I had intended today to write about “The Gospel According to John” chapter 4:23-42, God willing I will do so at a later date. I guess I still am in away because that entire text is about sharing Jesus, and that is what has occupied my thoughts today. Do you ever sit in church and just think something is wrong, I mean really wrong. My pastor, I love him and by no means wish to degrade his work nor my church, but sometimes I hear a sermon and just think, that could only be preached here; in the richest country the world has ever known, in one of the safest most prosperous communities in our state. We sing songs in church and do you ever listen to the words of the songs we sing? One of the songs we sang in worship today was, “I surrender all to you”, and here are the Lyrics to that song:
I'm giving you my heart, and all that is within
I lay it all down for the sake of you my King
I'm giving you my dreams, I'm laying down my rights
I'm giving up my pride for the promise of new life
And I surrender all to you, all to you
And I surrender all to you, all to you
I'm singing You this song, I'm waiting at the cross
And all the world holds dear, I count it all as loss
For the sake of knowing You for the glory of Your name
To know the lasting joy, even sharing in Your pain
I don’t know about you, but when I was singing that song I wanted to ask; do we really? I mean really read those words, they’re graphic and here we are singing them as if we are surrendering all. The last few weeks I have listened to a sermon series on fear and every week I have left church thinking, something is wrong, this just does not seem right. Before leaving for church this morning I read a facebook post by Shawn Hole, he is an evangelist and missionary. He and a team had gone on a mission trip to Nepal to evangelize the gospel. While preaching they were attacked; stoned, beaten with boards and fists, narrowly escaping. They feared that they would be hunted down and worried about the pictures that had been taken at the scene and questioned wether or not they should leave the country and return home. So what did they do? They did what Peter and John did in Acts chapter 4 after being captured and beaten in the temple. They prayed to God for boldness and went out and continued to preach the gospel and have been doing so for one week now since they were stoned. Reading this you would think that this was something that happened in the book of Acts but it is not; it occurred this past week.
So we sit in our churches singing “I Surrender all to you” while others really are surrendering all to Him; preaching the gospel, getting stoned, then praying for more boldness, then going out doing it again. Something is just not right with this. We listen to a sermon series on fear in which the true context of scripture was written to people going through what these men in Nepal were going through just last week. So what am I saying? I’m saying that I’m growing weary of this. I’m saying I am sick of church, I love the church (the believers in Jesus Christ) but I’m sick of doing church instead of doing what Jesus told us to do. Jesus said: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). So why isn’t anyone going? We sing “I surrender all to you” and can’t even do what He says, most of us don’t even share the gospel with our neighbors, most of us have lost people right in our neighborhood and we don’t talk to them. That is the real fear we need to deal with, not all of these life fears. A question popped into my mind while showering this morning after having read this man’s facebook post. Do you fear death, and if so do you have faith if you fear death? Why is the answer important? Because we are not saved by keeping the law, we are not saved by good works, we are not saved by walking down a church aisle, and we are not saved by saying a prayer asking Jesus into your heart; I find no example of anyone being saved by any of these in scripture. But what I do find, repeatedly, is that we are saved by one Way, faith in Jesus “by His blood, through faith” (Romans 3:25). It is not a onetime thing you do; faith is for a lifetime and yes whoever God has saved, is saved for life, they are eternal. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Jesus said “Go” so let’s “Go”! Going out in obedience to our Lord spreading His gospel to a lost and dying world does not earn righteousness, only faith in Jesus Christ does that. So why do men like these risk life and limb to spread the gospel? Why did the early believers in Acts risk life and limb to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ?
1. Faith: every one of these people know that their life is not their own, their lives belong to Jesus Christ. These men know that they had a debt they couldn’t pay, they were slaves to sin, and Jesus bought them out of slavery to sin and paid their debt with His own blood. They owe Him everything, He gave His life for them; He is their Lord and savior.
2. Hope: Their hope is in the fact that they have been given eternal life. “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 118:6)
3. Love: they know that every single person that dies without coming to faith in Jesus Christ will be in Hell and that it is through believers in Jesus that God has chosen to deliver His good news to the world of salvation in Jesus Christ.
I have grown weary with church as usual, I don’t even know what this is going to look like but I can tell you one thing; I will be praying to my Lord for boldness, praying for direction and seeking direction, I will be praying for opportunities and seeking opportunities; I will be following Him in obedience and I will be sharing the gospel with a lost and dying world; wether that means preaching, handing out gospel tracts, one-on-one witnessing, or even reading the Word of God to people. I welcome any and all that are willing to join me, especially my church family at Central Baptist Tyler, TX. This world as we know it is passing away right before our eyes, 153,000 people die every day, the majority of which do not know the Lord and will spend eternity in Hell.
If you will join me comment on this post or email me at peekmikeb@aol.com let’s join hands and share the gospel with our Tyler TX community, our state, our country, and the world. I am calling for anyone willing to surrender all. If you know of a group of people already doing this please let me know, I would love to get in contact with them.
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven” (Romans 4:7)
Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ
peekmikeb@aol.com
Monday, January 30, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
A Letter to a Friend
Dear Friend,
I am writing this letter to you because even though we may have never met I love and care about you. I hope you will bear with me and take the time to read this letter. The things I have to say are important; in fact nothing is more important. I don’t know your back ground but I surmise that at some point in time you have heard the word sin. What is sin? It is a term that many religious people use and many of them do not understand the term themselves. The bible gives us the definition of what sin is; “Sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Sin is living life as if there were no God, no one to whom you are accountable to, or as if He has no knowledge of, or cares what you do. All societies, all cultures, all governments have a set of laws that the citizens of that society are expected to live by. You break the laws of the land and you can expect to be imprisoned and or fined. What happens to a society when you take away government? You have anarchy, people living as if there were no government and no law that they are accountable to, as long as the government remains in place most people obey the laws, but take away the government because of a natural disaster or civil war, the society falls into chaos; people taking whatever they want and doing whatever they want to do. Just as our society has laws and an authority, God the creator of all things has given us a Holy law, a Holy set of scripts by which we are to live life. And each of us knows these laws because He has written them on the heart of everyone. You know that it is wrong to lie, steal, kill, and commit adultery but it goes much deeper than that. God is spirit He sees your thought life, He sees hatred as murder (1 John 3:15) and lust as adultery; Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28) That is just a few of God’s Commandments, His moral law that He has written on your heart and holds you accountable to.
As I told you at the beginning of this letter that “Sin is Lawlessness”, living life as if there were no God. As in society we have to face the judge if we break the laws of the land, God is a good judge and one day every single human being will have to face Him and give an account of their life to Him. The bible tells us that God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31). Jesus said when He returns, He will reward each according to their works (Matthew 16:27). My question to you is do you really want Him to reward you according to your works? I know I don’t! At some point we all die, our bodies will cease to function. The bible tells us, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27). Every single one of us will come before God in Judgment, and He will do what good judges do, He will find all law breakers guilty. He is not going to judge you for the good things you have done but for the bad. In society you can be good your entire life, then rob a bank and you are going to jail, no question about it, the good things you did won’t matter. God’s justice is perfect and His judgment is perfect. The punishment for breaking God’s law is death; not the death of your body but the death of your soul, the bible tells us about a second death, the death of your soul, eternal torment and total separation from God, “all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelations 21:8).
Now God does not want that for you, God loves you and is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 2:9). God’s perfect justice demands punishment and the punishment for breaking God’s law is death but He loves you and does not want that for you, in fact He wants you to be with Him forever. So He did something incredible and do you know what that is? God became flesh; He became a man, flesh and blood just like us, and yet at the same time was fully God, His name was Jesus. He did something that no man has ever done before or since, Jesus never sinned, He lived His life without breaking the Commandments of God even once. Then He willingly laid down His life in our place, He was beaten, He was pierced, and hung on a cross, a very brutal and torturous way to die. He bled and died on that cross for your sins, for your lawlessness; the bible tells us that “without the shedding of blood there is no remission” (forgiveness of sins) (Hebrews 9:22). Then Jesus was buried in a tomb and then He did something that only God could do, three days later He arose from the grave and defeated death. He was seen by His apostles (His selected twelve followers) and then by over five hundred at once before He ascended to heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8) He then said before ascending, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15), “and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). That is the reason I have written you this letter, there is forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ for all who repent and put their faith alone in Jesus, His death on the cross was payment for your sins. Repentance is a change of heart, salvation is a free gift given by God to all who repent and put their faith in His only begotten son Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Religion can’t save you, following a bunch of rules to try and earn favor with God can’t save you, and if you remain in your sins you will die in your sins. There is salvation from sin through faith in Jesus Christ alone; He has paid the price for all of your sins on the cross.
So you might ask; what do I do? Go to God in prayer, call out to Him, He will hear you, confess your sins to Him and forsake them, except His free gift of everlasting life through faith in Jesus Christ. If you do that you will be born again, God will give you His spirit as a guarantee of your salvation, He will give you a new heart, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). All who are saved in Jesus Christ truly are born again, God no longer sees your sin when He looks at you, He sees Jesus, your sins are truly forgiven, they are no more, and they died with Christ. If you have accepted the gift of God through faith in Jesus Christ, get to know Him. Find a bible and start reading, I suggest to begin with the gospel according to John. Also find a group of followers of Jesus Christ and meet with them regularly. This new life in Christ will not be easy, so you need the support of other believers to help you along the Way. I leave you with the words of Jesus that He spoke to His followers before going to the cross, His words comfort me daily. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven.” (Romans 4:7)
I Hope God blesses you,
Mike Peek
I am writing this letter to you because even though we may have never met I love and care about you. I hope you will bear with me and take the time to read this letter. The things I have to say are important; in fact nothing is more important. I don’t know your back ground but I surmise that at some point in time you have heard the word sin. What is sin? It is a term that many religious people use and many of them do not understand the term themselves. The bible gives us the definition of what sin is; “Sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Sin is living life as if there were no God, no one to whom you are accountable to, or as if He has no knowledge of, or cares what you do. All societies, all cultures, all governments have a set of laws that the citizens of that society are expected to live by. You break the laws of the land and you can expect to be imprisoned and or fined. What happens to a society when you take away government? You have anarchy, people living as if there were no government and no law that they are accountable to, as long as the government remains in place most people obey the laws, but take away the government because of a natural disaster or civil war, the society falls into chaos; people taking whatever they want and doing whatever they want to do. Just as our society has laws and an authority, God the creator of all things has given us a Holy law, a Holy set of scripts by which we are to live life. And each of us knows these laws because He has written them on the heart of everyone. You know that it is wrong to lie, steal, kill, and commit adultery but it goes much deeper than that. God is spirit He sees your thought life, He sees hatred as murder (1 John 3:15) and lust as adultery; Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28) That is just a few of God’s Commandments, His moral law that He has written on your heart and holds you accountable to.
As I told you at the beginning of this letter that “Sin is Lawlessness”, living life as if there were no God. As in society we have to face the judge if we break the laws of the land, God is a good judge and one day every single human being will have to face Him and give an account of their life to Him. The bible tells us that God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31). Jesus said when He returns, He will reward each according to their works (Matthew 16:27). My question to you is do you really want Him to reward you according to your works? I know I don’t! At some point we all die, our bodies will cease to function. The bible tells us, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27). Every single one of us will come before God in Judgment, and He will do what good judges do, He will find all law breakers guilty. He is not going to judge you for the good things you have done but for the bad. In society you can be good your entire life, then rob a bank and you are going to jail, no question about it, the good things you did won’t matter. God’s justice is perfect and His judgment is perfect. The punishment for breaking God’s law is death; not the death of your body but the death of your soul, the bible tells us about a second death, the death of your soul, eternal torment and total separation from God, “all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelations 21:8).
Now God does not want that for you, God loves you and is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 2:9). God’s perfect justice demands punishment and the punishment for breaking God’s law is death but He loves you and does not want that for you, in fact He wants you to be with Him forever. So He did something incredible and do you know what that is? God became flesh; He became a man, flesh and blood just like us, and yet at the same time was fully God, His name was Jesus. He did something that no man has ever done before or since, Jesus never sinned, He lived His life without breaking the Commandments of God even once. Then He willingly laid down His life in our place, He was beaten, He was pierced, and hung on a cross, a very brutal and torturous way to die. He bled and died on that cross for your sins, for your lawlessness; the bible tells us that “without the shedding of blood there is no remission” (forgiveness of sins) (Hebrews 9:22). Then Jesus was buried in a tomb and then He did something that only God could do, three days later He arose from the grave and defeated death. He was seen by His apostles (His selected twelve followers) and then by over five hundred at once before He ascended to heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8) He then said before ascending, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15), “and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). That is the reason I have written you this letter, there is forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ for all who repent and put their faith alone in Jesus, His death on the cross was payment for your sins. Repentance is a change of heart, salvation is a free gift given by God to all who repent and put their faith in His only begotten son Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Religion can’t save you, following a bunch of rules to try and earn favor with God can’t save you, and if you remain in your sins you will die in your sins. There is salvation from sin through faith in Jesus Christ alone; He has paid the price for all of your sins on the cross.
So you might ask; what do I do? Go to God in prayer, call out to Him, He will hear you, confess your sins to Him and forsake them, except His free gift of everlasting life through faith in Jesus Christ. If you do that you will be born again, God will give you His spirit as a guarantee of your salvation, He will give you a new heart, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). All who are saved in Jesus Christ truly are born again, God no longer sees your sin when He looks at you, He sees Jesus, your sins are truly forgiven, they are no more, and they died with Christ. If you have accepted the gift of God through faith in Jesus Christ, get to know Him. Find a bible and start reading, I suggest to begin with the gospel according to John. Also find a group of followers of Jesus Christ and meet with them regularly. This new life in Christ will not be easy, so you need the support of other believers to help you along the Way. I leave you with the words of Jesus that He spoke to His followers before going to the cross, His words comfort me daily. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven.” (Romans 4:7)
I Hope God blesses you,
Mike Peek
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Loving Your Enemy
The Lord, who is gracious and continues to give me more than I ever deserve or hope for, has given me something this week, and that which He has given me is wisdom. He has given to me an understanding of something that I have accepted as true when I began following Him and reading His word but never really understood. You know how your parents told you to do something as a child you didn’t understand it but, because they told you to do it you did it anyways; at least most of the time. The subject I would like to talk about today is; loving your enemy. We each have many enemies and make many more enemies every day. One moment a husband and wife can be the best of friends and the next become enemies. Friends divide over a multitude of issues all the time. Then there are those who for whatever reason just do not like you. We as believers are warned by Jesus that the world will hate us because it hated Him. (see John 15:18-26) And Paul tells us in his letter to Timothy; “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12) So we all in some way have enemies, but Jesus says to love our enemies. Okay, Jesus is Lord and if He says love your enemies I accept that I’m to love my enemies. Easy right, I don’t know about you but it is not easy for me. People at times just do awful things to each other; people hate other people for no good reason at all and do things to hurt them every day. People are selfish and rude, they are out for themselves and don’t care who they step on and yet the Lord says to love them. Not only does he tell us to love our enemies He tells us to do good to them, to bless them, and to pray for them; to do this even while they are hurting you. He tells us if someone slaps you on one cheek to give them the other, (this I’ve never seen anyone do) If someone sues you give them more than they sued you for, and if someone forces you to go one mile go two. (For all of these see Matthew 5:38-44).
Okay Lord, I understand you have given me knowledge through Your word that I am to love my enemies no matter what, but I did not have wisdom because I did not understand why. Yes for a while you can endure and love your enemies but without the wisdom only the Spirit of the Lord can give it is difficult and you can become angry even when you do not want to be. I am a believer by faith in Jesus Christ, He has paid the price for all of my sins past and present; on the cross shedding His precious sinless blood, so I owe Him my very life. The name of this blog is “A Slave of Jesus Christ” and that is exactly what I am. He bought me at a high price, the price of His blood and He is my Lord. He being my Lord; my heart’s desire is to honor Him in everything I do. Yet people can be so ugly and mean. People do things purposely to hurt you. People love themselves and could care less about those around them. Whoever is not around at that very moment is being talked evil of by everyone else. Lord, how am I supposed to show love in this evil world when people are so ugly to one another and why? He gave me an answer and the answer surprised me.
The answer came as it always does, through His word. I have been intently meditating on the gospel of John, and in my morning bible reading I had been reading through the letters Paul had written to the churches, and a verse was used in a movie my wife and I were watching, then the next morning I read that exact verse and then it suddenly became clear to me as to why we should love our enemies. Our struggle is not with our enemies at all, it is spiritual. Over and over again in the gospel according to John, Jesus is speaking spiritually and the people are thinking physically. That was my problem, I was thinking physically and my Lord is speaking spiritually. The verse that brings this whole thing to light for me is (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.” Our war is not with flesh and blood, it is not with people at all, but it is with the dark forces of evil. No matter what a single person on earth says or does to you, his or her sin is not against you, it is against God. His or her sin is between them and God, not between you and them. Does it hurt to be slapped? Yes. Does it hurt when people say evil things about you? Yes. Does it hurt when your closest friend or spouse turns their back to you or even cheats on you, steals, or lies? Yes. But their sin is not between you and them; their sin is between them and God. David understood this when he said to God in prayer, “Against you and only you have I sinned” (Psalm 51:4), after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband.
Our reaction to these things are deep and spiritual, probably more deep and spiritual than anything else in our lives except for a saving faith in the only begotten son Jesus Christ. When people do evil and hurtful things to you, God says to love them. My reaction and your reaction to these things are spiritual and are the things of God. To be angry and hate is to give oneself over to the dark forces of evil because that is exactly what Satan wants. To love is to give oneself over to the spirit of God because God is love. This helps me to understand how and why the believers in the early church could endure such extreme persecution and brutality and continue to spread the word of the Way of salvation in Jesus Christ to the very people who were hurting them. This helps me to understand how Jesus could say, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34). So the next time someone does something that hurts you remember this. Their sin is not between you and them, it is between them and God, and your reaction is Spiritual. Remember, “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” (Ephesians 6:12).
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven.” (Romans 4:7)
I hope God blesses you,
Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ
Okay Lord, I understand you have given me knowledge through Your word that I am to love my enemies no matter what, but I did not have wisdom because I did not understand why. Yes for a while you can endure and love your enemies but without the wisdom only the Spirit of the Lord can give it is difficult and you can become angry even when you do not want to be. I am a believer by faith in Jesus Christ, He has paid the price for all of my sins past and present; on the cross shedding His precious sinless blood, so I owe Him my very life. The name of this blog is “A Slave of Jesus Christ” and that is exactly what I am. He bought me at a high price, the price of His blood and He is my Lord. He being my Lord; my heart’s desire is to honor Him in everything I do. Yet people can be so ugly and mean. People do things purposely to hurt you. People love themselves and could care less about those around them. Whoever is not around at that very moment is being talked evil of by everyone else. Lord, how am I supposed to show love in this evil world when people are so ugly to one another and why? He gave me an answer and the answer surprised me.
The answer came as it always does, through His word. I have been intently meditating on the gospel of John, and in my morning bible reading I had been reading through the letters Paul had written to the churches, and a verse was used in a movie my wife and I were watching, then the next morning I read that exact verse and then it suddenly became clear to me as to why we should love our enemies. Our struggle is not with our enemies at all, it is spiritual. Over and over again in the gospel according to John, Jesus is speaking spiritually and the people are thinking physically. That was my problem, I was thinking physically and my Lord is speaking spiritually. The verse that brings this whole thing to light for me is (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.” Our war is not with flesh and blood, it is not with people at all, but it is with the dark forces of evil. No matter what a single person on earth says or does to you, his or her sin is not against you, it is against God. His or her sin is between them and God, not between you and them. Does it hurt to be slapped? Yes. Does it hurt when people say evil things about you? Yes. Does it hurt when your closest friend or spouse turns their back to you or even cheats on you, steals, or lies? Yes. But their sin is not between you and them; their sin is between them and God. David understood this when he said to God in prayer, “Against you and only you have I sinned” (Psalm 51:4), after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband.
Our reaction to these things are deep and spiritual, probably more deep and spiritual than anything else in our lives except for a saving faith in the only begotten son Jesus Christ. When people do evil and hurtful things to you, God says to love them. My reaction and your reaction to these things are spiritual and are the things of God. To be angry and hate is to give oneself over to the dark forces of evil because that is exactly what Satan wants. To love is to give oneself over to the spirit of God because God is love. This helps me to understand how and why the believers in the early church could endure such extreme persecution and brutality and continue to spread the word of the Way of salvation in Jesus Christ to the very people who were hurting them. This helps me to understand how Jesus could say, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34). So the next time someone does something that hurts you remember this. Their sin is not between you and them, it is between them and God, and your reaction is Spiritual. Remember, “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” (Ephesians 6:12).
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven.” (Romans 4:7)
I hope God blesses you,
Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ
Saturday, January 7, 2012
A Well, A Woman, A Savior
As many of you may know, God has put it upon my heart to memorize the Gospel according to John and as I have been putting this book of the life of our Lord to memory, I will often times write about what I have learned. Today I will be talking about John chapter 4 the first 30 verses.
At the beginning of Chapter 4 we find Jesus and His disciples in the land of Judea, Jesus is preaching and His disciples are baptizing new converts. Jesus’ disciples were growing, in fact He was making more disciples than John and John praised God for this. The Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making more disciples than John and Jesus knew this. It was not time yet for a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees. So He left Judea and departed to Galilee. The scriptures tell us “But He needed to go through Samaria”. Now, no Jew ever went from Judea to Galilee through Samaria, in fact they avoided going through Samaria and had nothing to do with Samaritans all together. Most Jews had a route that took them around Samaria. Samaria was between Galilee and Judea. “But He needed to go through Samaria.” Now why did He need to go through Samaria? Jesus said, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10). There were people in Samaria, lost people! So as He and His disciple’s journeyed they came “to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar.” This was near the area recorded in Genesis that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. There was a well there that Jacob had dug and watered his family and livestock with. It was at this well that Jesus sat down to rest while His disciples went away into the city to buy food.
Now the text tells us that a Samaritan woman came to draw water and Jesus asked her for a drink. Can you imagine the shock that this must have been to this woman? This shows the absolute love of our Lord for all people no matter whom they are.
This shocked her for three reasons.
1. Jews did not go through Samaria and they had no dealings with Samaritans at all and would in no way drink from the same cup as a Samaritan. Yet Jesus asked for her to give Him a drink.
2. Jewish men in Jesus’ day did not talk with women in public, not even your wife; your mother was the only exception. Yet here He was talking to a woman out in broad day light.
3. Jewish Rabbis (teachers) did not talk with people that were considered to be sinners. As we will see later this woman was divorced 5 times and was now living with a man out of marriage and all the people in the area would have known that. Yet He talked with her where anyone could see.
So when she asked Him why He would ask her for a drink, He gives the answer only the Lord could give. “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” Now obviously she is thinking physical world and Jesus is speaking spiritually in talking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, a new birth that gives everlasting life. Remember what He had said to Nicodemus? “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5) So the woman says to Him “Sir give me this water that I may not thirst nor come here to draw.” She is beginning to think spiritually but is still on the physical. Now most modern day Christians would have at this point told her, say this prayer and you will be saved. They would have offered her the good things of the gospel without giving her the knowledge of sin. Jesus didn’t do that, before telling her who He was He allowed her to see her sinful state before God and that she was in need of salvation. “Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come here.’” The woman then admits what the Lord already knew, she had no husband, she has had five husbands and was not married to the man she was currently living with. The Lord knew her sin and led her to admit that sin, using the law of God. This story and the story of the rich young ruler are in contrast. In both accounts our Lord uses the law to bring the knowledge of sin, in the case of the rich young ruler he denied he was a sinner, in the case of this woman she admits it and desires to be cleansed of her sin. How do I know this? She admitted she was not married and when Jesus exposed her sin fully she did not deny it, or make excuses, she wanted to do what most people think they are to do to make amends and get right with God, she wanted to go to church and wanted to know what church she should go to. She said, “Sir I perceive that you are a prophet.” She wanted to know if she should go and make sacrifice and worship on Mount Gerizim in Samaria or in Jerusalem. I absolutely love what Jesus told her, and this same thing should settle the debate with all religious people and all denominations. The answer is neither. The Church is not a place; the Church is and always has been a movement. Many, many men have tried to stop this movement and one of the ways they do this is confining it to a building. The church of Jesus Christ is all people that put their faith in Jesus Christ; the only begotten Son of God who shed His blood and died for our sins and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day.
“God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” God is spirit, He is omniscient (He knows all things), and He is omnipresent (He is everywhere). Then He does something wonderful; He reveals to this sinful, Samaritan, woman who He is. This is the first person outside of His disciples that He tells that He is the Messiah (the Holy One of God). He doesn’t reveal this to some holy man, He reveals this to a woman that most in her day and time, and in our day and time as well would have considered her lower than a dog; but not our Lord, He truly is love. She had already said to Him that when the messiah comes “He will tell us all things.” So that is exactly what she runs into the city and tells all the men of the city. “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” So what did the men of the city do after she said this to them? “They went out of the city and came to Him.” That should be the response of every single person that comes to faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, to run out and tell everyone. Come, to Jesus.
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven.” (Romans 4:7)
I hope God blesses you,
Mike Peek
Note: All quotations that are not indicated came directly from John 4:1-30 (NKJV)
At the beginning of Chapter 4 we find Jesus and His disciples in the land of Judea, Jesus is preaching and His disciples are baptizing new converts. Jesus’ disciples were growing, in fact He was making more disciples than John and John praised God for this. The Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making more disciples than John and Jesus knew this. It was not time yet for a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees. So He left Judea and departed to Galilee. The scriptures tell us “But He needed to go through Samaria”. Now, no Jew ever went from Judea to Galilee through Samaria, in fact they avoided going through Samaria and had nothing to do with Samaritans all together. Most Jews had a route that took them around Samaria. Samaria was between Galilee and Judea. “But He needed to go through Samaria.” Now why did He need to go through Samaria? Jesus said, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10). There were people in Samaria, lost people! So as He and His disciple’s journeyed they came “to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar.” This was near the area recorded in Genesis that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. There was a well there that Jacob had dug and watered his family and livestock with. It was at this well that Jesus sat down to rest while His disciples went away into the city to buy food.
Now the text tells us that a Samaritan woman came to draw water and Jesus asked her for a drink. Can you imagine the shock that this must have been to this woman? This shows the absolute love of our Lord for all people no matter whom they are.
This shocked her for three reasons.
1. Jews did not go through Samaria and they had no dealings with Samaritans at all and would in no way drink from the same cup as a Samaritan. Yet Jesus asked for her to give Him a drink.
2. Jewish men in Jesus’ day did not talk with women in public, not even your wife; your mother was the only exception. Yet here He was talking to a woman out in broad day light.
3. Jewish Rabbis (teachers) did not talk with people that were considered to be sinners. As we will see later this woman was divorced 5 times and was now living with a man out of marriage and all the people in the area would have known that. Yet He talked with her where anyone could see.
So when she asked Him why He would ask her for a drink, He gives the answer only the Lord could give. “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” Now obviously she is thinking physical world and Jesus is speaking spiritually in talking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, a new birth that gives everlasting life. Remember what He had said to Nicodemus? “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5) So the woman says to Him “Sir give me this water that I may not thirst nor come here to draw.” She is beginning to think spiritually but is still on the physical. Now most modern day Christians would have at this point told her, say this prayer and you will be saved. They would have offered her the good things of the gospel without giving her the knowledge of sin. Jesus didn’t do that, before telling her who He was He allowed her to see her sinful state before God and that she was in need of salvation. “Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come here.’” The woman then admits what the Lord already knew, she had no husband, she has had five husbands and was not married to the man she was currently living with. The Lord knew her sin and led her to admit that sin, using the law of God. This story and the story of the rich young ruler are in contrast. In both accounts our Lord uses the law to bring the knowledge of sin, in the case of the rich young ruler he denied he was a sinner, in the case of this woman she admits it and desires to be cleansed of her sin. How do I know this? She admitted she was not married and when Jesus exposed her sin fully she did not deny it, or make excuses, she wanted to do what most people think they are to do to make amends and get right with God, she wanted to go to church and wanted to know what church she should go to. She said, “Sir I perceive that you are a prophet.” She wanted to know if she should go and make sacrifice and worship on Mount Gerizim in Samaria or in Jerusalem. I absolutely love what Jesus told her, and this same thing should settle the debate with all religious people and all denominations. The answer is neither. The Church is not a place; the Church is and always has been a movement. Many, many men have tried to stop this movement and one of the ways they do this is confining it to a building. The church of Jesus Christ is all people that put their faith in Jesus Christ; the only begotten Son of God who shed His blood and died for our sins and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day.
“God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” God is spirit, He is omniscient (He knows all things), and He is omnipresent (He is everywhere). Then He does something wonderful; He reveals to this sinful, Samaritan, woman who He is. This is the first person outside of His disciples that He tells that He is the Messiah (the Holy One of God). He doesn’t reveal this to some holy man, He reveals this to a woman that most in her day and time, and in our day and time as well would have considered her lower than a dog; but not our Lord, He truly is love. She had already said to Him that when the messiah comes “He will tell us all things.” So that is exactly what she runs into the city and tells all the men of the city. “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” So what did the men of the city do after she said this to them? “They went out of the city and came to Him.” That should be the response of every single person that comes to faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, to run out and tell everyone. Come, to Jesus.
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven.” (Romans 4:7)
I hope God blesses you,
Mike Peek
Note: All quotations that are not indicated came directly from John 4:1-30 (NKJV)
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Reward
This week I have been reading from “The Gospel According to Matthew”, and as I have done so God has opened up this telling of Jesus Christ in a new and different way. The words came alive in a way I had never seen them before and in many ways it was as though I was hearing them for the first time. Of all that I read one verse in particular that I had read two days ago stood out and I kept referencing back to it as I read on. I guess I had not really noticed it before or was just more focused on the surrounding verses. The verse that I am referring to is Matthew 16:27, Jesus is talking with the twelve, He asks them who do men say that He is, then He asks them who do they say that He is. Peter says: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The Lord proceeds to tell them how He was going to suffer at the hands of the elders, chief priest and scribes, that He would be killed and be raised from the dead the third day. Peter rebukes Him and the Lord says, “Get behind Me Satan!” Then the Lord tells them how to be saved and I have found in this reading of Matthew this same plan of salvation runs through every story and parable, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25). Then the Lord tells of His coming and this was opened to me like it had never been done before. Jesus is not returning as a man, Jesus as returning as God in all of His glory! “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angles, and then He will reward each according to his works” (Matthew 16:27). Then in chapter 24 He tells of the end of times and His return and all I could think was, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). Really, think about this for a moment. Jesus is not returning as the Lamb of God, He is returning in the glory of the Father, and says that He will reward each according to his works. My question to you is do you really want to be rewarded according to your works?
Let us look at the story of “The rich young ruler”. He comes to Jesus saying, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” In other words he was asking Jesus what work he must do to be rewarded. Jesus gives him the answer immediately when He says, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.” This man like most men thought there is something or things that he could do to be considered good, that by his works he could be rewarded with eternal life. Jesus then proceeds to give him the commandments and says that if you keep all of those you will have eternal life. He did this so that the man would see his sinful state before God. What does the law of God do? It brings the knowledge of sin, “for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). This man is before God incarnate, and he is given the law of God by Him who gave the law and he denies that he has broken the law. Even with that the Lord gives him the way to eternal life. Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow Me” (Matthew 19:21). I have heard this story preached about on many occasions and most times the one preaching says that this man’s god was his money. I don’t think so! This man was holding on to something else, something that is even harder for a man to give up than worldly wealth and that thing is self-righteousness. He had a death grip on self-righteousness and was not about to let it go for anything. Jesus said: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). This man’s worldly wealth wasn’t the problem, his problem was that he refused to die to self, he refused to give up his self-righteousness and that is what he needed to sell. “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:25).
So I ask you, do you really want to be rewarded according to your works? I know I don’t, that is why I am not trusting in my works but I am trusting in the works of Jesus Christ to save me from the wrath of the living God. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
Repent and trust alone in Jesus Christ,
Mike Peek
Let us look at the story of “The rich young ruler”. He comes to Jesus saying, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” In other words he was asking Jesus what work he must do to be rewarded. Jesus gives him the answer immediately when He says, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.” This man like most men thought there is something or things that he could do to be considered good, that by his works he could be rewarded with eternal life. Jesus then proceeds to give him the commandments and says that if you keep all of those you will have eternal life. He did this so that the man would see his sinful state before God. What does the law of God do? It brings the knowledge of sin, “for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). This man is before God incarnate, and he is given the law of God by Him who gave the law and he denies that he has broken the law. Even with that the Lord gives him the way to eternal life. Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow Me” (Matthew 19:21). I have heard this story preached about on many occasions and most times the one preaching says that this man’s god was his money. I don’t think so! This man was holding on to something else, something that is even harder for a man to give up than worldly wealth and that thing is self-righteousness. He had a death grip on self-righteousness and was not about to let it go for anything. Jesus said: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). This man’s worldly wealth wasn’t the problem, his problem was that he refused to die to self, he refused to give up his self-righteousness and that is what he needed to sell. “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:25).
So I ask you, do you really want to be rewarded according to your works? I know I don’t, that is why I am not trusting in my works but I am trusting in the works of Jesus Christ to save me from the wrath of the living God. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
Repent and trust alone in Jesus Christ,
Mike Peek
Saturday, December 24, 2011
The Sheep's Gate
This morning God gave me a message through a short passage in the gospel of Luke and it is that message that I would like to impart to you today. There is an enmity that separates the people of this world from God and that enmity is God’s law. Enmity means a wall of separation. And this wall is a daunting and impossible wall to scale for no one can climb over it, no one can go around it because it is eternal, and it is impenetrable, you cannot break it down. Many try to scale the wall and die trying, many try and walk around the wall and never find its end, and many more try to go through the wall and are crushed by it. The good news is that there is a way through the wall, a very narrow gate by which you might enter and the pathway through the wall is difficult. Most refuse to enter through this narrow gate because they are proud, and many more stray off the path because it is difficult. To enter through this gate you must be; poor of spirit, mournful, meek, hunger and thirst for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and are persecuted for righteousness sake. No it is not easy to enter this gate and even more difficult is the way.
There are two gates and all people will enter one or the other. One gate is wide and its way is broad, one gate is narrow and its way is difficult. Most people enter the wide gate and walk the broad way, there are but a few brave souls that enter the narrow gate and walk the difficult way. All gates, all doors open into a way and that way if followed leads you somewhere. If the destination you desire is not on the way you are on you will not reach the destination you desire. I live in the United States, in the state of Texas, Interstate highway 35 runs north to Canada and south to Mexico; if my desired destination was Mexico and I got on Interstate highway 35 north I would not reach my desired destination would I, because I was headed the wrong way? Now the two ways earlier mentioned the broad way and the difficult way both have a destination. The wide gate and the broad way leads to destruction. The narrow gate and difficult way leads to life.
So if the narrow gate and the difficult way leads to life wouldn’t you want to find it? Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God gave us directions to the narrow gate. Jesus said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7). “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9). “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through Me” (John 14:6). Jesus said He is both the gate and the way to life. Jesus is the narrow gate and following Him is the difficult way to life.
Let us look at the world’s religions for a moment. Let us draw a circle around the way in Jesus Christ and a circle around all world religions including atheism. All the world’s religions have one common theme, earning merit with God. If you follow the letter of the law, or if you do all of these good deeds you will earn your way to life. All who are in these religions are trusting in themselves on their own merit. The way in Jesus Christ is different, the believer admits he has broken the law of God and transfers his trust from himself to Jesus Christ. The believer does not stand on his own merit but on the merit of Jesus. This is the narrow gate, you are not good and you deserve to be punished but you put your faith in the blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross as payment for your sins. You transfer the trust from yourself to the Savior and except His Lordship over your life. You can enter through the wide gate and walk the broad way as most do but that way leads to destruction. There is but one narrow gate (the sheep’s gate) and one way to life though it is difficult.
Now this gate is very narrow and you can only enter it through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ as payment for your sins. And this way is difficult because in order to walk this way you most become humble and meek. Self-righteousness has no part on this way it cannot make it through the gate. There is not enough room on this way for pride it must be left at the gate. This way is too narrow for arrogance it must be left behind. This way is much too difficult to carry artificiality; it is too burdensome. Yes only the one who is poor in spirit, who mourns, who is meek, hungers and thirst for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers may enter.
I hope you will enter through the narrow gate (the sheep's gate) and walk the narrow way for it leads to life. Repent and trust alone in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
God be with you,
Mike Peek
There are two gates and all people will enter one or the other. One gate is wide and its way is broad, one gate is narrow and its way is difficult. Most people enter the wide gate and walk the broad way, there are but a few brave souls that enter the narrow gate and walk the difficult way. All gates, all doors open into a way and that way if followed leads you somewhere. If the destination you desire is not on the way you are on you will not reach the destination you desire. I live in the United States, in the state of Texas, Interstate highway 35 runs north to Canada and south to Mexico; if my desired destination was Mexico and I got on Interstate highway 35 north I would not reach my desired destination would I, because I was headed the wrong way? Now the two ways earlier mentioned the broad way and the difficult way both have a destination. The wide gate and the broad way leads to destruction. The narrow gate and difficult way leads to life.
So if the narrow gate and the difficult way leads to life wouldn’t you want to find it? Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God gave us directions to the narrow gate. Jesus said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7). “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9). “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through Me” (John 14:6). Jesus said He is both the gate and the way to life. Jesus is the narrow gate and following Him is the difficult way to life.
Let us look at the world’s religions for a moment. Let us draw a circle around the way in Jesus Christ and a circle around all world religions including atheism. All the world’s religions have one common theme, earning merit with God. If you follow the letter of the law, or if you do all of these good deeds you will earn your way to life. All who are in these religions are trusting in themselves on their own merit. The way in Jesus Christ is different, the believer admits he has broken the law of God and transfers his trust from himself to Jesus Christ. The believer does not stand on his own merit but on the merit of Jesus. This is the narrow gate, you are not good and you deserve to be punished but you put your faith in the blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross as payment for your sins. You transfer the trust from yourself to the Savior and except His Lordship over your life. You can enter through the wide gate and walk the broad way as most do but that way leads to destruction. There is but one narrow gate (the sheep’s gate) and one way to life though it is difficult.
Now this gate is very narrow and you can only enter it through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ as payment for your sins. And this way is difficult because in order to walk this way you most become humble and meek. Self-righteousness has no part on this way it cannot make it through the gate. There is not enough room on this way for pride it must be left at the gate. This way is too narrow for arrogance it must be left behind. This way is much too difficult to carry artificiality; it is too burdensome. Yes only the one who is poor in spirit, who mourns, who is meek, hungers and thirst for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers may enter.
I hope you will enter through the narrow gate (the sheep's gate) and walk the narrow way for it leads to life. Repent and trust alone in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
God be with you,
Mike Peek
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Love and Sacrifice
There are two things that I would like to talk about today; love and sacrifice. These two words are deep in their significance and meaning, they are a totality of scripture in a wonderful summary. They are so simple, yet so extremely difficult. These two words are both defined by the world and by the Bible, with the definitions in contrast. If you were to take all of scripture as incredibly vast as it is, it can be summarized in love and sacrifice.
The first message is this. God loves you, so love God and other people. How is God’s love demonstrated to us? On the cross, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God does not love you because you are lovable, God does not love you because you are good, God does not love you because you are someone great, God does not love you because of your beauty, God does not love you because you are desirable. God loves you because He is love, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Isn’t that wonderful? No matter what you have thought, no matter what you have said, and no matter what you have done, God loves you. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
So let us define love from the Word of God. “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). Jesus is the expression of God in a man. Jesus before going to the cross gave a command to His disciples, and that command is love. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). Not only does He tell us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ but he also tells us to even love the unlovable, to love our enemies. “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). People will often love someone because being around that person gives them good feelings. When is love true love? Love is true love when it benefits you nothing. Jesus loved the world, and the world spit in His face. Jesus loved the world, and the world beat Him. Jesus loved the world, and the world hung Him on a cross until He suffered and died. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). So if God loves you like that, don’t you think you should love like God, in loving other people?
The second message is this. God sacrificed everything to save you, so sacrifice everything. God sacrificed everything, Himself, so that you might live. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). God the Father gave His only begotten Son. Begotten is the best translation and it literally means came out of. Jesus literally came out of God, He is God. So when the Bible says He gave His only begotten Son it is saying He gave Himself. And what He gave was everything. Think about this for a minute, go outside on a clear night and look at the sky and the vastness of the universe and all it contains. Climb a mountain and gaze at the wonder of the earth. Watch the birds fly, fish swim, a horse run, and a child play; all of which magnify the glory of God. Then think about this; Jesus was with God before time began, before creation. God had Him lower Himself to take on the form of lowly man to redeem man from this fallen world. Think about how difficult that most have been, and to do that knowing that the very people He was saving would curse Him, spit on Him, beat Him, hate Him, and murder Him. Amazing!!! Jesus while being fully God was also fully man. The fact that he subjected Himself to this fleshy state is a sacrifice beyond imagination. Jesus felt pain, hunger, thirst, sadness, disappointment, and He also faced temptation.
Let us just for a moment look at one of these, temptations. What an incredible thing it is that God would subject Himself to this. We as fleshy human beings have real physical needs and it is our desire to have those needs met. Sin occurs when a real physical need meets desire, which desire gives way to temptation, and temptation to sin. Jesus while He was fully God He was fully man, and being fully man He was subject to everything we as men are subject to. I will use to describe this, a sin that easily besets a man. God created in man a real physical need to procreate, to have sex and multiply, and what God has created is good. God said: “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). God set this to be done within a marriage between one man and one woman. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (Matthew 19:5 & Genesis 2:24). The two become one flesh. “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:6). So God created in man the real physical need to multiply. That real physical need that is good, gives way to desire, a desire to have sex, which is good. Once a man has that desire then he can become subject to temptation. Not all but many women in our society flaunt themselves; they expose themselves in many different ways. So you have a man with a physical need to procreate which gives him the desire to have sex, then a woman with a low cut dress comes into his eye site exposing here breast (her cleavage); so then you have instantaneously within this man a temptation to lust. He has a real physical need to procreate, which causes sexual desire, which is good, and then he is exposed to this woman’s cleavage which gives him the temptation to lust. Lust is an intense, strong, passionate, craving, appetite for, to delight in, or to wish for. So in this case this man who has a real physical need, which causes desire, is tempted to lust. Lust in this case would be that he desires to have sex with this woman that has come into his view, that no longer does he just have an innate sexual desire, which is good, but he desires to have sex with her, the woman he just saw, he takes delight in her, and has an appetite for, which is sin. Lust is sin, Jesus said: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28). There are three things this man cannot avoid: His physical need, his innate sexual desire, and temptation. Once faced with temptation he has a choice; to turn away and put it out of his mind, or to allow his innate sexual desire to turn into a directed desire for the woman that has entered into his vision.
This is but one temptation that men face every day. This is but one type of temptation amongst many. It is so incredibly difficult to wether all of the temptations that you face in just a single day, sometimes in a single hour much less a lifetime. Thank God that Jesus did it for us. God really did sacrifice everything. Can you imagine having the same body we have, and being faced with the same temptations we are faced with everyday and never once giving in to temptation and sinning, the incredible sacrifice that it took. Then the cross; He was cursed by sinful men, spit on, mocked, beaten, carried His own instrument of death, hung on a cross to suffer and die. And He felt everything; the physical pain as well as the emotional pain. Then God the father turns His back on Him and He dies a sinner’s death going to Hell so you wouldn’t have to. Jesus went to hell, He died a sinner’s death, He died and went to hell. But because He is God when He was ready He defeated death and hell and rose from the grave. The sacrifice is so incredible we will never in this life understand it in partiality much less fully. So if He sacrificed everything to save you, shouldn’t you sacrifice everything?
God loves you, so love God and other People. God sacrificed everything for you, so sacrifice everything.
Mike Peek
The first message is this. God loves you, so love God and other people. How is God’s love demonstrated to us? On the cross, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God does not love you because you are lovable, God does not love you because you are good, God does not love you because you are someone great, God does not love you because of your beauty, God does not love you because you are desirable. God loves you because He is love, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Isn’t that wonderful? No matter what you have thought, no matter what you have said, and no matter what you have done, God loves you. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
So let us define love from the Word of God. “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). Jesus is the expression of God in a man. Jesus before going to the cross gave a command to His disciples, and that command is love. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). Not only does He tell us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ but he also tells us to even love the unlovable, to love our enemies. “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). People will often love someone because being around that person gives them good feelings. When is love true love? Love is true love when it benefits you nothing. Jesus loved the world, and the world spit in His face. Jesus loved the world, and the world beat Him. Jesus loved the world, and the world hung Him on a cross until He suffered and died. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). So if God loves you like that, don’t you think you should love like God, in loving other people?
The second message is this. God sacrificed everything to save you, so sacrifice everything. God sacrificed everything, Himself, so that you might live. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). God the Father gave His only begotten Son. Begotten is the best translation and it literally means came out of. Jesus literally came out of God, He is God. So when the Bible says He gave His only begotten Son it is saying He gave Himself. And what He gave was everything. Think about this for a minute, go outside on a clear night and look at the sky and the vastness of the universe and all it contains. Climb a mountain and gaze at the wonder of the earth. Watch the birds fly, fish swim, a horse run, and a child play; all of which magnify the glory of God. Then think about this; Jesus was with God before time began, before creation. God had Him lower Himself to take on the form of lowly man to redeem man from this fallen world. Think about how difficult that most have been, and to do that knowing that the very people He was saving would curse Him, spit on Him, beat Him, hate Him, and murder Him. Amazing!!! Jesus while being fully God was also fully man. The fact that he subjected Himself to this fleshy state is a sacrifice beyond imagination. Jesus felt pain, hunger, thirst, sadness, disappointment, and He also faced temptation.
Let us just for a moment look at one of these, temptations. What an incredible thing it is that God would subject Himself to this. We as fleshy human beings have real physical needs and it is our desire to have those needs met. Sin occurs when a real physical need meets desire, which desire gives way to temptation, and temptation to sin. Jesus while He was fully God He was fully man, and being fully man He was subject to everything we as men are subject to. I will use to describe this, a sin that easily besets a man. God created in man a real physical need to procreate, to have sex and multiply, and what God has created is good. God said: “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). God set this to be done within a marriage between one man and one woman. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (Matthew 19:5 & Genesis 2:24). The two become one flesh. “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:6). So God created in man the real physical need to multiply. That real physical need that is good, gives way to desire, a desire to have sex, which is good. Once a man has that desire then he can become subject to temptation. Not all but many women in our society flaunt themselves; they expose themselves in many different ways. So you have a man with a physical need to procreate which gives him the desire to have sex, then a woman with a low cut dress comes into his eye site exposing here breast (her cleavage); so then you have instantaneously within this man a temptation to lust. He has a real physical need to procreate, which causes sexual desire, which is good, and then he is exposed to this woman’s cleavage which gives him the temptation to lust. Lust is an intense, strong, passionate, craving, appetite for, to delight in, or to wish for. So in this case this man who has a real physical need, which causes desire, is tempted to lust. Lust in this case would be that he desires to have sex with this woman that has come into his view, that no longer does he just have an innate sexual desire, which is good, but he desires to have sex with her, the woman he just saw, he takes delight in her, and has an appetite for, which is sin. Lust is sin, Jesus said: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28). There are three things this man cannot avoid: His physical need, his innate sexual desire, and temptation. Once faced with temptation he has a choice; to turn away and put it out of his mind, or to allow his innate sexual desire to turn into a directed desire for the woman that has entered into his vision.
This is but one temptation that men face every day. This is but one type of temptation amongst many. It is so incredibly difficult to wether all of the temptations that you face in just a single day, sometimes in a single hour much less a lifetime. Thank God that Jesus did it for us. God really did sacrifice everything. Can you imagine having the same body we have, and being faced with the same temptations we are faced with everyday and never once giving in to temptation and sinning, the incredible sacrifice that it took. Then the cross; He was cursed by sinful men, spit on, mocked, beaten, carried His own instrument of death, hung on a cross to suffer and die. And He felt everything; the physical pain as well as the emotional pain. Then God the father turns His back on Him and He dies a sinner’s death going to Hell so you wouldn’t have to. Jesus went to hell, He died a sinner’s death, He died and went to hell. But because He is God when He was ready He defeated death and hell and rose from the grave. The sacrifice is so incredible we will never in this life understand it in partiality much less fully. So if He sacrificed everything to save you, shouldn’t you sacrifice everything?
God loves you, so love God and other People. God sacrificed everything for you, so sacrifice everything.
Mike Peek
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