Author: E. DeWayne Swann

Facing The Mountains of Life

Zechariah 4:5-10

Welcome to Calvary Baptist Church, and thank you for allowing me to speak this morning.

What I want to do for a few moments is to try to bring the sermon that I believe God has for this hour, and that is facing life’s mountains.

In 1969, Marty Robbins wrote and sang a song that later even Elvis Presley recorded

But this time, Lord, you gave me a mountain

A mountain you know I may never climb

It isn’t just a hill any longer; Lord, you gave me a mountain this time.

So where did the mountains come from? According to:

Amos 4:13 For behold, He who forms mountains, And creates the wind, Who declares to man what his thought is, And makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth– The LORD God of hosts is His name.

As you go through the scriptures, you’ll see that anybody that God used in a mighty way had to face a mountain, an obstacle, a hindrance, something that was in the way. Not to prove to God that they could come through it, but to show them that God would bring them through it. And that’s what builds faith

Ceylon said last week in Sunday School he believed the reason this church is facing so many hard times is that God’s got a mighty work ahead for us here in this church. And Satan’s not happy about it, and he’s fighting hard, and I truly believe that

As I’ve stated in the past, I know what it’s like to walk into a nice restaurant and order steak and lobster and never look at the price. I also know what it’s like to search the sofa for change so I could go get a dollar hamburger from McDonald’s. I have been on both sides, and trust me when I tell you I like the steak and lobster side far better than the McDonald’s burger.

God has brought me through some real hard times, but listen, He brought me through. God will also bring you through. It’s up to you.

Paraphrase the story of Job. Ever felt like God gave you a mountain? As we said about Job, it doesn’t matter what all you’ve had; it can be taken away, and how you handle those mountains in your life is what makes you who you are and how much you trust God

Satan Attacks Job’s Character. As you may not have figured out yet, I love the story of Job. After I accepted Christ, I used to come to Snyder all the time and ask him what I should read, and one day he said Read the book of Job…

Job 1:6-12 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So, Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”  8 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”

The Lord is the one who put these mountains in front of Job

9 So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” 12 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. 

 Ever felt like your name came up in that conversation? Ever felt like saying, as the song said:

” Lord, You gave me a mountain this time. “

Well, we need mountains in our lives because they build up our character. They make you what you are. You see God’s hand in those mountains. God knew Job was good, but the question is, did Job know? Job had to learn through the obedience of following God.

God knows what this church can come through; the question is, do you, Calvary, do you know what God can do through this church in this time if we just allow it?

And this church is learning through the mountains we are facing that God is with us through everything

The Bible mentions mountains all through the Scripture

– Abraham offers Isaac upon Mount Moriah, afterward called Mount Zion, the site of the temple (later in the time of Solomon)

– Mount Horeb appointed as a place for the Israelites to worship

– Jesus is tempted upon

– Jesus preaches from; the sermon is even called the Sermon on the Mountain

– Jesus goes up onto it a mountain for prayer

– Is transfigured upon

– Removed by faith Acts 1:12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.

– Mt. Calvary And Jesus himself is crucified on Mount Calvary

What Mountains Are For

1. Mountains make you look up. You see the mountain is way too high for you, but you learn it is not too high for our God
2. Mountains make you make decisions. Around it, over it, or through it. Or give up and walk away, and I’m begging you, please don’t do that.
3. Decisions build character (how you handle the mountain in your life?)
4. Mountains show how Small you are. And how big our God is
5. Mountains get you ready for bigger Mountains

To get us to our text for today in Zechariah 4:6-10

History

605 B.C. Daniel taken captive

586 B.C. Judah falls; Jerusalem is destroyed and so is the temple

538 B.C. Cyrus’s decree allowing the exiles to return.

536 B.C. Temple construction begins; temple foundation rebuilt after 2 years, then the Samaritans delayed the building for 17 years, and you wonder why the Jews don’t care too much for the Samaritans, and then

 

I believe God has us in a delay time. And that’s not a time to give up. And then in the book of:

Ezra 5:2 Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them.

They weren’t there just praying for them; they were there working with them. They weren’t holier-than-thou that they couldn’t get their hands dirty. It reminds me of when we were building this very church; Ben Turner was here daily working and sweating and getting blisters and bruises right along with the rest of us. That’s called leadership

Everyone was doing the work on the House of God: the preachers, the teachers, the deacons, even the people that think that they’re not good for anything. They were helping to build the house of God. You may think you mean nothing, but in God’s eyes you mean everything. Please don’t think you’re not important because you are. That’s why we’re here, because of you.

I like Zerubbabel not only because he’s in the bloodline of Jesus, as it says in Matthew 1:13, but he is a carpenter, a builder, A master craftsman, and he built the house of God. I can relate a little. Can’t you, David?

Promise Keepers? 1996 with Snyder…But I’m just a carpenter, so is Zerubbabel, and so was our Savior.

But now I want to look at our character, our prophet, our teacher in this lesson

ZECHARIAH  [zack ah RIE a] (Jehovah remembers) –

A prophet in the days of Ezra (Ezra 5:1; 6:14; Zech 1:1,7; 7:1,8) and author of the Book of Zechariah. A leader in the restoration of the nation of Israel following the Captivity, Zechariah was a contemporary of the prophet Haggai, the governor Zerubbabel, and the high priest Joshua. Zechariah himself was an important person during the period of the restoration of the community of Israel in the land of Palestine after the Captivity.

The Book of Zechariah begins with a note concerning the prophet. He returned with Zerubbabel from Babylon (Zech 1:1,7, also Ezra 5:1; 6:14). This means that Zechariah himself was probably a priest and that his prophetic activity was in close association with the religious center of the nation. His vision of Joshua the high priest (Zech 3:1-5) takes on added importance, since he served as a priest in association with Joshua. Zechariah began his ministry while still a young man (Zech 2:4). And again, I can relate. In 520 BC, two months after Haggai completed the prophecies that are recorded in the Book of Haggai.

Zechariah is walking and talking to an Angel. We need to be led by God

Zechariah 4:1-10 ¹ Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. ² And he said to me, “What do you see?” So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. ³Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.”⁴ So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”

⁵ Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”

 Zachariah didn’t understand what the Angel was talking about, so he told him he didn’t understand it, and then the Angel explained it to him, beginning in verse number 6. As I tell every class that I am in charge of teaching, if you have a question, come to me and ask me, and if I don’t know it, which sometimes I don’t, I promise you by the next week I’ll have more information on it than you’ll ever want to know, so it’s OK to ask when you don’t understand.

⁶ So he the Angel answered and said to me: Zachariah  “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.

⁷ ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ‘ ”

A capstone is a final stone at the top of a wall or building or a crowning achievement that marks the peak of completion.

⁸ Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: Zechariah
⁹ “The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. What God starts God will finish Then you will know That the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. You know that God’s hand is in this
¹⁰ For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line The Carpenter tool in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”

Dr. Charles Stanley

1.) When God calls you to a task, He assumes the responsibility of removing hindrances that would keep you from accomplishing that task.

 God called this church to do Operation Christmas Child. He’s been removing hindrance after hindrance, and He’s been accomplishing a task

God’s called Ceylon’s class to send money and Bibles to Don Rich in Peru, and 18,000 Bibles have been sent to that section of the world today because of a little Sunday School class here in Powder Springs

A.) God is only committed to removing the obstacles and hindrances to those things which are the will of God for our lives

My prayer partner Ben Bennett says all the time, Lord, help me stay in your will so I’m not in your way and he asks me all the time, when he has a prayer request, “Are you clean?”

B.) Make sure you are not the obstacle or hindrance.

(God uses only clean vessels or instruments) No more than you would eat out of a dirty plate or cook in a dirty pot, God’s not going to use dirty people.

God will remove them,

Well, are you clean??? Want to be used by God? Get clean and ask Him to use you, and He will.

2 Timothy 2:21 If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.

Back to:

Zechariah 4:9 The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know That the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.  He started it, and he finishes it. God gets the glory

Note:  Zerubbabel was building his own house at the time.

So don’t let your plans get in the way of God’s plans. But I’m doing this, and I’m doing that.

Well, stop and don’t let your plans get in the way that you can’t say I’m about my father’s business

2.) We are to face our task in the power of the holy spirit, not in our own energy and strength.

“God, in his love, always wills what is best for us.

In his wisdom, He always knows what is best,

And in His Sovereignty, He has the power to bring it about.”

Zechariah 4:6 So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.

Might = chayil (khah’-yil); probably a force, whether of men, other means, or other resources; an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength: Your strength not God’s And the verse is saying not by MIGHT

activity, (+)army, band of men (soldiers), company, (great) forces, goods, host, might, power, riches, strength, strong, substance, train, (+)valiant (-ly), valour, virtuous (-ly), war, worthy (-ily).

Power = koach (ko’-akh); or to be firm; vigor, literally (force, in a good or a bad sense) or figuratively (capacity, means, produce); also (from its hardiness) a large lizard: -ability, able, chameleon, force, fruits, might, power (-ful), strength, substance, wealth.

Who said it? Jehovah, the Lord, (but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts. )

the LORD of hosts = Yehovah (yeh-ho-vaw’); from OT:1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God: KJV – Jehovah, the Lord.

1. How to face life mountains

Jesus just finished talking about John the Baptist. In Matthew 17, then He has a man who brings his son to him to be delivered of an evil spirit: And we will eventually deal with this in the miracle series we’re doing on Sunday nights downstairs.

Matthew 17:14-21 ¹⁴ And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, ¹⁵ Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. ¹⁶ And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. ¹⁷ Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. ¹⁸ And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. ¹⁹ Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
Matthew 17:²⁰ And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

 ²¹ Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

 (Example: ydc) … If you add fasting with your prayer, I promise you God will do a miraculous work. I have seen it myself. I’ve seen hundreds make a profession of faith in one day, and it was a part of a ministry from this very church because God was in it and because his people fasted and prayed and sought his face, and God did miraculous work

This church is doing pretty good with some of the outreach, but we need to do more. No church will grow until they’re reaching the community, until they’re reaching the world, until they have an outreach. Maybe, just maybe, if we did the first things first, God would give us what we need. Just maybe? Ben Turner taking on more missionaries when financial problems hit

You have to get involved in a relationship with God.

We need to know that if you pray for God to move a mountain, we need to be prepared to wake up next to a shovel. You’ve got to get involved, and God will move that mountain. You have to trust that God will be there and He will move the mountains in our lives.

Jesus said You shall say unto this mountain: Talk to your mountain and tell it what to do.

STOP telling God how big your mountain is and start telling your mountain how big your God is!!! 

When the disciple Philip tells his friend Nathaniel they have found the Messiah, Nathaniel is skeptical, and he asks:

John 1:46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 

When Dion Lotter used to say “come,” it was not a request; it was a demand, and that’s basically what Philip is saying to Nathaniel. You come and see. You come and experience this, and God will do a mighty work

Come and see what God has done and what He is going to do. Come and see…

You don’t know the power of my God. God’s everywhere, and He is in control of everything. He can bring this church to be a mighty church again, and I invite you to come along, come and see.

I love what Doctor Charles Stanley says: God is not everywhere. This is how big a God we serve. Everywhere has to come into the presence of God, and that makes me go wow

I recently heard a preacher say:

“There is nowhere there’s a where, where God’s not there.” I love that

Psalm 139:6-12 ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.
⁷ Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸ If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰ Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me;
¹² Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

 Things may look dark to you right now; you may have gone through a lot of heartache and hard times, but God is the light, and He’ll light the way and help you

Faith is not a dark room we walk in hoping to be ok. But a well-lit room with God’s hand leading all the way.

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.   He will light the way!!!

You can’t go anywhere that God’s not there. You never walk alone

God has a way of getting your needs met.

Your problem solved.

That way is rooted in your faith becoming a seed, seed faith.

When you plant a seed,

God changes the nature of that seed so that it becomes a plant: But you have to die to yourself and get yourself out of the way and let God take control

 John 12:24-26 ²⁴ Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. ²⁵ He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

And I’m not talking about like those charlatans on TV, these televangelists. You give me so much money, God’s gonna give you so much back. That’s not what I’m saying. You’ve got to plant that seed of faith; sometimes you do have to plant financial seeds of faith and watch God multiply it, not to reward you but to grow the ministry, and then great is your reward

Takes a little bitty seed of faith. Lea Ellen Rich gave me a little mustard seed

Mustard seed:

1. THE PLANT ITSELF…  Show the mustard seed
2. The mustard plant is well known for its hot-flavored seeds
3. Among seeds sown in a garden, it was generally the smallest
4. As a plant, it reaches ten, sometimes fifteen feet in height
5. In the fall of the year, its branches have become rigid, and the plant often serves as a shelter for birds of many kinds

(William Hendricksen, Commentary on Matthew)

And the power of life surges within that tender young plant to such an extent that even a mountain of earth cannot stop it from pushing upward! 

Jesus says our faith is like a seed. When we put our faith into action, that is, when we release it to God. It takes on a totally new nature. It takes on the nature of a miracle in the making.

 

But I don’t have faith, God says you do;

1. God says you have to have a measure of faith.

Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

It resides within you.  So how do you get more Faith? Doing what you’re doing right now!!

God says that this faith comes alive by hearing. By getting involved, by trusting God, and by watching Him do what no other God can do

You want to grow your faith, and then get involved in God’s work.

Why do I believe that God can do something here?

Because I’ve seen him do it here for 61 years.

I’ve seen him take little or nothing and make something mighty out of it, and He can continue to do it if we will just let Him. And again, please don’t give up. God sent me here this morning to tell you don’t give up.

As I’ve said about this church and how it was built, we didn’t have a whole lot of money here, but what we did have was available men that sacrificed as Zerubbabel did to build the house of God, and that built faith in a young man like me; I was a young man at the time

You want to build faith? Get in church regularly, get involved in the ministries. Don’t walk away from them. Get in Sunday school, get in a Bible study, get in a small group.

Come on Sunday Nights and Wednesday nights to learn more about Jesus.

Use the talents that God has given you to bless others. Get involved and help this church to grow.

Learn more, hear more, and in the Book of Romans it says

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Get in the Word of God. Listen to the preachers. Open the book up yourself. There are dozens of free apps that you can download on your phone and listen to the word of God, and it will grow your faith

God says that you can apply your faith to see your daily needs met. How?

You do something as an act of your faith.

You sow the mustard seed smallness of your faith into an action of love.

Then, when our faith has been planted, it grows.

Speak to your mountain and watch God set about its removal.

Watch it work in John with Jesus

John 6:3-14 (NKJV) ³ And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.
⁴ Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.
⁵ Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”
⁶ But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.
⁷ Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”
⁸ One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,
⁹ “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”

And watch what happens: He used what He had. With the two small fish and the five barley loaves, let’s continue to use what we have and let God be the leader of this church, not a man

Zechariah 4:10 For who has despised the day of small things?

John 6:10 ¹⁰ Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
¹¹ And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.
¹² So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” God doesn’t waste anything
¹³ Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
¹⁴ Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

We will expound on this on Sunday nights when we get to this miracle, but the point I am trying to make is:

It’s not the amount of faith but what you put your faith in.  Thin ice vs. thick ice.

Put your faith in Christ, and with two fish and five biscuits, He can feed thousands. But we’re just a small church; yeah, but He can do a mighty work with this small church

Every one of you has faith in something. You put faith in the very Pew that you’re sitting on. You put faith in your car. You put faith in every person you pass on the road, so you do have faith

Faith that appears small or weak to us still can accomplish the humanly impossible.

This mountain was a figure of speech for an obstacle, hindrance, for a humanly impossible problem, none of which is impossible for God to deal with through committed people who accurately understand their authority and know His power, His will, His purpose, and His provision.

Jeremiah 32:17 ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.

Jer 32:26 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 27 “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?

Listen, if there’s anything too hard for your God, you’re serving the wrong God

And as I have said, God or Jesus never ever asked a question for information. It’s His way to reveal something. So, when God asks Is there anything too hard for Me? He was asking, “Have you got the faith to trust in Him?”

My question to you this morning, Calvary is anything too hard for God?

Can God supply the preachers to fill this pulpit? Can God supply a Pastor?

I know of people that are fasting and praying for this church; God is working, and in the days to come we’re going to look back and say God was in it the whole time.

So, I ask you now whether there is anything too hard for God?  No!

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

That word “hope” does not mean wishful thinking. It means an overwhelming confidence. The Greek word in the New Testament is used 18 times as the word “trust.” It’s not wishful thinking. Just because you haven’t seen it yet doesn’t mean that God’s not involved

It’s like a real smart kid me sitting in school. You can ask us Are you gonna pass this test And I would say, “I hope so,” which meant wishful thinking on my part, but the smart kid would say, “I hope so.” But it’s an overwhelming confidence that’s the way this word is used

Hebrews 11:2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.

3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.

12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.

13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

And so are we if you’re a believer; we’re just pilgrims passing through

I have seen God answer prayers years after someone died who prayed them.       

We saw that downstairs in The Book of Revelation says that the prayers of the Saints that have gone on before us are still in God’s ears. I take great comfort in that, knowing that my mother’s prayers all those years every single day for me are still in the ears of God, and He’s still hearing and answering those prayers

14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:

19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.

23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.

24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;

25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.

30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.

31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

Another one in the lineage of Jesus

32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:

33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;

38(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

Hebrews 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. They didn’t have Jesus and the mercy and the grace that we now have We have it so much better than the Saints of old

But God heard and answered their prayers. By faith they prayed; by faith they called on God, Jehovah, the mighty creator of the earth. And He can do the same for you; He is the same God yesterday, today, and forever. He can do the same for Calvary Baptist Church here in Powder Springs, and so now the question

Why am I still facing this mountain?

Cause you are letting the evil one, Satan, get the victory,

2 powers here working all the time, and these mountains make you ineffective for Christ. If you allow Satan to get the victory

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Fig tree

Matthew 21:18-22 ¹⁸ Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. ¹⁹ And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away. ²⁰ And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?” ²¹ So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.

²² And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Again, these mountains are the obstacles, the hindrances, the things that are keeping you from serving our mighty God

Why did Jesus curse the fig tree?

Hidden in the story is something most people miss: in the distance Jesus sees a fig tree covered in leaves.

He walked up to find no fruit, so He curses it,

Matthew 21:19 ¹⁹ And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.

So, what happened? Some fig trees produce fruit before their leaves appear, so a fig tree covered in leaves makes a claim: I have fruit, but when Jesus and his disciples came closer, there was no fruit.

Do you honestly think that Jesus didn’t know that there wasn’t any fruit on the tree?  He was making a visual point to his disciples who were there.

This was a picture of religious leaders. Pharisees said You see teachers of the law from a distance; they look magnificent.

They have beautiful robes for prayer, and it shows strict traditions.

They were covered in leaves, but up close, no love, no joy, no peace, no mercy, no justice, no compassion, no fruit of the Spirit.

Jesus said:

Matthew 23:27-29 ²⁷ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. ²⁹ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,

The fig trees with only leaves show its only painted appearance that promises life, but holds only death.

Maybe there’s an area in your life covered in leaves, but lacking fruit.

You know how to speak the language; you know which verse to quote; you know how to appear spiritually healthy, but beneath the appearance, something has become dry.

Jesus isn’t looking for leaves. He’s looking for fruit.

I used to own a lot of green golf clothes. I had some shirts and hats from the Masters golf tournament in Augusta. Augusta National Golf Club

There used to be a young preacher here years ago, and he played golf all the time, and he asked me he said Where do you play and I said Anywhere I can. It’s been a while since I’ve been to Augusta, but I like that course just fine.

He looked at me real long and hard, then he said What do you shoot.

I told him I shoot in the 70s or 80s; if it got any warmer than that, I didn’t like to play.

He rolled his eyes at me. I held my hands just right and did the grip.

I had the stance, and I stood and did like you are supposed to do. I kept my left arm straight, and I did the swing because I did know how to play the game.

I told him the last game I played, I shot a 74. He said You’re lying I said, ” No, then I went to the second hole, and I shot another 85. He was getting rather frustrated with me pretty quickly

Then he asked me where I got the shirts and the hat, and I told him, and this was years ago. So, these references worked pretty well.

I said my buddies Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer were in the clubhouse one day at Augusta National Golf Club, and I asked them for one of their green jackets.

They told me, DeWayne, you have to earn it; I had to play and win a green jacket.

But then they did say they could give me a green shirt and a hat.

And with that said, my friend said You’re lying and I said I’ve been lying the whole time, brother.

I’ve never been on a golf course a day in my life, and he said I have a hard time believing that because you know how to stand, you know how to grip the clubs, you know the talk, you know how to act as you’ve been there, but you never played a game?

I said I’ve never been on the golf course except to cross it to get to a lake. So no, I don’t play golf.

And that’s the way my spiritual life was.

You want to know if I can play golf or not? Put me on a golf course, and the moment I tee up and start to hit the ball, you will realize I can’t play that game.

Because I never have.

It was like my Christianity.  I was raised in church; I knew how to talk to talk And looked like I could walk the walk, and look the look like a Christian.

I worked at a Christian Children’s Home.

I helped build the very pews you’re sitting on and worked on this church building for a couple of years, helping to build it.

I led people to the Lord.  And then mountains came into my life, and difficulties hit me. I had to spiritually tee off, and I couldn’t. As I said, I looked the part, but I was not a Christian; I had never accepted Christ as my Savior

But the mountain was there, and the moment that I needed God, I knew, and those close to me knew that I’d never accepted him as Lord and Saviour.

And then on June 15^th 1989 I knelt in that study.

I looked like a fruitful fig tree; I put on good leaves, but there was no fruit.

I didn’t know God; I never accepted Jesus, and I plead with you: if you have never accepted Christ, don’t leave today without Jesus

What will people think or say?

They will say Hallelujah. I’ve seen the chairman of the Board of Deacons accept Christ. I saw the pastor’s wife accept Christ.

I saw a youth pastor accept Christ.

Don’t let pride get in the way.

Don’t let pride be what sends you to hell.

Too many people are sitting in Church today.

They look the right way. They talk the right way in Church, but when they get in the world, they are not what they are here. It’s easy to be a Christian in these four walls. You got to be a Christian out there

They know they don’t know Christ

They look good, they sound good, but they don’t know Jesus. They’re just fig trees with leaves, and they’re not producing any fruit.

And there will come a time when Christ will come to you, and if you are not His believer, you are going to get struck down, and you won’t get another chance

1. You say: to the mountain, the obstacle that hinders the things that are in your way
2. You ask: In Prayer
3. You believe: God to handle the problem
4. You receive. Which builds more faith;

 Identify your Mountain and deal with it.

What is the mountain of your life? Unbelief, Loneliness, Trouble on the job, Disease, Sickness, A wounded relationship, Rejection, Trouble in your home? Money or the lack of. Something else? Be Encouraged! Jesus shows a way to see that mountain Removed!

1. Tired of facing the same mountain??

Deuteronomy 1:6 “The LORD our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying: ‘You have dwelt long enough at this mountain.

The children of Israel had wandered in the desert for 40 years, passing the same old places

MOUNT HOREB,  [HOHR eb] (waste) – the “mountain of God” (Ex 18:5) in the Sinai Peninsula where Moses heard God speaking through the burning bush (Ex 3:1) and where the law was given to Israel (see Map 2, B-2).

(from Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

Deuteronomy 2:2-3 ² And the LORD spoke to me, saying:
³ ‘You have skirted this mountain long enough; turn northward.

You have dealt with this enough!!! It’s time to move on. Are you tired of facing the same obstacle, the same problem? Give it to the Lord…

I’ve seen nine different men in my lifetime here at this church fill the pulpit as pastor or even interim pastor. And not a one of those men is here today, and only three of those men are still alive today. It’s not about the man; it’s about the God that we serve.

So, stop focusing on what we don’t have and focus on what you do have, and use what you have and your availability. If God used you, then He can use you again, and God will take what little we’ve got and make something great with it if we quit looking at the mountain and start looking at the God of the mountain

¹⁰ For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”

Close: Trust God.

He will not leave you alone. If they’ll come with a song…

Hebrews 13:5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”   6 So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper;

I will not fear. What can man do to me?”   NKJV

Know this: YOU are not ALONE!!!!

And now, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story:

536 B.C. Temple construction begins;

516 BC, 20 years after they started, the Bible is recorded in the Book of Ezra that they completed the temple and had a party and celebrated, and rightfully so.

Ezra 6:13-18 ¹³ Then Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, Shethar-Boznai, and their companions diligently did according to what King Darius had sent. ¹⁴ So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. (Eh-doe) And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
¹⁵ Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
¹⁶ Then the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the descendants of the captivity, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
¹⁷ And they offered sacrifices at the dedication of this house of God, one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.
¹⁸ They assigned the priests to their divisions and the Levites to their divisions, over the service of God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses.

When God calls you to a task, He assumes the responsibility of completing that task. Stop trying to take God’s job

 Listen, it’s not your battle. It’s GOD’S; don’t give up and don’t abandon us. I asked you to come along with us because in the coming days I believe there’s going to be a celebration of what God can do with this very church

Zechariah 4:6 ⁶ So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts. God said Zerubbabel would finish it not by his power or his might but by the Spirit of the Lord, and that’s how it happened

Leave it there and move on.

1. Mountains make you look up.
2. Mountains make you make decisions
3. Decisions build character (how you handle the mountain)
4. Mountains show how Small you are. And how big our God is
5. Mountains get you ready for bigger Mountains

(the bear went up the mountain) … There will be other mountains, but you keep on keeping on, and trust God; And He will bring you through.

Let’s pray

 

Calvary Baptist Church Sunday, October 11, 2026 AM

 

Ephesians 6:10-24

EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS,

Historical Setting. The general nature of Ephesians makes it difficult to determine the specific circumstances why Paul wrote this letter to the church of Ephesus.

It is clear, however, that the recipients were Gentiles

Ephesians 3:1 (NKJV) For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—

Tiny APOHL A prisoner of His LOVE

Who were not citizens of the kingdom of Israel (2:11).

Ephesians 2:11-13 ¹¹ Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh–who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands– ¹² that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

If you read my book or any of my web page writings, you will see that I love conjunctions. That tells me the story is not over. So they had no hope, and they were without God, and then verse 13 says:

¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Now, thanks to the gracious gift of God, we enjoy the spiritual blessings that come from Christ.

Theological Contribution. The theme of Ephesians is the relationship between the heavenly Lord Jesus Christ and His earthly body, the church. Christ now reigns

Ephesians 1:21-23 ²¹ far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

There’s that conjunction again, verse 22

²² And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, ²³ which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Exalted as He is, Jesus did not drift off into the heavens and forget His people. He identifies with the church that He considers His body, which He fills with His presence

Ephesians 3:19-21 ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. ²⁰ Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, ²¹ to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 4:9-10 ⁹ (Now this, “He ascended”–what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

So, we take great comfort in the fact that He didn’t go to heaven and forget us!

(from Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

1st. Analyze the enemy – begin by getting to know Satan and his tactics.

principality and power and might and dominion,

We need to Know Our Enemy And know that he is already defeated.

Satan is going to lose.

I’ve read the last book in the Bible; we win, so stop letting him get victory over our lives

On 10 September 1813, after defeating the British fleet in the Battle of Lake Erie, Oliver Hazard Perry, commander of the American fleet, dispatched one of the most famous messages in military history to Maj. Gen. William Henry Harrison. It read: “Dear Gen’l: “WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY, AND THEY ARE OURS.”, two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop. Yours with great respect and esteem. H. Perry.”

Who is our enemy?

The DEVIL (accuser) – the main title for the fallen angelic being who is the supreme enemy of God and man. Satan is his name, and devil is what he is-the accuser or deceiver. The title “devil” appears 38 times in the Bible. In every case it is preceded by the article “the,” indicating a title rather than a name. The term comes from a Greek word that means “a false witness” or “malicious accuser.” A liar!

If you see “a devil” or “devils,” it means demons.

Several graphic phrases applied to the devil in the New Testament point out the nature of his wicked personality and the extent of his evil deeds.

The Wicked or Evil One

This phrase depicts the devil’s fundamental nature.

Lord’s Prayer asking to be delivered

Matthew 6:13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Matthew 13:19 ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.

Matthew 13:38-39 ³⁸ The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. ³⁹ The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

1 John 2:13 I write to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, Because you have known the Father.

He is in direct opposition to everything God is or all he wishes to do.

He is the source of all evil and wickedness.

Humanity needs this deliverance:

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Remember Job:

Job 1:6-7 ⁶ Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. ⁷ And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” Sounds like one Peter 5:8, doesn’t it

He is always looking for trouble. Those not prepared for the fight.

Enemy: The devil is man’s worst enemy.

This is one enemy Jesus does not want us to love.

He is an enemy of Christ, the church, and the gospel, and he is tireless in his efforts to uproot good and sow evil.

In Matthew 13, Jesus is talking about the enemy that tares among the wheat.

Matthew 13:25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.

Matthew 13:28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’

He plainly tells you…

Matthew 13:39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

Murderer

John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

Strong words from the lips of Jesus.

The devil killed Abel and the prophets, and he wanted to kill Jesus before His time

John 8:40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this.

Deceiver

Revelation 20:10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Starting with Eve, the devil has attempted to deceive every living soul. Evil men operating under the power of the evil one will continue to deceive.

2 Timothy 3:13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Beelzebub, Prince of Demons

Matthew 9:34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”

Matthew 12:24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

The religious leaders of Jesus’ time were guilty of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit because they claimed the miracles of Jesus were actually conducted by the devil.

Some versions incorrectly translate “demons” as “devils.” There are many demons but only one devil.

His name is Beelzebub, the chief leader of the fallen angels known as demons.

Prince or Ruler of This World. Three times Jesus called the devil the “ruler of this world”

John 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

John 14:30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.

John 16:11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

The devil offered the world to Jesus if He would worship him (Luke 4:5-7),

Luke 4:5-8 ⁵ Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶ And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. ⁷ Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” ⁸ And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ “

On Mount Calvary, God dealt a death blow to this world ruler. It is only a matter of time before God will win the final victory at the end of time.

1 John 3:8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

Matthew 25:41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

Hell was never intended for man; God sends no man to hell; they do that to themselves.

Revelation 12:7-9 ⁷ And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, ⁸ but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. ⁹ So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

That is Our enemy!!!

Who is not our enemy!!!

Other Christians,

Other Churches,

Other Denomination,

Satan would have nothing better than to have this church divided among itself. We need to try as hard as we can to get along with each other, even if we grate on each other a little bit; get over it, go to each other and make things right.

Ephesians 6:10-20 ¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

powers = NT:1849 exousia (ex-oo-see’-ah); from NT:1832 (in the sense of ability); privilege, i.e. (subjectively) force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (objectively) mastery (concretely, magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence:

KJV – authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, strength.

Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Brethren, Christians, you and I, Paul said, were to be Strong in the Lord, in His might.  Through His power

strong = NT:1743 endunamoo (en-doo-nam-o’-o); from NT:1722 and NT:1412; to empower: KJV – enable, (increase in) strength (-en), be (make) strong.

Jude 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

The battle is the Lord’s, and the victory will be God’s.

Utilize our weaponry –

The devil is strong, but Christians are stronger through the Lord

Ephesians 6:11  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
wiles = NT:3180 methodeia (meth-od-i’-ah); from a compound of NT:3326 and NT:3593 [compare “method”]; travelling over, i.e. travesty (trickery): KJV – wile, lie in wait.

We have the protection needed to withstand his assaults. The devil tempts, but God provides a way of escape

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

The three Hebrews thrown into the fire…

As we said a few weeks ago, you don’t claim this right before you are thrown into the fire; they made up their mind some years earlier.

The devil tries to take advantage of people,

2 Corinthians 2:11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Learn his devices.

Then he will flee if fought. James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

For a season, for a while, I promise you he will be back

First submit to God, then resist.

The devil should be feared, but knowJesus is more powerful than this deceiving prince of the demons.

1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

But understand the battle is not yours alone, but God is the one going to fight the fight for us.

So, when the devil is lying in wait, we are prepared; that’s what we are doing now and every time we come to Sunday School, Bible study, or when you study and get in the Word of God.

(from Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers

And back to Ephesians chapter 6

Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

principalities, = NT:746 arche (ar-khay’); from NT:756; (properly abstract) a commencement, or (concretely) chief (in various applications of order, time, place, or rank):

KJV – beginning, corner, (at the, the) first (estate), magistrate, principality, principle, rule.

The words which Paul uses, powers, authorities, world-rulers, are all names for different classes of these evil spirits.

To him the whole universe was a battleground. As it is to us

The Christian had not only to contend with the attacks of men; he had to contend with the attacks of spiritual forces which were fighting against God.

Our experience will tell us that there is an active power of evil in the world.

Robert Louis Stevenson once said: “You know the Caledonian Railway Station in Edinburgh? One cold, east windy morning, I met Satan there.”

We do not know what actually happened to Stevenson, but we recognize the experience; we have all felt the force of that evil influence which seeks to make us sin.

Did you know that the Church of Satan boasts that they actively pray and fast to Satan for the demise of Bible preachers? I think their prayers are being heard and answered!

In a town in Iowa just this past week, a man got up and prayed to Satan to start off the council meeting. Soon after he left the podium, someone stood up and said Let us just reverse this curse that was put on our city. Hail Satan is not welcome here

One of the best newspaper cartoons of all time is Calvin and Hobbes. One day Calvin comes marching into the living room early one morning. His mother is seated there in her favorite chair. She is sipping her morning coffee. She looks up at young Calvin. She is amused and amazed at how he is dressed. Calvin’s head is encased in a large space helmet. A cape is draped around his neck, across his shoulders, down his back, and is dragging on the floor.

“What’s up today?” asks his mom.
“Nothing, so far,” answers Calvin.
“So far?” she questions.
“Well, you never know,” Calvin says, “Something could happen today.” Then Calvin marches off, “And if anything does, by golly, I’m going to be ready for it!”
Calvin’s mom looks out at the reading audience, and she says, “I need a suit like that!”

That’s how many of us feel as we watch the news and deal with life. Sometimes this world seems quite violent, and people seem to be at each other’s throats.

A suit like that would help, so we can say with Calvin, “Whatever may come my way, I’m going to be ready for it! Bring it on!”

Where can we get a suit like that?

Do they make a suit like that?

Yeah, in this section of Ephesians tells us to put that suit on

Utilize our weaponry – we have to look at each article of Christian armor.

Now that we know who our enemy is, we know what our battle is:

THE ARMOUR OF GOD

Paul suddenly sees a picture ready-made.

All this time he was chained by the wrist to a Roman soldier. Night and day a soldier was there to ensure that he would not escape.

Paul was literally a messenger in chains. Now he was the kind of man who could get alongside anyone; and beyond doubt he had talked often to the soldiers who were compelled to be so near him.

As he writes, the soldier’s armor suggests a picture to him.

The Christian too has his armor; and part by part Paul takes the armor of the Roman soldier and translates it into Christian terms.

Ephesians 6:13 ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Not some of the armor, all the armor, the whole armor. This is important enough that he mentions it twice: The whole armor of God.

¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

When you think you can’t stand another moment, God says in the next verse… Stand

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

How? with truth as a belt about your waist.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

There is the belt of truth.

It was the belt which restrains in the soldier’s tunic and from which his sword hung and which gave him freedom of movement.

Others may guess and grope; the Christian moves freely and quickly because he knows the truth.

They would tuck their clothes in and move more freely

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

Put on righteousness as a breastplate. As a protection, the breastplate covers the heart; so much to your righteousness that covers your heart.

When a man is clothed in righteousness, he is invincible. Words are no defense against accusations, but a good life is.

Once a man accused Plato of certain crimes. “Well then,” said Plato, “we must live in such a way as to prove that his accusations are a lie.”

The only way to meet the accusations against Christianity is to show how good a Christian can be.

Next are your shoes and boots, the protection of your feet

¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

or Proclaim the Word of God

There are the sandals. Having your feet prepared for battle, having yourself ready to run for Christ

Sandals were the sign of one equipped and ready to move.

The sign of the Christian is that he is eager to be on the way to share the gospel with others who have not heard it.

They were like cleats with spikes in the bottom pointing back. When pushed against, they didn’t give; they Held Their Ground!!!

There is the shield.

¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

The word shield Paul uses is not that for the comparatively small round shield; it is that for the great oblong shield which the heavily armed warrior wore.

One of the most dangerous weapons in ancient warfare was the fiery dart.

It was a dart tipped with tow dipped in pitch. The pitch-soaked tow was set afire, and the dart was thrown. If it splattered on you, it would give you 2nd and 3rd degree burns.

The great oblong shield was made of two sections of wood, glued together, and laminated

When the shield was presented, the dart sank into the wood and the flame was put out.

Faith can deal with the darts of temptation.

With Paul, faith is always complete trust in Christ.

When we walk close with Christ, we are safe from temptation.

 

As we’ve seen in Hebrews Chapter 11 Sunday morning it’s all about faith in God and trust in who we put our faith in

In all things, take faith as a shield, for with it you will be able to quench the flaming darts of the evil one.

¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

There is salvation for a helmet.

Salvation is not something which looks back only.

The salvation which is in Christ gives us forgiveness for the sins of the past and strength to conquer sin in the days to come.

That’s what baptism represents. Death, burial, and resurrection,

Buried with Him in death. Raised to walk a new life.

Are you walking that new life or still living the old one?

¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

There is the sword; and the sword is the word of God.

The word of God is at once our weapon of defense against sin and our weapon of attack against the sins of the world.

Oliver Cromwell. Or Ironsides fought with a sword in one hand and a Bible in the other. We can never win God’s battles without God’s book.

Oliver Cornwell was a controversial but influential person in British history. He helped lead the army to victory during the English Civil War and the Second Civil War and was then selected to lead the country as a Lord Protector. His men wore armor where they got the name of Ironsides, but he was a devout Christian, and he wouldn’t fight without the word of God, and he was very victorious in his battles

And then he tells you what the sword of the Spirit is:

¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; It’s your Bible

Can’t live in the will of God outside the Word of God.

Make sure you have a weapon, and Jesus even told his disciples the night before his crucifixion. And he’s actually talking about a real, true physical weapon. I’m talking about the Word of God

 Luke 22:36 Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.

 Be well armed with the word of God, and how do you get that? By getting in Bible study, by getting to church every chance you get

 Be armed with the word of God

Know your weapons. Your weapon is the word of God, and you need to put on the whole armor of God

Finally, Paul comes to the greatest weapon of all–and that is prayer.

We need to look at a few things that he says about prayer.

¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints–

(a) It must be persistent. Our tendency is so often to pray only in the great crises of life; but it is from daily prayer that the Christian will find daily strength.

(b) It must be intense. Limp prayer never got a man anywhere. Prayer demands the attention of every faculty upon God.

(c) It must be unselfish. The Jews had a saying, “Let a man unite himself with the community in his prayers.” I think that often our prayers are too much for ourselves and too little for others.

We must learn to pray as much for others and with others as for ourselves.

As Alan said Sunday night, having problems of our own, and then you have one person having one problem, and they call and say, ” Hey, pray for me then another, and then another one. And as I said, my kid from the children’s home, Johnny, is facing cancer. And Tim Croft, and God is using both of them, in ways only He can.

 Charles Spurgeon said I would rather teach one man to pray than 10 men to preach

 18 has 4 ‘alls ‘:

¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints–

1. Praying always – pray regularly.
2. with all supplication in the Spirit – pray correctly.
3. with all perseverance – pray persistently.
4. for all saints – pray inclusively.

Keep praying in the Spirit at every crisis with every kind of prayer and desperate plea to God.

To that end, be sleepless in your persevering prayer for all God’s sacred people. And then he says to pray for him, verse 19

Finally, Paul asks for the prayers of his friends for himself.

And he asks not for comfort or for peace but that he may yet be allowed to proclaim God’s secret, that his love is for all men.

¹⁹ and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,

Pray for me that I may be allowed to speak with open mouth. This is a prayer that most preachers pray or should pray, and boldly to make known the secret of the gospel, for which I am a messenger in a chain.

Pray that I may have freedom to declare it, as I ought to speak.

Any success I have had here is because of prayer. The way to have more blessings is through prayer. Sermon success is a direct result of prayer, not skill. The way I can stay in the ministry is not to feel confident that since I’ve done it many years so far that I always will…I need your prayers!

²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

We do well to remember that every Christian leader and every Christian preacher needs his people to uphold his hands in prayer.

Seek His face before we serve Him.

Worship Him before we work for Him.

Pray first, and then serve.

Pray first, and then preach.

Pray first, and then make a decision.

Speak through me! Please!!!

A preacher’s prayer:

Lord, help me get out of the way;

Lord help me not make it about me;

Lord help me refrain from being the hero of every sermon.

I am flawed.

I am weak.

I’m just the messenger…

the servant of His great promises.

Let me decrease and let Jesus increase.

Let people forget about me and always remember. Jesus!!!

Amen.

 

1. Pray regularly.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

This doesn’t mean 24 hrs. a day…that’s impossible, and we have other duties and need sleep, etc.

What this does mean is that our heavenly telephone should always be in service, and used often as a first plan of action, not our last resort.

We should never have to start a prayer with “Lord, we come into your presence…” because you never left His presence in the first place!

We should wake up to prayer, and before our feet hit the floor, recognize the One who has given us another day, and as we get up and begin, we should begin it with Him, and not just rush past Him into our day.

We have so much to accomplish that we MUST take time to pray. It’s time well spent, and since you can’t out-give God, do yourself a favor and take time to pray!

Traveling time is a great time to pray and worship.

Through the day, decisions will need to be made, challenges will arise, temptations will present themselves.

Walking with God means sharing life with Him, not just Sundays with Him.

We should seek Him even in small decisions, habitually. If we would ask Him to help us find our keys, He will remind us that they are in our hands, and by the way, our glasses are on our face!

Joshua defeated Jericho; he and the people were filled with self-confidence, and didn’t seek the Lord against the little village of Ai…they would be a piece of cake, right? Only a small delegation was sent, and 36 men lost their lives!

Joshua got back on his knees, and God revealed the problem to him and how to win that battle. And God would have revealed that before, just as he did after, and they wouldn’t have died!

When we fail to seek the Lord, we are headed for trouble!

Maybe you’ve driven that way as well. Not nodding off, but zoning out mentally unless something happens to awaken your attention.

When I think of praying without ceasing, I think it means that, on at least a subconscious level, you are always in a spirit of prayer, even if you don’t actually pray a prayer until something comes to your attention, which should be more often than not!

We do a variety of things all day, but are we aware of the fact that God is in the same room and thinking of us, even when we haven’t been thinking of Him?

We need to experience God in life, not just in church!

1. Pray regularly…
2. Pray correctly.

The disciples never asked Jesus to teach them to preach, but to teach them to pray!

We pray to the Father, through the Spirit, in Jesus’ name.

“Our Father, which art in Heaven…” [not dear Jesus!]

We are in the throne room of the Creator of the universe!   Our Father.  Abba Father. Daddy God.

But we pray in Jesus’ name because that’s the only basis by which we can be heard.

He is our high priest, and allows us access to the Most Holy Place, the throne of grace!

And we pray in the Spirit, or through the Spirit.

Jude 1:20 (NKJV) But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

The Spirit helps to give us the words, and when there are no words, pray without words but from our heart with groanings which cannot be uttered!

Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Ever been there, I have…

You pray through the Spirit; the Spirit takes it to Jesus; Jesus gives it to the Father, and look what you’ve got: you’ve got attention to the very throne room of grace to the one that created everything.

I had a prayer closet…a special place only for that. And I’ve stopped rushing into prayer. Sometimes I’ll take a few minutes to even begin, while I wait on the Spirit. “Be still and know that I am God.”

The Spirit helps when we don’t know the right words to say to God. It also helps when we don’t know the will of God. We pray so much for our will…we should listen to the next verse…

Romans 8:27And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

I’m thankful for the prayers that God answers!

1. Pray regularly…
2. Pray correctly.
3. Pray persistently.

Some Christians just Pray a simple prayer and let it go, but to really make things happen, you don’t let go until the job is done!

Ask, Seek, and Knock. The verb tense is you keep on and on.

Jesus gave a couple of parables [Friend at Midnight / Unjust Judge] about not giving up praying until you get results, when it comes to things that you know are God’s will, such as a person being saved, or you getting victory over a sin.

Now, when it’s our will, like Paul wanting a healing, you can let it rest if the Lord reveals you need to accept it.

George Mueller prayed 52 years for a man to be saved, and it happened after he died!

Our timing is not the same as God’s. Now, why would God delay an answer to prayer?

• patience – we live in an instant-everything world. God wants us to wait on Him.
• purity – when God doesn’t grant an answer I know to be in His will, I must stop and examine my life. Are my prayers being heard, or is sin in the way?

Psalm 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

Is God pleased to bless me?

• promotion – sometimes God intends to grant our request, but only once we are spiritually mature enough to handle it and receive that answer. [Sometimes God says no, sometimes slow, sometimes go, and sometimes GROW!]

When your 4-year-old asks for a shotgun, you may think ahead to the day when you will indeed give him one…but that day is not today!

1. Pray regularly…
2. Pray correctly.
3. Pray persistently.
4. Pray inclusively.

We pray a lot about ourselves, but prayer is supposed to be about each other as well. You’re not the only one in this war. You may have it tough, but some have it tougher!

Samuel said to Israel, “God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you.” [1 Sam. 12:23]

I pray for each of you. Do you pray for me?

WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS
What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee; Thou wilt find a solace there.

Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear
May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayer
Rapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there.

We are Christian soldiers, and we can sharpen our skills and equip ourselves with the right tools and armor, but it all begins on our knees! Otherwise, it’s just empty armor.

Goliath Must Fall by Louie Giglio

Further instructions to put on the whole Armor of God.

Our armor is made of truth. Jesus has given us His righteousness; we have the gospel of peace in place, we have the shield of faith, we have the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit of the word of God; our armor isn’t the old clunky Armour of King Saul; that armor’s man-made and only slows us down. We were not designed to walk around in man-made armor and still be effective giants’ slayers. Our armor is God-made. It was forged in the fires of His holiness; it was handed to us by the power of His Spirit.

It is available for us to wear anytime we wish.

All that is required of us is to put it on.

Calvary Baptist Church, October 4, 2026, Wednesday Night.

Healing of the Capernaum Demoniac.

Miracles of Jesus:

(Mark 1:21-28; the story is also recorded in Luke 4:33-37)

Summary: In this section of Mark’s Gospel, Mark draws our attention to the wonder and amazement of the people as they see the authority with which Jesus taught, and as they witness Jesus’ power over demons and disease. As we put our faith in Christ and walk with Him, He continues to amaze us.

I love dad jokes. I had an uncle, JD Swann, and he always had jokes, and they were what we call dad jokes today. But they were great.

We always loved it when he showed up to tell us his jokes. I text Shane all the time, and I tell him this is an Uncle Dee joke, and it reminds me of my uncle.

So here we go: Did you hear about the magician who did magic with chocolate? I heard he had loads of Twix up his sleeve.

Once a magician was doing a magic show in Mexico. As he was doing a trick, he said, “Uno, dos,” and then disappeared without a “trace.”

What do you call a magic owl? HOOdini.

What Jesus does here is not a magic trick but the power and the authority of God

I have a ton of card tricks I can do or used to do, and I’ve never shared how to do them with anyone until just a few years ago we were up at Big Canoe, and I shared them with Christian Busby, my nephew, or rather My great nephew and they are just what I called them: card tricks

In 1983, when David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear on live TV, everyone rightly concluded it was just an optical illusion and a manipulation of the TV cameras.

When we see the magician pull the rabbit out of the hat, we know it had to somehow come out of the table.

With our scientific and rational minds, we have reduced everything to a reasonable process or a reasonable explanation.

When Jesus showed up on the scene in the 1st Century, Roman-occupied Israel, the people of that day tried to do the same thing – they tried to reduce Jesus to some earthly, human, reasonable explanation.

But Jesus cannot be put in any human, earthly, reasonable category or box.

Jesus was and is God in the flesh, and He was a man of wonder and amazement. In the part of the story from the Gospel of Mark that we want to look at tonight, Mark wants us to see that Jesus was a man of wonder and amazement.

Twice in this section, Mark reports the reaction of the people who witnessed what Jesus was saying and doing, and what were their reactions?

Verse 22 says: “They were astonished,” and verse 27 says: “They were amazed.”

Before we jump into today’s section and learn what it was about Jesus that brought such wonder and amazement, let’s do a brief review.

Mark’s Gospel began with the opening statement

Mark 1:1 ¹ The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

This was the good news about Jesus being the Messiah, and more than that, He was God Himself in the flesh.

To back up that claim, Mark immediately offered the fulfillment of prophecy as verification.

Mark 1:2-3  ² As it is written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.” ³ “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.’ “

Isaiah 40:3 ³ The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.

Malachi 3:1 ¹ “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the LORD of hosts.

So, Mark talks about John the Baptist and how the prophecy has been fulfilled

Before the Messiah was to arrive, first a messenger had to come and prepare the way.

That forerunner was John the Baptist, who burst upon the scene preaching and baptizing in the wilderness in the pattern and image of an Old Testament prophet.

Mark then reported that after John the Baptist started his ministry, Jesus showed up and was baptized by John, and as that baptism occurred, the other members of the Godhead showed up.

Mark 1:10-11 ¹⁰ And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. ¹¹ Then a voice came from heaven, (God the Father said This is) “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

So, we have the Holy Trinity right here in this one verse: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

Mark said that the Spirit immediately took Jesus into the wilderness where He overcame the temptations of Satan.

Finally, Mark jumped about 6 months to 1 year ahead in the ministry of Jesus when He moved from Judea to Galilee and immediately called the 4 fishermen to be His first disciples, and promised to make them into fishers of people, or as Jesus put it, fishers of men.

And we saw that in last week’s miracle of the casting of the Nets and catching of the fish and the calling of Peter, Andrew, James and John

Those 4 men dropped everything and followed Jesus.

So far, we have seen the wedding at Cana of Galilee where Jesus turned water into wine

The healing of the nobleman’s son

The healing of the man who was crippled by this pool of Bethesda

And then last week we saw the calling of Peter and how we need to launch out into the deep and be obedient and cast out our nets, and then you see a net full of fish in God’s plan gives more than they ask

All the miracles of Christ point to the future; they point to truths that are listed in the book of Revelation, e.g., the raising of the dead tells us that all death one day will be done away the healing of the sick and the provision of food tell us that someday all suffering will be done away with. We first saw Jesus supplying a need: turning water into wine. This also tells us that God will forever have power to supply our need.

But now this week we see that the casting out of demons signals God’s invasion of Satan and his ultimate defeat. And Jesus has authority and power over all other powers!

With that brief review in mind, we are ready to explore today’s section.

Mark chapter 1 continues the story in verse 21: They went into Capernaum…

Capernaum was one of the most important towns in Galilee, and therefore it was an appropriate place for Jesus to begin His ministry in that region.

Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee and was on an important trade route.

Capernaum had a thriving fishing industry and had a seawall that ran for half a mile along the shore that was 8 feet wide and had piers extending from it 100 feet out into the lake.

Incidentally, this account of Jesus’ ministry in Capernaum bears all the marks of being a personal reminiscence, which supports the evidence that Mark’s source for this gospel was most definitely the apostle Peter.

The story continues: They went into Capernaum, and right away He (Jesus) entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach.

If you were to visit Capernaum today, you can visit the remains of a 2nd-century synagogue that sits on the ruins of the 1st-century synagogue where Jesus taught.

There is also an interesting inscription on a pillar that says that a Roman centurion donated the funds for the construction of that synagogue.

In this section of Mark’s Gospel, Mark draws our attention to the wonder and amazement of the people as they see the authority with which Jesus taught, and as they witness Jesus’ power over demons and disease.

As we put our faith in Christ and walk with Him, we can continue to be amazed ourselves.

So, Mark begins by calling attention to Jesus’ teaching and, most importantly, the people’s response to His teaching. Mark says,

Mark 1:21-28 (NKJV) ²¹ Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.

Have you ever wondered where synagogues came from, because we don’t find them in the OT?

Synagogues came into being in the 6th century BC during the Babylonian exile.

Before that, all worship and teaching was done in the temple, but after the Babylonians destroyed the temple and took the Jews into exile, they began meeting in small groups.

Even later, after the Jews returned to their homeland and rebuilt the temple, they continued to meet in synagogues.

The word synagogue simply means “gathering” or “assembly,” which is also what the word “church” means.

Jewish synagogues were assembly halls where the Torah was read and explained.

Sabbath services included only three things: prayer, reading from God’s Word, and explanation of God’s Word – there was no music, singing, or sacrifices.

The temple was the place of worship and sacrifice, and the synagogue was the place of reading and instruction.

Synagogue services allowed for any qualified man to deliver the exposition of the Old Testament passage that was read that Sabbath.

That privilege was often given to a visiting rabbi, as it was with Jesus here in this verse.

• Jesus’ ministry was marked by – Teaching – Healing – Casting out of demons

Those were the three elements that distinguished Him in His first-century ministry

As Mark tells us about what happened that day in the synagogue, he was not concerned with what Jesus taught, but was concerned about how Jesus taught and the reaction of the people.

So, we don’t know what Jesus was preaching in the Synagogue in Capernaum. History didn’t record what He said, but people were astounded by it. According to verse 22

²² And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

This wasn’t so much a criticism of the scribes as it was a contrast in the uniqueness of Jesus.

The scribes were the official teachers of the law and, as members of certain schools and having studied under certain masters, they would mostly dispense their scribal traditions.

Their teaching went like this: “Rabbi Hillel says…but on the other hand, Rabbi Gamaliel says…and of course, let’s not forget what Rabbi so-and-so said.”

That’s not how Jesus taught – when Jesus spoke, He didn’t need any authority beyond Himself, and so He spoke with independence and cited no authorities and quoted no experts.

I love quoting from other preachers and songwriters and poems and commentaries. Jesus didn’t have to do that. There was nothing that He taught that He didn’t already know and have complete authority over

In the Sermon on the Mount, we hear Him saying: “You have heard it said…but I say to you…”

Rather than focusing on the traditions of men, Jesus preached God’s Word and explained the Law and the prophets with personal authority directly from God the Father.

Can you see why the people in that synagogue were astonished that Jesus taught with such authority in contrast to the way the scribes taught?

Jesus’ speech was reminiscent of the Old Testament prophets, who would introduce their statements and revelations not by saying, “in my studied opinion,” but by saying, “THUS SAITH THE LORD.”

When I first started teaching my small group, I asked them if they were OK with my teaching:

And I ask you the same thing. If you have a doubt or concern or even a question, please have the freedom to come to me, and let’s reason together; let’s talk it out. If you don’t agree with me or if you have a question about what I have to say, I’m here

And as I’ve told my small group, if you have a question and I don’t know the answer, I promise you next week I’ll have more information on that subject than you’ll ever want to know. Iron sharpens iron. So come to me with the questions, come to me with the complaints, and let’s work it out

All I just want to do is what will help you and help this church family to grow stronger in the Lord.

My small group said we used to get together, and we’d read a verse, and we’d say I think this means this. And then You came in here, and You said This is what the word of God says, and this is what the word of God means, and this is how you apply it to your life. Not based on tradition, not based on what I want or what I believe, but based on what the word of God itself says.

And according to Chuck Swindoll, that’s our job as ministers. What does the Word of God say? What does the Word of God mean, and how do I apply that to myself?

Here was the Lord Himself, the Word of God incarnate, rising to speak in the synagogue on theological matters.

When He opened His holy mouth, everyone present was stopped in their tracks, filled with amazement, and pierced by a sense of dread to hear the truth proclaimed with superior knowledge.

Even from the age of 12, when He did that in the temple, they were amazed and rightfully so.

That is how we should respond every time we hear the Word of God

We are not listening to scribes; we are not listening to preachers. We are not listening to theologians.

Our hearts should be filled with holy dread and awe before the Word of God

But if this kind of teaching with new authority wasn’t only enough to cause astonishment, Mark immediately reported that a man with an evil spirit interrupted the service.

Immediately, the text transitions to the event that followed Jesus’ teaching. Still in the context of the synagogue, Mark tells us there was a man with an unclean spirit,

Unclean spirits are more than demons– more than the voices in our heads. In today’s scripture, Jesus finds the unclean spirit in the church

²³ Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, ²⁴ saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are–the Holy One of God!”

I believe Alan was spot on this morning. I believe there was somebody in this house that needed to accept Christ as their Savior, and they may well have had an unclean spirit holding them back

This demon, this unclean spirit, was in the very house of the Lord.

Listen, just because you’re in church doesn’t mean that Satan’s not going to attack you here. This is his favorite hunting ground; this is the front line of the battle.

Have you ever noticed – in the OT, the idea of demonic possession is extremely rare. Have you ever noticed there are very few references to the demonic world throughout the Old Testament?

In later church history, there is also limited reference to it. But while Jesus was on the earth, all hell broke loose, and the demonic representatives and ambassadors of Satan himself were everywhere oppressing people.

Later we will see Jesus announces the significance of His work of demon exorcism by saying to His hearers,

Luke 11:20 ²⁰ But if I cast out demons with the finger of God,  (which is a metaphor for the HOLY SPIRIT), surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. The kingdom of God means the authority and power of God, and He’s saying that has come upon you and me.

I have always found it fascinating to note that if you look in Mark’s Gospel and the other Gospels, it seems like the first ones to fully recognize the identity of Christ are the demons.

Before the people recognized Him in His fullness, the ambassadors of hell instantly recognized Him.

The possessed man was in the synagogue, and when Jesus turned His attention to him, this man with the unclean spirit began to scream, saying, “LET US ALONE! GET AWAY FROM US.” I question, why the plural?

Is it because the man was filled with many demons, as we’ll see in the coming weeks? Such was the case when Jesus met the man who came out of the Tombs. Jesus said, “WHAT IS YOUR NAME?” and the demonic-filled man responded, “I AM LEGION FOR WE ARE MANY”

Or was this singular demon speaking on behalf of himself and the man he had possessed?

We are living in a day and age where much attention is being placed on mental health. Rightly so, I might add. There are some modern readers today who may see this narrative and assume the man had some sort of mental illness. I have family members who have some severe mental disabilities. I know what that looks like, and I also believe in some of their cases it is some form of demonic possession

It’s important that modern readers not see an unclean spirit or an evil demon and translate it to modern mental illness.

There are examples in scripture where people have medical problems, blindness, for example, and Jesus cures them and helps them to see.

God can help us with our mental issues through medication

Just as medication can help with our high blood pressure, or diabetes, or other medical issues

Jesus knew the man in the synagogue needed more than a pill

Jesus knew the man in the synagogue was possessed by evil

What is evil? I believe evil is simply the absence of the Spirit of the Lord

²³ Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, ²⁴ saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are–the Holy One of God!”

Unmasking the True Identity.

Just as darkness is the absence of light

God is in all — of all — and all in all

But sometimes God shines more brightly than at other times. Other times the shadows of evil grow longer.

Darkness enters all our lives, at some point, in some way.

But the light of Christ helps us keep the darkness at bay.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness,” As one man said, “only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that”

The Love of God Protects – Defends – Preserves us

The Love of God drives out the evil of hate

An unclean spirit is more than a demon possession. More than evil. Sometimes It’s the voices in our heads.

And they don’t sound like a reverbed echoing voice in a raspy tone. The voices in my head sound like this right now. It’s my voice, as the voices in your head sound like your voice, and sometimes, sometimes that’s how Satan works on us. Don’t give in to that. Don’t listen to him. Tell him Get behind me, Satan. Leave me alone And as the Bible says, resist the devil, and he must flee

James 4:6-10  ⁶ But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” ⁷ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

He will flee, but only for a season, and I promise you he’ll be back, and when he comes back you have to resist again and again and again

But instead of resisting the devil, we hear those voices, and sometimes we surrender to those voices, and they cause us to do ourselves harm

The voice that says I’m a failure

The voice that tells us our family forgets us

The voice that says we’re disappointments

The voice that says we’re not good enough

There’s a voice that tells us we would really be happy if only – if only we had this, or that, if only this would happen, then we will finally be happy and content

These voices are demons, and they pull us away from God.

Come Out! Jesus says to the voices in our heads.

Don’t listen to those other voices, Jesus says. Listen to me, Jesus says. I am the Good Shepherd, He says. Follow him. Demons have nothing in common with Christ.

As Alan was saying this morning, there are two different realms – the godly realm and the ungodly realm. There’s the wide way that leads to destruction, and then there’s the narrow way that leads to redemption

The realm that is satanic and demonic and the realm of God

The only relationship these demons have with Christ is one of conflict

“WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO WITH YOU?” Nothing, except now they were recognizing their judgment and fearing it.

The demons knew they were under the sentence of God

They knew that when the Son of God would appear on the earth, their doom would be certain

Christ was coming to bind the strong man, to bind Satan with all his hellish powers

Unclean spirits are more than demons– more than the voices in our heads. In today’s scripture, Jesus finds the unclean spirit in church —

Not walking alongside the road

Not in a village somewhere

But in the synagogue, in church

Unclean spirits can be found anywhere

These satanic demons were telling Jesus to leave, and then they made a strange statement – “I KNOW WHO YOU ARE—THE HOLY ONE OF GOD!”

What was going on here?

In the Old Testament, there were power struggles between men and angels. The idea was that if one could get his adversary to reveal his name, it was like an act of submission.

It was like saying “uncle” in a battle

When JACOB wrestled with the angel, he said, “Tell me your name”

He was asking him to submit

So, the demons tried one last approach to get rid of Christ

They revealed His identity, thinking that if they named Him properly, they could defeat Him

“We know who You are. You’re the Holy One of God”

We come to church like the man in the synagogue. We recognize Jesus, and turn to him to cleanse our unclean spirits.

When we invite Jesus into a holy place like church, we invite Jesus to drive out the unclean spirits. Where two or more are gathered, the holy spirit is there, shining a light into the darkness; filling our dark and tired souls with the light of the Lord.

Sometimes, when we are at church, our spirits are cleansed and restored, and we don’t even realize it.

He cried out, 24

²⁴ saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are–the Holy One of God!”

Demon possession is a subject that presents many difficulties for our modern minds.

Many people of our time try to dismiss this phenomenon as an outgrowth of superstition.

I believe this trans stuff is demon possession. I believe homosexuality is demon possession. I see how they’re trying to kill babies in the womb, and I see that as demon possession. The devil’s trying to convince the mind and the people of things that are not of God, and all these things are destroying the chance of children being brought into this world the same as they did in Moses ‘ day and when Herod was trying to kill the babies, when he was going after Jesus, doing away with the Christians one child at a time before they’re even born

There’s a great book titled Bondage Breakers by Neil Anderson. If you’re struggling with Satanic problems, I highly encourage you to read that book

There are at least three extremes that we want to avoid as we wrestle with demon possession.

One: the extreme suggests that demons don’t exist and never existed, but that’s not true.

Two: the extreme suggests they exist, but that we don’t need to pay any attention to them.

The third and opposite extreme suggests they exist, and we must constantly be concerned about them.

The truth of the matter is that there is a spiritual realm and that there are evil forces at work – Eph. 6:12 – For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.

But we need not obsess over them and their power, because we can put on the armor of God

1 John 4:4 ⁴ You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Mark reveals that Jesus’ power and authority are clearly greater than that of the evil one(s).

Mark’s Gospel will reveal over and over again that although God’s kingdom and the dominion of Satan conflict, God’s anointed One has power over Satan and has come to set people free from evil and evil spirits.

Demonic representatives of Satan seemed to oppress people everywhere Jesus went.

But let’s notice what Mark told us about this encounter between Jesus and a demon.

Can you imagine how startling it must have been to have Jesus’ presentation interrupted by the cry of a man possessed by a demon?

I don’t know what this man sounded like as this demon spoke up through him.

I don’t know if it was a loud voice or a raspy, sinister voice that uttered these words: “What do you have to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God.”

James, the brother of Jesus, tells us: James 2:19 ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe–and tremble!

They know who God is, and they know what God can do.

²⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”

In response to this yelling and protesting, Jesus finally rebuked the demons, saying, “Be quiet.”

Or as Bugs Bunny would say, Naaaaaaaaaaa shut up!

Jesus said to these demons, “Shut up. Shut your mouths. I don’t want to hear any more from you. Come out of him.”

This demon wanted nothing to do with Jesus, and he knew what Jesus was there to do.

So, Mark wrote: Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!”

Then Mark says, verse 26
²⁶ And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, (his last trembling of strength) he came out of him.

Jesus wanted to silence that demon because He didn’t want testimony from such an unholy source, even though the demon’s testimony was accurate.

Jesus also didn’t want His identity clearly revealed until the right time.

And so, Jesus just gave the command: “Be silent, and come out of him.” Jesus didn’t touch the man or restrain him, but just uttered the words, and it happened. That’s the authority and power Jesus has

Can you imagine witnessing someone who possessed that kind of power?

With one final dramatic protest, the demon caused the man’s body to convulse, and the demon let out a final scream as he departed unwillingly.

One commentary says it was like an epileptic seizure

The demon had no choice but to obey the command of Jesus, the Son of God.

And then:

²⁷ Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”

Jesus did not act like a magician

He did not shake and rattle a bunch of beads and play games of healing, saying: “Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now?”

He did not use any of those tricks we see with the charlatans

Jesus simply spoke, and the demons obeyed because they knew He had authority over them

And what was the result? Mark wrote:  They were all amazed, and so they began to ask each other, “What is this?

A new teaching with authority!

He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

Mark concludes this section, saying,
²⁸ And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

The people who witnessed all this were filled with awe and astonishment at the authority with which Jesus taught and with the power of His command.

They had never seen anything like this before – He taught like no one they had ever heard, and He possessed and used authority and power like no one they had ever seen.

Demons recognized Him and were terrified of Him, and the crowds who witnessed Him were amazed and quickly spread the news about Jesus throughout the whole area.

We know how quickly bad news can spread, so we shouldn’t be surprised by how quickly this kind of news spread.

Is there somethings need to come out of us tonight?

The Old Testament tells us lepers, those with leprosy, had to shout UNCLEAN to keep people from coming too close to them

What would it be like if we had to call out our sins so those around us

If and I know we have sinned in this last week and we are Unclean

• I lied last week – Unclean
• I talked about somebody last week – Unclean
• I cussed somebody out last week – Unclean
• The man or woman I was with is not mine – Unclean
• I cheated on my tax return – Unclean
• I called in sick last week and went fishing – Unclean
• I spent all my bill money at the casino or playing the lottery– Unclean

–I am glad today that Jesus can clean us up

–I am glad today Jesus still has all Power and Authority

–I am glad today that we are covered by His Mercy and His Grace

As Jesus was preaching in a synagogue in Capernaum, a man who was possessed by a demon began shouting at Jesus. Jesus healed the man and news of the miracle spread quickly throughout the area of Galilee,

This makes me think of the people – the men – who witnessed this. I can imagine them saying, “Did you hear what happened?”

• What happened?
• This new guy, Jesus, was talking
• What did he say?
• He was just talking; it was different than what we usually hear. But then this guy started yelling at him. He called Jesus the Holy One of God
• What did Jesus do?
• He just said, ‘BE SILENT, AND COME OUT OF HIM!
• And then the guy yelled, and an evil spirit came out of him
• Next time Jesus is in town, you should come and see him. Come and see the man of Galilee

We are told through the text the man had an “Unclean Spirit.” Tradition describes it as an evil spirit. Nearly two dozen times in the Gospels, people are said to have unclean or evil spirits in them.

The unclean spirit identified Jesus by name, and then called him the HOLY ONE OF GOD. Jesus says, “Be silent.”

Throughout the first chapters of Mark, Jesus tells people to be quiet, not just those possessed by an unclean spirit.

He heals people and then tells them to keep it a secret, but they can’t. Jesus can control the unclean spirit, but he can’t control people talking about him.

• Jesus heals, and people want to tell others about it
• Jesus heals the broken-hearted and unclean, and people want to talk about it
• Jesus changes lives, and people want to proclaim it
• If every voice were still, the rocks and stones themselves would sing God’s praises

Our Jesus is truly amazing and wonderful – the words of His mouth and the touch of His hand were stronger than life and death, illness and demons!

Notice one final thing – Mark again emphasized that Jesus didn’t permit the demons to speak, because they knew who He was and it wasn’t time for everyone to know who He was.

Jesus caused wonder and amazement because He had complete authority and power over demons and disease.

Who is Jesus, this man who caused such wonder and amazement?

The demon identified Him as “The Holy One of God.”

This title “The Holy One of God” is found in only one other place in the NT.

1. In John 6, when some of Jesus’ disciples were turning away from Jesus because of some of His hard teaching, Jesus asked His apostles if they also wanted to leave.
2. The Bible says: John 6:68-69 ⁶⁸But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” or “The Holy One of God.”

I hope that all of us here today have come to the same conclusion as Simon Peter.

I hope that all of us have come to believe that only Jesus has the words of eternal life – that Jesus is, in fact, the way and the truth and the life.

I hope that all of us believe and know that Jesus is the “Holy One of God.”

And as the Holy One of God, He is the spotless Lamb of God, the One who takes away the sins of the world.

We must put all our faith in Christ, and we must determine to live our whole lives for Him.

There is no One more worthy to receive our adoration and dedication than Jesus.

What we do need is to be reminded of the power of Jesus to say, “Come out,” to the unclean spirits

We need to be reminded that Jesus can restore you!

Jesus can drive out the unclean spirits and make us clean again

Make us clean, Jesus. Make us clean

Calvary Baptist Church October 4, 2026 Sunday night

Launch Out Into The Deep

 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 ²⁶ For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. ²⁷ But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; ²⁸ and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, ²⁹ that no flesh should glory in His presence. ³⁰ But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God–and righteousness and sanctification and redemption–
³¹ that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

Where is it written? The Apostle Paul was preaching from the book of Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 9:23-24 ²³ Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; ²⁴ But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, (God, Jesus The LORD) That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD.

One of my favorite pastimes is fishing. I love to fish, and the miracle we’re going to look at this week is Jesus Christ himself going fishing for disciples and turning them into fishers of men.

On this day, Christ was the fisherman, and He caught men to do his eternal work

“The Ministry of Availability”

Petra Lyrics 1987

I Am Available Lyrics

I don’t have much to offer you, I don’t have much to give

 There’s so much I may never be as long as I may live

 And I may never be all I want to be although I’ll always try

 But if you choose me, to use me, there’s just one reason why

I am available, I will go when you say go

 I will stop when you say no

 My whole life was incomplete, till I laid it at your feet

 So, use me as you will, I am available

I’m not the most dependable, sometimes you can’t rely

There’s no excuse, there is no defense, there’s only one reply

I am available, I will go when you say go

I will stop when you say no

My whole life was incomplete till I laid it at your feet

So, use me as you will, I am available

I know that my ability is not your main concern

It’s my availability and willingness to learn

I am available, I will go when you say go

I am available, I will stop when you say no

My whole life was incomplete till I laid it at your feet

 So, use me as you will, I am available

INTRODUCTION: God has a ministry for every one of His children … NOT JUST the Pastor. Preacher, or Deacon. EVERY Christian has a ministry, every one of YOU!

Not all will be great soul-winners, BUT we all have a part in leading others to Christ.

We are ALL a link in the chain.

For some, it’s inviting, bringing, personal testimony, teaching, praying, Nursery, Children’s Church, on and on.

Giving of funds so others can go, like Don and Carla, or the Operation Christmas Child.

I’m not physically able to go to the mission field and pass out Bibles, but we can give the money and help Don and Carla do just that.

I can’t go all over the world giving kids little boxes of gifts for Christmas, but Operation Christmas Child can, and you can come out here once a month on a Thursday and help pack boxes and help get stuff arranged to send those gifts out, or we can give money to help do that. That’s as much worship as raising your hand during worship.

If you’ve ever served doing these things, don’t stop. Don’t let people discourage you from doing what God’s called you to do, and you’re available to do it, so do it.

I want to talk to you about the “Ministry of Availability”. Whatever ministry God has given you (and He HAS) … you need to be AVAILABLE to DO it.

Before God will use anybody, they have to be AVAILABLE to be used.

NOBODY was consistently and mightily used of the Lord in the Bible … UNLESS … they were first willing to be made AVAILABLE.

EXAMPLE:

• SAMUEL – 1 Samuel 3:4 – “the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I, send me.” SAMUEL was mightily used of God.

WHY? BECAUSE … he was AVAILABLE.

As I’ve mentioned, Jill Briscoe has a book entitled Here am I, Lord, send somebody else. That’s the attitude of most people, but that’s not what God wants. We also see:

• MARY – She was the mother of Jesus. There were 1000’s of virgins in Galilee … perhaps hundreds in Nazareth. BUT … Mary was the one who went down in history.

WHY? NOTICE what Mary said when the angel told her of her chosen ministry –

Luke 1:38 – “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” In other words, “I’m available!” Here am I; use me.

• DISCIPLES – They were mightily used BECAUSE they were AVAILABLE.

Matthew 4:22 – “And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.”

• PAUL – When God called him, he was the worst sinner around, killing or putting into prison as many Christians as he could get his hands on, a blasphemer.

How could God use him so mightily?

LISTEN to what he said after his confrontation with Christ –

Acts 9:6 – “And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” He made himself AVAILABLE to Jesus.

• JESUS – He walked perfectly in the will of God.

WHY? Jesus was AVAILABLE.

As the Son of God, He wanted ONLY to do the will of God. His 1st recorded words showed His availability –

Luke 2:49  And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”

In other words, “I’m being available for God to use me as He wills!”

“But,” you may say, “I’m no Samuel, Mary, Disciple, Paul or Jesus. I’m just ME!

That’s exactly right; you’re you, and you are who God wants to use.

You just have to surrender and let Him. You have to be available. Use whatever talent you have.

God can’t use ME like that! I’m a nobody!”

Sure, He can! Just like Jesus used the little boy to feed 5000 people.

What did the boy have?

All he had were 5 biscuits and 2 sardines!

He didn’t have MUCH, BUT all he did was make it AVAILABLE for Jesus to use.

Make yourself available for God; make yourself available for the ministries around; make yourself available for this church. Because I promise you, we need you!

Jesus took what he had, multiplied it, used it AND there were 12 basketfuls left over!

TURN with me to our text – Luke 5:1-11

NOW let’s look at the END RESULT: the salvation of souls. READ 5:10b.

 10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

OUR STORY – Jesus had just healed Peter’s Mother-in-Law.

He had healed the sick & cast out demons.

The next day He went to a deserted place to rest.

The people flocked to hear Him.

Jesus then went to the cities of Galilee to preach.

They flocked to hear Him there.

NOW … He’s at the Sea of Galilee.

A couple of years ago, at Big Canoe, it was really cold. We always go up the 10^th week of the year, and Brian and I went down and caught our limit in no time, and we came back, and Mother wanted to go catch hers. If I recall, Brian prayed for us before we left the Villa for her to catch her fish, so we took her to the back dock. Within five casts, she had her four fish because she wasn’t feeling good; it was cold, and we prayed God give her fish, and they were there.

Call it what you want; I call it a miracle

The next day it happened again. I thank the Lord for those days.

 “The Ministry of Availability”

Luke 5:1-11 ¹ So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 

Gennesaret (Guh-ness-ah-reht) Means garden of the rich or valley of the riches

In the New Testament, it refers to 3 Interconnected geographical locations on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee between Capernaum and Magdala

Ancient historians like Josephus called it the Paradise of Galilee because its rich soil and warm climate allowed many fruits and crops to grow there.

Alternative Biblical Names

• Sea of Chinnereth (or Chinneroth (Ken-a-roth)): Used in the Old Testament (Numbers 34:11; Joshua 12:3), likely named after an ancient town or because the lake has a harp-like shape (from the Hebrew word kinnor)  Harp and is derived from the ancient Hebrew name, which relates it to the harp-like shape of the adjacent body of water.
• Lake of Gennesaret (Gennesaret):(Guh-ness-ah-reht)
   Used once in the New Testament by Luke (Luke 5:1), named after the flat, fertile plain on the lake’s western shore.
• Sea of Tiberias: (Tie-beer-as) Used by the Apostle John in the New Testament (John 6:1; 21:1), named after the Roman city of Tiberias built on its western shore

All these names, but it was still the Sea of Galilee!!!

It’s like when we used to go up to Lake Lanier, we’d fish in an area called Six-Mile Bridge. It’s still like Lanier. So, we’d say, let’s go up a 6-Mile Bridge and fish. We were still fishing on Lake Lanier; it’s just the area where we were fishing was 6 Mile Bridge

5:1 – They were pressed on Him, Jesus. To do what? “To hear the Word of God”.

Is that why you’re here tonight?

That’s my MISSION, that’s the GOAL, that’s the means to SPIRITUAL GROWTH … the means to SALVATION.

Romans 10:17 – “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

That’s why we invite people to church, pass out tracts, witness, teach Sunday School, pass out little Jesus’ or little Wooden Crosses.

Or little bags with a mustard seed in them to be a witness so people can hear the Word of God.

And the Bible says that builds faith, and that’s our job, not just the preachers or the Sunday School teachers or the deacons.

 It’s everyone’s, every believer.

How does God get the Word out to a lost & dying world?

ANSWER: He uses whatever source is AVAILABLE.

What did Jesus find here?

² and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.
5:2 – Jesus was being pushed into the water by the crowd –

5:1. They were thirsty for the Word of God.

To a preacher, that’s like saying “Sick-em!” to a dog!

Everybody wanted a front row seat.

They must not have been Baptists!

Jesus needed a pulpit.

He sees a boat … in the boat He could be both seen and heard.

Water carries sound really well

 ³ Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

5:3 – Jesus uses Simon’s boat. WHY? BECAUSE it was there!

He didn’t stop there by accident.

He knew Peter was going to be there.

He knew the boat was going to be there,

and He did what needed to be done.

As I’ve said in the past, has it ever occurred to you that nothing has just ever occurred to God? He already knew

It was ready for the Master’s use.

Simon was willing to give of what he had EVEN IF it was a dirty, smelly, old fishing boat. God will use whatever we make AVAILABLE to Him.

Our beat-up old boat…? We needed a boat one time, and God supplied what we needed, but it took some work

From the book Something to Ponder

The Beat-Up Old Boat

Sometimes in the early 1970s, My Dad, my brother, and I, and an uncle were fishing in a private lake. (We had permission to be fishing there) And the bream were biting pretty good. So good that we had an excellent mess in no time. (Mess: A certain amount of fish is what we always called a mess; got a mess of fish).

My Mother’s favorite fish to eat is bream, shell crackers, bluegill, sunfish, or whatever you want to call them; that was the reason we were there was to catch her some fish. (My Dad really liked them too.)

And so did Ben Turner. That’s how Mother got the job with the children’s home as the cook because Mother used to feed Daddy and Ben every night when we were down here building the church

While we were there, we were all wishing we had a boat, oh with a boat, how much more fun could we have, and how many more fish could we get? But we didn’t have a boat, so we had to fish from the bank.

When my Dad thought we had enough for a couple of meals, he said, “Let’s load up,” which meant it was time to go.

When we were loading up the tackle to leave. The last thing I got was the basket of fish out of the water. A man came pulling up and started up a conversation, and then as I brought the basket of fish up:

He said, “How much do you want for those fish?”  My Dads reply was, “They are not for sale.”  The man said, “I will give you five dollars for them.”  My Dads reply was, “They are not for sale.”  Then the man said, “How about ten?”  Understand this was in the early 70s. My uncle said, “Take it.”  My Dads reply was, “They are not for sale.”  The man then said, “Fifteen, and that’s as high as I will go.”  Again, my uncle told my Dad “Take it.”

And again, my Dad’s reply was, “They are not for sale.”

The man got in his old, beat-up truck, backed up, and started to pull out ahead of us. Then he hung his head out the window and yelled, “Twenty dollars and that’s as high as I will go”.

My Dad said, “SOLD for twenty dollars.” The man said, “Follow me.” Sound familiar? I live just up the road, and I will get the money, and you give me the fish.” My dad said he wanted to keep a few for him and my mom for dinner tonight, and we did

When we arrived at his home, my Dad saw an old, beat-up boat beside the house; it had fallen out of a truck while going down the road.

My Dad said, “What do you want for that old beat-up boat?”

Listen, I’m that old beat-up boat. You were that obedient boat, but God looked one day, and he saw worth in you. The story goes on

The man said, “Twenty dollars… and another mess of them bream.”

My Dad stood there for a few minutes and pondered for a while. He never made rash, quick decisions; then he said “SOLD” and gave the man his twenty back and said we would have him another mess of fish tomorrow, and we would pick up the boat.

The next day we did just as my Dad said; we caught another good mess of fish and took them to the man and got the boat.

It was a 14-foot-long boat, plenty deep enough to feel safe in most small lakes. 3 bench seats in the boat and 1 on the front end.

Everything we always wanted.

But the front was bent up, the rail around the front was gone, there was a hole in the back corner, and the handles on the back were gone.

What some people would see as useless and not much good for anything, my Dad saw a fishing boat and years of enjoyment. He and my brother Glenn and I worked for days getting the boat sea-worthy (really lake and pond worthy; I really wouldn’t put this boat in the sea).

My Dad carefully straightened the front down where it belonged, took an aluminum door frame and made new rails to replace the missing ones.

Took what He called refrigerator epoxy and patched the hole in the back, then put a few layers of fiberglass over the hole. He made two new handles out of copper pipe and put a new plywood backboard in for his trolling motor.

Then, with an old flat smoothing iron on one side and a body hammer on the other, He and Glenn reset all the rivets.

Painted the outside, and the old beat-up boat was good to go.

That was some 50 years ago. I recently gave the old boat to my nephew, and now and then it still gets put in the water and fished.

I have a picture of it sticking out of the back of my truck. A few years ago I took it over to Pine Valley Lake and fished with the Truth in Nature boys. God was letting us use that old boat

Over the years, we have improved the old boat: I put anchor tie-downs on it, 2 swivels, and raised, padded seats. A new trolling motor and a depth and fish finder.

I have no idea how many hundreds of times I loaded and unloaded that boat and the number of fish that were caught out of that old beat-up boat.

I often think of myself like that old beat-up boat. I felt as if I was beat up by circumstances beyond my control, beat up emotionally and thrown away; I was here but not good for much. I was getting lower and lower, to the point that I didn’t even see why I needed to be alive.

But GOD, don’t you just love that? But God stepped in and saw something of some value, something that He could get some use out of, someone that He could SAVE. And He did just that.

God looked down, and what I thought was someone that was beyond repair, God saw something of value. And as David said in Psalms 139, that I am “wonderfully made” and so are you!

Psalms 139:14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.

But I think our problem today is we live in a disposable world; we have paper plates and cups, so when we are done eating, we just trash them.

We have disposable gloves, disposable cameras, disposable diapers, disposable tissues instead of handkerchiefs (I guess the tissues and diapers are a good thing to trash),

and even now we have disposable people.

I’m afraid we give up too quickly on people, just because they don’t seem to fit into our way of thinking.

NOTICE – Jesus didn’t DEMAND the use of the boat.

He didn’t just TAKE it …

He “prayed,” i.e., he ASKED.

Peter could have refused.

Jesus doesn’t FORCE us to be an instrument in the process of leading others to Christ.

We are supposed to be a link in the chain, NOT the “missing link”.

He may make us wish we HAD yielded to His will, BUT He won’t force us. He uses only what is made AVAILABLE to Him.

⁴ When He had stopped speaking, now look, He’s done dealing with the multitude. Now He’s dealing with the individual. He always does that. He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

5:4 – NOTICE – 5:3 = “out a little from the land”.

5:4 – “Launch out into the deep.”

LESSON – When we make available what LITTLE we have …

He will lead us into deeper & greater things.

We may be a small crowd right now, but God can increase us and use us if we just make ourselves available and do as He says

Don’t give up if you’re not winning 10 people to the Lord a day or every month or every year.

Don’t give up unless you’re NOT TRYING to win people to the Lord.

Jesus won’t ask you to “Launch out into the deep” UNTIL you first go out “a little from the land”.

Jesus will lead you one step at a time.

James Griffin, pastor of Cross Point City Church in Cartersville, said this recently: Oftentimes this is how faith works: God gives a command and you have to take this step. By taking that step, then this is how God reveals the next step. Psalm 119:105

 Psalm 119:105 (NKJV) Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

 If you’ve ever walked in the woods, you know.

I know we have flashlights today, but there was a time it was a lamp, you know, with a lantern. What you know is that you can only see so far in front of you.

So, as I am walking, I can see far enough to take the next step or the next couple of steps. What I can’t see is what’s way out there.

Unless I take steps to go further, I don’t know what’s there.

So, it’s like the more steps I take, the more that light begins to illuminate the path that my feet are on.

This is what the word is talking about in obedience to the word of God and the commandments of God.

He begins to light our paths that become clear, and this is where God’s trying to take me. Well, this is what God wants next from me. So again, I would say you need to take the first step.

You want to serve God; take the first step

You want to see people coming to this church; invite them, take the first step.

You want to see this church grow; bring people. Take the first step

I’m sure you all have somebody that you know that’s not in church.

Ask them to come sit with you. Ask them to be here with you. Take the first step

You want to see the choir get bigger; get in it. Take the first step. Did my heart so good this morning to see Glenda up in that choir; she took her first step back

You want to see souls saved. Take the first step, witness to people. Give them little crosses, give them little Jesuses, give them little bottles with mustard seed in it, and explain to them that you have to have a little faith. Anything for a witness to open the door, do whatever it takes, whatever little bit of light that God gives you in front of you, take that step.

Launch out into the deep

Every Christian here would LIKE to lead 10 people to the Lord every day. BUT, maybe your ministry isn’t to be that link in the chain the REAPING part.

MAYBE the very thought of leading someone to Christ makes you say, “I just can’t do it!” Maybe not, but you can invite them to come here; you can invite them to a meal, make a friend be a friend, bring a friend to Christ.

Then bring them to church, and maybe that’ll get him to Christ.

If you have to poke a hole in the ceiling and drop them down, do what has to be done to get them to Jesus.

WHAT IS THE KEY?

You’ve got to make yourself AVAILABLE first with what you HAVE. THEN … you can go deeper and further with Him.

BUT … what do you have to do FIRST?

FIRST … you have to let Jesus into your boat.

Too many Christians haven’t let Jesus into their boat.

He’s still on shore.

You’re glad to let Jesus save you & take you to Heaven.

BUT … you don’t want Him in the boat with you.

You don’t want Jesus to get too involved in your life.

You don’t really want Jesus as the LORD of your life.

You FIRST have to come to the point where you’re willing to be AVAILABLE to be WILLING for Jesus to use you.

You must be AVAILABLE to be a link in His chain.

NOTICE what Jesus told them to do – 5:4 – “Let down your nets for a catch.”

If you want to catch fish … you have to let down your nets.

 Fishing with Deon… You’re not gonna catch anything unless you put your line in the water

Fish don’t usually jump into the boat.

If you ignore the lost condition of those around you, the lost won’t get any closer to Heaven.

Make yourself available. Stop asking what this church can do for you, and as I’ve said in the past, paraphrase what JFK said: and that’s what you can do for this church

It touches my heart to see cars pull up where they’ve gone and picked up the people that aren’t able to get here on their own, and help them get here.

They make themselves available for the needy, and they’re bringing people. They are being inconvenienced, but they’re doing it for the cause of Christ and because they love the people. And I thank you.

That’s all I’m asking. That’s all God is asking of you

What did they have AVAILABLE? NETS!

Jesus didn’t tell them to use what they didn’t have.

So, Jesus tells them, “Put what you have AVAILABLE to use.”

MAYBE you don’t have very much.

“Preacher, now you’re talking to me!”

FINE! BUT put what God HAS GIVEN YOU to use.

Make it available to Him. PRAY!  All of us can pray. Do what you can.

Mark tells the story of a woman who took an alabaster box of perfume and poured it on the head of Jesus.

Some of the Disciples rebuked her, saying that she could have sold it and given the money to the poor. LISTEN to what Jesus said – Mark 14:8 – “She hath done what she could.”

She did what she could with what she had. You can do the same. You can help grow this church

If you don’t do what you CAN DO, you’ll never “launch out into the deep” to do MORE.

Don’t cry over what you CAN’T DO; do what you CAN.

So, what is in your alabaster box that you can pour out to and for Jesus?

David Henderson uses his skill as a Craftsman to help people

Randy uses his knowledge of playing the piano and singing and running the sound to help this church

Jeff Hodges, with his musical instruments and his talent with his drawings and paintings, glorifying God and being a witness

Use what you have

The teachers that teach Sunday School use what God’s given them: their talent and their burden to try to teach the Word of God

I watch every month as different people meet here with a gift of help, to try to work on the Operation Christmas Child Shoe boxes.

The ones that are not physically able to come out and do things are seeking God’s face in prayer.

That’s your alabaster box, and everybody needs to be involved in that; everybody needs to be pouring that out, and being available for the cause of Christ, and to help this church body, this ecclesia, this assembly of Believers.

But you may say I can’t. We used to have an old black gentleman that worked for Automatic Curb Company; his name was John Carter, we called him “Pop.” I truly loved Pop Carter. He was a great man.

Pop Carter used to say, “Can’t, can’t do nothing. Try went out and caught a rabbit.”

At least try to do something. You can say I’m not good at doing stuff like that.

Leave the results up to God. Just be available and be there for this church for the cause of Christ for yourselves, and God will use you.

You don’t have to be the best; trust me, you’re looking at someone that’s not the best preacher that’s ever stood in this church, but I promise I do my best; I try.

What if I said that I won’t preach at all, because I can’t preach like Billy Graham?

What if a High School quarterback said that he wouldn’t play football, because he can’t play like Tom Brady?

Well, we can’t!

BUT instead of doing NOTHING, do what you CAN AND do it the very best you can!

  The Fish v.5

1. The Lord is waiting to bless us the moment if we are willing to obey

Here are the excuses, and then we see nevertheless

 ⁵ But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”

 5:5a – This is a verse where DOUBT tries to sneak in. Up to this time, there has been GROWTH.

They got into the boat …

they went out a little way …

they launched out into the deep.

As we grow in the Lord, we become better & more useful witnesses.

The Disciple mentioned a previous experience: “worked all night and caught nothing.”

At NIGHT, the fish were closer to the surface.

LESSON – Perhaps you have failed Christ in the past.

Don’t let that keep you from a ministry NOW.

This is a new day.

What is the saying? This is the first day of the rest of your life.

This is the first day of the rest of your Christian ministry.

This is new for this church; we’re in a new season. Let’s do it the way God wants it done and see what He can do

Don’t let past failures keep you from going on.

⁵ But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”

NOTE: “nevertheless”. Here is where VICTORY comes.

“Even though I can’t see what good it will do …

I can’t see how it will work …

I can’t see how God can use me …

I’ll do it!” WHY?

Because Jesus says so!

 Look what obedience gets them!

 ⁶ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.

If you’re obedient to what God says to do, He can bless you more than you can imagine. So much so that the Nets will break.

The Operation Christmas Child thing has so much stuff coming in they don’t have room for it all; their nets are breaking.

1. The Fish v.5
   2. The Fear v. 7- 9

God uses a miracle not to catch fish but to catch these Men

⁷ So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

5:6-7 – BECAUSE he gave to Jesus WHAT HE HAD, BECAUSE he made himself and what he had AVAILABLE to Jesus.

SEE THE RESULTS!

Why do we sometimes feel like we have a HOLE in our nets?

We try to WITNESS … hole in our net.

We try to TEACH … hole in our net.

We try to LIVE the Christian life … hole in our net.

We see our inadequacies … our shortcomings… our inabilities … our weaknesses. BUT … NOTICE that … with all Peter’s faults, failures and even his disobedience … EVEN with a broken net

HE STILL CAUGHT FISH! 5:7.

⁷ So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

As I’ve said, with your obedience, God will give you far more than you could ever imagine

WHY? 5:5 – “Nevertheless, at thy word, I will let down the net.” He made himself available to Christ … with what he had … to do what he could. Let’s see what happened next.

⁸ When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart

from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

 When you see God and Christ as who He is, you will see yourself for what you are, and we are just sinful people saved by the grace of God

⁹ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;

5:8-9 – “he was astonished”. You will be AMAZED at what God can do with your broken net …

with your inadequacies …

with your weaknesses.

You just need to make them AVAILABLE to Him to use.

This experience HUMBLED Peter – 5:8. Peter realized he was NOTHING; Christ was EVERYTHING.

He knew he couldn’t have done it; he tried and failed.

He found out that if you give to God the NOTHING that you have, the NOTHING that you are.

THEN: Jesus can make you into SOMETHING for Him!

Out of the something that you are!

Peter knew that he wasn’t fit to be in the same boat with Jesus.

Neither are we. BUT …

Peter WAS in the boat. Peter knew the boat wasn’t a worthy pulpit for Jesus, BUT it WAS a pulpit.

You & I are unworthy to be a PULPIT for Christ, BUT that’s what Jesus wants from us.

I’m not worthy to be sitting here preaching and trying to do what I’m doing, but God can even use someone like me, and I pray that I’m helping y’all.

And He’ll use us IF we make ourselves AVAILABLE to Him.

 THEN: He will give us the OPPORTUNITY to be used of Him.

¹⁰ and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”

Jesus told him he had a better job for them. Not just catching fish but catching men, and we’re all commissioned to do that

 CONCLUSION: 5:10-11 – Jesus had better things in store for them.

 

Jesus wanted them to launch out into the deep and to trust Him.

Jesus wanted them to go from LITTLE things to BIGGER things.

He wanted them to go from fishers of FISH to fishers of MEN.

 

1. The Fish v.5
   II. The Fear v7-9
   III. The Forsaking    v11a

No one deserves to be blessed and used of God, but God is looking for vessels He can bless and use

1. The Fish v.5
   II. The Fear v7-9
   III. The Forsaking    v11a
   IV. The Following    v11b

The Lord is calling; will you follow him?

 ¹¹ So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him

 You do what God’s called you to do and commissioned you to do, even if people are not liking it.

 You stay faithful to the call. You keep coming, you keep doing, and I promise you God will bless your efforts

Look at what they did: What they accomplished

• PETER – On the Day of Pentecost, 3000 souls were saved.
• ANDREW – Went to Asia with the Gospel.
• BARTHOLOMEW– Went to India with the Gospel.
• SIMON ZELOTES – Went to Africa with the Gospel.

John wrote five books in the New Testament, was boiled in oil and exiled on the Isle of Patmos, and that’s where he got the vision, and we see the book of the Revelation of John

Is it always going to be easy? No, it’s not.

You have James the Great, the son of Zebedee, John’s brother. He was the first apostle martyred, so no, it’s not always going to be easy, but I promise you it’s always going to be worth it.

In the movie Men in Black, Will Smith asked Tommy Lee Jones about working with Men in Black, and the question was:

“Is it worth it?” Tommy Lee Jones’ answer was: “Yeah, it’s worth it, if you’re strong enough.”

I believe if you could ask the disciples Was it worth it?

Every one of them was martyred except for John, and as I said, he was boiled in oil. And if you ask them, was it worth it? I promise you they’d say, ” Yeah, it was truly worth it!”

They became fishers of MEN!

They learned some valuable LESSONS in the boat that day:

• When Jesus speaks … you listen.
• Where the Lord leads you … you go.
• What the Lord gives you … you make yourself and what you have available to Him.

Is Jesus in your boat? OR are you sailing through life alone?

CHRISTIAN: you’ll never be blessed unless Jesus is the Lord of your life and you’re in the boat with Jesus.

You need to give your TIME, your TALENTS, and your DEVOTION.

And if you don’t use what God’s given you, then you’re stealing from God

LOST: Don’t leave Jesus on shore. If you do, you’ll be sailing alone, and you’ll end up shipwrecked on the shores of eternal Hell. Invite Jesus into your life today.

Back to Petra Lyrics I Am Available Lyrics

I don’t have much to offer you, I don’t have much to give

There’s so much I may never be as long as I may live

And I may never be all I want to be although I’ll always try

But if you choose me, to use me, there’s just one reason why

I am available, I will go when you say go

I will stop when you say no

My whole life was incomplete, till I laid it at your feet

 So, use me as you will, I am available

CONCLUSION: 5:10-11 – Jesus brought them from doing little things, to doing great things.

• When Jesus speaks … you listen.
• Where the Lord leads you … you go.
• What the Lord gives you … you make AVAILABLE to Him.

Make sure you let Jesus be in your boat!

And after you’ve gone a little way and you’ve learned to trust Him.

He’ll ask you to launch out into the deep, and when He does, be obedient and watch what God will do for you. He will give you so much your nets will break

Pray

Calvary Baptist Church Sunday night September 27^th 2026

The Miracle at the Marriage
John 2:1-12

 John 2:1-12 ¹ On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ² Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. ³ And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” ⁴ Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” ⁶ Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. ⁷ Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
⁸ And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it.
⁹ When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.
¹⁰ And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”
¹¹ This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.
¹² After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.

¹¹ This beginning of (miracles) signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

 God is real but he will never be real and our lives until we put our faith in him.
Our faith can be increased as we fellowship with Christ and see his mighty hand at work in our lives

As I said, Jesus didn’t do miracles to emulate; He did them to authenticate.

 NOW they saw that He has almighty power, and their faith was established.

mir·a·cle  [mírrək’l] (plural mir·a·cles) n act of God: an event that appears to be contrary to the laws of nature and is regarded as an act of God 

 There are some 40 separate miracles of Christ recorded in the Gospels, and they are divided into four categories

One is healing miracles; next, casting out of demons; and then Resurrection from the dead; then one we see tonight is a miracle of nature;

All the miracles of Christ point to the future; they point to truths that are listed in the book of Revelation, e.g., the raising of the dead tells us that all death one day will be done away with, the casting out of demons signals God’s invasion on Satan and his ultimate defeat. The healing of the sick and the provision of food tell us that someday all suffering will be done away with. But now we see Jesus supplying a need. This also tells us that God will forever have power to supply our need.

Philippians 4:19-20 ¹⁹ And my God. (My uncle D Swann used to say my Holy Spirit and I love that) And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. ²⁰ Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Not our wants but our needs.

Acts 2:22-24  ²² “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by (or a man approved of) God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know– ²³ Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; ²⁴ whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.

The way a Hebrew wedding comes about

 

1. The Engagement (Erusinor Kiddushin)

Arrangement: Marriages were typically arranged by the parents or a negotiator (often called the “friend of the bridegroom”). Or the best man at a wedding, the one who helps prepare the way. He would get everything together and makes sure that the wedding goes smoothly.

We see that in the next chapter with John the Baptist, he calls himself a friend of the bridegroom, the best man, the one who is showing the world how to come to Christ

John 3:29-36 ²⁹ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. ³⁰ He must increase, but I must decrease. ³¹ He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. ³² And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. ³³ He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. ³⁴ For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. ³⁶ He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

 He must increase, but I must decrease.

A song that Eddie Rogers and his family used to sing here. I wish somebody could sing it again here; it’s a great song. It’s called More

More

Song by Mylon LeFevre & Broken Heart ‧ 1983

Break my heart and change my mind

Cut me loose from ties that bind

Lead me as I follow You

Give me strength to follow through

Oh, more, more

I wanna be more like Jesus

More of Jesus, less of me

By His power I will be

Like a flower in the spring

Brand-new life in everything

Holy Spirit fill me up

Gently overflow my cup

Touch my eyes and let me see

Me in You and You in me

Oh, more, more

I want to be more like Jesus

More of Jesus, less of me

By His power I will be

Like a flower in the spring

Brand-new life in everything

I need to know more

 And that’s what we need: we need more of Jesus and less of us.

Now back to how this Hebrew marriage is put together and see if it brings to your mind anything we see in our Savior.

So, we have the groom, and everything is set up with the arranged marriage and then:

The Bride Price (Mohar): The groom or his father paid a bride price to the bride’s family. A price has to be paid for the bride. to compensate them for the loss of her labor and presence.

 The Contract (Ketubah): The couple signed a binding marriage contract detailing the bride’s rights and the financial obligations in case of divorce or death.

The Commitment: Drinking a cup of wine together sealed the engagement. Legally, the couple was considered married—breaking this bond required a formal bill of divorce, even though they did not yet live together or consummate the marriage.

Heard about a cup before, hadn’t you? If I can let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not my will but yours be done.

2. The Separation and Preparation

Building the Home: Following the engagement ceremony, the groom returned to his own father’s house. He typically spent about a year building a new bridal chamber or an addition onto his father’s estate.

 John 14:1-6 ¹ “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. ² In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴ And where I go you know, and the way you know.” ⁵ Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

The Bride’s Preparation: The bride used this waiting period to purify herself (often utilizing the mikvah or ritual bath) and prepare her wedding garments, remaining ready for the groom’s unexpected return.

2 Timothy 2:21 (NLT2) If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.

 

3. The Arrival and Procession

The Midnight Abduction: The groom, often accompanied by a shouting procession of male friends at night (frequently alluded to in parables like the Ten Virgins), would go to the bride’s house.

Matthew 25:1-13 ¹ “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. ³ Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ⁵ But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. ⁶ And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!‘ ⁷ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. ¹¹ Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ ¹² But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ ¹³ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

The Transfer: The groom would take the bride and her bridal party back to his father’s house, often under a canopy (chuppah).

4. The Marriage (Nissuin) and Feast

The Bridal Chamber (Chuppah / Cheder): The couple entered the bridal chamber together to consummate the marriage.

The Seven-Day Feast: Following the consummation, a massive wedding reception and feast (7 days of celebration) began for the guests, while the bride and groom remained secluded in the chamber for the first part of the celebration.

Now back to our lesson:

Before Jesus began his public ministry, he attended a wedding in Cana with his mother Mary and some of his disciples. During the wedding banquet, Jesus performed a miracle that involved changing water into wine. Cana is in Galilee, which is a region within the Biblical land of Israel. It is near Nazareth where Jesus spent much of his childhood.

John, the author of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Bible, indicates that this was the first miracle of Jesus, or at least the first that was witnessed by his disciples.

1. The Master. 1-4
   When we think of our Christ, we think of Calvary
   Don’t miss the humanity of Jesus He’s enjoying a party and it’s OK for us to enjoy things don’t miss that.

 John 2 ¹ On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.

On the third day after his conversation with Nathanael.

[Cana] This was a small town about 15 miles northwest of Tiberias and 6 miles northeast of Nazareth. It is now called Kerr Kenna, is under the government of a Turkish officer, and contains perhaps 300 inhabitants, chiefly Catholics.

It was called “Cana of Galilee” to distinguish it from another Cana in the tribe of Ephraim, Josh 16:9.

This was the native place of Nathanael, John 21:2.

[The mother of Jesus] Mary. It is probable that she was a relative of the family where the marriage took place.

 ² Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
We’ll deal a little more with that at the end of this lesson

[His disciples] maybe His plus 1 or more in this case. Those that he had made when in Judea. These were Peter, Andrew, Philip, and Nathanael. And I got to believe that John was there because he’s the only one that wrote it in his gospel.

They were not yet called to be apostles, but they believed that He was the Messiah. The miracle performed here was doubtless to convince them more fully that He was and is the Christ.

 ³ And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”

[When they wanted wine] A marriage feast among the Jews was commonly observed for seven or eight days. It is not probable that there would be a out of wine at the marriage itself, and it is possible, therefore, that Jesus came there some time during the marriage feast.

[They have no wine] Mary told this to Jesus. It would seem that she had a belief that he was able to supply it, though He had as not yet worked a miracle.

John 2:3-4  ³ And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. ⁴ Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

or

⁴ Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”

 When Jesus referred to His mother as “woman,” it was not disrespectful but rather a culturally appropriate and respectful form of address in ancient Israel.

Understanding the context behind Jesus’ words reveals their deeper meaning.

 Cultural Norm — In ancient Israel, the term “woman” was a respectful address, akin to “ma’am”. I’ve heard people get upset that are new to the South when people call them ma’am. When I was a house parent at the children’s home and the little girls there, and to this day young girls, I’ll say yes ma’am, no ma’am to them.

 The best way to get respect is to give respect.

 Symbolic Role — By calling her “woman,” Jesus emphasizes Mary’s role as the new Eve, paralleling her with His mission.

 Moments of Address — This term appears in key moments: at the wedding in Cana (John 2:4); it is the same term by which he tenderly addressed Mary Magdalene after his resurrection (John 20:15), and at the Crucifixion with His mother (John 19:26).

John 20:15-16

15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. 16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

John 19:26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by, whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, Woman, behold thy son!

27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

Not Rude — Jesus’ use of the term was not meant to be rude; rather, it indicated a shift in their relationship as He began His public ministry,

what does your concern have to do with Me?

Most of the ancients supposed this to be the intention of Jesus was tenderness but to us harsh, but they might have been spoken in a tender manner, and not have been intended as a reproof.

It is clear that He did not intend to refuse to provide wine, but only to DELAY it a little; and the design was, therefore, to compose the anxiety of Mary, and to prevent her being concerned about it.

It may, then, be then expressed:

“My mother, be not anxious. To you and to Me this should not be a matter of concern.”

The proper time of my interfering has not yet come. When that is come, I will furnish a supply, and in the meantime neither you nor I should be worried. Or anxious”

So, understood, it is so far from being a “harsh reproof,” that it was a mild exhortation for her to dismiss her fears and to put proper trust in him.

[Mine hour …] My time. The proper time for His interjecting.

Perhaps the wine was not yet entirely exhausted. The wine had begun to fail, but he would not work a miracle until it was entirely gone, that the miracle might be free from all possibility of suspicion.

It does not mean that the proper time for his working a miracle, or entering on his public work had not come, but that the proper time for his interjecting THERE had not arrived.

7 times

John 2:4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

John 7:30 Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.

John 8:20 These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.

John 12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.

John 16:32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

John 12:24 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.

 John 17:1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

This also is to establish his independence from human timing and to point towards his ultimate sacrifice

Sometimes when we pray and God doesn’t answer right away it maybe It just may well be it’s not His time yet.

1. The Master. 1-4

2. The Miracle 5-9

 ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

Mary then gets ready and instructs the servants to do what Jesus says. When Jesus told her My hour has not yet come I’m sure she turned and gave him a look, and He knew it was time to do what she said.

I made a mistake Thursday. I told another Mary not to do something, and Mrs. Mary Rich, and after I did, she turned around, and I got that look.

That Mamma look, that look that says you better shut your mouth, big boy, and I did.

Great advice: whatever he says to you, do it.

[His mother saith …] It is evident from this verse that His mother did not take what He had said as a harsh reproof and rebuff, but as an indication of His willingness at the proper time to furnish wine.

In all this transaction He displayed the appropriate feelings of a Son toward a mother.

⁶ Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.

John 2:6 ⁶ And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.

A firkin holds 9 US gallons, which is approximately 34 liters. This measurement is commonly used in brewing and cider-making contexts.

18 to 27 gallons a piece.

Details About Firkin Measurements

Understanding firkin measurements can be useful in various industries.

Volume — A firkin is equivalent to 9 US gallons or 34 liters. A Keg is about 7.75 gallons or 62 pints.

Historical Context — Traditionally, a firkin was a wooden barrel used for storing liquids.

Usage — It is commonly used in the brewing industry for cask-conditioned ales.

Weight — A firkin filled with salted butter can weigh around 100 pounds

[Six water-pots of stone] Made of stone; or, as we should say, stoneware.

So, we end up with 108 to 162 gallons.

[After the manner] After the usual custom.

[Of the purifying] Of the “washings” or cleansings of the Jews. They were for the purpose of washing the hands before and after eating (Matt 15:2),

As I said this morning in Sunday School:

In the symbolism of Scripture, water for cleansing customarily represents the Word of God;

Water for drinking symbolizes the Spirit of God.

So, the pots of water there are for purification You don’t put your hands in the water you dip it out and pour it over your hands or your feet or whatever you’re cleaning the scribes and Pharisees got mad at Jesus because the disciples, we’re doing all the purification.

Matthew 15:1-2  ¹ Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, ² “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”

and for the formal washing of vessels, and even articles of furniture, Luke

11:39; Mark 7:3-4.

Luke 11:39 ³⁹ Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.

Mark 7:3-4  ³ For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. ⁴ When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.

So, the Jews all had these water pot for cleansing.

Listen all through the scriptures you’re gonna see Jesus using what is there. The water pots are there. When He tells parables he sees guys throwing seeds out so He tells a story about seeds. When He healed the blind guy He Need a little water in the clay to make it mud and stick to his eyes so He spits down in the dirt and he rubs it on his eyes. He uses what he’s got.

Back to our story:

Mary told the servants do what he says and now this is what he says:

⁷ Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.

[With water] This was done by the servants employed at the feast. It was done by “them,” so that there might be no opportunity of saying that the disciples of Jesus had filled them with wine to produce the “appearance” of a miracle.

In this case there could be no deception. The quantity was very considerable. The servants would know whether the “wine” or “water” had been put in these vessels.

It could not be believed that THEY had either the power to carry out or others in this manner, and the way was therefore clear for the proof that Jesus had really changed what was known to be water into wine.

[To the brim] To the top. So full that no wine could be poured in to give the appearance of a mixture.

The vessels were used for this miracle in which wine had not been kept. These pots were never used to hold wine, but simply to keep “water” in for various cleaning purposes.

A large number was used on this occasion, because there were many guests.

The servant knew what others did not know.
⁸ And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it.

[Draw out now] This command was given to the servants. It showed that the miracle had been performed immediately. As soon as they were filled, the servants were directed to take it to the governor of the feast.

Jesus made no spectacle about it, and it does not even appear that He approached the waterpots. He willed it, and it was done. This was a clear application of divine power, and made in such a manner as to leave no doubt of its reality.

[The governor or the Master of the feast] One who presided on the occasion. The one who stood at the “head” or upper end of the table. He had the charge of the entertainment, provided the food, gave directions to the servants, etc.

Only a true handful of people knew what had happened. The crowd did not know what Jesus had done; the servants and the disciples and Mary, the mother of Jesus, did.

So, sometimes, sometimes miracles are just for us, our small crowd.

Sometimes we see things happen. The world can’t explain it; the world doesn’t understand it, and we just sit back and smile and know that was the hand of God!

 I bet everyone of you at one time or another has set back and said that had to be God and it probably was.

 God always saves the best for last 9-10
⁹ When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.
This is shown to be a REAL miracle by the following considerations:

1. Real water was placed in the vessels. This the servants believed, and there was no possibility of deception.
2. The water was placed where it was not customary to keep wine. It could not be pretended that it was merely a mixture of water and wine.
3. It was judged to be wine without knowing where it came from. There was no agreement between Jesus and the governor of the feast to impose on the guests.
4. It was a change which nothing but divine power could affect. He that can change water into a substance like the wine must be clothed with divine power.

What did the grape say when it was stepped on. Nothing it just let out with a little whine.

Back to our story:

[And knew not where it was from] This is said, probably, to indicate that his judgment was not biased by any favor, or any lack of favor, toward Jesus.

Had he known what was done, he would have been less likely to have judged impartially. As it is, we have his testimony that this was REAL wine, and of so fine a body and flavor as to surpass that which had been provided for the occasion. Everything in this miracle shows that there was no conspiracy or understanding between Jesus and any of the persons at the feast.

 ¹⁰ And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”

You saved the best for last

 [Every man] It is customary, or it is generally done.

Wine= NT:3631oinos (oy’-nos); a primary word (or perhaps of Hebrew origin [OT:3196]); “wine” (literally or figuratively):

KJV – wine. OT:3196 yayin (yah’-yin); from an unused root meaning to effervesce(fiz); wine (as fermented); by implication, intoxication:

KJV – banqueting, wine, wine [-bibber].

Well drunk=NT:3182 methusko (meth-oos’-ko); a prolonged (transitive) form of NT:3184; to intoxicate: KJV – be drunk (-en).

NT:3184 methuo (meth-oo’-o); from another form of NT:3178; to drink to intoxication, i.e. get drunk: KJV – drink well, make (be) drunk (-en).

NT:3178 methe (meth’-ay); apparently a primary word; an intoxicant, i.e. (by implication) intoxication: KJV – drunkenness.

(Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

So, did Jesus make wine with alcohol? Yes, because it’s the same word used in Ephesians to be not drunk with. So, if you can get drunk with it in Ephesians, I believe you can get drunk with it in the book of John.

Ephesians 5:18 (NKJV) ¹⁸ And do not be drunk with wine (oy’-nos); in which is (excess) dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,

Ephesians 5:18 (KJV) ¹⁸ And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

Paul is talking in Ephesians about the Spirit of God leading you the same way that alcohol can lead you. He’s just using it as a comparison. Just an example. The verses before, he’s not talking about drinking; the verses afterwards, he’s not talking about drinking, and in this verse, he’s not talking about drinking. He’s talking about being filled with the Spirit of God.

Andy Stanley says There’s good, and there’s bad, but that’s not our cue, but rather what is the wise thing to do

 The right question about alcohol

Christians keep asking the wrong question about alcohol.

I know because I have heard it asked for years.

I am not trying to justify drinking; I don’t drink I never have or ever will.

We want to know if drinking is a sin, but underneath that question was often. Another one: how much can I drink and still be OK with God? Eventually, I realized they were asking the wrong question because following Jesus isn’t about discovering how close to the line we can live, but it’s about asking where He is leading us. Everything is permissible, but for us not everything is beneficial.

1 Corinthians 10:23 ²³ All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.

Edify = English Words used in KJV: build 24 edify 7 builder 5 build up 1 be in building 1 embolden 1 [Total Count: 39]

from the same as <G3619> (oikodome); to be a house-builder, i.e. construct or (figurative) confirm :- (be in) build (-er, -ing, up), edify, embolden.

To encourage, inspire, bolster. Is what you’re doing building up the kingdom of God when somebody sees you drinking or drunk is that glorifying God in any way.

Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary.

In other words, something can be allowed and still not be helping you, so stop obsessing over Am I technically allowed to drink and start asking Who are you becoming when you drink that question is much harder to avoid.  Alcohol will not lead you towards peace, self-control, joy, or spiritual growth.

It will make all of those things harder.

The question we should be asking about everything. social media, relationships, entertainment, and alcohol. Not how close can I get to the line, but does it help me glorify God?

When I was talking to a man about eternal security, I asked him where the line was because I know me, and I know mankind, I know our nature. We want to know where the line is, and we’re going to go right to that line. That’s not what God wants.

God isn’t trying to take good things from you. He’s trying to lead you into abundant life. Sometimes freedom begins when we stop asking. Is this a sin, and start asking, is this helping me become who God created me to be?

Eph 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

Back to our story:

¹⁰ And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”

[Is worse] Is of an inferior quality.

[The good wine] This shows that this had all the qualities of real wine.

We should not be deceived by the phrase “`good wine.'” “The best wine,” The most useful wine – This wine was truly better than the Napa Valley Cabernet.

Jesus made it so it’s the best wine that it was ever made

The Internet says the aging process makes the best wine the finest wines develop complex secondary flavors over decades in the bottle

 So, Jesus made the best wine you could ever drink and it tasted like it had been sitting in a bottle for years and it was just in the well moments before. It was just water.

 The miracle, too, would in this way be more apparent and impressive. On this supposition, the casks would APPEAR to be filled with water ONLY; as it was drawn out, it was pure wine. Who could doubt, then, that there was the exertion of miraculous power?

 I. The Master. 1-4

II. The Miracle 5-9

III.  The Manifestation of his Glory. 11

Our faith can be increased as we fellowship with Christ and see his mighty hand at work in our lives

¹¹ This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

¹² After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.

[This beginning of miracles] This is His first public miracle. This is declared by John the writer to be a “miracle” – that is, a force of divine power, producing a change of the substance of water into wine, which no human power could do.

[Manifested forth] Showed; exhibited. [His glory] His power, and proper character as the Messiah; showed that He had divine power, and that God had certainly commissioned Him.

[Believed on Him] This does not mean that they did not believe on Him beforehand, but that their faith was confirmed or strengthened.

They saw a miracle, and it satisfied them that He was and is the Messiah. “Before this” they “believed” on the testimony of John, and from conversation with Jesus (John 1:35-51);

John 1:35-51 ³⁵ Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. ³⁶ And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” ³⁷ The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸ Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?” ³⁹ He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). ⁴⁰ One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹ He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). ⁴² And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).
⁴³ The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” ⁴⁴ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote–Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” ⁴⁶ And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” ⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” ⁴⁸ Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” ⁴⁹ Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” ⁵⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹ And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

The miracle at the marriage is Christ Himself showing that He is the bridegroom and He can supply all the needs we ever will have

Bridegroom. In the New Testament. Jesus constantly calls Himself the bridegroom and us the bride. This is intentional in Jewish tradition.

The groom paid a bride price to the bride’s family before the marriage. This payment compensated for the loss of her contribution to the household. The dowry is what the bride brought into the marriage, A price has to be paid

Jesus paid a price for us. He paid with his life on the cross, and our dowry to Him is giving him our lives after the agreement was made, and the price was paid; the engaged couple drank from a shared cup of wine to seal the covenant at the Last Supper.

Jesus gives the disciples wine and says: This is my blood, so the cup becomes covenant language: the bride drinks the cup that represents the groom’s life poured out for her, and Jesus‘s blood was shed and the Cup was filled for us on the cross before the wedding was completed.

 The bride would undergo purification.

She would immerse herself, which is a ritual water bath; it symbolizes cleansing and a new beginning that parallels baptism perfectly.

We go into the water, leave the old life behind, and rise identified with our bridegroom Jesus Christ;

Then the groom would leave. He would return to his Father’s house to prepare a place for his bride, and Jesus says the same thing: He says I go to prepare a place for you and my Father‘s house, but while He was gone, the bride was not left alone; she was given a token, sometimes called a comfort pledge, as proof of the covenant.

It testified that she belonged to him and carried His name, and when Jesus ascended, He left the comforter, the Holy Spirit; the Spirit testifies that we belong to Jesus Christ and powers us and bears witness to the covenant because the Jewish tradition also required witnesses.

It was publicly affirmed in the New Testament: The Father and The Spirit both testified to The Son and to those who belong to Him now.

Here’s where we get to the verse. Only the Father knows the hour, in Jewish wedding tradition. Only the Father decided when the wedding preparations were complete.

The Son did not announce the timing; that mirrors Jesus saying only the Father knows the hour. This doesn’t mean that the Son was uninformed. It means the Father had the authority to clear the timing, and remember Jesus is fully God and fully human. In His earthly role in His human nature, He submitted to the Father; when the time came, it was often unexpected.

The groom would arrive with shouts and trumpet blasts to fetch his bride, and Jesus says to stay ready because you do not know the hour.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 ¹³ But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. ¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. ¹⁵ For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore comfort one another with these words.

And back to our example of this miracle:

Then the bride was taken to the Father‘s house for a wedding feast. There was celebration food, wine, and joy.

Jesus says He will not drink the fruit of the vine again until he drinks it New and His Father’s kingdom; that is wedding language, so the images are very deliberate.

Jesus is presenting Himself as the covenant bride group who pays the price, prepares the place, sends the Spirit, and will return for his bride.

NOW they saw that he was invested with almighty power, and their faith was established.

And I close with this:

The Miracle at the Marriage
Ever been invited to a wedding and you have to RSVP?

Before you know it, the wedding date is here, and you forgot.

You figure I’ll just go and surely, they’ll let me in. After all, I was invited.

So, you clean yourself up and put on your best clothes. You look in the mirror and think, I look so good, there’s no way I’m not getting in.

The wedding is at a beautiful gated private estate. You can’t wait to see what’s on the inside.

This is going to be a special night, and it costs you nothing.

Then, there’s a problem. At the gate, they ask your name and tell you that you’re not on the list. You tell them, but I was invited.

No matter how much you argue, they send you away, telling you that it was your responsibility to accept the invitation.

That’s Heaven. God wants you there.

He sent you the invitation.

All you have to do is accept it.

Not after you clean yourself up.

Not when you “look” presentable, the way you think you’re expected to look.

No, you have to accept before it’s too late.

Otherwise, you’re not getting in.

Don’t wait until it’s too late to respond.

PRAY!!!

 

Calvary Baptist Church August 30, 2026 PM

 

Miracles Introduction

DL Moody said, “I never saw a useful Christian who was not a student of the Bible.”

So, you need to take what you hear in Church, what you hear in Sunday School, and in any other way of studying the word of God, and apply it to your life.

That’s why we do what we do. That’s why every preacher, every teacher that stands before you, pours their heart out, is trying to help you have a closer walk with our Savior Jesus Christ

Ceylon Plemons said this morning in Sunday school that preachers and teachers are held to a higher standard, and what we do and why we do it is because we have to. Because God’s put a call on our life and it’s not to be dogging you or getting onto you it’s we’ve got to warn you what God has told us to warn you if we don’t we’re going to be held accountable before God We’re the ones standing on the wall with the bell ringing out the warning and that’s what God’s called us to do Now I asked you just to apply it to your lives

If you chew your food but never swallow it, you’ll starve. The same applies to God’s word: if you read it but never apply it, you will starve spiritually.

Alistair Begg says, “Without a daily diet of the word of God, we will find ourselves living a life of immaturity.”

So, I encourage you daily to get in the word of God. I encourage you every morning to seek God’s face. Pray for this church, pray for the preachers here. And the leaders, and I can assure you God can do a mighty work here if we just truly humble ourselves and seek Him and ask Him; I believe He will do a Miraculous work here

We’re getting on the right track, I believe, with a 24-hour prayer vigil. Let’s take these burdens, these heartaches, these problems to the one that can handle them, the one that can send the right man of God to fill the pulpit.

And if anybody’s close to me, they know my heart for who I think should be the pastor of this church.

What we’re going to be looking at in the coming weeks when I fill this pulpit will be the miracles of Christ and how they apply to us.

If we present the gospel to you can apply it to your life today, what good is So that’s what we’re going to try to do in the coming weeks

mir·a·cle mir·a·cle [mírrək’l] (plural mir·a·cles) n

1. act of God: an event that appears to be contrary to the laws of nature and is regarded as an act of God
2. amazing event: an event or action that is amazing, extraordinary, or unexpected. It’ll be a miracle if we get there on time.

3. marvelous example: something admired as a marvelous creation or example of a particular type of science or skill. a miracle of modern engineering [12th century. Via French < Latin miraculum “object of wonder” < mirari “wonder at” < mirus “wonderful”]

Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

We use the word miracle to a lot of things that are not miracles. What I want to look at are the miracles of God; the very existence of man is a miracle in itself

So, what we’re going to be looking at are the Godly miracles of Christ.

We have miracles from Genesis all the way through to the Revelation of John.

I believe every single word written in the Word of God from Genesis 1:1 all the way through to the end of Revelation 22:21, where it says Amen.

But not everybody believes that, and the world itself is always trying to discredit God and His Word and His miracles.

I believe in the Big Bang theory. I believe God looked and He said, “Let there be,” and BANG! There was.

I’m willing to bet that at least one point in your life someone will tell you that the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea in the book of Exodus is explainable by way of an earthquake and a heavy wind, and that it’s just a natural phenomenon.

Some even suggest that the water wasn’t that deep when Moses and the children of Israel crossed; well, then I’ve got a bigger miracle for you: how in the world did it drown Pharaoh’s army and his horses if it was shallow enough to cross?

You know, there was once a Discovery Channel special in which the authors tried to link all of the 10 plagues on Egypt to a single eruption of a volcano in the Mediterranean.

First, the ash would cause greater rainfall, which then increases the supply of algae for the frogs, which causes certain bugs to hatch, which bring foot and mouth disease, which transmits to the humans, and so on…

They even speculate that these famines would bring about a mold spore in the rooms, which, when inhaled, would kill very quickly.

If the food supply were low, only the firstborn children would get the food, which explains why only they would be opening up the food store and hence dying.

There is this tendency among modern man to understand or even force a scientific understanding of each of these miracles.

I don’t have a problem with that, per se, but we lose something if we feel that every miracle must somehow have a “rational explanation.” God is a mystery, and He can choose to work however He wishes.

I truly believe in miracles, but we don’t follow God for the miracles; for the signs and wonders, He never does anything else for us. He’s already done more than enough.

The story of going to Sweet Spirit Church.

I have worked with Sweet Spirit Ministries for years and saw God do miraculous things and how God used that ministry to have hundreds of young people make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ.

Years later, after Eddie Rogers left here, he called me one day and said I will be leaving. Going overseas, and He said God told me to call you, and I wanted you to come and have a time of prayer with me like we used to do. That was the Wednesday night after his church service let out; that he called.

His church was in Paulding Plaza across from the McDonald’s across from 360 and Old 278

That night I saw some miraculous things happen that only God himself could have done. As I’ve said in the past, I have a friend that calls me Baptacostal, I think sometimes the Baptists have thrown the baby out with the bath water. We miss out on a lot of things because we’re afraid that God doesn’t still do what God has always done. He says in his own word, He changes not; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and I take Him at His Word

That night Eddie wanted to anoint me with oil and pray over me, and He did, and we had a good prayer time.

At that time, this was in the 1990s, I was running a Thursday night prayer meeting here every Thursday at 7:00. Sometimes it was just me, and sometimes I’d have as many as 20 to 25 people coming down here for a time of prayer.

I was supposed to meet a man at 7:00. He was dying of cancer, and he wanted to talk to me and wanted a time of prayer. When I walked out of Sweet Spirit Fellowship Church in Paulding Plaza in Dallas, the time was 8 minutes till 7. There’s no way I’m going to make it here by 7. There’s no way I can get a hold of Him and tell him I’m running late. Without any traffic, it takes about 20 minutes to get from Paulding Plaza to this church.

So, I got in my truck, cranked it up, looked down, and then I realized I was out of gas. I know that little red S-10; I know when it’s low on gas, and I know when it’s just all but out of gas. And it was all but out of gas.

So, I placed my hand upon the dash of the truck, and I asked the Lord if he would please give me enough gas and help me to make it to Calvary Baptist Church by 7:00.

I watched the gas gauge physically go up to a little over ¼ of a tank. We will see that God will supply our needs, not my wants.

When I pulled into the parking lot of this church, it was 7:00, and he was sitting in the parking lot.

There’s no way you can make it from Paulding Plaza in Dallas, GA to 3988 Marietta Rd, Powder Springs, GA in 10 minutes can’t be done.

To this day, I have no recollection of coming through the city of Hiram.

As I have said, I believe in miracles.

This church being here is a miracle for us to move in it when we did and not owe any money on it was a miracle. God still does miracles

I have seen miracles. There’s no other way to describe the events than with the word “miracle.” The act of God

The man I talked to that night, as I stated, was dying of cancer, but he felt like God wanted him to preach. We prayed about it and talked about it. The next Sunday he announced a call to preach. He preached only one sermon, and a few months later he was gone to see the man he had preached about. They used his sermon at his funeral. He made a difference even here tonight for me to share this with you

In that Discovery Channel thing, what I heard at the end was very interesting.

The scientists were all debating the relative merits of this chain of events, but in the end, one scientist made what I think is the best observation.

He said, “Let’s assume this is all true for a minute. What does this tell us about God?
It tells us that God could set about an amazing chain of coincidence that resulted in His purpose, of His freedom for His people.

No scientific explanation can ever account for that.”

The point of all these miracles is that God chose to be the savior and to show his power here. A miracle is when God decides to temporarily alter the laws of science He established in order to remind people of that which He did.

Miracles by Newsong lyrics                                                                I never saw a man that walked on water                                                 I never heard a voice that could calm the sea                                  Raise the dead or feed five thousand,                                                 But in my heart, I do believe                                                                 I was in a desperate situation                                                   Drowning in a sea of my own sin                                                      And it would take a miracle to save me                                          That’s when I reached toward heaven                                                Felt someone touch me                                                                          I looked up, and I saw Him                                                              chorus                                                                                                 And I believe in miracles                                                                      I’m a miracle myself                                                                        And I believethe good Lord hears                                                     The ones who cry for help;                                                                     And after all that He has done for me                                                   I believe, I do believe in miracles

 I love what Brian said Wednesday night: Sometimes we just need to shout help!

Introduction:

There are some 40 separate miracles of Christ recorded in the Synopsis of Gospels, and they can be divided into four separate categories

• One is healing miracles, where Jesus healed the sick. Causing the blind to see, the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the Leprosy to be cleansed
• The next are miracles of nature, where Jesus said Peace be still and the storm stops; walks on water; or turns water into wine. Feeds thousands with just two pieces of fish and five little biscuits
• Next is casting out demons
• Then the last is raising the dead.

All the miracles of Christ point to the future; they point to truths that are listed in the book of Revelation.

They weren’t just given to us to show us God’s power, which it does. But it was to show us a better day coming, which will happen

• And the healing of the sick

Revelation 21:4 ⁴ And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

There’s not going to be any more sickness; there’s not going to be any more cancer; there’s not going to be any more heart attacks; there’s not going to be any more dementia anymore Alzheimer’s, or Parkinson’s; I won’t need a cane. Or a Walker or a wheelchair.  Mary Rich will be able to outrun me without her cane.

• The next are miracles of nature,

There’ll be no more tornado sirens, no more earthquakes, no more hurricanes. The provision of food tells us that someday all hunger and suffering will be done away with.

My mother used to tell me she hated pumpkin. The only way we were allowed to bring pumpkins into the house when I was growing up was to make Jack O’lanterns at Halloween.

But we couldn’t have pumpkin-flavored stuff because she was raised on pumpkin one year. That’s all they had; she said she made pumpkin bread, she made pumpkin soup. She sounded like Bubba on Forrest Gump with the shrimp, but everything was about pumpkin. If it could be made out of pumpkin, she made it, and they ate it because they were hungry. There’s going to be no hunger there. And now she’s in glory eating whatever she wants whenever she wants it, and I promise you it ain’t pumpkin, and Knowing Her, she’s in the kitchen telling them how to do it and showing them a better way.

Revelation 19:7-10 ⁷ Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” ⁸ And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. ⁹ Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” This was an Angel telling John ¹⁰ And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

• The casting out of demons signals God’s invasion of Satan and his ultimate defeat.

Revelation 20:10 ¹⁰ The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Revelation 20:14-15 ¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. ¹⁵ And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Listen, hell was not designed for us. If you die before you die then when you die you won’t die.

Hell is an eternal separation from Sovereign God. That’s a worse tragedy than the fire and brimstone

Jesus Himself said this. It was designed for the devil and his angels, his demons, his followers, and it’s so simple not to end up in hell; all you have to do is accept the free gift that Christ has offered.

Jesus did all the work. All you have to do is take it!

Matthew 25:41 ⁴¹ Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

• The raising of the dead tells us that all death one day Death will be done away with,

Revelation 21:4 ⁴ And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Heaven is the place that we will dwell forever. It’s not just a city; it is the very presence of Sovereign God himself. That’s what heaven is.

My small group just finished a series on heaven by Dr David Jeremiah

David Jeremiah said on July 6 in his devotional:

The Best Thing About Heaven

In 1964, singer Dionne Warwick recorded one of her hits, “A House Is Not a Home.” The lyrics say that an empty house—no matter how beautiful—is not a home if the one we love isn’t there.

I preached this text for my dad’s funeral upstairs,

John 14:1-6 ¹ “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. ² In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

The example of Tim Plemmons when he bought Stock in a bank: he said one little square foot of that bank was his; it was his place. But Jesus goes on, and he says:

³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴ And where I go you know, and the way you know.” ⁵ Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Think of the glories of heaven! The Bible speaks of its mansions, its streets of gold, its foundations of jewels, its luminescent glow, its river of life, its endless fellowship untouched by sorrow, death, pain, or tears. But think of this—what if Jesus were not there?

What would heaven be like without the Triune God?

Our priority after death isn’t so much heaven as it is our Lord—being with Him forever!

When we think of heaven, we should consider all the biblical descriptions of the wondrous environment. We should think about our blessed reunion with our loved ones. We should enjoy thinking about the endless riches we’ll enjoy.

But most of all—there is Jesus! As you go through your day, think most of all about Him—and pray: “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20)

Billy Graham: “The most thrilling thing about heaven is that Jesus Christ will be there. I will see Him face to face.”

In these miracles we see Jesus supplying a need. This also tells us that God will forever have power to supply our need.

Philippians 4:19-20  ¹⁹ And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. ²⁰ Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

All means all, and that all, all means.  He said all.

Not our wants but our needs.

And my story about Sweet Spirit Ministries: I wanted a full tank; He gave me what I needed. To make it here and then to a gas station

Acts 2:22-28  ²² “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know– ²³ Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; Our sins did that ²⁴ whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.
²⁵ For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the LORD always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. ²⁶ Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. ²⁷ For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. ²⁸ You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’

But it also speaks to us for today:

Matthew 28:18-20  ¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Jesus didn’t do miracles to emulate; he did them to authenticate

But He was baptized before He started His ministry.

Representing the death, burial, and resurrection.

Buried with Him in death, raised to walk again, a new life, or as the Atlanta Christian Curcio movement calls it; “walking wet”.

The Bible does say to go and baptize, but does not say to go and do miracles.

Acts 2:38-39  ³⁸ Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

He’s talking about us there, talking about the believers later on, and when we accept Christ, we are indwelt with the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:40 (HCSB) And with many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!”

See, it’s about getting the word out. Paul said;

1 Corinthians 1:17-19 ¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize (see, it’s not about baptism; it’s about presenting the gospel and accepting Jesus), but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.
¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

And as we’ve said before, baptism is just like a wedding band; it does not save you any more than a wedding band gets you married.

It’s just a symbol to show you are saved, just like a wedding band shows you are married.

You can have a wedding band and not be married.

You can go to church and not be saved.

I heard an example one time: a man had a cat that had kittens in an oven. Didn’t make them biscuits; just because you go to church doesn’t make you a Christian.

This is the easiest place on the planet to be a Christian.

It’s not hard to be good here inside the walls of a church.

It’s really difficult outside those doors.

The acid test of Christianity is inside your home.

Your husband, your wife, your kids, your mom, your mother-in-law, your family sees what you are.

It’s an outward appearance of obedience.

Jesus himself did not perform any miracles or public service until he was baptized. If you have been saved and you want to serve Christ and have never been baptized, I encourage you to talk with Ceylon or Brian and get that resolved.

After Jesus’s baptism, we see:

Before Jesus began his public ministry, he attended a wedding in Cana of Galilee with his mother Mary and some of his disciples.

During the wedding banquet, Jesus performed a miracle that involved changing water into wine.

Cana is in Galilee, which is a region within the Biblical land of Israel. It is near Nazareth, where Jesus spent much of his childhood. He knew the people there when he was invited, and he brought his disciples with Him.

God does not mind us having a good time.

John, the author of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Bible, indicates that this was the first miracle of Jesus, or at least the first that was witnessed by his disciples.

As I said, Jesus didn’t do miracles to emulate; he did them to authenticate

John 2:11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

God is real, but he will never be real in our lives until we put our faith in Him.

Our faith can be increased as we fellowship with Christ and see his mighty hand at work in our lives
NOW they saw that He was invested with almighty power, and their faith was established.

In the movie “Bruce Almighty,” I’ve never seen the movie, but I’ve seen this clip where Jim Carry blows his soup and parts. This illustration is well worth mentioning.

It has a key scene in the movie with Jim Carrey, who is Bruce, and Morgan Freeman, who plays one of the most Biblically correct Gods in Hollywood.

Morgan Freeman is trying to tell Jim Carrey about what a failure Bruce is at playing God. He says, “Parting your soup? That’s not a miracle; that’s a magic trick.

A single mother working two jobs still finds time to bring her kids to soccer practice. That’s a miracle. A teenager who says no to drugs, and yes to an education – that’s a miracle.” To that I add Jim Carrey, without a hint of sarcasm, declaring “I surrender all.” That’s a miracle.

Again, I still have a hard time thinking how close Hollywood got it. But the movie goes on to preach that we all “have the power.” And in a sense, they’re right. But do you want to know why we have the power?

It is never about looking at me look at my power. It’s always about looking at Christ and His presence!

We have the power because we are Sons of God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, because of the sacrifice made on Calvary’s cross with Jesus Christ Himself.

When God has his hand on you, and people tell you you’re doing a good job or whatever, and when people applaud you give God the glory.

When lives are changed through your ministry, give God the glory.

When prayers are answered through your faithfulness, give God the glory.

When the Holy Spirit moves through you in ways you never expected, stay humble enough to remember who made it possible.

You are the vessel.

He is the power.

You are the Instrument.

He is the source.

As we’ve said in the past, you may plant, you may water, you may serve, you may speak, but 1Corinthians 3:6 says But God is the one who gives the increase

Never allow spiritual gifting to become spiritual pride.

Never let the platform become more important than the presence of God.

Never let people celebrate you so much that you forget to bow before Him.

That’s why humility matters.

Because the moment we start believing that the work is happening because of us, we forget that it was always happening because of Him.

So. Stay teachable. Stay prayerful. Stay grateful. Stay dependent.

And whenever God does something amazing through your life, don’t take the credit

Point people back to Jesus.

Let your greatest testimony never be Look at what I can do but ” Look at what God can do through a surrendered life.

Because without Him. We have no power.

Without Him, we have no purpose.

Without Him, we can do nothing.

All the glory belongs to God.

So, remember, when the Holy Spirit does amazing things through you, remain humble; never confuse being used by God with being the source of what God is doing.

God may use your gifts;

He may use your words;

He may use your testimony;

He may use your hands to serve, your voice to encourage, and your life to point people towards Jesus.

Remember the power was never yours; it was always His.

Jesus says, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

 

Back to our song when we started this message by

Newsong, the song Miracle said:

So many people look for signs and wonders                                    They miss the greatest miracle of all                                                Well, it’s the miracle of sweet salvation                                                That’s when the God of heaven Comes down to live inside of someone’s heart                                                                              When it feels like my strength is almost gone                                      And my faith is weak Lord, You’re always there for me                      You make it easy to believe                                                             chorus                                                                                                And I believe in miracles                                                                I’m a miracle myself                                                                       And I believe the good Lord hears                                                         The ones who cry for help                                                              And after all that He has done for me,                                                   I believe, I do believe in miracles

I’m a miracle myself. I often wonder where I would have been during my teenage years if I was not down here helping build this church, because at that time I was running with some pretty rough people. But as a result of coming down here and helping to work on God’s house and getting to have Lifelong friends like Ceylon Plemmons, Lloyd Grizzle, Harold Dolph, Paul Carroll, Charles Sprayberry, Ben Turner, and even Snyder Turner, AB Swanson, Randy Bailey, Ken Maxwell, and many others wandering in and out of this building. I even had a closer relationship with my own dad, Elvin Swann. While we were here, I thank God that he protected me those years. That’s a miracle in itself.

We don’t know how many miracles daily that God is protecting us through our everyday walk, and as I say often, maybe we’ll find out when we get to glory, but I just don’t think, honestly, when we get there, we will really care.

If God gives me the freedom, I’ll share some other miracles I’ve seen happen on this very property and in my life.

So, a breakdown of miracles: it’s like this:

The first miracle that happened involving Jesus Christ on this earth was the conception of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit (1)

• One is healing miracles, where He healed the sick.

Healing (22)

• The next are miracles of nature, where He said Peace be still and the storm stops; walks on water; or turns water into wine. He feeds thousands.

Nature (8)

• Next is casting out demons.

Demons being cast out (4)

• Then the last is death.

Raising of the Dead plus Jesus’ Resurrection (4).

And then in Acts we have the Ascension into Heaven (1)

And one day soon, the miracle we’re all looking for is the return of our Savior. The trumpet sounded, and we will be called out here.

Let’s pray.

Calvary Baptist Church August 23^rd 2026 PM

ARE YOU WILLING TO BE IN THE WILL OF GOD?

Note: Ben Bennett’s card said: “LORD KEEP ME IN YOUR WILL, OR I’LL BE IN YOUR WAY”.

Sometimes being in His will puts you right in the middle of a disaster.

Five things to do when disaster strikes

We all know this story. We all know the outcome, but don’t get ahead of the game. Don’t miss out on the lessons that Jesus is trying to teach the disciples and us in every verse that we’re going to see.

As I’ve said in the past to my small group and other people, and I’ll probably say it again from this pulpit or the 1 downstairs if y’all keep letting me do this, not one single word of this Bible was written to me. Every single word in this Bible was written for me!

John 11:1-45

11:1 Now a certain man was sick. A certain man this is not a parable; this is a true story that John is telling. named Lazarus, of Bethany.

Bethany was a small village in Judea located about two miles east of Jerusalem on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives along the road to Jericho. BETHANY “house, place of unripe figs It is called also the house of misery on account of its lonely situation and the invalids who congregated there

Back to our text, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

2(It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

(This has not happened yet; next chapter)

3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

NT:5368  phileo (fil-eh’-o); from NT:5384; to be a friend to (fond of [an individual or an object]), i.e. have affection for (denoting personal attachment, as a matter of sentiment or feeling); specifically, to kiss (as a mark of tenderness):

KJV – kiss, love.

First things to do when disaster strikes.

1. Prayer must be a priority. (John 11:1-3)

The first thing the sisters did was to send word to Jesus.

The one you love is sick. When a crisis hits our lives, be it a death, an accident, a diagnosis, a relationship breakdown, whatever it is. Even if it is that your church needs a pastor, the first thing we need to do is to send word to Jesus.

When a crisis brings us to our knees, we are in a perfect position to pray.

Prayer changes things.

When we communicate with the creator of the universe, things happen.

We call on the greatest power in the world.

And yet too many times we lack the faith that prayer will make a difference.

How do I know that?

Because we do not pray until we have tried everything else.

Instead of prayer being a last resort, it should be our first option.

“Why Trials Come Our Way.”

By Norma Head

It seems when times are getting hard,

And things are looking bad,

That’s when we call on the Lord the most,

When we are very sad.

But if you stop and think a while,

We need Him most of all.

When things are good, and we can smile,

But then we seldom call,

Why do trials come our way?

They help to keep Him in our hearts,

When on our knees, we stay.

 

Now the sisters could send word to Jesus because they had a close friendship or relationship with Jesus.

Had they not known Jesus, they would have been in an awful position with nowhere to turn.

4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

John 11:4 (NLT2) But when Jesus heard about it, he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.”

Sometimes we have to go through things we very much do not want to go through just so we can see the hand of God when it’s all said and done for His glory

5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.

NT:25 agapao (ag-ap-ah’-o); perhaps from agan (much) [or compare OT:5689]; to love (in a social or moral sense): NT:25 is wider, embracing especially the judgment and the deliberate assent of the will as a matter of principle, duty and propriety: the two thus stand related very much as NT:2309 and NT:1014, or as NT:2372 and NT:3563 respectively; the former being chiefly of the heart and the latter of the head) KJV – (be-) love (-ed). Compare NT:5368.

(Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.

*Jesus is never frantic or anxious about anything

Has it ever occurred to you that nothing has ever occurred to God?

Don’t miss this, and I keep saying it over and over and over: God doesn’t get in a hurry, no matter how much we want him to. And we as a church need to slow down and wait patiently on God’s hand and His time, and for His pastor to take this pulpit or that pulpit

Second thing when disaster strikes

2. Perseverance pays off. (John 11:6)

Do you think Jesus stayed where he was two more days because he didn’t care about Lazarus?

No way.

He stayed where he was because he knew that God was in control of the situation and that, at the right time, God would take care of the crisis with Lazarus.

When a crisis invades our lives, we do not want to wait it out.

We want it to end as soon as possible.

As Christians, when a crisis comes, we often look for the “fastest exits.”

We want out of the trial or crisis just as soon as possible, and with the least amount of pain. Romans 5 tells us

Romans 5:1-5  ¹ Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Sometimes the only way out of a storm is to ride it out.

Sometimes the only way out of a crisis is perseverance.

One day Lazarus was alive, the next day he was dead; just four days later he was alive again.

A lot can happen in a week.

A lot can happen in three days, just ask Jesus.

It’s the thing that I put on my mom’s refrigerator years ago that she really loved, and it says:

“Sometimes He calms the storms, and sometimes He calms the believer and lets the storm rage on.”

7 Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.

Jesus and his disciples had just left Judea just recently, and now they’re going to turn around and go back, and John chapter 10, verse 25 is Jesus is telling them that he is the Messiah, the Son of God, and they gather up rocks and want to kill him

8 His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?

John 10:39 ³⁹ Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.

9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.

10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.

Oh yeah, that really cleared things up. You ever read a verse in the Bible and go What?

This is one of those verses at first, but He’s telling us, you only have a certain amount of time to accomplish something for the cause of Christ.

And if you walk in the light, who is the light? Jesus. You won’t stumble, but if there is no light, you’re gonna fail every single time

John 1:4-5  ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

You only have so much time. Use it wisely

11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.

He’s telling them that He is bring him back from the dead

1 Kings 2:10  So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.

Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Psalm 13:3 ³  Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

Acts 7:60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 ) ⁵¹ Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, ⁵² In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

And our story continues Verse #12

12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.

13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.

14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

Now let’s look at this as another one of those hard things in the Bible, Jesus said in verse 15

15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.

He’s not glad that Lazarus is dead He’s glad that his disciples are about to learn a very valuable lesson and that is never count Jesus out no matter what the end result looks like you’re still in the game as long as you’ve got Christ on your side

16 Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

We always have a doubter; we always have someone that’s griping about something

And they go on to Bethany, and the Bible says verse 17

17 Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.

18 Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: Or as we said a couple of miles

19 And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.

Always be ready to get in the presence of Jesus

21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

I heard a preacher say recently that this is not a compliment to Jesus. This is a complaint if you’d have just shown up. You let me down

How many times have we said that in our heart or even out loud?

God, if You’d just been here, You could have fixed this. I know I have.

22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

She didn’t lose her faith. Notice that! Don’t miss that!

As I’ve said in the past it’s OK to get upset it’s OK to tell God you’re upset he knows But don’t lose your faith and don’t give up

23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

She knows the word of God she has set under Jesus teachings She knows there’s gonna be a resurrection of the last day and she is confident that she will see him Lazarus again someday just not as soon as she’s fixing to

25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

One of the seven I Ams of the Book of John.

26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Brennan Manning says; When we get to heaven God’s gonna ask us one very important question and that question is do you truly believe that I love you

And the question to you is do you truly believe that he loves you and if you do believe that whatever happens whatever’s going on he allowed it through his love and when you accept that it makes a life living life so much easier

27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

She’s accepted the salvation but hasn’t accepted the consequences that comes with serving God sometimes as I’ve said are you willing to be in the will of God and sometimes when you’re there it comes with a heavy price

28 And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.

Jesus must have asked where is Mary

Now let me let you in on something very important Jesus never asked a question for information He is and always has been God. God never asked a question for information It’s always to expose something whenever you see a question mark at the end of something that Jesus or God says it’s to expose something He knows everything

29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.

Great reaction when you fill a call from the Lord you get up and move then

30 Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.

31 The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.

Even when you are hurting you can still lead others to Christ.

32 Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

Always at his feet

Luke 10:38-42 38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. 40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

John 12:3 3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.

Always at his feet

And the story goes on…

33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,

34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.

35 Jesus wept.

is used of “any loud expression of grief,” especially in mourning for the dead
Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old Testament and New Testament Words.

Third thing to see when disaster strikes

3. Emotion is natural. (John 11:35)

One of the worst temptations during a crisis is to try to appear strong.

I will be a rock during this storm, you might think.

But let me share a simple truth with you. When we are weak, he is strong. We live in a society that says crying is weak and for women.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Jesus wept.

Why did Jesus weep? Mourning over Lazarus? No, that doesn’t make sense. He knew God was going to raise him from the dead.

He wept because he saw the pain in Mary and Martha, people he loved, and his heart hurt with them.

God has made us emotional people, and when a crisis hits, we need to let it out. It’s ok to be emotional. It’s ok to cry.

When we want God to fix something, we want him to fix it now

Isaiah 53:3-5  ³ He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. ⁴ Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. ⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

Listen, you’re not in it alone. Jesus hurts when we hurt.

We saw when Stevens was being stoned in the book of Acts, he looked up, and he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father. When we’re facing difficulties, when we are hurting, when we’re having problems, Jesus takes note, and he stands up, and He’s on our side

And I keep saying over and over if God be for us who can be against us!

1. Death is not a destination. It’s a transition.
2. Death is a reunion with friends and loved ones who are also believers
3. Death is not the end. It’s the beginning of eternal life.

Salvation begins with a decision. It’s not just a prayer prayed, one and done, and go back to living the way you want to, but it starts with a prayer. Commit your life to Jesus and enjoy the Hope and promise of heaven that is open for all who believe.

Max Lucado book Next Door Savior chapter “What Jesus Says At Funerals”

Christ’s Response to Loss In an unexpected move, Jesus weeps alongside Martha and Mary, showing that sorrow is a natural response to loss, regardless of faith. He doesn’t dismiss their pain but instead shares in it. This validates that grieving is not a sign of weak faith; rather, it’s a real, human experience. Jesus understands deep sadness, even knowing he would soon raise Lazarus

Jesus didn’t take it lightly. When he saw people he loved hurting, he hurt himself. He was there for them. He comforted them, and he cried for them

There’s been a number of occasions in funeral homes and people’s homes after someone had passed away that I’d go in and I didn’t have words to say but I’d hold them and I’d cry with them

When Margie Sprayberry passed away I went over to their house and I walked in and Chuck was just barely holding himself together and I just  took him and I pulled him to me my prayer partner my brother my friend and I held him and he started reaping and crying We didn’t say words I just stood there and cried with them sometimes you just need to be there for somebody

And the story goes on,

Read verses 21, 32. It is ok to question God. It is ok to say “God I do not understand why this is happening to me. I don’t understand what you are trying to do in my life.”

21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 32 Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

Again, I don’t see this as a compliment; I see it as a complaint. Why didn’t you show up, God? And he does just try to look through his eyes and see what’s best for you in some situations

If you are going through a crisis, realize that prayer must be a priority, and that it is ok to allow your emotions to be expressed.

36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!

And he does love and listen he loves you. you may be going through a hard time right now, this church may be going through a hard time right now, but I want to tell you God’s here with us Why because He loves us.

37 And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?

Yes, He very much could have, but He didn’t .

Which is the greater outcome?

To heal a sick Lazarus

Or to raise a dead Lazarus

That’s gotta cut deep. He can do it for others; why couldn’t he do it for his own friend? You ever questioned God like that? I have. I’ve seen God answer prayers for some people, and I’m praying, and I’m like, ‘ Why couldn’t you do that for me.

Because he knows what’s best for me, and he treats us all differently.

38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

He was hurting deep down inside. My mother said that he was hurting because of their unbelief. Quite possibly so.

39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.

We (the Church are to remove the stones to get to the stinking people…we need to quit being so high and mighty and pious and go after the stinking people. We forget where we came from.

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Isa 64:7  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

Fourth thing to see when disaster strikes

4. God uses disaster for his glory. (John 11:4, 40)

He can take a negative and turn it into a positive. He turned disaster into deliverance. God can use crisis in our lives to bring about his glory.

4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

In verses 4 & 40, God did not cause Lazarus to die, but he used the crisis for his glory, and it changed the lives of Mary and Martha. So how does that help us?

It helps us with the temptation to blame God.

It helps us to realize that God doesn’t bring disaster into our lives.

It helps us realize that he loves us and can take our defeats and turn them into his victories.

It also gives us hope that God is able to cure any disease, fix any marriage, mend any heart, forgive any sin.

 There is no crisis too big for God.

Emotions do not drive Jesus; He is guided by devotion to the Father

Gary Hamrick “The more you commune with God, the more you’ll be immune from the fear and anxiety of the world… “

41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid.

As the Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz said, talking about the Wicked Witch, “as Coroner I must claim have thoroughly examined her and she’s not only merely dead she’s really most sincerely dead,”

And that’s exactly where we see Lazarus right now; he is sure enough dead. He’s been in that tomb for 4 days, wrapped up, hadn’t had anything to eat or drink, and he has not been breathing. He’s surely dead.

No doubt that this is a great miracle

41b. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

As we said downstairs a few weeks ago on the Sermon about prayer, God hears every single prayer we pray as believers, and He will answer every single prayer yes or no, and no is an answer, and sometimes just wait

And Jesus speaking in verse 42

42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

What He is doing is for the good of everyone

43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

Rarely do you see Jesus raise his voice but I guess he’s in a grave and he’s hollering into tomb and he’s being specific about the name as we’ve heard before if he’d had just said come forth the whole graveyard would have emptied out

44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

We need to take off the grave clothes of old habits:

We need to take off the grave clothes of old attitudes:

We need to be renewed by the changing of our minds –

We need to begin to think differently – like we’ve been set free!

Galatians 5:1 (NKJV) Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.

You see the result This is because of what he did Many believed on him how we handle our circumstances is going to see how we minister to other people around us as I’ve said time and time again people are watching Let him see God in you

God’s delay is often for His display

Jesus was not late

God is never late. He does not have to operate on our timetable.

Fifth thing to see when disaster strikes

5. God changes lives through crisis. (John 11:45)

That’s the final lesson for us. Sometimes it is the life of the one going through the crisis.

Other times it is the lives of those around a suffering person.

Most of the time it is both.

Think about the lives that were changed in the Lazarus story:

Lazarus- he was never the same again. He had some wild stories to tell.

You know you can tell a story, and somebody’s always going to come along and beat it. I caught a 7-pound bass; well, they caught an 8-pounder.

I killed a nine-point buck; they killed a 10 Pointer.

There’s always somebody gonna outdo your story, I think Lazarus won that storytelling all the time

Ex: My brother Glenn had a trump card when it comes to being sick and having stories told “I did die”

Mary and Martha- Had a new love and appreciation for life, Lazarus, and Jesus.

The Jews- (verse 45) changed hearts, a new faith.

John 12:11

11 Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.

It is sad that it takes a crisis, but thank God that through a crisis he can turn the lost into saved,

he can melt hardened hearts,

he can make the bitter loving,

he can turn orphans into children of the king.

We play in fair weather, but we pray in the storms.

If you are a Christian and have gone through a disaster in your life, then you know exactly what I mean.

You could say today, “I am not the same person that I was before the crisis came into my life.” God has shaped and molded you into who you are today, and has done it through crisis.

If you are a Christian and have not had any “great disasters”, I do not want to be the bearer of bad news, but at some point you probably will have a time of crisis and testing in your life.

I pray that you will keep these things close to your heart so that you will be totally prepared in a time of crisis.

One final scripture today- John 11:25-26. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live even though he dies. And whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Do you? Are you Christians living your lives reflecting your hope in the risen Lord?

If Jesus is not the Lord of your life, he can be. The Bible says we must:

Believe in Jesus as the Son of God.

Repent of our sins and confess Jesus as Lord.

Arise and live for him each and every day.

Salvation begins with a decision. It’s not just a prayer prayed, one and done, and go back to living the way you want to, but it starts with a prayer. Commit your life to Jesus and enjoy the Hope and promise of heaven that is open for all who believe.

August 5^th 2026 Wednesday night Calvary Baptist Church

“The Power of the Word of God.”
Word Of God (BIBLE)

 Creed by Rich Mullins

I believe in God the Father almighty
Maker of Heaven and Maker of Earth
And in Jesus Christ
His only begotten Son, our Lord
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
Born of the Virgin Mary
Suffered under Pontius Pilate
He was crucified and dead and buried

I believe that He who suffered
Was crucified, buried, and dead
He descended into hell and
On the third day, rose again
He ascended into Heaven where
He sits at God’s mighty right hand
I believe that He’s returning to
Judge the quick and the dead
Of the sons of men

I believe in God the Father almighty
Maker of Heaven and Maker of Earth
And in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son,
Our Lord

I believe in the Holy Spirit
One Holy Church, the communion of Saints
The forgiveness of sin
I believe in the resurrection
I believe in a life that never ends

And I believe what I believe
Is what makes me what I am
I did not make it, no it is making me
It is the very truth of God and not

The invention of any man

I believe it, I believe it, I believe it, I believe I believe it, I believe it

It is what makes me what I am.

The question is what makes you what you are?

Is it the books you read other than the Bible? Is it the songs you sing outside of Christian songs? Is it Netflix or streaming TV? I promise you everything that you put into your mind goes into your heart.

It is what makes you what you are. I want to talk to you for a few moments tonight about the Word of God

You remember the Children’s song: “Be careful, little eyes, what you see; be careful, little ears, what you hear.” The Father up above He is looking down with love, so be careful, little eyes, what you see.

It applies to the older folks too. What we put in us is what the world gets out of us.

As a Christian, Christ is what makes us what we are. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit sent by our heavenly Father, God.

We need not give up. As I’ve said time and again, God’s nowhere near done here. We just trust Him and keep the battle going. He’s gonna do a miraculous work here, but He’s got to do that through His word.

Just don’t give up. Follow after God’s plan, not man’s plan. We make mistakes. God does not.

In 1889, a schoolteacher told a ten-year-old boy, “You will never amount to very much.” That boy was Albert Einstein.

In 1954, a music manager told a young singer, “You ought to go back to driving a truck.” That singer was Elvis Presley.

In 1962, a record company told a group of singers from England, “We don’t like your sound. Groups with guitars are definitely on their way out.” They said that to the Beatles.

Man is prone to make mistakes. And man will make mistakes, but hear me well: God does not.

So how do we know what God wants us to do? It’s in His word. That’s what I want to talk to you about tonight.

Those who reject the Bible should take the time to look at the evidence before they come to a verdict:

Understand it’s not about what I say or any other preacher but what God says through us!

John Vernon McGee (June 17, 1904 – December 1, 1988) was an American ordained Presbyterian minister, pastor, Bible teacher, theologian, and radio minister.

Thru the Bible

In 1967, he began broadcasting the Thru the Bible radio program. In a systematic study of each book of the Bible, McGee took his listeners from Genesis to Revelation in a two-and-a-half-year “Bible Bus trip”, as he called it. He had earlier preached a “Through the Bible in a Year” series of sermons, each devoted to one chapter of the Bible, at the Church of the Open Door. After retiring from the pastorate in January 1970, and realizing that two and a half years was not enough time to teach the whole Bible, McGee completed another study of the entire Bible in a five-year period. At the time of McGee’s death, the Thru the Bible program aired in 34 languages, but has since been translated into over 100 languages. It is broadcast on Trans World Radio throughout the world every weekday.

In 1965, doctors told J. Vernon McGee he had six months to live. He responded by starting the radio program that would walk the entire world through every single book of the Bible. He’s been gone since 1988. The program is still running.

In 1965, a doctor sat across from J. Vernon McGee and told him he had six months to live. Cancer.

McGee was sixty-one years old. He had spent decades studying God’s Word. He had pastored the Church of the Open Door in downtown Los Angeles — one of the most historic churches in America. He had preached the Bible his entire adult life.

And a doctor was telling him it was almost over. Most people would have stopped. McGee started a radio program. Two years after the diagnosis — two years after being told he had six months — he launched Thru the Bible. A daily radio broadcast that would walk listeners through every single book of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Chapter by chapter. Book by book. The whole thing. He called it the Bible Bus.

And for the next twenty-three years — twenty-three years he was never supposed to have — J. Vernon McGee drove that bus. 800 radio stations in North America. More than 100 languages. 160 countries.

He kept going until December 1, 1988, when he fell asleep in his chair mid-conversation — talking about making sure the ministry would continue after he was gone. And it did continue.

Because before he died, he said something that he never stopped believing — and that most Christians have heard and never truly acted on.

“In my opinion, the greatest sin in the church of Jesus Christ in this generation is ignorance of the Word of God. Many times, I have heard a church officer say, ‘Well I don’t know much about the Bible, but…’ and then he gives his opinion, which often actually contradicts the Word of God.”

The greatest sin in the church. Not immorality. Not unbelief. It’s the Ignorance of the Word of God.

And then the line that breaks me every time I read it.

“The only way you and I are going to stay close to Jesus is to stay close to His Word.”

Not close to Church. Not close to sermons about His Word. Not close to other people who know His Word.

Close to His Word itself. And in that you will be close to Christ Himself

Inside His Word. Understanding His Word. Letting His Word get into you the way it got into McGee — the way it kept him going for twenty-three years after a doctor told him he had six months.

But here’s what most Christians never figure out — and what nobody in the pew seems willing to say out loud.

Most of us are not close to His Word.

We are close to the idea of His Word.

We own it. The Bible, We carry it to Church. We set it on the seat next to us. We start reading plans in January and stop in April and feel guilty about it until December.

And we tell ourselves that counts.

McGee said it didn’t.

He said it plainly for over twenty years on the radio while the cancer that was supposed to kill him in six months kept not killing him.

“The greatest sin today in the church is the man in the pew who is ignorant of the Bible.”

And he spent every year he had — including every year he wasn’t supposed to have — trying to change it. He knew what the problem was. It wasn’t that Christians didn’t love God. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to read. It was that nobody had ever walked them through it.

The Bible is letters, poems, prophecies, and histories written for specific people in specific moments in history — without anyone telling you who wrote it, when, why, what was happening in the world at the time, or how it all connects together.

Not one word written to me every single word written For me With me on His mind.

That’s why it can feel impossible. That’s why you start in January with every intention and stop in April with a fresh set of guilt.

Not because you’re faithless. Because nobody ever got on the bus with you.

“The only way you and I are going to stay close to Jesus is to stay close to His Word.”

 I used to think that was about discipline. About making yourself sit down every morning. About willpower and intention and not quitting. But now I understand something different. You can’t stay close to someone you don’t understand. You can’t stay close to a Word you’ve been reading for decades without it ever getting inside.

We can spend a lifetime studying the Word of God and never make the smallest dent in the knowledge of what’s in God’s Word.

We need to listen to what the Bible tells us, not just hear it but hear it and apply it.

Chuck Swindoll says, and I try to practice this every time I preach, that the preacher’s job is to tell you what the Bible says, what the Bible means, and how it applies to you.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9  ⁴ “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! ⁵ You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
⁶ “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

When Moses said “Hear,” The Hebrew word is SHEMA (sh’MAH,)

In Hebrew, SHEMA (sh’MAH,) means “To Hear,” but it is never just the sound of the ear; it means listen, pay attention, and respond. Do something with it don’t just get it apply it

James 1:19-20  ¹⁹ So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; ²⁰ for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

James 1:23-25  ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵ But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

The Bible’s central prayer begins hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Deuteronomy 6:4: to SHEMA (sh’MAH,) God is to let His voice shape your life. Hearing leads to action. Listening becomes obedience. It’s not only about words; it’s about trust, love, and faithfulness

I am going to give you 5 things that make the Bible unique.

Compiled by Justin and Jordan Drake (The Evidence Bible.)

1. It is unique in its continuity. Steadiness

If just 10 people today were picked who were from the same place, born around the same time, spoke the same language, and made about the same amount of money, and were asked to write on just one controversial subject, they would have trouble agreeing with each other.

But the Bible stands alone. It was written over a period of 1,600 years by more than 40 writers from all walks of life.

Some were politicians. Others were generals or kings, shepherds or historians, tax collectors, fishermen, a Doctor, prophets, and preachers. And Paul was a tent maker and part of the Sanhedrin.

They were from three different continents, and wrote in three different languages.

They wrote on hundreds of controversial subjects, yet they wrote with agreement and harmony.

They wrote in dungeons, in temples, on beaches, and on hillsides, during peacetime and during war.

Yet their words sound like they came from the same source. And it very much did come from the same source!

So even though 10 people today couldn’t write on one controversial subject and agree, God picked 40 different people to write the Bible-and it stands the test of time.

2. It is unique in its circulation.

The invention of the printing press in 1450 made it possible to print books in large quantities.

The first book printed was the Bible.

Since then, the Bible has been read by more people and printed more times than any other book in history.

By 1930, over one billion Bibles had been distributed by Bible societies around the world.

By 1977, Bible societies alone were printing over 200 million Bibles each year, and this number does not include the many other Bible publishers.

No one knowing the truth can ignore such an important book.

3. It is unique in its translation,

It has been translated into over l,400 languages. There is no single exact count, but the entire Bible has been translated into more than 770 languages, with partial translations existing in over 4,000 languages worldwide. In English alone, there are roughly 900 different translations, paraphrases, and revisions. No other book even comes close.

Global Translation Statistics

• Full Bibles: Translated into over 770 languages.
• New Testament only: Translated into nearly 1,800 additional languages.
• Portions/Stories: Available in more than 1,400 other languages.
• Total reach: At least some Scripture exists in over 4,000 of the world’s ~7,400 languages.
• English Translations
• We have William Tyndale Bible 1526
• Matthew’s Bible 1537
• Geneva Bible 1560
• And then the King James in 1611. All these are English translations

• Total count: Estimated at 900 distinct printed versions and paraphrases since 1526.
• Major types: Range from literal word-for-word translations to loose thought-for-thought paraphrases.
• Common versions: Include the King James Version (KJV), New International Version (NIV), English Standard Version (ESV), and New Living Translation (NLT). And most theologians and Bible scholars will tell you the closest thing to an English translation that we have is the New American Standard Bible (NASB)

4. It is unique in its survival.

In ancient times, books were copied by hand onto manuscripts, which were made from parchment and would decay over time.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of roughly 900 to 1,000 ancient Jewish manuscripts. They were found between 1947 and 1956 in 11 caves near Qumran on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. Dating from the 3rd century BC to the 1st century AD, they include the oldest known copies of biblical texts

Discovery and Composition

• Who found them: Bedouin shepherds looking for a stray goat. They threw a rock into a cave, and he heard pottery break. He investigated and found tall clay jars holding ancient letters and manuscripts and later, archaeologists discovered the texts in caves in the Judean Desert.

• Materials: Most texts are written on animal skin parchment or papyrus, with one famous exception—the Copper Scroll—chiseled onto metal.
• Languages: The fragments are written mostly in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

It’s amazing how the Dead Sea Scrolls survived all those years because they were in a perfectly balanced, humid cave, wrapped in linen and placed in a clay jar and the right kind of containers to preserve them. How can you say God wasn’t involved

Ancient books are available today only because someone made copies of the originals to preserve them.

For example, the original writings of Julius Caesar are no longer around. We know what he wrote only by the copies we have.

Only 10 copies still exist, and they were made 1,000 years after he died. Only 600 copies of Homer’s The Iliad exist, made 1,300 years after the originals were written.

No other book has as many copies of the ancient manuscripts as the Bible.

In fact, there are over 24,000 copies of New Testament manuscripts, some written within 35 years of the writer’s death.

5. It is unique in withstanding attack.

No other book has been so attacked throughout history as the Bible. In A.D. 300, the Roman emperor Diocletian (Dia-a-clee-tion) ordered every Bible burned because he thought that by destroying the Scriptures, he could destroy Christianity.

Anyone caught with a Bible would be executed.

But just 25 years later, the Roman emperor Constantine ordered that 50 perfect copies of the Bible be made at government expense.

The French philosopher Voltaire, a skeptic who destroyed the faith of many people, boasted that within 100 years of his death, the Bible would disappear from the face of the earth.

Voltaire died in 1728, but the Bible lives on.

The irony of history is that 50 years after his death, the Geneva Bible Society moved into his former house and used his printing presses to print thousands of Bibles.

The Bible has also survived criticism.

No book has been more attacked for its accuracy, and yet archaeologists are proving every year that the Bible’s detailed descriptions of historic events are correct.

Hebrews 4:12-13  ¹² For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ¹³ And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

 Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick (living) and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Today we come to the power of the Word of God. This section begins with “for” or “therefore,” tying what follows with what the author has previously told us about the consequences of Israel’s disobedience. The author wants us to get it through our heads that Israel’s awful tragedy can strike us as well.

Stewart Briscoe when you see therefore see what the therefore is therefore because therefore is there for a reason

Matthew Henry’s Commentary                                                                

“The word preached did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith in those that heard him, v. 2. Observe,    

1. The word is preached to us that we may profit by it, that we may gain spiritual riches by it; it is a price put into our hands to get wisdom, the rich endowment of the soul.

About Sunday School    Expound?                                                                                  

2. There have been in all ages a great many unprofitable hearers; many who seem to deal much in sermons, in hearing the word of God, but gain nothing to their souls thereby; and those who are not gainers by hearing are great losers.
3. That which is at the bottom of all our unprofitableness under the word is our unbelief.

We do not mix faith with what we hear; it is faith in the hearer that is the life of the word.

Though the preacher believes the gospel, and endeavors to mix faith with his preaching, and to speak as one who has believed and so spoken, yet, if the hearers have not faith in their souls to mix with the word, they will be never the better for it.

This faith must mingle with every word, and be in act and exercise while we are hearing; and, when we have heard the word, assenting to the truth of it, approving of it, accepting the mercy offered, applying the word to ourselves with suitable affections, then we shall find great profit and gain by the word preached.”

Now I want you to see with me four reasons why we should not disregard the Word of God!

First, it is A Living Word (v. 12a For the word of God is quick,)

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick (living) and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

(1.) That is quick; it is very lively and active, in all its efforts, in seizing the conscience of the sinner, in cutting him to the heart, and in comforting him and binding up the wounds of the soul. Those know not the word of God who call it a dead letter; it is quick, compared to the light, and nothing quicker than the light; it is not only quick, but quickening; it is a vital light; it is a living word, zon. Saints die, and sinners die; but the word of God lives.                               

1 Peter 1:22-25  ²² Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, ²³ having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, ²⁴ because “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, ²⁵ But the word of the LORD endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

Zechariah 1:5-6 ⁵ “Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? ⁶ Yet surely My words and My statutes, Which I commanded My servants the prophets, Did they not overtake your fathers? “So they returned and said: ‘Just as the LORD of hosts determined to do to us, According to our ways and according to our deeds, So He has dealt with us.’ ” ‘ ”

“For the word of God is living…”
The Bible, the word of God, is unlike any other book you have in your home or in the library. The Library of Congress lays claims to being the largest library in the world, with more than 130 million items on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves. The collections include more than 29 million books and other printed materials, 2.7 million recordings, 12 million photographs, 4.8 million maps, and 58 million manuscripts. Yet among all these volumes, the only ones that can lay claim to being alive and powerful are copies of the Bible. This places the Bible in a unique category all to itself.

The word “living” is placed in the definite position in the original language. The word of God is no dead letter, but as the word of the living God it cannot itself fail to be living.

As the living word it continues through each age with compelling importance. “Gipsy Smith told of a man who said he had received no inspiration from the Bible although he had “gone through it several times.” “Let it go through you once,” replied Smith, “then you will tell a different story!”
[source unknown – www.bible.org/illus/Bible (application)]
The Word of God is not only a living word but

Secondly, It is an Powerful Word (v 12b)
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The word translated “powerful” (energes) is the word from which we get energy and energetic. The word literally means “at work.”
Charles Swindoll comments, “News articles may inform us. Novels may inspire us. Poetry may enrapture us. But only the living, active Word of God can transform us.”  [Charles Swindoll, p. 73]

(2.) It is powerful. When God sets it home by his Spirit, it convinces powerfully, converts powerfully, and comforts powerfully. It is so powerful as to pull down strongholds.

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 ⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, ⁶ and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

To raise the dead, to make the deaf to hear, the blind to see, the dumb to speak, and the lame to walk. It is powerful to batter down Satan’s kingdom, and to set up the kingdom of Christ upon the ruins thereof.

Well, it is…living and active…and so when we read its words they reach out and touch the needs of our lives in an almost tangible way.

Isaiah 55:11 ¹¹ So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

This describes scripture as being a living agent or messenger that God sends to touch our lives. Listen to what God says in this passage… ” …. My word will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” So, unlike any other book, the Bible is living and powerful and…
That’s how preachers who are doing wrong see souls saved; it is not the person but the WORD.

Jeremiah 23:29  ²⁹ “Is not My word like a fire?” says the LORD, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

fire: warms and devours

Hammer a. fashions – knocks off ruff edges

1. separates
2. breaks the ties that bind
3. unites – hammer and a nails together

Third, it is a Penetrating Word (v 12c)

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick (living) and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

(3.) It is sharper than any two-edged sword; it cuts both ways; it is the sword of the Spirit,

Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

It is the two-edged sword that cometh out of the mouth of Christ, Rev 1:16.

Revelation 1:16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.

It is sharper than any two-edged sword, for it will enter where no other sword can, and make a more critical dissection: it pierces to the dividing asunder of the soul and the spirit, the soul and its habitual prevailing temper; it makes a soul that has been a long time of a proud spirit to be humble, of a perverse spirit to be meek and obedient. Those sinful habits that have become as it were natural to the soul, and rooted deeply in it, and become in a manner one with it, are separated and cut off by this sword. It cuts off ignorance from the understanding, rebellion from the will, and hostility from the mind, which, when carnal, is hostility itself against God. This sword divides between the joints and the marrow, the most secret, close, and intimate parts of the body; this sword can cut off the lusts of the flesh as well as the lusts of the mind, and make men willing to undergo the sharpest operation for the mortifying of sin.

In the Roman world there were two distinctly different swords. There was the large sword; it was long, heavy, and destructive. And there was a short sword (machaira), it was lightweight and double-edged and deadly because it cut both ways. This is what Peter used to cut off the ear of the servant of the High Priest in the garden of Gethsemane on the night of Jesus’ arrest (Mark 14:47).

I like weapons. I had the closest thing to being my grandchildren in my house around Christmas time last year, and they came into my study, and they saw my swords propped against the shelves. They asked if they could pick them up, and I told them the difference in the Swords and why I had them. One was a double-edged broadsword, and the other was a small hand sword like Peter had in the garden.

What the author is saying is that God’s Word can reach into the innermost recesses of our being! No heart is too tough, and no soul is too dark.

“When God wills it, his word can pierce anyone as a certain Mr. Thorpe in the 18th century Bristol found out. Thorpe was a part of a band of men who called themselves the ‘Hell Fire Club.’ Their reason for existence was to mock and ridicule the work of the famed evangelist, George Whitefield. On one occasion, the ‘Hell-Fire Club’ gathered at a pub for such mockery. Mr. Thorpe offered his brilliant imitation of Whitefield, whom he and his friends called ‘Mr. Squintum’ because of Whitefield’s eyes. He delivered his sermon with brilliant accuracy, perfectly imitating his tone and facial expressions as he quoted Scripture and Whitefield’s exposition. Suddenly, amidst the laughter, he had to sit down, for he was pierced through and was converted on the spot.
Mr. Thorpe was a thoroughly nasty man, engaged in a nasty action, yet the Word of God pierced his heart and changed him in an instant. Mr. Thorpe went on to be a prominent Christian leader in the city of Bristol” [C. H. Spurgeon. The Metropolitan Pulpit. Vol. 34. (Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim Pub, 1974) p. 115]

The Word of God Is Not Only a Penetrating Word but…

Fourth, It is a Discerning Word (vv. 12d -13)

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick (living) and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 4:13  And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

(4.) It is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, even the most secret and remote thoughts and designs. It will discover to men the variety of their thoughts and purposes, the vileness of them, the bad principles they are actuated by, the sinister and sinful ends they act to. The word will turn the inside of a sinner out, and let him see all that is in his heart. Now such a word as this must needs be a great help to our faith and obedience.

James 1:22-24 ²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

What are you looking for? Some type of correction; we can’t hide from a true reflection.  No matter how hard I look in the mirror, my hair is still gone. I see a true reflection, and that’s why the Word of God exposes what we really are

Do we correct the problem or cover it up? Correct by doing what it says, doer, not hearer

Before you try to get to His presence, look at yourself

From this passage I want us to see three truths.     Time….

• God Sees Everything; There Is No Escape.
  We want God to see us when we are hurting and when we are going through difficult times.

We want Him to see and come to our aid.

But when it comes to our sin and wrongdoing, we would rather that God looked the other way. But verse twelve concludes by saying that the Word of God “… is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

The word “discerner” (kritikos) is the word from which we get critic. As the Word of God penetrates into the innermost recesses of man’s being, it does so as his critic or judge.

•God Sees Everything; There Is No Hiding.
Only the Word of God is capable of exposing the thoughts and attitudes of a single human heart. There really is no use in hiding.

Why is it that when we fear that something is not quite right physically, we tend to put off going to the doctor because we fear we will hear bad news. The same is true spiritually.
Verse thirteen says that before God “all things are naked” or literally “laid bare.” The word (tetrachelismena) literally refers to bending someone’s neck backward so the face is looking upwards. As we said in Sunday school this morning in Psalms chapter three, God took David’s chin and raised his face looking upward. It is a vivid term describing either the grip of a wrestler on the neck of his opponent or the grip on the neck of a sacrificial victim prepared for sacrifice.

And sometimes it was used to describe how a man being led to execution had a knife placed beneath his chin so that he could not hang his head in shame and avoid the gaze of the onlookers. Whatever the exact nature of the picture that is being drawn here, it means that to be in the grip of an all-powerful God is to be vulnerable, helpless, and to have all our secrets known.

The Word of God possesses the diagnostic perception that picks up inconsistency even in motivation. With God we cannot smooth over with outward actions, the real intentions of our hearts. We may appear to be sincere to others, but God knows if there is an ulterior motive.

God Sees Everything; There Is No Excuse.

• The last part of verse thirteen says, all things are “… open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

This verse plainly tells us that there is a coming day of reckoning upon which we will each give an account for our lives.

The day of excuses will be over; the book of Romans tells us there is coming a time “when every mouth will be stopped” (Rom 3:19), there will be no more excuses. The Apostle Paul warns in 2 Cor. 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

Let me conclude by sharing something written many years ago by Samuel Chadwick. “I have guided my life by the Bible for more than sixty years, and I tell you there is no book like it. It is a miracle of literature, a permanent spring of wisdom, a wonder of surprises, a revelation of mystery, an infallible guide of conduct, and an unspeakable source of comfort. Pay no attention to people who discredit it, for I tell you that they speak without knowledge. It is the Word of God itself. Study it according to its own direction. Live by its principles. Believe its message. Follow its precepts. No man is uneducated who knows the Bible, and no one is wise who is ignorant of its teachings.” [Samuel Chadwick from 1001 Great Stories and Quotes. R. Kent Hughes. (Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1998) p. 77]

Application
The challenge for us is always at least two-fold.
First, we must ask ourselves if we are being challenged by the word of God. The Word of God has captured your attention and convicted you of your sin and convinced you that you need to do something about it, today. And do it.

Secondly, we should always think through the application of what we hear preached or read. We should pay enough attention to what the Word of God may be saying to us to write it down and think it over. Asking the question, “What action does God want me to take concerning this truth in my life?”

“The Transforming Power of the Word of God.”
The Four Reasons That We Should Not Disregard The Word of God.
First, It is A Living Word
Secondly, It is a Powerful Word
Third, It is a Penetrating Word
Fourth, It is a Discerning Word
God Sees Everything; There Is No Escape                                            God Sees Everything; There Is No Hiding                                              God Sees Everything; There Is No Excuse.

Hebrews 4:14-16 ¹⁴ Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Word of God Speak by Mercy Me

I’m finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it’s okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say

Word of God speak
Would you pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That you’re in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In your holiness
Word of God speak

I’m finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice

I’m finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it’s okay

Calvary Baptist Church August 8 2026 PM

The Purpose of The Church: Evangelism

Church people and God’s people are not the same thing.

Church people go to Church.

God’s people are “The Church!”

 That’s what I’ve been trying to get across for the last two months

Evangelism of the gospel Alistair Begg

“I’m cautioning myself about falling into a trap, and it’s this: confusing one’s ability to tell people about the benefits of receiving the gospel or warning them about the dangers of rejecting the gospel.

While at the same time never actually telling them what the gospel is.

So, I have to remind myself that the gospel is what God has done for us in Jesus to save us from sin, and from death and from hell.

And that it is that gospel that we must believe; if we were to be saved and believe in the gospel, this doesn’t simply mean making certain intellectual facts, but it means the commitment of our life, our entirety, on the strength of who Jesus is and what he has done. The gospel really is good news.”

So, this is the one thing that we are asked to do that sends shivers up most of our spines?

Evangelism is one of the most intimidating of the purposes of the Church. The command is to tell everyone about Jesus. To evangelize means to share the good news about Jesus with other people. And sometimes at an enormous cost!

That’s not just done with your words; it’s done with your actions also.

You know Peter denied Jesus three times, and then a few weeks later you hear him doing this in the very town square where they held Jesus’ trial. And it brings us to the text that we’ve been using through this whole series.

This is Peter talking to them, the Ones that crucified Christ

Acts 2:36-47 ³⁶ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, (He’s also addressed us) both Lord and Christ.” ³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
³⁸ Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” ⁴⁰ And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” ⁴¹ Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

And now that brings us back to our text:

⁴² And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. ⁴³ Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, ⁴⁵ and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. ⁴⁶ So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

 

In Matthew, we are called to evangelize the world. We are called to reach out to the whole world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 28:18-20 ¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

 Authority = ex-oo-see’-ah. Translated it in English Words used in KJV: power 69 authority 29 right 2 liberty 1 jurisdiction 1 strength 1
?from <G1832> (exesti) (in the sense of ability); privilege, i.e. (subject) force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (object) mastery (concrete magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence :- authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, strength.?

¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples Students of all the nations, everybody in the world not just the Jews baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Buried with him in death raised to walk a new life ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

 He’s not gonna leave you. He’s not gonna forsake you. He’s going to enable you to do what you’re commissioned to do, and that’s go and evangelize the world

You’re not asked to do this on your own power. You’re being told to do this under the authority of Jesus Christ himself. This is a commandment as much as the Ten are!

So, He, God, has given us the power to be able to tell people about Jesus; we must be able to attract people. This is true of the Church and of each of us individually.

And everyone needs to do it without excuse. We’re all called to evangelize the world! 

As a Church, we can have all the programs that look good, but if we do not follow the principles that Jesus used to pull people in, we will not get the opportunity to use the wonderful Gifts that God has given us.
I want to focus in on what we need to do in order to appeal to people so that we can share the gospel with them.
And that’s the bottom line; that’s what it’s all about

How do we do this? Do we compromise the message? NO!

Did Jesus compromise His message to attract people? NO!

Why do Churches struggle with growth? Is there something wrong with the message or messenger?
Too many times, Churches that do not appeal to people wear that as a badge of honor, a testament to the fact that they do not compromise the Gospel.

They say stuff like: Well, the only reason people are going to the big Church is that they tell them what they want to hear.

Until you have sat in one of those services, don’t be saying stupid stuff like that. I’ve served as a part of one of those churches for years now.

I teach a small group on Thursday nights. From Labor Day to Memorial Day, I’ve seen hundreds, if not thousands, of souls in the last 10 or 11 years as part of that Church come to the saving knowledge of Christ.

So, when people say, well, people are not going to Church anymore, they are going. And I promise you the truth is being preached there just as much as is being preached here.

What this scenario really paints is a scene of a Church that does not care enough for people to reach out to the lost around them.
Sometimes Churches do not reach out because they do not really want to grow; they are comfortable with the way they are, and they do not want other people rocking the boat.

Sometimes fear holds us back:

fear of rejection,

fear of being made fun of,

fear of not having ALL of the answers to ALL of the questions.

Listen for God’s voice because:

God’s voice stills you; Satan’s voice rushes you.  Rush, or Peace be still.

Dr. Charles Stanley said: Now remember this:

“Romans 8:28 (NKJV) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

If God allowed it, God intended it to turn that pain, that hurt, that loss, that difficulty into something good in your life. Now watch this because I’m hurting at the moment. I’m not even interested in any good at all. All I want is to get rid of this, in other words, Get Me Out of this, God!

Get me out of these circumstances, but here’s what’s happening: I must be willing to trust him in the midst of it, because I know on the other side I’m to be able to look back, and I don’t mean the other side of heaven, I’m talking about now on the other side, I’m going to look back and say well God you were in that the whole time.

Why? I can see your hand in there. This is what you were doing. You made me wait, and God, Lord, forgive me for being so impatient. You know what? He doesn’t get upset when you say, God, what’s going on? God is very silent and just says You know, I’m just doing things the way I promise to do them.”

 God’s voice stills you; Satan’s voice rushes you.

God’s voice leads you; Satan’s voice pushes you.

God’s voice reassures you; Satan’s voice frightens you.

God’s voice enlightens you; Satan’s voice confuses you.

God’s voice encourages you; Satan’s voice discourages you.

God’s voice comforts you; Satan’s voice worries you.

God’s voice calms you; Satan’s voice obsesses you.

God’s voice convicts you; Satan’s voice condemns you.

If there’s condemnation in it, it ain’t of God.

John 3:17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Romans 8:1-2 ¹ There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. ² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

So, whose voice are you listening to?

 

Sometimes false views of evangelism affect us.

God will do it, or we hire someone to do it, or someone else will do it.
No, it is your job; it’s my job to reach a lost and dying world

I want to examine three principles that Jesus used to entice people, allowing Him to reach the lost sheep He so sought after.

What do we need to do in order to make our evangelism, or outreach efforts, more effective?

For Evangelism to be successful, we must….

I. WE MUST HAVE LOVE FOR THE PEOPLE.
When you study the ministry of Jesus, He attracted crowds because of His love for them.
Matthew 14:13-14 ¹³ When Jesus heard it, (The death of John the Baptist) He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. ¹⁴ And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.

That’s it, Church, you got to have compassion!

Jesus and the Rich young ruler.

Mark 10:21 ²¹ Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

Matthew 9:36-38 ³⁶ But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. ³⁷ Then He said to His disciples, (Listen, this is it) “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ³⁸ Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

That’s us. That’s our job

When Jesus looked at the people, He loved them so much that He wanted more people to be reached with the Gospel.

As I said about the song that says, reach up with one hand to God, reach back with the other hand to the needy, those needing the gospel; bring them along with you. As I keep saying, you can’t take it with you when you go, but you can send it on ahead

1 Timothy 2:4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Jesus did not look at the people like they were a bunch of losers, but instead He looked at them with love. He did not despise them. He pitied them.

Correct motives flow from a correct attitude.

• Compassion. This was God’s motive for sending Jesus. Compassion is the ability to put yourself in the other person’s shoes.

Compassion is just man’s way of showing God’s grace. That’s compassion.

• Burdened. Feeling a heavy heart for the lost. We see non-Christians as victims of the enemy instead of seeing them as the enemy.

 Charles Spurgeon: “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped around their knees. If hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our efforts, and let no one go unwarned or unprayed for.

We need Paul’s Burden:
Romans 9:1-5 ¹ I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, ² that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart.

Listen how much he cares for the people; he’s willing to give up his own salvation if he could for them.

³ For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, ⁴ who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; ⁵ of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.

• Zeal. Enthusiasm, excited about who Jesus is.
• Love. Christians should be the most gracious, sweet witnesses the world has ever seen.

  • Love for Jesus should motivate us the most.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 ¹⁴ For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; ¹⁵ and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

• Love for the lost should motivate us.
  Appreciation that someone shared with us should motivate us also.

  Motive and attitude relate to how we will or will not act.

  • It will help us not to be obnoxious
  • It will help us not to be hostile
  • It will help us not to share out of obligation.
  • It will help us not to share to exalt self.
  • It will help us to be judgmental.
  • It will help us not to be too judgmental
  • It will help us to be fearful.
  • It will help us not to be too fearful.
  And in the movie Magnum Force, Clint Eastwood kept saying, “A man’s got to know his limitations.”

• It will help us to remember our limitations. It’s not about what we do but about what Christ does through us (1 Cor 3:6)

1 Corinthians 3:5-8 ⁵ Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? ⁶ I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. ⁷ So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. ⁸ Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

Remember the 4 soils.  Wayward, the rocky, the weedy, and the good soil, and in the good soil we see tares coming up when satin sows his seeds.

Evangelism is:

Sometimes He multiplies the loaves and fishes

Sometimes He lets the perfume be poured out

Both are worship

Sometimes faith looks like multiplication

Sometimes faith looks like surrender

Sometimes God fills your hands

Sometimes He asks you to empty them

Fruitfulness is God’s responsibility

Faithfulness is ours

God’s job is outcomes

Our job is obedience

God’s job is result

Our job is response

God doesn’t call us to control the Harvest

He caused us to be faithful in the sowing

Jesus never said Well done, good and successful servant

He said Well done, good and faithful servant

I don’t think efficiency is a bad thing at all

But I think God values devotion over efficiency

Efficiency is good, but it’s a terrible God

If you’re a follower of Jesus

Love is not a method

It’s a command

If love is just a strategy, we will abandon it when it doesn’t work

If love is a command, we practice it even when it costs us

Our theology is only as good as the love it produces

Good theology without love is bad theology

We plant, we water, but only God brings the growth,

1 Corinthians 3:9-11 ⁹ For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. ¹⁰ According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. ¹¹ For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

 Oswald Chambers said: “One of the worst traps a Christian can fall into is to become obsessed with his own exceptional moments of inspiration!”

Never say Look what I have done but look at what God’s done through me.

As years ago, working with the Sweet Spirit Band and seeing over 570 young people make a profession of faith in one year, God got the glory, and that was a ministry of this Church…

It’s not about who gets the credit as long as God gets the Glory.

• It will help us not to be discouraged by God’s timetable. You hear me, stop rushing God to get a pastor
• It will help us to be tactful. Jimmy at the restaurant guys at the bar.
• It will help us to be prepared.

There’s a little Bible called Share Jesus Without Fear. They use this in Truth In Nature a lot. My buddy Tim Croft is the one who got me using it. They have all these questions in the appendix that people will ask, and then it tells you the page to go to. It’s one of the best evangelistic tools I’ve ever seen. I highly recommend that if you’re gonna try to talk to people about the Lord, to get you one of these little Bibles

1 Peter 3:15-17 ¹⁵ But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; ¹⁶ having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. ¹⁷ For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

• It will help us not to be lazy. It takes an action on your part.

Dr. Charles Stanley says: “I don’t believe God tolerates laziness. I don’t believe he puts up with laziness. And people who are always looking for an excuse not to serve Him. And to do a poor job, if you don’t know any better, I understand, but if I do the best I can in my job and what I ought to be doing. If that’s the best I can do and it’s not good enough, somebody needs to help me, and train me, and encourage me along, but if I’m just sloppy and wanna do as little as I can to get by, as long as I can. I’m gonna tell you what people don’t realize is that you may be a Christian, you may be a believer, I’m gonna tell you, you will have to answer to God for poor Service as a Christian. I don’t care what you do.”

• It will help us not to be guilty of direct disobedience to Christ’s direct command.

  For Evangelism to be successful, we must….
  WE MUST HAVE LOVE FOR THE PEOPLE.
  II. NEEDS MUST BE MET.
  

• How many people want to hear a sermon when they are hungry or sick?

In Psychology class, it is taught a thing called Maslow’s pyramid of needs. Basically, it says that we have different levels of needs, and until one level is satisfied, we cannot get past that level.
He draws it as a pyramid.
At the bottom are the physiological needs (air, food, water, sleep, etc basic human needs)
Then you have safety and security
followed by love and belonging,

Esteem and self-esteem
Self-fulfillment
A person is concerned with the level they are on.

If your safety is threatened, you cannot worry about feeling loved, or if you are starving, you are not worried about self-esteem.
I am not promoting Maslow, but I do think there is some truth in what he says. Jesus knew this principle also.
No one cares how much you know until they see how much you care.

EX: Westridge Church sent people to Burkina Faso (Be-kee-nuh faa-sow), Africa, to first build wells, and after building the wells, they received the gospel. You have to meet a need and then present the gospel

Tim Croft Truth in Nature… Taking care of the fatherless boys and seeing an increase

Operation Christmas Child needed people to come out here once a month on Thursdays, gather stuff up and put it in a box; God supplied. And then you, as a Church, helped supply the need for the finances last Sunday night, and they still need more. And God gets the glory!

• What did Jesus do for people before He taught them? He took care of needs. He found out what their needs were and addressed them. Jesus earned the right to be heard!
• When you look at the ministry of Jesus and the Apostles, you will see that they did not try to cram a message down people’s throats without regard for their needs.

Jesus just dealt with a Gentile woman, and then he heals a bunch of people, and from there we see in Matthew:

• Matthew 15:29-32 ²⁹Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. ³⁰Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. ³¹ So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. ³² Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”
• Look what Jesus did in Luke: the ones who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases, and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured.
  Luke 6:18-19 ¹⁸ as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. ¹⁹ And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.
• John 6:2 Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.

Jesus did not make people feel bad because they had a need. He did not judge some needs as being more legitimate than others
Jesus often met a need to establish a beachhead for evangelism in a person’s life.
A hungry, hurting person does not want to hear a message unless you earn the right to share it with them.

Studies have shown that 70%-90% of all people who come to Church because a friend or relative invites them. We saw that this morning when the man was here because of Jeff Hodges… This happens because a friend or family member has the respect of a person because they have been there for the good times and the bad.

Faith Without Works Is Dead

James 2:14-17 (cf. Gen 22; Josh 2:1) 14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.     NKJV

 My cousin Peggy was the best at taking care of people’s needs and then presenting the gospel to them…

 A young boy, on an errand for his mother, had just bought a dozen eggs. Walking out of the store, he tripped and dropped the sack. All the eggs broke, and the sidewalk was a mess. The boy tried not to cry. A few people gathered to see if he was OK and to tell him how sorry they were. In the midst of the words of pity, one man handed the boy a quarter. Then he turned to the group and said, “I care 25 cents’ worth. How much do the rest of you care?” James 2:16 points out that words don’t mean much if we have the ability to do more.

For Evangelism to be successful, we must….

WE MUST HAVE LOVE FOR THE PEOPLE.
NEEDS MUST BE MET.
III. THE PRESENTATION OF THE GOSPEL MUST BE PRACTICAL AND INTERESTING.

The woman at the well in John 4

The woman at the well didn’t take an evangelism course

The woman at the well had no theological degree, yet an entire town came to Jesus through her. How? When Jesus met her, she wasn’t a Bible teacher. She wasn’t a disciple. She wasn’t even living a godly life.

In fact, she had a bad reputation John 4:16-18, but after meeting Jesus, she left the water jar behind and went into the city, saying Come and see a man who told me all that I ever did John 4:28-29

She didn’t have all the answers; she simply pointed people to Jesus.

Notice what she did not say: she did not say

Come hear my theology,

come hear my testimony,

come hear my argument.

She said exactly what we all need to be saying: Come see this man Jesus. Because of her testimony, the Bible says many Samaritans came to Jesus, but then something amazing happened. They told her it is no longer because of what you said, but what we believe. John 4:42. The woman’s testimony brought people to Jesus.

Jesus’ word brought people to faith.

You don’t need all the answers; you don’t need years of training.

You simply need to point people to Christ and then let Christ do what only He can do.

Jesus attracted crowds by teaching in an interesting, practical way.

• Matthew 7:28-29 ²⁸ And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, ²⁹ for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

• Matthew 22:33 And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.
• Mark 11:18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.
  Mark 12:37 Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his Son?” And the common people heard Him gladly.

Jesus preached the TRUTH.

• Today, truth is relative. Too many preachers have let themselves be sucked into this thinking. Truth is truth. We can attract people with the truth that is preached in love.

Jesus accepted people, but He did not accept their actions. Jesus always lovingly confronted their sin. Love the sinner, not the sin.

Jesus related truth to life.

• Jesus used everyday language. He was understood by the common people. He did not break into some jargon that no one could understand without a dictionary.
• Jesus used everyday situations to relay the truth to people.
Parables

• A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.

That’s what I try to do in my books. Just tell modern-day stories with a heavenly meaning

• Let us be a Church that loves people, a Church that is willing to meet people’s needs, and a Church that presents the Word of God in an interesting and relevant way.

• We do not have an option when it comes to reaching out to the lost.
• If we are not making the effort to evangelize. Each one of us has a responsibility to reach out to the lost.

If we don’t reach them for Christ, the world will get them.

• I bet most everyone of us has a neighbor or a family member who does not belong to Jesus.

We can start with our neighbor. If we all did that, then at best we would make more disciples. At worst, at least when a person dies outside of Jesus, they will not be able to say that no one cared enough to share.

• Let us be a Church that loves people so much that we hurt when we know someone is lost.
• LUKE 15:7 “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

You can say, well, I’m just a nobody. That’s exactly who God uses. All through the Bible is a bunch of nobodies

 “One of my favorites “minor characters” in American history is a man named Edward Kimball. There aren’t many people who could tell you the historical significance of Edward Kimball. After all, he is so unfamous that he doesn’t even have his own Wikipedia page. But through his simple service to God, he has had a worldwide impact.

In 1854, Kimball was a Sunday School teacher in Detroit, and one day he went to visit a 17-year-old boy who was in his Sunday School class and had little interest in God or religion. During his visit with this young man at his job in a shoe shop, he led the boy into a relationship with Christ. That young man was D.L. Moody, who went on to become one of the greatest evangelists in the world, sharing the gospel with 100 million people, as well as founding Moody Bible Institute and The Moody Church in Chicago.

But the story doesn’t end there. Through his ministry, Moody was responsible for a London pastor named F.B. Meyer coming to faith. Meyer was responsible for J. Wilbur Chapman coming to faith, and Chapman influenced Billy Sunday, another prominent evangelist of the 20th century. Billy Sunday was essential in a man named Mordecai Ham coming to faith. And Mordecai Ham was the preacher responsible for leading a young man named Billy Graham to Christ.

Why is it important to be an evangelist and to go into the world and speak to everyone you look at? Everyone you look in the eyes is whom Christ died for.

You need to understand and know this: there is not a person you will ever see, no matter if you like them or not, that Jesus Christ didn’t die for, and it’s our job to tell them about our Savior

As I said when we started tonight, “Sometimes fear holds us back: fear of rejection, fear of being made fun of, fear of not having ALL of the answers to ALL of the questions.”

Have you ever noticed what happens when you ask someone who believes salvation can be lost, just ask them this one simple question?

How do you know you’re saved today?

Listen carefully to the answer

Many don’t point to Christ; they’ll point to themselves

I prayed

I’m faithful

I repented

I studied the Bible

I obey

I’m baptized

I practiced the sacraments

I’ve surrendered

I’m staying committed

I’m producing fruit

The conversation gently shows from what Jesus did to what they are doing

Isn’t that ironic? Don’t you think?

The very people warning others not to trust in easy believism often reveal that their assurance is resting in the hardest thing imaginable: their own performance.

Paul warned about this in Romans

Romans 10:3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.

Notice the issue isn’t that they love holiness too much. The issue is that they are trying to establish a righteousness of their own instead of submitting to the righteousness God provides.

The gospel never tells you to inspect your obedience to discover eternal life

It tells you to look at Christ

My obedience varies

My discipline varies

My emotions vary

My consistency varies

But Jesus Christ does not

The one who perfectly obeyed; the Father did so on behalf of sinners; the one who knew no sin became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Did you get that? It’s not what I do; it’s what he did!

If my standing before God depends even one percent on my ability to keep myself saved, then my assurance will always rise and fall with my performance, and the worst part is that salvation becomes impossible

But if standing depends entirely on Christ finishing the work on Calvary’s cross, then my assurance rests where it belongs: on the faithfulness of the Savior, not in the stability of the sinner.

This is a call to stop carrying a burden Christ already carried.

Stop trying to maintain what Jesus promised to give freely

Stop looking inward for proof that you deserve heaven. Because we don’t.

Look to the cross

The warning is this: be careful that in trying to prove your righteousness you don’t miss the righteousness God offers

Rest in the one who obeys where you fail

Rest in the one who became your righteousness

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ have received a gift He purchased not by your discipline, but by his obedience

Evangelism or discipleship

Most people think being a witness for Jesus means having all the answers. The Apostle Paul seems to think otherwise.

Paul assumes three things.

1. Christians will have meaningful proximity to people who don’t follow Jesus.
2. Their lives will be interesting enough to raise questions.
3. Their speech will be gracious enough to keep the door open.

In Colossians 4, he doesn’t tell believers to simply win arguments, dominate conversations, or become expert apologists. Instead, he tells them to be wise, to make the most of every opportunity, to let their speech be gracious. That’s a different posture entirely.

Wisdom means paying attention, discerning what this particular person needs in this particular moment. Sometimes that’s an answer. But sometimes it’s a question or encouragement.
Sometimes it’s just a little listening ear.

And then Paul adds this beautiful phrase: let your conversation be “seasoned with salt.”

Salt does so many things. It preserves, and it enhances. Salt brings out what is already there.

In Rabbinic literature, ‘salt’ is often used to refer to ‘wisdom.’ In fact, some scholars assert that the language Paul uses here implies something that is “not dull or flat but is interesting and well-chosen.” It’s not about being witty, but the flavor of our conversations.

Do our lives evoke thirst?

Followers of Jesus should be the kind of people whose words bring life. Our conversations should make people curious. They should reflect both truth and grace, conviction and kindness.

And the reality is that every day presents dozens of opportunities to represent Jesus, at work, around the table, in a text message, at the ball field, in the checkout line, over coffee with a friend.

I buy six Donuts every time I order from Walmart just so I can give them to the delivery person along with a tip, just to show kindness, and then I give them one of those little Jesuses and tell them about the Lord

It’s OK to leave a track with your tip, but make sure you leave a decent tip. You are representing Jesus Christ. So be careful about how you look

Most of those moments won’t feel dramatic. But they are significant Kingdom moments.

The Kingdom often advances through ordinary conversations with ordinary people who are paying attention to the Spirit.

You don’t need a microphone, a platform, or all the answers to every obscure objection.

You simply need to be present, attentive, and willing.

Make the most of every moment and every encounter.

Someone’s experience of Jesus may be shaped by the way you speak today.

Evangelism is just sharing that good news, and I encourage you to do that very thing

Pray

Calvary Baptist Church August 2^nd 2026 PM

 

 

 

Christmas in July

Operation Christmas Child

Matthew 2:1-7  ¹ Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, ² saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. ⁵ So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
⁶ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
⁷ Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.

They saw the star because they were diligently looking for it. I don’t think it was a big bright shiny star up in the sky for everybody, or a lot of people would have gone there. Even King Herod would have sent his people there to kill Jesus.

I recently saw a thing about an ancient script in China that said the astronomers saw a star different than they had ever seen before, and they went in search of it to the Middle East to Bethlehem, and they came through Jerusalem. This is outside the word of God; it’s recorded in Chinese records. In the time frame, according to their writing was around the time Jesus was born.

Matthew 2:8-12  ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” ⁹ When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. (Not what you see in the nativity scene; He’s not a baby; He is a little child) ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. ¹¹ And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. (Watch how they showed their worship by giving) And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹² Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

What we’re asking you to do tonight is exactly what they did: bring some gifts. Make a sacrifice. Dig deep and help out, but look at the gifts that they brought.

Gold. Frankincense. Myrrh. That’s cool; bring gold, we’ll take it
These three gifts were given to a child.
Yet each one pointed to His future.
👑 Gold revealed a King.

🔥 Frankincense revealed a Priest.

⚰️ Myrrh revealed a Sacrifice.

His mission was being revealed.
The wise men Magi brought gifts.

God revealed His Son.

Why did the wise men Magi bring Jesus these three gifts?

Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.

Because they revealed who He is!

Gold, a gift fit for royalty; gold points to Jesus as King

Frankincense used in worship and priestly Service

Frankincense points to Jesus as a High Priest.

Myrrh use this perfume, medicine, and burial spice

Points to Jesus, suffering, death, and sacrifice.

Before Jesus preached a sermon,

Before he healed the sick or performed a single miracle,

Before he went to the cross,

These guests declared Jesus as the King who reigns, the Priest who intercedes, and the Lamb who saves.

It’s about bringing gifts; it’s about making a sacrifice; it’s about giving. That’s what we are asking y’all to do tonight, for us to do tonight: dig deep and help this ministry.

And great will be your reward!

It’s not about who gets the credit as long as God gets the Glory.

Dr. Charles Stanley says give:

“Remember this, the Bible says: We seem to forget this. Jesus says give, and it should be given to you! What if I bend over and pick up something so you don’t have to? I’ve given my energy. If I show you how to do something that I think is gonna help you save your job, I’ve given my understanding and my knowledge. If I see someone who falls and I pick them up, I’ve given them my love and my help, my energy, whatever skill I have to help them. That was one of the thousands of ways to serve God; what he’s looking for are servant people who are willing to see themselves and have a mentality not to say I follow some schedule event and I only do what the schedule says, but I’m looking for ways to pour out my life to someone else who desperately needs the Lord Jesus Christ.”

I’ve seen how on Thursdays here in this church, when the people are down here working and putting together the stuff to get ready to put in these boxes, they’re giving of their time. We’re asking you to help out by giving of money and resources to help send these boxes

The Bible says over 170 times to Receive, but it says over 860 times to Give.

That’s 5 times more.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

If you give a certain amount of money, that amount and more will be coming back to you? No!

You give to help the expenses of this Ministry. Look at the return – The Gospel is sent. And the Word of God is shared throughout the world.

As John F Kennedy said, “ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.” Why don’t we turn it around and say the same thing here?

Don’t ask what the church can do for you, but what can you do for the Church

God supplied the need for the resources to make up to 400 boxes.

Now He’s going to supply the money to send those boxes, and how’s he going to do that?

It’s not going to rain down like manna from heaven. It’s going to come out of your pockets, and it’s gonna come out of my pockets.

Well, I don’t have it to give, give it anyway, because I promise you, you will not, at any time ever, outgive God!

As a return, souls will be saved, lives will be changed, and great is your reward.

You’ll have a part of that.

You may not know about it until you get to the other side, until we get into glory. But when we get there, you may have Somebody come up and say Hey when I was a little kid, I got this box of stuff from a little Church in Powder Springs, GA and they may just well come up to you and say, “thank you,” and “Without you I never would have known the love of Jesus.” So, it’s up to you. And it’s not about the amount; it’s about what God can do with what you have. Give what you can, even if it hurts.

When we were building this Church, there wasn’t a whole lot of money here, but God used what little we had, and when we moved in here, they burned the note on the property, and we paid for this place as we went, and God got the glory.

Luke 21:1-4 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So, He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

That’s what I’m saying: you may have to sacrifice to give, but I’m asking you to do that very thing because these kids are worth it and their soul is worth it!

Understand this: if you give to get, you got.

But if you give because of Love you get. Get it?

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Remember “You can’t take it with you when you go, but you can send it on ahead.”

“You can give without love, but you can’t “Love,” without giving.”

John 3:16-18 (NKJV) ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ 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.

He Gave, and you Got. Ponder on the cost of that Gift.

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

A young boy, on an errand for his mother, had just bought a dozen eggs. With the last bit of money they had. Walking out of the store, he tripped and dropped the sack. All the eggs broke, and the sidewalk was a mess. The boy tried not to cry. A few people gathered to see if he was OK and to tell him how sorry they were. In the midst of the words of pity, one man handed the boy a quarter. Then he turned to the group and said, “I care 25 cents’ worth. How much do the rest of you care?”

Do you care enough to miss a cup of coffee from Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks that’s way overpriced anyway? Come by the house; I’ll make you a cup of coffee, and it won’t cost you 6 bucks; put the six bucks in the bucket.

James points out that words don’t mean much if we can do more.

James 2:15-17  If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

This ministry definitely needs your prayers, but it also needs your help financially. We enjoyed the meal tonight. You enjoyed the singing. I hope you got something out of this, but I hope more than that, that you put something into this ministry. And if you understand, please still do pray, and when you can, send a few dollars to us. Love you all. Thank you

PRAY

Calvary Baptist Church July 26, 2026 PM Operation Christmas Child Fundraiser.

If you want to contribute to the Operation Christmas Child fundraiser, send payments to:

Calvary Baptist Church

3988 Powder Springs Rd

Powder Springs, GA 30127

Please note on the check that proceeds go to Operation Christmas Child.