are you?

You are one of a few billion people on the planet.  When it comes to planets and solar systems ours is one of the smallest.  We get virtually all our energy from the sun.  Yet we receive only one half billionth of the energy that leaves the sun.  That’s understandable considering that energy travels some 93,000,000 miles to get here.  Light traveling from the sun at 186,000 miles per second takes 8 minutes and 19 seconds to reach us.  Light from the nearest star?  Four years.  From the center of our galaxy?  Thousands of years.  Yeah, in the grand scheme of things, who are you?

Your thinking, “Thanks pastor I was a little down this morning when I got here, now, thanks to you,  I’m suicidal!”  Hold on, stay with me.  I want you to think.  God spoke and this vast universe came into being.  He holds all of it together by His power.  Does He have time for you?  What effect does the details of your life have on the history of the world?  If you’ve ever wondered if God cared.  If you have ever wondered if you matter.  There is someone I want you to meet.  I don’t know their names.  I really don’t know anything about them other than they understand the extent of God’s great love.  One day they were on the verge of a great embarrassment.  What could have been the most humiliating day of their lives became instead a day of great rejoicing.  We read about it in the second chapter of John.

Text: John 2:1-11

John wrote his gospel from the city of Ephesus.
He wrote sometime between 55-95.
He wrote to reveal something of the heart of the Lord Jesus.
Gospel = selective history with a purpose.
Purpose – 20:30-31 – evangelistic, “…that you might believe…”
Only John tells us about this wedding in Cana of Galilee.
Here we find John’s account of the first of our Lord’s earthly miracles.

There are many surprising things about this miracle.  Not the least of which is that it is so private.  This is not what I would have done for my first miracle.  I think you need to open with a bang.  Burst on the scene with an eye-popping miracle.  You need some fanfare, some publicity you need a crowd.  Just a few people were in on this.  Most had no idea what was going on.  How are you going to build a following like that?

Another shocking this is the context of the miracle.  No famine.  No great tragedy.  No cripple.  No blind person.  No child to pull at the heart strings.  Just concern for a young couple who where about to be embarrassed on the most important day of their life.  It’s not how I would have done it but I’m sure glad He did it that way because it reveals a glorious truth.

Thesis: Jesus’ first miracle forever settles the extent of God’s love and compassion.

If you’ve ever wondered if God cared.  If you’ve ever felt insignificant or unimportant you need to take a trip down to Cana of Galilee.  Two great truths are revealed there.

1. God, in love and great compassion, is concerned about the details of your life.  (2:1-5)
2. God, in power, can turn your tragedy into triumph.  (2:6-11)

Conclusion
But let’s not loose sight of the greater lesson.  This same Jesus who turned water into wine wants to transform your life.  He that converted water to wine desires to change you from sinner to saint.  He desires to deliver you from the bondage of sin and death.

John’s purpose in telling this story is not just to reveal the love of God for us.  But to remind us a new day has dawned with the coming of Messiah.  It is no insignificant thing that our Lord used those purification pots.  The water of Old Testament purification has been changed into the wine of the new covenant.  Types and shadows now give way to the reality of God’s Deliverer.  In this section down through chapter 4 John is beginning to unfold the glory of the One made flesh as he demonstrates the truth of Paul’s teaching in 2 Corinthians 5:17.