Pastor Ed Moore July 28, 2013 Message: GREAT IS GOD’S FAITHFULNESS This morning I want to look at “the sequence” of salvation: “the very good creation,” “the bad of sin,” “the good news of salvation,” and “the great faithfulness of God.” THE GOOD CREATION In Genesis 1, after God finished creating, including human beings – male and female in His own image and likeness, we read: “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” (1:31) THE BAD OF SIN However, the serpent/the devil/satan tempted Adam and Eve to sin – and they sinned! Listen to Jesus, John 8:44 (ESV bold added) 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Genesis 3:4–5 (ESV bold added) 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Satan, the murderer and liar from the beginning, distorted the words of God and lied about God, turning God into a liar, as well. Therefore, because Adam and Eve sinned … in Adam we have all sinned … Romans 3:23 (ESV) 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 6:23a (ESV) 23 For the wages of sin is death, … THE GOOD OF SALVATION Romans 6:22 – 23b (ESV bold added) 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, … but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:1–10 (ESV bold and underline added) 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. The basic theme of this passage is resurrection, making us a new creation – God’s workmanship to His glory! THE GREAT FAITHFULNESS OF GOD LAZARUS I want to start by looking at when Jesus resurrected Lazarus. I want to “split hairs,” if you will, by saying that resurrection involves a “process:” God gives life and we help in the clean-up! In John 11 we read that Lazarus, Jesus’ good friend (“Jesus loved Martha, and Mary, and Lazarus 11:5”) was sick. Jesus, who had already healed many people, replied, John 11:4 (ESV) 4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” We see the circumstances of life from a self-centered perspective – Lazarus is sick (I am sick), come and heal Lazarus (heal me). But Jesus is always focused on the glory of God, and that the glory He received would in turn give glory to God! We are temporary-minded, Jesus is eternal-minded! So Jesus waits four days! Jesus did not go to heal Lazarus immediately – glory to God is never “rushed.” And Lazarus died! This is where “the rubber hits the road”! We want God to be glorified through our health and our life – but God wants to be glorified in all aspects of who we are, which includes our illnesses and our death! As in many cultures still today, there was a superstitious belief that the soul of a dead person stayed near the body for three days. It has been suggested that Jesus stayed away for four days so that there would be absolutely no room for doubt – no room for superstition – concerning His raising Lazarus from the dead! In the same way, we must believe with all of our heart that we are truly 100% dead, “in our trespasses and sins.” There is absolutely no wiggle room allowed. Notice some very important statements that the Holy Spirit inspired into this account. First: Jesus wept. He cried as he saw others crying. He cried in the midst of the pain and sorrow of “death” in its many forms. Second: When Jesus ordered that they remove the stone, Mary replied that there would be a stench – a foul-smelling odor. Lazarus was already decomposing. Third: Jesus had already used the word “resurrection.” With Lazarus, He was going to validate the truth that “I am the resurrection and the life” spiritually by physically resurrecting Lazarus. Fourth: Jesus gave all glory to God. He prayed for the sake of all who were watching and listening. John 11:40–42 (ESV) 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” Fifth: Jesus gave life, and He asked others to help clean-up! John 11:43–44 (ESV) 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” Jesus did the “resurrection”! Family and friends did the unbinding and the obvious, or inevitable, bathing and scrubbing! Family and friends had to “let him go” – release him from his “past death.” The basic meaning of “not hold his past,” or “not hold his sins” against him – which is the essence of forgiveness! Ephesians 4:11–16 (ESV bold added) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. GREAT IS GOD’S FAITHFULNESS! Philippians 1:1-11 (NASB95 bold added) 1Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, 5 in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. 8 For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; 11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. IT’S ALL ABOUT GOD, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST! We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. We are saints (holy ones / separated unto God) in Christ Jesus. God who began a good work in us will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. The Greek word is epiteleō – the prefix epi makes it a strengthened form of teleō. The word teleō means “to complete,” “to carry out,” “to perfect;” and it also means “goal,” “maturity,” “achievement,” “fulfillment,” for example. This broad meaning means that different translations have had to grapple with how to translate this verse: – will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. NASB95 – will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Chris. ESV – will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: KJV – will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. NLT – will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. NIV84 God’s goal in our salvation is to “finish the work,” or “to complete the work He started,” or “to perfect the work He started” – God wants to bring us to full maturity in Jesus Christ. Just as we never stop maturing and growing “older;” we must never stop maturing and growing “spiritually.” We are being “perfected” to be more and more like Jesus, to the glory of our Abba, Father God! Great is God’s faithfulness!
Posted on: Sun, 28 Jul 2013 18:21:14 +0000
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