What the Stone Means - Part Two

Two thousand years ago, God supernaturally rolled the stone away from Jesus’ tomb. Last week I began a short sermon series that answers the question every person has the right to ask every Christian: “What does the rolled-away stone mean to YOU?”

 

As with all things that are personal in Scripture, the answer to that question is manifold. We saw last week that the rolled-away stone is indisputable evidence that Jesus is Almighty God incarnate. We spent quite some time on that first and most fundamental truth. The second answer about the rolled-away stone is irrefutable evidence that God loves you. Deeply, emotionally, and passionately loves you. Indeed, God created you IN ORDER to shower you with His love.

 

Which brings us to today’s message in which I will share with you some more answers to tell someone who asks you: “What does the rolled-away stone mean to YOU?” Read with me in your handout this passage from Luke 23:44-24:3 – “It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last. Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent.” 

And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts. And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these things. 50 And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man – he had not consented to their plan and action – a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God; this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain. 

It was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.”

 

 [Chapter 24:1-3] “But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.”

 

At first blush, this text might seem more fitting for the Easter season. But that would be an incorrect assumption. The story of the empty tomb and the rolled-away stone is suitable for any Sunday because without that empty tomb our Christian faith is a farce. As St Paul wrote to the Corinthians “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain . . . and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17-19)

 

And I will remind us once again, God created you to love you. He created you to commune with you for eternity. But – to use human terms and concepts to make the point – God had a problem after He created Man. Satan introduced into the human family through our first parents the only thing in all creation that would FOREVER disqualify any of Adam’s race from communion with the Holy God. Satan introduced sin.

 

Now, we know God is utterly holy, righteous, and is the very definition of justice. Therefore, sin must always be judged – and judged severely. That’s why the Holy Spirit tells anyone with ears to hear: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

 

But Scripture also tells us, God is love. And mercy. And compassion. And therein lay the problem – so to speak. How was the God of love and mercy to restore communion with an entire race of sinners, and yet remain within His character of pure holiness and justice?

 

Well, if you know your Bible, you know the answer. God – who exists from eternity past and who reveals Himself as one God in three distinct Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – each of whom is co-eternal and co-equal with each other – God introduced into human history the possibility for sinners to be judged ‘innocent’ of their sins.

 

The Creator did this when God the Son entered humanity, born through the Virgin’s womb, lived a sinless life in word, thought, and action – and then became our sacrificial SUBSTITUTE on Calvary. The Holy and Just Father directed His full wrath for OUR sin onto His Son as He died on that cross.

 

Such a plan of redemption of sinners should surprise no one who knows and believes the Bible to be God's inerrant and infallible word. Isaiah spoke of it 700 years before Jesus was incarnate: “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” (Isaiah 53:5-6).

 

The apostle Paul wrote of that redemption in virtually all of his letters. For example, he wrote to the Corinthians: “[God the Father] made [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

 

But what does that all mean in simple English? It means that the rolled-away stone GUARANTEES that those who belongs to Jesus through their baptismal faith in His death on their behalf – their sins are forever forgiven. ALL of their sins; What some might call little sins and what some might call the really, really big ones. ALL their sins are forgiven and pardoned by God and cast from His very memory as far as east is from west.

 

That’s one reason the Holy Spirit also inspired Paul to complete that text I just quoted for us: “The wages of sin is death, BUT THE FREE GIFT OF GOD is eternal life through Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:23)

 

And that’s why you can tell anyone who asks you what the rolled-away stone means to you – you can tell them it means YOU HAVE A CLEAN SLATE before the Almighty Judge. You can tell them that stone means God wiped away all the mess that was you because of your sins AND that He gives you a clean slate every time you repent of the sins you commit every day.

 

What a glorious truth! Even the most despicable sins some have committed can be – and HAVE BEEN – wiped clean by the merciful Judge because of their repentance and faith in Christ’s sacrifice on their behalf.

 

But we’re not yet done. Here’s another thing that rolled-away stone should mean to you: The stone is God's vow that as Jesus was raised from the dead – so also YOU will be raised from the grave.

 

Listen to Jesus’ words: (John 5:24-25) “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” 

 

Many of you remember the story of Lazarus. He’d been dead for four days when Jesus arrived at the tomb. Lazarus’ sisters wept before Him, “Lord, if You’d been here, he would not have died.”

 

Let’s pick up the story at 11:38 – “So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus *said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

 

As I prepared this message, I suddenly realized what my future holds when I am lying dead in the grave. I don’t think I’d ever thought of it in this way, but what Jesus said to Lazarus is the same thing I will hear Him say to me as my decaying body lies in that coffin.

 

And, moreover, what Jesus said to Lazarus is the same thing every true Christian in this sanctuary, and in this building, and around the world will hear Jesus say to them. We will physically hear Jesus call our name: “Come forth.”

 

Yes, that rolled-away stone means that you in this sanctuary, you who are true Christians, you will hear Him call YOUR name – “Come forth.” Oh! THAT’S what you can tell anyone who asks what that stone means to you.

 

I purposely emphasized ‘true Christian’ because it is disastrously possible to believe in Jesus, but yet be unconverted in your soul.

 

I need to repeat that for emphasis. It is possible to believe all the correct doctrines of the faith, to give full intellectual assent to those truths and to accurately teach them . . . and yet NOT be a true child of God.

 

Listen again to Jesus in Matthew’s gospel record: (Matthew 7:21-23) “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.  Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

 

So – Christian: Make certain of His calling and choosing you. Are you living a holy lifestyle for Christ to the best of your ability? Do you repent of your sins as often as He shows them to you? Or are you just playing the role of a Christian, living for yourself and according to your own philosophies and opinions – and not according to His?

 

That’s something to think about long and hard, isn’t it?

 

And now, finally for this series, let me remind you of one more answer you can offer those who ask what the rolled-away stone means to you. It’s because of that stone, we have every right to expect to be ushered by the angels into the eternal kingdom of our beloved Creator and Savior.

 

Sometimes I’ve been accused – as probably some of you have also been accused – of being too much a ‘pie-in-the-sky’ kind of person, too much with an eye, they say, toward children’s fairy tales, and superstitious promises of something better.

 

Oh! But that rolled-away stone is undeniable evidence to anyone with a heart open to God's voice that ‘something better’ is an absolute and inviolable promise God makes to all His true children. Something better WILL OCCUR. Of that we can be more certain than we are of the sun rising tomorrow morning.

 

Something better will occur when the Lord Jesus returns to set up His kingdom on earth – a kingdom where only righteousness dwells. No sin. No darkness. No murderers or thieves or liars. No death or disease. Or loneliness or sadness.

 

Yes, I look for something better. Some of you remember this promise spoken to us through Isaiah: [God] will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all [our] faces . . . . And it will be said in that day, "Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation" (Isaiah 25:8-9).

 

Can you even imagine such a place, an eternal home of which the apostle Paul told the Christians at Corinth: “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9) 

 

Many years ago, when Nancy and I lived in San Diego, we lived down the road from a street plagued with potholes. For two weeks, the highway department had posted notices that they planned to resurface the asphalt, fill in the ten million holes and smooth the roadway. But I suppose it’s because I saw the notices each day that I soon stopped paying attention to them. Before long, the signs disappeared into the background as I swerved down the street, trying not to crack the front axle.

 

So, when I left the house one morning and turned the corner, the unusually smooth ride startled me. For the first time in months, the minivan didn’t rattle with each rotation of the tires. I didn’t have to dodge craters in the middle of the roadway.

As I thought about my message for today, my mind went back to that incident because like that roadway, life can get filled with potholes and craters along the way. And we find ourselves spending all our energies to avoid crashing into them – or to get out of them.

 

And then we hear or see the notices posted along our life’s path. One promises that “The rough places will be made smooth” (Isaiah 40). Another, “In the twinkling of an eye we shall be caught up to be with the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15). Yet another says, “I will come again and receive you to Myself” (John 14).

 

There are so many promises we have to slow down to read them all. Over and over, season after season, we hear them. We talk of them. We debate their meaning. Before long, they become familiar friends.

But, then, if you’re like me, because they’re so familiar, we stop paying attention. The signs get lost in the busy-ness of just living one day after the next. We focus so much on dodging potholes, we no longer remember the promise that one day all who belong to Christ will leave the house, turn the corner – and find the road paved.

Listen, please: That rolled-away stone means that Jesus will come again. And when He returns for those who have placed their trust in Him, He will bind every shattered dream, restore every broken heart and heal every splintered life with His eternal love. Never again will we worry about rough roads. 

 

What does that stone mean to you? The stone means so much more than I have so briefly shared last week and this, but I hope I have reminded you of the incomprehensible VALUE that the rolled-away stone has placed into our accounts in heaven. I hope I have sufficiently reminded you of just how easily you can answer anyone – from children to those with several PhDs after their names who ask you what that stone means to you:

 

Jesus is Almighty God incarnate. And God created you to shower His love on you. The stone means that your confessed sins are FOREVER forgiven. And the stone means the true Christian will hear the Savior call his and her name to ‘Come forth” from the grave. And the rolled-away stone means the true Christian will live in eternity with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, along with all the angels and saints in God's most holy and perfect kingdom.

 

Oh! Thanks be to God for His most wonderful gifts!

What Does the Stone Mean to You?

 

In the early chapters of the book of Joshua, we discover Moses has died and God buried him in an unknown grave. God then appointed Joshua to lead Israel across the Jordan into the Promised Land. As soon as the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant stepped foot into the river, the waters stopped flowing and stood up in a heap – just as the waters of the Red Sea stood in a wall on either side of the people as they crossed over on dry land. When the nation finished crossing, Joshua commanded 12 men – one from each of the tribes of Israel – to gather twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests were standing and bring them to the shore of the Promised Land. When they’d done that, Joshua then told them to bring 12 stones from the shore and place them at the feet of the priests still in the middle of the Jordan. We now pick up the story in chapter four and verse six when Joshua says to the nation:

 

“Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”

 

I want to focus our attention for a moment on what Joshua said about the stones; In years to come, when their children asked their parents, “What do these stones mean to you” – the parents were to tell them of their deliverance from Egyptian slavery.

 

With that backdrop, we now fast-forward to the first century A.D. Israel suffered under yet another despotic regime, and Almighty God sent a Deliverer – but not one they were expecting. This Deliverer entered the human race to deliver not only God's people, but all of humanity from the bondage of Satan and sin – a bondage to which MOST of humanity, even to this moment and including so many there in that dining room – a bondage to which most men and women are oblivious.

 

Let me illustrate that point this way: Have you heard of people who had cancer growing in their body, but they didn’t know it? And because they didn’t know it, they never sought medical help. And by the time they knew something was wrong, it was too late. Within a short time, they were dead.

 

That scenario of the silent cancer is not all that uncommon, and because of its silence it illustrates the deadly plight of most men and women living today. They are dying from an inevitable, albeit silent, terminal illness the Bible calls ‘sin. And most remain completely ignorant of their desperate situation. And meanwhile, sin’s cancer eats away at their souls – slowly in some cases, rapidly in others. And because they don’t recognize how sick they truly are, they have no reason to call the Great Physician for healing. And unless they come to their senses, it will be too late when the wages of sin bring about their eternal death and separation from God in hell.

 

No wonder the Lord Jesus so often warned the crowds of laity and religious: “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31b-32))

 

Which circles us back to Joshua’s stones and the question their children would ask of them in later years: “What do these stones mean TO YOU?”  

 

Fourteen hundred years after Joshua’s stones, a much more precious stone entered humanity’s story. It was that stone which was rolled away from an empty tomb just outside Jerusalem. And it is about THAT stone that children have the right to ask of their Christian parents what it means to them. It’s also a question people in the dining room this afternoon all have the right to ask the Christians at their dining room table. “What does that stone rolled away from the tomb’s entrance mean TO YOU?”

 

I suspect I know how many of you will answer that question, but I’ve learned in my 50+ years of teaching God's word that I must never make blanket assumptions about those with whom I communicate the gospel. And so, please indulge me if I tell you things that you’ve known, and believed, and loved for many years – even decades. It’s always good to hear it again and again.

 

There are so many glorious and life-changing truths inherent in the rolled-away stone that I can only scratch the proverbial surface of those truths. And certainly, such truths deserve much more than mere soundbites in response, which means today’s message is the first of two, maybe three messages in answer to the question: What does that rolled-away stone from Christ’s empty tomb mean TO YOU?

 

Well, first – and this is the fundamental answer upon which every other answer must rest: The rolled-away stone is indisputable evidence that Jesus is Almighty God incarnate. Period. End of sentence. End of discussion. Jesus is Almighty God-Who-Became-Flesh upon His conception in the Virgin’s womb. Here is only one text given us by the Holy Spirit to establish that point:

 

(John 1:1-3, 14) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being . . . ¹⁴ And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

 

It is vital to the issue of Jesus’ deity to remember that under the Mosaic Law, anyone who blasphemed God was to be put to death. For the sake of time, we won’t turn there, but we find that commandment in Leviticus 24:16. Furthermore, blasphemies against God included false prophecies and false teaching. Listen to Deuteronomy 13:5 – “But that [lying] prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the Lord your God . . . to seduce you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So, you shall purge the evil from among you.”

 

No wonder the religious leaders wanted Jesus dead because they thought He was blaspheming God when He said of Himself things like: “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30). And at another time, He told them: “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, ‘I AM’” (John 8:58). The Jewish leaders clearly understood that He was claiming preexistence and – just as blasphemous – Jesus claimed to be the great “I AM” of Exodus 3:14. Many of you will remember when God spoke to Moses from the Burning Bush, the text tells us God said of Himself: “I AM WHO I AM”; and [God further said to Moses], “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

 

I won’t belabor the point that Scripture repeatedly makes about Jesus’ co-existence, co-equality, and co-eternality with the Father and the Holy Spirit. So, when the stone was rolled away from the empty tomb, the Father Himself was giving His 100% stamp of approval on everything Jesus said about Himself and His relationship within the Triune Godhead. The Father made it superabundantly clear with the rolled-away stone that everything God the Son said about Himself, about sin, forgiveness, hell, eternal life, and all the rest – it was all true.

 

So, when you’re asked, “What does the rolled-away stone mean to YOU,” one of the answers ought to be that it proves beyond any logical and rational doubt that Jesus is Almighty Jehovah God incarnate – God-made-flesh.

 

But we mustn’t stop with that declaration. We must move to the application of what that stone means to you and to me. It is entirely insufficient – indeed, it is DANGEROUS to our eternal destiny – to merely give intellectual assent to the deity of Jesus and not make that truth personal in our lives.

 

That means we’d better be VERY careful about how we treat Jesus AND how we treat His name. We must be careful to give Him the same reverence and worship and honor and awe and obedience that we should always give the Father and the Holy Spirit.

 

Listen: Scripture also makes it clear that when this earth and heaven are recreated, that “At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)

 

EVERY knee. Of angels and demons – including Satan himself. Every knee. Of world rulers and impoverished people who sleep under bridges. Every knee. Yours and mine. And we are very wise to live today, and every day for the rest of our lives, in utter humility before our God and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

 

“What does the rolled-away stone mean to us?” We will tell everyone who asks, the stone means Jesus is Lord, God, King, Savior, Deliver, and our best Friend.

 

And so, please, ask the Father to help us get to know Christ better and better with each passing day. Spend time with Him. Talk to Him – and listen to His voice. You will hear it when you listen for it.

 

And take time to read, reflect and memorize His word printed between the covers of your Bible. And when facing temptation or confusion or stress, respond to those things with the word of God you’ve memorized – even if that memory is imprecise. Please remember how the Lord Jesus responded to each of Satan’s temptations with Scripture.

 

Scripture tells us, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.” Proverbs 18:10) And, “Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.” (Proverbs 30:5)

 

And if you can’t think of a scripture text at the moment of need, the 23^rd Psalm is always a good place to start. Or the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6.

 

Now listen, I’m speaking from experience: You’ll probably come up with all kinds of excuses to avoid getting to know Jesus better, to talk to Him, to read and reflect on His word, and to memorize Scripture. You’ll convince yourself you’re too tired, too busy, or you’re not feeling well.

 

So, here is a strategy that will enable you to actually use those excuses as ‘conversation starters” with the Lord: Tell Him how you’re feeling. Tell Him you’re too tired, or too busy, or too sleepy, or not feeling well.

 

You may be surprised when He then starts a conversation with you. Whether it be a short conversation or long, the point is – He appreciates our honesty.

 

Well, that’s the first answer we can give those who ask us what that rolled-away stone means to us. Let me now in the short time remaining begin to touch on what else we can tell the questioner about that stone.

 

It means God loves you. And He loves them. Even if we don’t believe it, the stone rolled from that empty tomb roars that truth more thunderously than ten thousand hungry lions.

 

But how, exactly, does the rolled-away stone demonstrate God's love?  Well, I’ll talk about that in more detail next week, but for now let me just quote a text where Paul writes: [Christ] was delivered over because of our transgressions and was raised because of our justification.” (Romans 4:25)

 

In simple terms, because God loves us so much, He poured out His wrath on His Son who took our sins on His shoulders, and by His resurrection God made all who come to Christ in repentance – He made us to be without sin.

 

We’ll look much more closely at this meaning of the rolled-away stone next week, but for now, let me take a few more minutes to introduce the limitless subject of God's love for you and me.

 

As I said last week, we often say “God loves us” almost mechanically, almost without much thought to what it actually MEANS that God loves us. And I’ve thought about that question from time to time over the last 50+ years – ESPECIALLY when I remember the unspeakably horrible things I’ve done in my life. But the question of why He loves me brought me to an even more basic question: Why did God CREATE me. And, oh, yes: Why did He create YOU.

 

I hesitate to compare what I am about to compare, but I use this next illustration because it’s the only kind of relationship that comes close to answering the question of why God created us.

 

First of all, He did NOT create us – as some who have as much understanding of God as a pebble – He did NOT create us to us tell Him how great He is. He didn’t create us as a means to boost His self-esteem, or so that He could push His weight around and tell us what to do and what not to do.

 

No, none of those reasons even begins to rise to the lowest level of stupidity. So, why did God create us? Because God is Love, and everything He does is rooted in Love. And although there aren’t any biblical texts that say, “God created men and women so He could shower His love on them,” I think it is reasonable to extrapolate from Scripture that God created you and me because He wanted to do just that – to shower us with His love. He created us to have INTIMATE communion with Him for all eternity. Because He loves us.

 

It might help us understand what I’m trying to say if we think of it this way: Why do married men and women who deeply love each other want to ‘make’ children? At its very root, isn’t it because they want to share their love with their children. And if that’s true of men and women created in the image of God, then how can we think that God doesn’t want to share His love with you and me? Of course, He does.

 

Please think on that a long moment: God created you to LOVE YOU. YOU! Say your name out loud – He created you to love you. Listen to how God guided the Psalmist to record it in Psalm 139:

 

O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar.  You scrutinize my path and my lying down and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. . . . ⁷ Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me . . . ¹³ For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

 

Please, please hear me: Those are only two of the many things that rolled-away stone means – what if SHOULD mean – to you and to me. Those are only two of the things we can tell those who question us about the meaning of that rolled-away stone: Jesus is Almighty God incarnate, and OH! How He loves you. Oh, how He loves me. Oh, how He loves you and me.”

 

I expected my time to disappear when I got to this point in the message, so next week I will pick up here, where we left off. But until that time, I hope you will spend time this week rehearsing for yourself what that rolled-away stone means to you – the stone that speaks far, far better than Joshua’s stones – and how grateful to God you are for all that it means to you, and to everyone with eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts open to receive His boundless love.

 

Keep Fishing

 Several things caught my attention again as I read this morning in chapter five of Luke’s gospel. Let me share only one. Here is part of the section that begins in the first verse. I quote now from verse four. Please pay special note to verses five and six:

"When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break.”

Application: Even if it seems you’re accomplishing nothing for the Lord in your work for Him – KEEP WORKING. KEEP FISHING.

Remember what St Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Now read this word from Isaiah 55:10-11 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; 11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”

Satan wants us discouraged about our work for Jesus. He wants us to quit. He wants us to be ineffective. But read Luke 5:5 again: “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.”

Christian – some plant. Some water. But GOD alone causes the growth. So, be encouraged. WE DO NOT NEED TO SEE RESULTS NOW. If we are faithful to the work He has called us to do, we will see the results later – where it counts – in heaven.

Keep fishing.

How Could We Know?

My message today centers around the wealth – the unimaginable wealth and value – the riches our Creator offers us throughout our lives, day by day through His infallible, inerrant, and fully inspired Scriptures. St Paul speaks of that wealth in his letter to the Christians at Colossae. In it he asks of the Father: “That their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:2-3)

 

Paul is certainly not the only writer of Holy Scripture to recognize the riches inherent in God's infallible and inerrant word. Agur – one of the writers of the Proverbs, is another. Listen to what he wrote: (Proverbs 30:5) “Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”

 

But one might ask, “Tested when and by whom?” Answer? At the time of Paul’s writing, tested by more than 1500 years of the testimonies of God's people to the truthfulness and faithfulness and efficacy of God's word as it relates to life and death and beyond to eternity.

 

As a young man approaching the seasoned age of 18, I didn’t know about the Bible’s value. Nor did I care. To that point I’d led my life as an irreligious Jew quite comfortably. What more could the Bible give to me? And some of you here today might have a similar story from your past – the Bible was just not that important to your life.

 

I remember the time I got curious about the Bible – specifically, I wondered what all the fuss was about, especially the New Testament. So, I got a copy of the Scriptures, turned to the New Testament, and started reading at the beginning – where I thought all books should be started. This is what I read as I opened Matthew’s gospel:

 

“The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.”

 

I had a very vague recollection of those names – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – but that was where my recollection ended.  We never even owned a Bible as I was growing up in my mother’s house. I rarely went to synagogue as a child. I never heard the names of Bible characters at home or even in school – except for a rare and passing reference to Moses.

 

Anyway, I continued reading: Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.” Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of

Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah . . .

 

And it was there that I stopped reading. Not only could I not pronounce most of those names, but I had no clue who they were, except for David and maybe Solomon.  And I thought to myself, “What’s all the fuss about the New Testament? It’s a boring book.”

 

I closed the book and didn’t go back to it for a few more years. And that was a tragic mistake. I use that word, ‘tragic’ on purpose. When I didn’t know the wealth of God's word, when I didn’t know the hope and purpose and comfort and joy of hearing His voice in my mind as I read His word – when I didn’t know those things, I simply did what most of humanity does in their ignorance of God. I did as much as I could and as often as I could – ‘My way.’

 

Frank Sinatra’s signature song describes how I lived for the several years between my senior year in high school and when God finally brought me to Himself. Like Sammy Davis Junior’s popular song, “I Gotta Be Me” – I convinced myself that the best way to be happy was to ‘Be Me.’ And I didn’t care much if ‘being me’ was hurting others.

 

And, Oh! How I hurt others. And that is why those years were for me tragic, with memories that linger to this very moment. But just as tragic, some of you listening to me have had similar experiences before you finally understood and sought for the wealth buried in the pages of your Bible.

I returned to the Bible several years later when I read a book about Bible prophecy. In Hal Lindsay’s ‘The Late Great Planet Earth,’ Lindsay explained what else was in the Bible besides those unpronounceable names in that first chapter of Matthew’s gospel. He explained the promises God makes to me, even in the middle of my empty life. Promises I’d never known about, but promises I so desperately, at that time in my life, needed.

 

Like what? The same promises every person in this room needs to hear and receive into their hearts as unassailable truth. Promises of hope. Promises of His unconditional love. Promises of grace. And mercy. And comfort. And promises of His forgiveness – every time, every time I truly repent.

 

Oh, how I needed His forgiveness. Just as you do, also. And listen, when we repent of our sins – as egregious as those sins might be – God promises in His word to not only IMMEDIATELY forgive those sins, but He also promises to immediately erase those sins from His memory.

 

I’ll repeat that for emphasis. When God forgives our confessed sins – as horrible and wicked as any of those sins might have been – when God forgives our sins, He considers them as if WE NEVER COMMITTED THEM. That’s what the word ‘remission’ means – He views those sins as if we never committed them. Listen to Jesus, speaking only hours before He would spill His blood on Calvary’s cross as our atonement: “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matthew 26:28)

 

Here also is Psalm 103:11-12 “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. ¹² As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

 

And the prophet Micah: (Micah 7:18-19) “Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”

 

But the Bible is not only rich with God's promises, but they also are His flawless instructions for an abundant life, a fruitful life, a life that brings glory to our Creator, a life that elicits from us a worthy reverence and devotion to the one who died in our place so that we might live forever. Can anyone begin to fathom the incredible wealth the Bible is to anyone with open hearts? Scripture asks: (Job 11:7-8): “Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty? “They are high as the heavens, what can you do? Deeper than Sheol, what can you know?”

 

And because the Scriptures are God’s voice to humanity in printed form, it logically follows that: (2 Timothy 3:16-17) “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man [or woman] of God may be perfect, thoroughly equipped for all good works.”

 

Yes, God's voice in printed form is of inconceivable value, and only those who immerse themselves in its words and study its precepts can catch a glimpse of it worth. Don’t neglect it. Please, because “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”  (Romans 10:17)

 

Oh. So many promises He made to me. But I never knew of them. Just as you also did not know of them until you heard someone read them to you from the Bible – or you read them yourself in your own Bible.

 

One of the texts I memorized a while ago is this one from Jeremiah’s prophecy: (Jeremiah 33:3) “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

 

Aren’t there things you would like to know about life itself– and about YOUR life in particular? Aren’t there things you would like to know about HIM – Who He is, and why He loves you? Aren’t there things you’d like to know about faith and what it MEANS to have a faith that brings eternal salvation?

 

Of course, there are – if you’re someone who thinks for yourself and doesn’t care what the culture tells you about those things. For example, the culture, and a growing abundance of pastors and theologians – including Pope Frances –will tell you that all religions lead to God. But what does God say about the subject? We won’t know for certain unless we read it ourselves.

 

Or, the culture will say to a person suffering emotional or physical pain, or loneliness, or living in a horrible life-circumstance – they’ll say something along the lines of: Surely you don’t believe God loves you do you? Look how you’re suffering. Why would a God – if He exists at all – why would an all-powerful God who is supposed to love you – why would He let you suffer like this?

 

And the person suffering through life will not know God’s answer to those accusations unless he reads it for himself in God's Book.

 

The culture and many of our neighbors also have much to say in approval about some social issues such as abortion, ‘gay sex,’ adultery, fornication, and transgenderism. But you won’t know what God has to say about those things unless you read it for yourself.

 

Ah . . . so many questions. Important questions. Life-altering and life-challenging questions – questions that can ONLY be fully and truthfully answered by God when we read His word again and again – because His word is a living document. It speaks to us where we are at any point in our life-journey because the Bible is not – as many will tell you – an archaic compendium of inaccurate history and ancient myths. No, rather, it is a supernatural book. A living book. A book that knows more about YOU and me than we know of ourselves.

 

Whether it’s the wisdom literature of scripture, or poetry, or history, or prophecy – it’s all His voice in printed form, and therefore speaks to us every time we read it with an open heart. It probes us. It examines us. It challenges us and CHANGES us – if we allow the Holy Spirit to do His work in us. Listen, please, The Bible WILL accomplish wonderful things in our lives – if we don’t leave it a closed book.

 

Yes, call to Him and He WILL answer. Expect Him to tell you things about yourself and about Him as you read His word. Oh, please listen, and I say it again for emphasis: God has SO MUCH to tell those who want to hear from Him.

 

Let me give you yet another example of what He wants us to know: If we hadn’t read the Bible, we wouldn’t know of His personal, passionate, and intimate love for us. Individually. By name.

 

How often do we say the words so glibly, so mechanically: “God loves us”? And if not for the voice of God on the printed page, the best anyone could do is guess at what it means to say, ‘God loves us.’ But then we read about Calvary, and no one who knows the story, no one who believes the story, no one who understands the story can ever say or even think, “God doesn’t love me.”

 

No wonder the deeply penitent apostle Paul – with his murderous history of ravaging the early Church, complicit in the execution of Christians – no wonder he could tell EVERY penitent sinner what they’d never know if they didn’t read the Book: (1 Timothy 1:15-16)  “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.” 

 

It is BECAUSE we read it in God's book, we know that when we repent of our sins that He utterly and eternally forgives those sins, regardless of how horrible those sins were.

 

And – please get this – not only does He forgive those sins, but He ERASES those sins from His memory. He chooses to view those confessed sins as if we never committed them. It’s like the difference between how the Etch-A-Sketch works, and the Magic Slate.

 

And once again, let me say it as I bring this message to a close: I wouldn’t know ANY of these things if I hadn’t read it in God’s infallible, inerrant, and fully inspired word that we call the Bible. And YOU would not know these things unless you had read it for yourself.

 

Listen, just because you hear a preacher preach each week – or even if you listen to one every day – you’re only getting snatches of Bible texts here and there – and often out of context with the rest of the chapter, or the book in which those texts are found. It’s like opening a best-selling novel and reading a few paragraphs here and there on random pages – expecting to get a good idea of what the book is about. Who would do such a silly thing? So why do so many people in the pews do something similar with the Bible?

 

In 2022, the American Bible Society’s annual State of the Bible report found that roughly 26 million people had mostly or completely stopped reading the Bible in 2021. When Lifeway researchers surveyed their respondents, they found that one of four who DO read the Bible do not read more than a few sentences at a time.

 

Isn’t it odd that those who read one fiction or non-fiction book after the other, or who routinely spend hours in front of the TV – isn’t it odd that so many of them don’t make time to even begin to plumb the depths of the vast wealth of the book of Books?

 

I know many of you regularly read the Bible. Many also read the entire Bible every year. But there may be some here who need to do better in seeking God's voice through the pages of His Scriptures.

 

Please. If that is you, please plan to do better. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a love for His word because a love for His word is NOT something that comes naturally to us. Our sin-nature doesn’t want to know what God says and will give us all kinds of excuses to leave the Book on the shelf. So, please, ask Him for a passion for His word.



I will close with this: If you read at least two chapters each morning from the Old Testament and two each evening from the New – each sitting takes about 10 minutes or so – you will read the Old Testament once a year and the New Testament three times a year. It’s simply a matter of math.

 

If you have access to the internet, you can find lots of Annual Bible Reading plans. You can also take the pamphlet I’ve written. But whatever you do – become a better student of God's word. We cannot know the wealth of God's Book unless we call to Him – and seek Him through consistent reading of His word. We cannot uncover the treasure trove that God offers us unless we patiently, consistently, and humbly seek it with all our hearts.