Shalom Aleichem...
Reflections is a weekly Christian Teaching Ministry. Each week we will talk about the Bible and lessons we can put to use in our daily life. We will try to, on a weekly basis, provide to you stories, thoughts, and just easy ways to live your life on a straight path.
THIS WEEK'S TEACHING....April 5, 2021....EASTER
If you got Pastor Dales message earlier this week, you read about the way Jesus reacted to His task during Holy Week...I also wanted to share with all of you these questions.....Why did Jesus have to die? What does the Resurrection mean to me? Hopefully during this time you will sit alone and ponder what Easter is all about:)
Most of you know the Easter story; We know the timeline: Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday – riding on a donkey and everyone singing and praising God, shouting Hosanna and waving palm branches.
Jesus taught the people daily in the temple while the religions leaders plotted His death. On Thursday, Jesus gathered with His disciples in an upper room to observe the Passover meal, with what we have come to know as the Last Supper, or the first Lord’ Supper. From there Jesus and the disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed..... “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” -Matthew 26:39b (NKJV)
Even Jesus did not want to go to the cross. Why was this part of the plan?
Jesus was betrayed by Judas, delivered into the hand of the high Priest and temple officials. Jesus was given a mockery of a trail where false witnesses were brought in. He was delivered to the Romans and the crowd, who just 5 days earlier was singing Hosanna now was shouting “Crucify Him.” Jesus was scourged, whipped to literally an inch of His life, then mocked and forced to wear a crown made of thorns. Nailed to cross, and left to die a most excruciating death. Then on the third day, Jesus arose from the grave in victory.
The Question this morning is Why? If Jesus is God, why did He have to die? Why is Easter so important? The Resurrection, so what? What does the resurrection have to do with me? Why was all this necessary?
Why is all this important?
We hear the church talk: “Jesus died for our sins.” Even today on Easter, many just don’t understand the “why?” of it all. The answer to this question begins way back in Genesis.
In the beginning when God created man and woman, they were sinless. They had the whole Garden of Eden to do as they pleased. They had only one rule.
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” -Genesis 2:16–17 (NKJV)
God establishes one rule, one commandment. Only one act would be a sin. The penalty for sin was established – death. The Penalty for offending a Holy God, God Almighty, the Creator of the universe, is death! From the very beginning, death has been the penalty for any and all sin.
Well you know what happened. The serpent tempted Eve; Eve ate the forbidden fruit and passed the fruit on to Adam, then along came God. God asked:
Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” -Genesis 3:11b (NKJV)
Then both Eve and then Adam played the blame game and did what people have done ever since – failed to take responsibility for their actions – but do you know what? God knows all. Both Adam and Eve paid the penalty. They died and death has been with us ever since. You see that has been the condition of human race ever since. Those who say people are basically good has never read the Bible to see what God has to say on the subject.
The fact is, man is inherently prone to do bad. We all have inherited a sin nature from Adam. Think about it, you don’t have teach a baby to misbehave, be bad, to be selfish, to be self-centered. Skip forward to the days of Noah – This is what God had to say about mankind so far in history:
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. -Genesis 6:5 (NKJV)
Then came the first great judgment on the Earth. God passed sentence on the sinfulness on the Earth, and all the Earth died except for Noah and his family. But even after the flood, God knew that humans have not changed. Noah got out of the boat and made a burnt offering to God:
And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. -Genesis 8:21 (NKJV)
We are all naturally incline to do evil. You do not have to teach sin to a child. The Psalms tell us:
2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. 3 They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one. -Psalm 14:2–3 (NKJV)
God told Jerimiah about the condition of the human heart.
9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? 10 I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.
-Jeremiah 17:9–10 (NKJV)
You only have to watch the news on TV or open a newspaper to know this is true. Everyone is sinful.
Everyone has offended Holy God. The Apostle Paul further explains:
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God -Romans 3:23 (NKJV)
He further says that the penalty of sin that was given in the Garden so long ago is still in force.
For the wages of sin is death -Romans 6:23a (NKJV)
Do you know what? We cannot change that conditions ourselves, no matter how hard we might try. We can fake it for a while but bad continues come out of us. The HCSB translates this very well and clearly:
15 For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. 19 For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but it is the sin that lives in me. -Romans 7:15–20 (HCSB)
Can anyone identify with Paul in this? We find that we cannot help ourselves and we are slave to our sinful nature. We are not sinners because we sin, We sin because we are sinners.
We cannot ever hope to please God. Much less ever hope to earn a pardon, a reprieve from the death we so justly deserve. God is a God of Justice. Justice must be satisfied. The result of sin is death. Not just physical death, but eternal everlasting death and torment. Our New Testament has more to say about Hell than Heaven. You see what we do not understand is that everyone has eternal existence. Note that I did not say eternal life. When we offend an infinitely holy God, the result is an infinite punishment, eternal death and torment.
Considering all this, Paul further says:
O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? -Romans 7:24 (NKJV)
The question becomes what can I do to cover my sins. No one, save Jesus, has ever lived a sinless life. If we begin to understand the very nature of God, we quickly realize that there is nothing we can ever do to make right on our sins. But God makes a way. In the Old Testament, sin was satisfied through the sacrifice of a lamb, one without spot or blemish.
Because death is the only payment for sin, the Bible tells us:
. . . without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. -Hebrews 9:22b (HCSB)
That has been the requirement from the very beginning, the result of sin is death, blood must be shed, because of sin we owe the payment of death. This began back in the Garden, Adam and Eve was naked, they tried to cover their sin with fig leaves. But God provided tunics of skins, animal skins for Adam and Eve to cover with.
Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. -Genesis 3:21 (NKJV)
The skins meant some animal had died, shed its blood to cover the sin of Adam and Eve. In the OT a Lamb was sacrificed for the Passover. The blood of that lamb was place on the doorpost of the house and the Death Angel passed over. Over the many years of the OT, Lambs were sacrificed daily to cover the sin for the people. That sacrifice of a lamb was insufficient, because a sacrifice had to be made every day because we sin every day.
Anyone ready for the Good News? – the Gospel? That’s why it is called the Gospel. We have hope!
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. -John 3:16 (NKJV)
God’s crowning achievement was the creation of man. He loves us so much that He does not want to see us come to eternal death.
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
That word “propitiation” means a payment for a wrong, to satify an angry God. The CSB and the NIV has “atoning sacrifice.” -1 John 4:10 (NKJV)
Jesus became that payment for our wrongs. Jesus becomes that Lamb. John the Baptist makes that connection when he sees Jesus.
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29 (NKJV)
God sent Jesus not because we loved Him. In fact we are, because of our sinful nature, incapable of going to God or lovig Him on our own. And we cannot ever do anything to earn God’s love. What do we have or what could we ever do to earn His love?
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
-Romans 5:8 (NKJV)
That is why Jesus died on that cross 2,000 years ago. God loved me, God loved you so much that Jesus paid the price that God demanded from the time of Adam and Eve. Here is the fact about the cross: My sin put Jesus on the cross. Your sin put Jesus on the cross.
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
-2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV)
Jesus put our sins on Himself because He loved me, Because He loved you. Because Jesus became our sins, God cannot look upon sin. Jesus, who was sinless, became sin for us. And God turned His face from Jesus and for 3 hours poured out every sin ever created on the Earth onto His Son. So as Jesus hung on the that cross, He said: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
--Matthew 27:46b (NKJV)
Then when Jesus died He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. -John 19:30b (NKJV)
What was finished? The payment for our sins was done. When Jesus died:
Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, The veil in the temple that kept people from God. -Matthew 27:51 (NKJV)
Previously, no one was able to approach God. Now because everything that is unholy in us has been covered by the blood of Jesus, we now have access to Almighty God, to those who believe. Not just believe about Jesus, but put their whole trust in Jesus and commit their lives to Him.
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. -John 3:18 (NKJV)
But you see, the Jesus dying on the cross is only half the story. If Jesus stayed in the grave, we would still have no hope. We might of had received forgiveness, but we would still be dead. But just as the scriptures had said, just as Jesus said He would do, on the third day Jesus rose from the dead. Those who came to the tomb the angel said:
But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. -Matthew 28:5–6 (NKJV)
Jesus paid the price for our sins and God raised Him from the dead. Because Jesus rose from the dead, he have hope that we too, those of us are found in him will rise one day too.
But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. -1 Corinthians 15:20–21 (NKJV)
Sin came into the world because of the disobedience of one man, that is Adam. But because of Jesus Christ, God Who has come in the flesh, paid the penalty of our sins and now becomes the first-fruits of those who are in Him – those who have put their trust, their hopes, their very lives into Him.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. -1 Corinthians 15:22–23 (NKJV)
Those in Christ never need to fear death, never need to fear eternal punishment.
So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. -1 Corinthians 15:54–57 (NKJV)
This what we celebrate today. The forgiveness of sin and life over death. And Jesus is coming again. God does not owe us our next heart-beat. Those that are in Jesus will meet Him in death or at His coming. But the Bible is very clear; everyone will meet Him. We will all meet Him one day. We will meet in as Judge, or We will meet in as Savior. He gives us that choice.
How will you meet Jesus? Jesus calls us, just as we are. To heal our broken lives.
You are responsible before God with what you have heard. Ask yourselves, do you know without any doubt that you know Jesus personally and if you took your last breath right now do you know that you will be with Him in all eternity? Believe me, family, I hear Christians every week ask me, before they expire, "am I going to Heaven, Pastor?" How sad but true:( We each have our own fear and uncertainty about God, Jesus, Heaven....But do you realize, you do not have to have any uncertainty or fear. Its about the GOSPEL folks!!
You have heard the Gospel clearly this week, and if you feel God is calling you to trust in Jesus, in what He did for you on the cross, will you surrender to Him today? Coming to Jesus is just as simple as that. God will not force you against your will. The choice is clear. You either choose Him or reject him, there is no middle ground.
DID YOU EVER WONDER???
One Easter Sunday morning, a pastor came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Several eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, the pastor began to speak."I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me, swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, "What you got there son?"
"Just some old birds," came the reply.
"What are you gonna do with them?" I asked.
"Take 'em home and have fun with 'em. I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time."
"But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?"
"Oh, I got some cats. They like birds. I'll take 'em to them."
The pastor was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?"
"Huh??!!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They're just plain old field birds. They don't sing - they ain't even pretty!"
"How much?"
The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, "$10?".
The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone.
The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.
Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story.
One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting.
"Yes, sir, I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!"
"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.
"Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other. How to hate and abuse each other. How to drink and smoke and curse. How to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!"
"And what will you do when you get done with them?", Jesus asked.
"Oh, I'll kill 'em."
"How much do you want for them?"
"Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you!! You don't want those people!!"
"How much?"
Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your tears, and all your blood." Jesus paid the price.
The pastor picked up the cage he opened the door and he walked from the pulpit.
One Easter Sunday morning, a pastor came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Several eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, the pastor began to speak."I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me, swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, "What you got there son?"
"Just some old birds," came the reply.
"What are you gonna do with them?" I asked.
"Take 'em home and have fun with 'em. I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time."
"But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?"
"Oh, I got some cats. They like birds. I'll take 'em to them."
The pastor was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?"
"Huh??!!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They're just plain old field birds. They don't sing - they ain't even pretty!"
"How much?"
The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, "$10?".
The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone.
The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.
Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story.
One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting.
"Yes, sir, I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!"
"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.
"Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other. How to hate and abuse each other. How to drink and smoke and curse. How to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!"
"And what will you do when you get done with them?", Jesus asked.
"Oh, I'll kill 'em."
"How much do you want for them?"
"Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you!! You don't want those people!!"
"How much?"
Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your tears, and all your blood." Jesus paid the price.
The pastor picked up the cage he opened the door and he walked from the pulpit.
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE...A TEACHING
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU GO ON TO YOUR DAY.......
Over the next several months, we are going to take a tour of the Bible to learn more about the Word of God.
But Pastor Patrick, why would anyone want to read the Bible? It’s old, it’s huge, and sometimes it’s really hard to understand. On the other hand, it makes several amazing and intriguing claims. It claims to be the Word of God (such as in 1 Thessalonians 2:13). It claims to be truth (John 17:17). It claims to be “alive and active” (Hebrews 4:12); “living and enduring” (1 Peter 1:23). If these claims are valid, the question should be: Who wouldn’t want to read the Bible?
But regardless of these claims, the Bible is still old, big, and challenging, and therefore it is a daunting book to dive into and start reading. It is my hope that the teachings will help you in overcoming some of these obstacles.
I know that most people’s schedules are tight, and I certainly don’t want to take away from time you would spend reading the Bible itself. Therefore, I have organized these teachings into forty short chapters that can easily be read in only fifteen minutes each. You’ll be amazed how much you can learn in such a short amount of time! Each teaching answers a single question, such as “Who wrote the New Testament?” or “How is the Old Testament organized?” I’ve tried to keep the style friendly and light, such as by including Fun Facts along the way.
The weekly teachings cover a broad spectrum of topics designed for everyone from those who have never picked up a Bible to more seasoned readers, looking for an enjoyable refresher. Several of the teachings revolve around the fact that the Bible is historical literature. That means the individual books that make up the Bible were written by a variety of authors a long time ago. They were written for specific people in a specific time and place. Everything we can learn about these people and places will help us understand these books better, so we will discuss issues of authorship, audience, and historical and geographical settings in order to get our bearings.
The Bible is also made up of a variety of types of literature—prose, poetry, and more. We will examine these genres and briefly summarize what can be found in each type of literature or section of the Bible.
We also must not forget that this ancient literature has survived for thousands of years and found its way into our culture and language. How did that happen? We will look at the original languages of the Bible, how those languages were translated into other languages (specifically English), and why certain books made it into the Old and New Testaments and why others did not.
As mentioned above, the Bible can be challenging. But if it really is the Word of God, then we should not expect it to be easy to understand, any more than God himself is easy to understand. But we will survey some basic methods and principles that can be used by any reader in order to better understand the Bible and what it means.
We will also investigate some of the claims mentioned above. Is there good evidence within the Bible as well as outside the Bible that it really is the Word of God, that it really is true and trustworthy, and that it really is dynamic and life-changing? And if it really is life-changing, how can we use it to change our lives for the better? We will be introduced to some ways to get the Word of God into us so that it can do what God wants it to (for example, Bible reading schedules, memorization, and meditation).
I have written these teachings from an evangelical perspective. That means I am convinced of and committed to basic ideas such as these:
The Bible is what it claims to be—the very Word of God, without error, completely true and trustworthy;
Jesus Christ is who he claimed to be—fully and eternally God as well as fully human; Jesus Christ really did die historically and physically, really was resurrected historically and physically, and he really is coming back to earth physically and visibly; and finally, faith in Jesus Christ is the only way for sinners like all of us to be accepted by God and enjoy his presence forever.
Because this is a series of teachings about the Bible, I have placed a lot of biblical texts into each teaching. Some of the more important ones are quoted. Unless otherwise noted, these quotations are from the New International Version. For the most part, however, biblical references are simply cited to support or illustrate the points of discussion in each chapter. To gain the greatest benefit from these teachings, I would encourage you to look up these references, read them, and consider how they support the teachings.
It is my hope that this lessons will encourage and help you get into the Book—the Bible, the Word of God—in order to get to know its author, God himself, who, above all things, is worthy to be known.
HAVE A SAFE AND BLESSED WEEK:)
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