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You are not alone

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Introduction:

Today, is Pentecost Sunday and this year is the five hundredth anniversary of the reformation. I am continuing to preach a sermon series correcting lies that we may believe. One lie we often believe is that we are alone. The Christian is never alone. The Christian is NEVER alone. Can I get an “Amen” to that? The Christian is NEVER alone, AMEN?

I was going to focus this sermon on the Holy Spirit and the Church. God does work through His Church. But, instead, I simply wish to focus on the Holy Spirit. You see, Martin Luther might have felt alone when he nailed the 95 thesis to those castle doors at Wittenberg, but He was not alone. The Holy Spirit was with him. I am not sure how much of the church was with him, but the Holy Spirit was with him and empowering him to lead the reformation. He was not perfect in any way, but he was available and he was empowered by the Holy Spirit. Martin Luther fascinates me. I liken Luther to Winston Churchill. He fascinates me for the church like Winston Churchill fascinates me in politics. I had a professor of worship say that Luther was going up against the Catholic Church, it was as if he walked into a river and said the current was going the wrong way (paraphrase). But he was not alone. He could not have led the reformation alone. The Holy Spirit was with him.

Today, I wish to talk about the Holy Spirit by showing the difference in Peter when he is alone versus when the Holy Spirit is with him.

My Theme is: You are not alone.

  1. Look at Peter without the Holy Spirit, all alone.
    1. Let’s read Luke 22:54-62: Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.” But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said. A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” “Man, I am not!” Peter replied. About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”  Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed.  The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.”  And he went outside and wept bitterly.
    2. This is the account from Luke, John gives some extra details. Many of you know the story. But think about it, this is Peter. Peter is known for speaking up. Peter had a disease, it was called “foot in mouth disease.” He was known for sticking his foot in his mouth. He was known for saying the wrong thing.
    3. In this case he did the same, but this was Peter NOT defending Jesus.
    4. Earlier Peter said in verse 33: But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.
    5. Peter goes into the courtyard. We find out that he was likely let in by John who knew the High Priest.
    6. They are sitting around a fire with a servant girl and some others. It seems these others were servants, maybe some soldiers.
    7. The servant girls looks at Peter. I imagine her looking through the fire. There is Peter shivering and nervous. There is Peter scared to death. Earlier that same evening he was ready to die with Jesus and now he is scared and cold. I imagine him holding his arms together and watching his breath in the air. I imagine him waiting for Jesus to incinerate the people with fire out of His eyes. I imagine Him thinking, “Jesus, what are you waiting for?” I imagine Him wondering when Jesus will call down ten legions of angels. (Matthew 26:53)
    8. Peter was present at the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus in Luke 9:28ff.
    9. Peter believed and he was waiting for Jesus to act. Peter was scared by Himself, but bold when with Jesus.
    10. Peter denied Jesus three times, but he was repentant.
    11. You know that is actually the way it should be. We should not do anything on our own. We have God with us. Why fault Peter. He denied Jesus, later Jesus restored him in John 21:15ff.
    12. Peter did not yet have the Holy Spirit. He was weak because he was alone.
  2. Look at Peter with the Holy Spirit:
    1. In Acts 2:14-41 we see Peter with the Holy Spirit. This was just over 50 days later.[1] Look at Acts 2:14-21:

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.  These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.

  1. Peter stood up to preach.
  2. Peter was a coward in many ways before because he was alone, but now the Holy Spirit is with him.
  3. When addressing a crowd standing up is the most difficult part. Peter had the confidence to stand up because the Holy Spirit was with him.
  4. You can have the confidence as well, you are not alone. The Holy Spirit is also with you.
  5. Let’s come back to Martin Luther and the reformation. When I was in seminary I read a sermon and wrote a paper based off of it. The sermon was written and delivered by Martin Luther and called Whitsunday. This is Pentecost.

Volume II Luther: Whitsunday

Luther is able to set aside the normal expected Pentecost sermon in order to deal with historical Pentecost. Further he gives some contrast between the reason they celebrate Pentecost and the reason the Jews celebrate Pentecost. On page 48 he says, “The Jews observe the feast because, the law was literally given to them at that time; but we should celebrate it, because the law of God was given to us spiritually.” From that point Luther talks about the written law and then the spiritual law. Of the written law he says that it does not pierce our hearts. He says on page 50 that the Holy Spirit impresses the Gospel on our hearts.

  1. The Holy Spirit impresses the Gospel on us. But the Holy Spirit means that we are never alone.
  • Some applications:
    1. Realize that you are not alone. Have confidence.
    2. If your thinking is “alone thinking” you will NOT do great things for God. Instead you will be like the child scared to get into the pool. Many times Mercedes and Abigail are afraid to go into the deep end of the pool, even if I am with them. They are scared even when they are floaters on. They have support, but their mind is thinking that they are alone and could drown. We think this way too. We act like we are alone.
    3. Step into the deep end of your Christian living for the Holy Spirit is holding you up. Have faith. This looks like:
      1. Spend time in prayer. Pray with someone else.
      2. Open your Bible and read.
      3. Try to share your faith.
      4. Ask a waiter or waitress if they have any prayer requests.
      5. Help someone out.
      6. Go on a mission trip, overseas.
      7. Step outside your comfort zone.
    4. For some of you, you are hurting. You are hurt yourself and so it is difficult for you to really help someone else. For you, realizing you are not alone looks like this:
      1. Understand deep in your heart that the Holy Spirit is with you.
      2. Write in a journal.
      3. Look up the passages about the Holy Spirit in the Bible. I recommend reading John chapters 14-17 and Acts 2.
      4. Talk to me or another pastor or counselor. You can do this. You can get help. Talk to your medical doctor if you feel depressed.
      5. Talk to a friend.
      6. Read a book or listen to an audio book. I recommend “Forgotten God” by Francis Chan.

Close:

Ray Jeske of ESPN radio in Massillon shared the story at FCA at Mount Union a few years ago of himself being convicted by the Holy Spirit to give his last five dollars, which he needed for gas, into an offering for a church plant. The plant was meeting in a school (I think that is what he said) and his friend was the pastor. This was their first service.

He wanted to resist because he needed the money for gas. The gas light was on and he would run out of gas driving home from Wadsworth to Akron or the other side of Akron. His gas light came on when he was driving to the church, but he kept driving thinking he could go further. The Holy Spirit told him three times to put the five dollars in the offering. The first and second time he told the Holy Spirit, “I need that money for gas, I need to provide for my family.” The second time he even referenced 2 Timothy 5:8 that if a man does not provide for his house he should be treated as an infidel. The third time the Holy Spirit convicted him he gave. He left the worship service early, thinking he has seen his friend and his friend knew he was there. The five dollars went into the offering, as a love offering for that plant. He leaves early after giving the money, expecting to have to hitch hike home. As he drives he sees a woman hitch hiking and the car steered over to her, or it was as if the car steered to her. It was like he felt like he had to pick her up. He does. She is a biker woman who says they call her “wild thing.” They start driving and she says she was bar hopping and her friends left her. She says she prayed if someone picks her up she will give ten dollars for gas. Wow! They get gas. Ray shares who he was and where he came from. She shares she needs prayer for her 17 year old son hanging around the wrong people. He witnesses to her. Her real name was Carol.

 Do you know Jesus? Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

 

[1] https://jewsforjesus.org/publications/newsletter/newsletter-jun-2006/from-passover-to-pentecost/

Be Encouraged, it is not all on you

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Introduction:

Memorial Day was established after the Civil War. All these men served in the War Between the States. All these families sacrificed as the husband was gone, the father was gone. Families were torn apart. What was it like for the soldier? What was it like for the leaders? I wander if they ever felt the weight of the war was on them?

 

What about Lincoln? How did he make it through the war? How did he make it through the day? I am sure he felt like the weight of the war was on him. I am sure he felt like the future of the United States was on him.

 

What was it like for other soldiers and families in other wars? I listened to a “Backstory” program about the history of World War I. At first America was not going in. Funny as it may sound, at first we even had songs about not going to war. There was a song that had lyrics something like this:

 

Verse 1

Ten million soldiers to the war have gone,

Who may never return again.

Ten million mother’s hearts must break

For the ones who died in vain.

Head bowed down in sorrow

In her lonely years,

I heard a mother murmur thru’ her tears:

Chorus

I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier,

I brought him up to be my pride and joy.

Who dares to place a musket on his shoulder,

To shoot some other mother’s darling boy?

Let nations arbitrate their future troubles,

It’s time to lay the sword and gun away.

There’d be no war today,

If mothers all would say,

“I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier.”

Verse 2

What victory can cheer a mother’s heart,

When she looks at her blighted home?

What victory can bring her back

All she cared to call her own?

Let each mother answer

In the years to be,

Remember that my boy belongs to me![1]

 

Within a few years we went to war and the songs changed: Over there:

 

Johnny,[8] get your gun, get your gun, get your gun.

Take it on the run, on the run, on the run.

Hear them calling you and me,

Every Sons of Liberty.

Hurry right away, no delay, go today.

Make your Daddy glad to have had such a lad.

Tell your sweetheart not to pine,

To be proud her boy’s in line.

Verse 2

Johnny, get your gun, get your gun, get your gun.

Johnny, show the “Hun“[9] you’re a son-of-a-gun.

Hoist the flag and let her fly

Yankee Doodle[10] do or die.

Pack your little kit, show your grit, do your bit.

Yankee[11] to the ranks from the towns and the tanks.[12]

Make your Mother proud of you

And the old red-white-and-blue[13]

Chorus

Over there, over there,

Send the word, send the word over there

That the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming

The drums rum-tumming everywhere.

So prepare, say a prayer,

Send the word, send the word to beware –

We’ll be over, we’re coming over,

And we won’t come back till it’s over, over there.[2]

 

I wonder the burden our soldiers felt?

 

Do you ever feel burdened? Do you ever feel that the weight of the world is on you?

 

We can look at this topic two ways. Is our living all about us? Are all the pressures of daily living all on us? We may feel that way? What about salvation? What about our faith in Christ? Is our spiritual condition all on us?

 

I would say no to both of these.

 

As we look at these lies we believe some of you may think, “duh, I know that!” But can you justify what you know based off of the Bible. As we talk about the lies we believe it is imperative that we know Biblical truth, not American truth. It is most important that we know Biblical truth, not Ben Franklin quotes. Be schooled by the Bible.

 

Theme: Your eternity and daily living is on Jesus, not you.

Application: Surrender continually to Jesus. Pray continually.

 

Let’s read Matthew 11:28-30:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

 

  1. Our Salvation is not all on us.
    1. This passage is about salvation, not about daily living. Now, we can make the case that our daily living is not all on us and I’ll come to that in a minute.
    2. The people were burdened with the Jewish law. This law did not all come from Scripture. Jesus was saying that He fulfills the law for them. We can’t keep the law, but Jesus did it for us. Jesus died in our place.
    3. What is a yoke: ESV Study Note: The wooden frame joining two animals (usually oxen) for pulling heavy loads was a metaphor for one person’s subjection to another, and a common metaphor in Judaism for the law. The Pharisaic interpretation of the law, with its extensive list of proscriptions, had become a crushing burden (cf. 23:4) but was believed by the people to be of divine origin. Jesus’ yoke of discipleship, on the other hand, brings rest through simple commitment to him (cf. 1 John 5:3).
    4. It is not about religion, but about Jesus.
    5. It is not about religiously following rules, but following Jesus.
    6. We will follow one or the other. You will either follow Jesus or a list of moral rules. Are you committing to the church because you are supposed to or because you are committed to Jesus and the church is the bride of Christ?
    7. Lean in on Jesus. Christianity is NOT a religion. Christianity is about Jesus. Religion is about earning your way to Heaven, but Christianity is about what Jesus has done to give us eternal life.
  2. We have daily help.
    1. John 14:16-17: And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
    2. We talk about the Holy Spirit a lot, but the point is that you can always place your burden on Jesus. Your eternal life is on Jesus and your life now is on Jesus. It is not all on you.
    3. How do you give it to Jesus. First, surrender your eternal life to Jesus, second keep a constant connection with Jesus.
  • The weight of the future is on God, not us.
    1. So, let me go back to the Civil War, or World War I, or World War II each soldier made a difference. Was the weight of the war on one soldier or another? No, all the soldiers came together and made a difference. But more than that each soldier had daily help.
    2. God gives us help through prayer.
    3. More than that, God is in charge. Amen.
    4. God is in charge, right? Do we believe that?
      1. NOW, this is where it gets difficult. Was God on America’s side? I think it was Lincoln who said: “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”[3]
      2. So, we can pray during anything and pray, “Jesus, I hope I am doing the right thing, please help.” We can always ask God for help.
  • We can give our burden to God.
  1. I really do not wish to get in the politics of war, but I will say that looking at Scripture God would absolutely NOT be happy with slavery. I can say that God absolutely was NOT happy with the concentration camps.
  2. I remember talking to John Blaser about our history and he talked about the things we went through as a nation and he said it was like God had to be helping us.
  3. I have recently been studying Winston Churchill more. It is almost as if God setup him as a leader for World War II. I am not saying he was a Christian, maybe he was. I am simply saying that God used him. It would have been easy for Churchill to think the weight of Britain was on him. The man was stubborn and strong willed to begin with. I am listening to an audio book about his younger years and I watched a documentary about him during World War I. It was like he was happy with war. He would walk right out into the “no-man’s land” in between the trenches. It was like God used him.
  • Here is a strong and true statement. God is in charge. God is available to help us. We can turn our burden over to God. The weight is on God and not us.
  • God is in charge. Your eternity and daily living is on Jesus, not you.
  1. Pray like a child.
    1. We are taught to pray continually in 1 Thess. 5:17.
    2. Jesus talks about the faith of a child (Matthew 18:3).
    3. How do children talk to their parents?
    4. I have two little ones at home, ages 3 and 5, and you know they don’t think about their vocabulary. They just talk. They beg and will repeatedly ask us questions. They don’t try to formulate their words carefully, they just ask. Many times while they are asking for something they are not making sense, but they ask.
    5. My children will ask for help, there is no hesitancy in a young child asking her parents for help. They just ask.
    6. Abigail does not hesitate to ask for help. She was once trying to get her coat on at child care and she turned around and asked a state inspector, “will you help me?”
    7. I believe we need to talk to God like a child. Keep an ongoing conversation with God going. Talk naturally to God, get rid of the King James English.
    8. I started an Evernote idea in my phone I call text messages to God. What does this mean? I don’t know about you, but sometimes I send a quick message to friends or family. This could be a text or a phone call. Sometimes I will be going somewhere and call to tell Meagan what is going on. So, I applied the same idea to my relationship with God. Many times I pray simple breath prayers, but instead I thought I will text them to myself and save them in Evernote. Evernote is a note taking app which will sync with computers and tablets.
    9. So, I could be going into a meeting and type out: “Jesus, I need your help right now.”
    10. Now, you don’t need to text that, just say it to Him.
    11. You could know that you are going to have a difficult conversation with a family member: “Jesus, I need You, I can’t have this conversation alone.”
    12. Maybe you are making medical decisions for a family member: “Jesus, I need your wisdom.”
    13. Pray specifics to God. You are not alone.

 

 

 

Conclusion:

I like what the Life Application Study Bible:

11: 30   In what sense was Jesus’ yoke easy? The yoke emphasizes the challenges, work, and difficulties of partnering with Christ in life. Responsibilities weigh us down, even the effort of staying true to God. But Jesus’ yoke remains easy compared to the crushing alternative. Jesus doesn’t offer a life of luxurious ease— the yoke is still an oxen’s tool for working hard. But it’s a shared yoke, with weight falling on bigger shoulders than yours. Someone with more pulling power is up front helping. Suddenly you are participating in life’s responsibilities with a great Partner— and now that frown can turn into a smile, and that gripe into a song.

 

Theme: Your eternity and daily living is on Jesus, not you.

Application: Surrender continually to Jesus. Pray continually.

 

Here is an idea for application: this week try to pray about everything, seriously everything. Talk to God as your good and loving Father and pray. At the end of the week record in a prayer journal or this bulletin how you have done. Set a prayer goal, you can do this in the bulletin:

 

This week I intend to try to pray about all things.

For recording at the end of the week: Write your thoughts on much more you were connected with God this week below:

 

Do you know Jesus? Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

 

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Didn%27t_Raise_My_Boy_to_Be_a_Soldier

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over_There

[3] https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/abrahamlin388944.html