Author: pastortravislv

Genesis 3:4-5 – 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.
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One of the Devil’s most crafty arguments is the one that he used in the very beginning. When Adam and Eve fell, they fell from grace by falling for a clever deception that still catches us today.

Take a look at the verses above. The woman was tricked into thinking two things, both of which get us today. First, the serpent told her that, no matter what consequences God had threatened for her actions, they would surely not happen to her. She would not surely die. If the woman bought into that statement, she would have to assume that God was a liar, or that he was incapable of imposing the threatened punishment for defying his commands.

The other thing the woman believed is that God was not offering her the best. The serpent convinced the woman that God was holding out on her. Though she had knowledge of good already, she was missing out by not knowing about evil. The woman assumed that the higher good would not be for her to obey God, but for her to elevate her own intellect. And thus the human race was plunged into pain, sickness, suffering, murder, rape, racism, and all the rest of the greatest evils of the world.

When you think of the fall, recognize that you are still tempted today like the woman was years ago. When you sin, what are you thinking? You have to be thinking both that you will face no consequences for the wrong you do and that what you want to do is somehow better than what God offers you. Both are lies. Both are what the devil used in the garden. And, if we will learn to identify these evil thoughts that we get in our hearts as we make the decision whether or not to sin, perhaps we will see that we are in danger of falling into the same old destructive trap.

Genesis 1:1 – In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
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It’s a new year, and with a new year comes a fresh look into the word of God. And though many of the passages that I read this morning captured my attention and imagination, it seems only fitting that I take a moment to ponder the depth and beauty of the very first verse in all of the scriptures.

The truth is, if Genesis 1:1 is true, everything that the Bible has to say to us makes perfect sense. If Genesis 1:1 is not true, then everything that the Bible says is meaningless. This verse, though perhaps not the most important of all (hard to say which verse of infinite importance is more infinitely important than another), Genesis 1:1 is a verse that is a foundational pillar of everything we believe. This verse establishes for us many major truths; among these would be God’s priority, his right of ownership, and his power.

First, ponder with me for a moment the fact that Genesis 1:1 introduces to us God’s priority. God exists prior to the very beginning. If God created the universe in the beginning,, the only logical conclusion that we can come to is that God existed before the beginning. God has no beginning. He eternally exists. This is why, when giving us his name in Exodus 3:14, he calls himself “I Am.” Thus, Genesis 1:1 is crucial to our establishing an understanding of our God as the always-present, ever-existing, eternal Lord of all. Nothing and no one is before him. No one can say to God, “Hey, I was here first.” God is God, and he is God for all eternity past, present, and future.

Second, ponder with me God’s right of ownership. If God created everything, he holds in himself the right of ownership of everything. IF you or I fashion something, taking materials that we buy with our hard-earned money, and shaping them into a product of some worth, we assume that we own said product. We do not think, not even for a minute, that the product has right over us to tell us how it should be used. IF this is true in small when thinking of you, me, and our craftsmanship, how much more true is it in large when thinking of God who created the universe out of nothing. God did not rely on another for the building materials. Nothing existed other than God at the point of creation. God created a universe by his own power, by his own will, and for his own glory. As the Creator of all, God holds right of ownership over all the universe. No one and nothing in the universe has the right to say to God that he does not have full right of ownership over him, her, or it. If you were created by God, and you were, you are his property. He has the right to do with you as pleases him.

Third, ponder with me the power of God as displayed in creation. I made reference, earlier, to making something as a craftsman. That, of course, is a ludicrous illustration, as I have absolutely no talent for fashioning anything into anything else. I’m barely qualified to make snakes out of Play-dough. I certainly do not have the power to sculpt a living human from the dirt. Nor do I have the power to call a massive, flaming star into existence with my words. God’s creation of everything out of nothing should convince us that his power is infinite. He can do anything he wants. All the miracles, all the amazing things in the Bible, are clearly all true, because God has the power to do anything he wants.

What do these ponderings cause in us? I pray that they cause us to worship our God. He eternally exists. He is the owner of everything, including us. He has the right to do with us as he pleases. He has the power to accomplish anything he desires. He is an amazing God. He is worthy of our worship. He is worthy of our lives. Praise be to our God, the Creator of all!

John 8:57-59 – 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
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Thinking only in a this-worldly way, the Jews simply point out that Jesus is not old enough to have seen Abraham. Jesus is under 50. In fact, he is likely around 32 or 33. Abraham lived approximately 2,000 years before that time. So, in the minds of the Jews, Jesus must be crazy. No way could Abraham have seen him.

Then Jesus makes a statement that carries the force of a nuclear bomb. It starts with the double truly, telling us to listen and listen good. Then Jesus says, “before Abraham was, I am.” Literally, he says that he existed before Abraham’s time. He existed more than 2,000 years before. Jesus is claiming eternal existence.

Besides claiming a long existence, the phrase “I am” carries an incredible meaning. God, in Exodus 3:14, calls himself “I Am Who I Am.” When Jesus says “I am” here in John 8:58, he uses the same phrase as In the Greek translation of the Old Testament where God calls himself “I Am.” Jesus, with this phrase, can only be claiming one thing. He can only be claiming to be God.

And, lest anyone argue that claiming to be God is not what Jesus just did, look at verse 59. The Jews immediately, without hesitation, pick up stones to stone Jesus. They are not waiting for a trial. They were not picking up stones in verse 57. But something changed with what Jesus said in verse 58 that changed what the Jews thought of him. Before, they called him crazy. Now, they think that Jesus has uttered blasphemy. Why? Because they know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Jesus has just claimed to be God. Since they assume he can not be God, they only have one alternative, and that alternative is to stone him for blasphemy. This is, by the way, an alternative they fail to carry out, because it is not yet time for Jesus to give his life.

How should you and I respond to this amazing statement from Jesus? If Jesus is God, we must worship him. Nothing else will suffice. If he is not God, we must reject him and hate him as the greatest liar or fool the world has ever known. But, if Jesus is God, we must give him our lives. What will you do?

John 8:48-50 – 48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.
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If the Jews dishonored God by dishonoring Jesus, we should expect that the same would be true of us. You can not please God without honoring his Son. God has sent his Son, Jesus, to earth. Honoring and believing in Jesus is the only way to please the Father. To think for a moment that anyone can please God while refusing to follow the Son is absurd. Therefore, if you want to please God, you can do so only through Jesus.

How many of you have heard the awful stories in the news about that supposed church in Kansas, the Westboro Baptist Church, that has been traveling across the country demonstrating at the funerals of US soldiers killed in Iraq? Can you imagine the depth of the insult that the families must feel? They are grieving the loss of their loved ones who gave their lives in service of their country, and across the street are people who call themselves Christians declaring that the family has lost their loved one in vain, that the death is God’s judgment on the US, and that no good came of the sacrifice. Take a moment to let the emotion sink in. What if that was your brother, your sister, your husband, your wife? How angry would you be?

Now, I want you to take that level of emotion that you would feel as the people demonstrate at your own relative’s funeral, and I want you to magnify it a thousand times. You still are not caught up to the level of outrage that God the Father has toward those who dishonor his Son. God sent his Son to earth to suffer an infinite punishment to pay for our sins. What would you expect God to do in response to those who say to him, “I don’t need Jesus’ blood. I’m just fine on my own thanks. I don’t believe in Jesus and will not follow him. I just want to have some fun with my life, and I’ll think about religion later.”

Hebrews 10:26-31 – 26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Tremble, ladies and gentlemen, tremble at the concept of any person spurning the blood of the Son of God. God will not take lightly anyone’s refusal to place his or her faith in Jesus Christ. Do you want to escape that wrath? Do you want to honor God? Then you must honor God by believing in Jesus. Remember, God will judge. Do not dishonor God by dishonoring his Son. Honor God by believing in Jesus.

Deuteronomy 7:9 – Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.
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It makes great sense for this verse to be the first verse on the list of memory verses in a program. This passage does a wonderful job of reminding us of who our God is and what he is like. In fact, knowing who God is and what he is like is exactly the command for Israel in this verse.

What are we supposed to know as we read this text? We are supposed to know that the LORD (not simply a title there, but an actual name) is God. There is only one God. That God is the LORD, Yahweh, the God of the Bible. There are not other gods out there.

Second, we are supposed to know that God is faithful. God is trustworthy. When he promises something, he does it. He does not change his mind. He does not mess with us, pretending to be one thing and then change on us when we’re not looking. He is faithful to what is right, to who he is, and to his promises.

Third, God keeps covenant and steadfast love. He is faithful to his covenant. He is not one to renege on his promises. And he keeps steadfast love, covenant-keeping love. He loves those who are his with an unbreakable love.

Fourth, notice to whom it is that God is faithful. He is faithful to those who love him and keep his commandments. Those two things go hand-in-hand. To love God is to keep his commandments (see John 14:15, 21, & 23). If you love God, you will strive to do what he commands, and you will grieve when you fail. And God is loving and faithful to those who love him and keep his commands.

Finally, this loving faithfulness of God lasts a very long time. God is faithful to a thousand generations of those who love him. This is not to say that, if you obey, God will bless your family line for a thousand generations. Instead, it is to say that no generation will come that God is not faithful toward if they love him and keep his commands. No matter how far removed we are from this verse being written (I’d guess around 2,400 years or so), we still have the joy of knowing that, if we love God and keep his commands, he will be faithful, loving, and covenant keeping toward us.

This verse leads us to worship our God, because he is the only true God who exists. It calls us to praise God for his faithfulness and his covenant-keeping love. It challenges us to love our God and keep his commands. And it encourages us to remember that God is faithful for thousands of generations. Let us learn to love this great and faithful God.

Ezekiel 33:6 – But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.
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Some verses of the Bible are fun ones to read. Others are piercing and a touch frightening. This morning, as I read through Ezekiel 33, I find one of those verses that should shake any of us to our very bones.

Look at the logic. You and I are called, like Ezekiel, to be watchmen. We can see destruction coming upon people we know, people who do not have God’s forgiveness in Christ. If we warn them of the danger, their response is entirely up to them. Warning them honestly is what frees us from obligation regarding their future. But, if we do not warn them about the danger to come, their response is still up to them. However, we too bear the guilt of seeing the coming wrath of God and not calling the lost to repentance. This is perfectly logical, and it should be perfectly terrifying to us.

God has made it plain to his children what is our responsibility. We can not, by our own power or charisma, persuade any person to come to know Jesus Christ. That work is the work of God’s Holy Spirit alone. We must, however, take an active roll in communicating the good news of Jesus Christ to all the peoples of the world. If we fail to tell them about God’s offer of grace in Jesus, God’s wrath toward our sin, and God’s command of repentance, we are guilty of not warning the people as God commands us to.

I do not fully understand what it will mean that God will require their blood of us. IF we are in Christ, all the guilt for all of our sin is covered by the blood of Jesus. However, I know that I do not want to be in any way held responsible for another’s damnation. Again, the one damned is ultimately responsible for his or her rejection of Jesus Christ. At the same time, I must share. Let us never be guilty of holding back the truth from a world destined for the wrath of Almighty God.