Categories
Bible Teaching

Covenant

Stephen Kuntzman | September 7, 2025 | 10 am

Text: Genesis 1:26-28

(26)  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

(27)  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

(28)  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Genesis chapters 1 and 2 contain for us a great and humbling truth:

God created the world for you and I, and He desires to have a covenantal relationship with us.

Will you fully embrace and accept God’s invitation to covenant?

One God, One Creator[1]

In Moses’ day, Darwin’s theory of evolution did not exist; No one believed the universe “just happened” after a “Big Bang”; and, the prevailing cultural belief of Egypt in that day was that the earth was created by multiples deities.

After all, they would argue, the earth so vast, so full of variety, that surely it was impossible for just one deity to create it all.

These faulty assumptions were upended with one Hebrew phrase written by Moses as he was moved on by the Holy Ghost: “”Bereshit bara Elohim,” or in English, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”[2]

God did it all by Himself.  

No other deity partnered with Him. No triune, co-equal, co-eternal, co-existing deities collaborated on the Creation.

Just One God, Elohim, all by Himself, through the power of His Spoken Word – “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

He said, “Let there be,” and low and behold, there it was.

Malachi 2:10a, “Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us?”

Deuteronomy 4:32-35, “(32)  For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? (33)  Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? (34)  Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? (35)  Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.”

Act 4:24, “And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is.”

Isaiah 43:1, “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.”

Isaiah 44:24, “Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself”

John 1:1-3, 10-13, “(1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  (2)  The same was in the beginning with God.  (3)  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made….(10) He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. (11)  He came unto his own, and his own received him not. (12)  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (13)  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Adam and Eve, the Crown of Creation

The surprising twist in the story of Creation is that as God was building His creation layer upon layer, He was preparing it for a covenantal relationship:

  • First came the alternation of light and darkness, called “day” and “night” (the passage of time), then the sky, then the sea and land, and so on.
  • At the end of each stage, God called it good. God was clearly pleased, but He still kept working.
  • Finally on the sixth day, after He had spoken skies and stars and plants and trees into being, God scooped up a handful of His newly formed earth and began to sculpt it into an “image” of Himself:
  • Genesis 2:7, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
  • In addition, God called him “Adam.”
  • And the Creation account ends with this statement: “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

God had been working tirelessly for days on end, had achieved something significant.

He reached His goal and then He rested.

What was noteworthy objective?

To make someone in His image and likeness with whom He could have a covenant relationship.

What about This Word “Covenant?”

The word “covenant” does not appear in the Creation account, but clearly, God was establishing His desire to be in covenant with His people.

The only way to live harmoniously with God and His creation is by a covenant relationship marked by acts of separation and acts of naming.

What is a “Covenant?”

The word “covenant” is used 272 times in the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

A covenant it is an agreement between at least two persons or parties and this agreement can cover any number of things, but it is usually contingent on the idea that one side will do thus and so as long as the other side keeps their end of the contract. 

In the Bible, we see that often the Old Testament is a covenant between man and God, while the New Testament is a covenant between God and man:

  • A scriptural example of an Old Testament covenant is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
  • New Testament example: Hebrews 8:1-13, “(1)  Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; (2)  A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. (3)  For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. (4)  For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: (5)  Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. (6)  But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. (7)  For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. (8)  For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: (9)  Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. (10)  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: (11)  And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. (12)  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. (13)  In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.”

The Old Covenant involved physical circumcision, but the New Covenant is a circumcision of the heart. 

The New Covenant is a better covenant and is for the entire human family.

“Covenant” as defined in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible:

  • (Hebrew) H1285, “a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh):—confederacy, [con-]feder[-ate], covenant, league.”
  • (Greek) G1242, “properly a disposition, that is, (specifically) a contract (especially a devisory will):—covenant, testament.”

God “made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is” out of a desire was a desire for fellowship, communion, companionship —to have someone to love and to be loved in return.[3]

To signify the uniqueness of humanity’s relationship with Him, God granted them dominion, sharing His authority so they could rule with Him, caring for creation in their role as His representatives.

Will you embrace the role God has created for you?

Will you pursue the bond with Jesus that He desires to have with you?

Just as it was in the day of Adam and Eve, it is today: We are all created for a relationship with God and He has prepared a unique role for each of us in this world.

Just as Adam and Eve were specifically designed for relationship with God and given specific abilities to fulfill their purpose (“Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth”)[4]

You have skills, abilities and a work to do for God that only you can do.

I come to the garden alone

God built a special home for Adam, His image bearer. It was a garden eastward in Eden and a place of pleasure and delight. 

Despite all the “good” that God had declared beforehand, and regardless of the paradise Adam was presented with two unexpected phrases burst forth from the pages of the Book of Beginnings: “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.”[5]

Disrupting the “good” God saw something missing from Adam’s life that reminded Him of His own isolated existence:

“And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.  And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.”[6]

Adam was created in God’s image so he could share fellowship with God, but that meant Adam also needed fellowship with another human—one who was like him.

Eve, the Perfect Helper

Genesis 2:21-24, “(21) And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;  (22)  And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.  (23)  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.  (24)  Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Eve was God’s gift to Adam, perfectly matched to meet his needs.

  • Eve was created from Adam (specifically, from his side).
  • Eve was created as Adam’s help, who was meet (matched) to him.

Throughout the Book of Psalms, this term “help” becomes an image of God’s covenantal relationship with humanity:

  • Psalm 54:4, “Behold, God is mine helper.”
  • Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Adam was not the only one created in the image of God; Adam and Eve together (male and female) comprised the totality of God’s divine image.

In fact, God called them together “Adam.”

Genesis 5:2, “Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.”

Adam was incomplete without Eve and they needed to work together to fulfill the massive task allotted to them: keeping God’s gift of the Garden.

Separation and Identity

Creation is a study on separation and identity:

Genesis 1:2-5, “(2) And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.  (3)  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.  (4)  And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.  (5)  And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”

God separated the light from the darkness, and then He identifies the light by giving it the name “Day.” Next, He names the darkness by calling it “Night.”

By separating and naming each specifically God gave them identity, purpose and function.

God then separates the firmament from the waters and identifies that as Heaven, and that is when our atmosphere comes into existence.

Gen 1:9-10, “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.”

Eventually, this whole idea of separation and identity reveals the necessity of order in Creation.

Other examples of separation and identity abound throughout Scripture:

  • In Genesis 12 God called Abram to separate himself from his pagan culture by leaving his “country…kindred, and…father’s house” (Genesis 12:1).
  • Later God gave Abram and Sarai new names in order to mark the couple’s new function as nation-makers even though they would be barren for a long time.
  • In Acts 2, In the upper room either on the southern steps leading to the Temple, or overlooking the Temple courtyard, Peter called his hearers to separation from the world through repenting of their sins and taking on themselves the name of Jesus through water baptism (Acts 2:38).

God’s invitation into covenant is corporate and individual

God’s call to a relational covenant is offered to each individual person. The choice to join God in covenant relationship will always come to the individual; no one else can make that choice for you.

Once you accept God’s individual call you come into fellowship with the body of Christ.

Covenant teaches us that we have more than just a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (as vital as that is); we also have a relationship with His body, the church, a relationship that is also vital to our spiritual health.

When you enter that covenant with Jesus it is simultaneously a call “out of” sin and the depravity of a fallen world and a call “into” a renewed life established on God’s original purpose and design (covenant).

When we enter into covenant with God, we become “in” the world but not “of” the world:

(14)  I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. (15)  I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. (16)  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. (17)  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (18)  As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.[7]

Having been separated from the world you take on a new name in Christ and with that a new identity with a new purpose.

Conclusion

Psalm 101:1 – Integrity Psalm.[8] The Maintenance of the Covenant:

  • “I will sing of mercy and judgment: Unto thee, O LORD, will I sing” (Psalm 101:1, KJV).
  • “I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music” (Psalm 101:1, ESV).
  • Mercy, Steadfast love, is “sticky love.”
  • “It is the sort of love you can’t shake off. It sticks to you through every high and low, every success and failure, every malfunction and sin,” every victory and defeat. -Tom Nelson
  • Tom Nelson – “This attachment love” is the basis of the covenant that the wall of love between you and Jesus is built upon.
  • You are attached to Jesus by love and the enemy wants to destroy that attachment by disintegrating the wall of relationship, mutual trust and integrity between you and Him.
  • But the song of stedfast love is the song of God’s mercy: “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”[9]

Marriage is a covenant of companionship:

Malachi 2:14, “Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.”

God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That is why he put up with their murmuring in the wilderness.

And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect [knew, favorable regard] unto them.[10]

The Bible begins with a Marriage (covenant) and ends with a Marriage (covenant):

  • Genesis 2:18, 21-24, “(18)  And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him”….”(21)  And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; (22)  And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. (23)  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. (24)  Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
  • Revelation 19:6-9, “(6)  And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. (7)  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. (8)  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. (9)  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”
  • Revelation 21:2, 9, “(2)  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband”….“And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”

[1] SOURCE: God’s Word for Life. Covenant. Fall 2025 Lesson Guide. Lesson 1 – Creation. Pentecostal Publishing House.

[2] Genesis 1:1

[3] Acts 4:24.

[4] Genesis 1:28.

[5] Genesis 2:18.

[6] Genesis 2:19-20.

[7] John 17:14-18

[8] Source: Nelson, Tom. (2021). The Flourishing Pastor. InterVarsity Press.

[9] Lamentations 3:22-23 

[10] Exodus 2:23-25.

Categories
Bible Preaching

The Story in the Wound

Artist: Eva Koleva Timothy Source: https://altusfineart.com/products/eva-koleva-timothy-my-lord-and-my-god-doubting-thomas-jesus?srsltid=AfmBOoqxmznqqpB4jdjvdcmDdMgVUAYCGU87R62SXtdZhAe1o4O6X8jA
Stephen Kuntzman | August 31, 2025 | 7:00 pm

Text: Zechariah 13:6, “And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.”

 John 20:24-29

(24)  But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

(25)  The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

(26)  And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

(27)  Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

(28)  And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

(29)  Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

I love a good story.

My favorite story is when someone tells me what Jesus has done in his life.

Where they were when Jesus found them and how He has been there along the way the whole time.

We all have scars, healed over wounds, which tell a story. Tonight, I am preaching on this topic:

The Story in the Wound

If you live any length of time, you will eventually carry on your body as scar.

That scar carries with it memory and emotion, but always a story.

Some wounds are internal, but they contain a chronicle that are as fresh on your mind as the day the injury first occurred.

Doubting Thomas or Thomas the Seeker

Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed –I find it of great interest that Jesus does not rebuke Thomas for unbelief. Instead, Jesus approves the faith Thomas possessed.

Some will not believe even if they see and hear.

Thomas was not a doubter, he was a seeker.

He saw Jesus die, but now he was looking, seeking, for infallible proof.

Thomas wanted a firsthand experience for himself.

Jesus looked at Thomas and simply says, “Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.”

Then Thomas makes the first post-resurrection proclamation of deity concerning Christ when he through faith-filled lips replies, “My Lord and my God.”

With that one statement, John uses Thomas’ declaration of faith to take us all the way back to the beginning of his gospel:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”[1]

Jesus then says, “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”

Again, not rebuke of Thomas, just a stunning declaration from Jesus that there would be people who would not see, but believe as Thomas did that Jesus is both Lord and God.

Before he and the other apostles would pass away, they would convince thousands that Jesus Christ was both Lord and Christ, God in flesh, the Messiah, the Almighty.

Jesus is here tonight to deliver you, heal you, help you, if you will simply acknowledge His deity and say the most important three words you will every speak:

“Jesus, Help Me!”

The day may be different but the cry is still the same:

When he heard that Jesus was passing by, Bartimaeus “began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me” (Mark 10:47).

Jesus was willing to be vulnerable

People today are searching for someone to show them their true self.

Our society needs someone who will become vulnerable, show them their wounds and tell them their story.

It is the story in the wound that resonates with people.

Yes, we cry out to Jesus, “show me Your glory,” but before He is glorified, He will suffer at Calvary.

Scripture tells us that Jesus was rejected, acquainted with sorrow and grief, made himself of no reputation, became a servant.

He told the people to come to Him, to the little children come, that unto His own and His own received Him not.

He was spat on, smacked, mocked, betrayed, lied on, beaten to the point of death, and nailed to a cross.

Jesus was pierced on His head by a crown of thorns

His hands and feet were pierced to the cross

A spear pierced his side

His back pierced by a whip that slashed across it unmercifully

Jesus was willing to show His egregious wounds if it meant one would believe.

Quit hiding your wounds, hurts, and vulnerabilities.

Elijah on Mt. Carmel v. Elijah at the brook

It’s what Elijah went through that gives greater credibility

What did it cost you to get you here?

Tell that story:

The Story in the Wound – The Story in Your Wound

Your Story, like Jesus’ story may contain bleeding, crying, groaning, crawling, limping walking, running, leaping, dancing,

BUT – The story in the wound is that you made it

When you tell your story, you are sharing through your vulnerability that now only have you been where they are now, but God brought me out.

God brought you out.

God brought you out

God brought you out

[1]John 1:1.

Categories
Bible Teaching

A Heaven to Gain

Stephen Kuntzman | August 24th, 2025 | 10 am

Text: Revelation 21:4-5, “(4)  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (5) And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”

A Heaven to Gain[1]

Because Jesus has prepared heavenly home for His church, let us live with Heaven in mind.

JOHN’S VISION

John was one of Jesus’ twelve apostles and the brother of the apostle James. John referred to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 21:20). Although the other original disciples (except Judas) died as martyrs, John died of natural causes at a good, old age.

However, he was still persecuted, and it was Roman emperor Domitian wo ordered John to be boiled in oil and exiled to a prison island – Patmos – to die.

Without doubt he faced intense persecution, but on that unforgiving, rocky island, separated by a seemingly endless sea from all his friends and family, Jesus gifted John with the greatest vision of his life.

What do you think John struggled with most on the island of Patmos?

How did he get through it?

John’s Vision Came as Hope While He Was Exiled on a Prison Island

John saw Jesus, and John saw Heaven.

He caught a glimpse of Who and what awaited him on the other side of this life.

God instructed John to share this vision with us in the book known as Revelation, or more accurately: The Revelation of Jesus Christ.

When you think of the island of Patmos, don’t think of a vacation; think Alcatraz.

When he was sentenced, he expected to wither away and die on that island, which meant “my killing.”[2]

He had no idea that in this place of his greatest testing and point of loneliness, God would pull back the curtain and let John see eternity.

Heaven Will Be Heaven for What Will Not Be There

John’s view and description of Heaven contained what he did not see.

In our world, we struggle with pain, death, sorrow, hatred, racism, violence—all poisonous fruit of sin.

Here people are disappointed, discouraged, rejected, abandoned, betrayed, lied to, lied on, deceived, and feel invisible.

They battle cancer and other diseases, financial setbacks, relationship problems, and addictions of all kinds.

On this planet families are torn apart by divorce, mental health issues, promiscuity, domestic violence, and poverty.

Not in Heaven.

In the middle of his own calamity wrote: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

John was even impressed that there was no more sea.

We love the sea for what it means to us who like to take our summer vacations to the ocean,

but on Patmos the sea was an undefeated obstacle keeping prisoners from escaping to their families, friends, and freedom.

John was also saying there would be no separation in Heaven.

Nothing to keep us from one another.

Heaven is free of all the struggles this world has to offer.

In John’s vision he heard a loud voice saying:

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”

Jesus Himself will wipe every tear from our eyes.

It may seem overwhelmingly difficult at times to fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith (II Timothy 4:7), but the reward of Heaven is far better than anything this earth has to offer.

Paul wrote: “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (II Timothy 4:8).

Faith is a fight, but faith is worth the fight.

What would you add to the list of struggles you won’t deal with in Heaven?

I Will Remember My Heavenly Home When I Feel Discouraged

It is sad that we hear less and less singing about Heaven because those hymns and contemporary songs remind us of our hope. These songs are our battle cry and expression of confidence.

You don’t set out to forget Heaven, but it can easily happen without fighting to keep your daily devotion and spiritual disciplines priority.

God offers grace to follow Him, but you must maintain your daily consecration to Jesus Christ and make the firm choice to follow Him wholeheartedly.

Keep your eyes on Heaven. Hear and heed Paul’s admonition:

“Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2).

Life is filled with struggles and hardships, which are out of your control.

In the last five years you have seen many people die, fight disease, endure financial setbacks, fought your own personal private struggles, but here you are worshipping Jesus this morning and holding on to the promise of Heaven.

Look around and you will see on the pew beside you people whose faithfulness will inspire you to keep your eyes on Heaven?

How can you inspire others to do the same?

THAT GREAT CITY

Heaven is a topic of conversation and debate for many Christians and non-Christians alike.

What will it be like? Who will be there? How can we make it there?

These are the questions frequently discussed.

What we know about Heaven we find throughout God’s Word with most of the information coming from the Book of Revelation.

It declares we will dwell with God forever in a wonderous place without sin or evil.

We will spend our days worshiping our God with an untold number of other Christians from every nation, tribe, and tongue.

We will rule and reign with Christ.

Heaven will be perfect beyond what we can comprehend.

Heaven Will Be Adorned with Jasper Walls, Golden Streets, Bejeweled Foundations

Nothing is quite as breathtaking as a scenic view in nature, like the snow-covered mountains of West Virginia, a rainbow displayed across the clouds near the lake, the Shenandoah Valley viewed from the top I-64, the dolphins in the ocean or the Blue Ridge Mountains.

In fact, all of God’s creations on this earth are a privilege to witness and experience. They are awe inspiring and exceptional.

However, they are nothing compared to what we will see and encounter in Heaven.

Think of your most beautiful, breathtaking vacation spot. Multiply its beauty, peace, and perfection by thousands, and Heaven begins to come into view.

Heaven will be beautifully adorned with precious stones, metals, and gems overflowing with brilliant colors.

John told us the city was pure gold like transparent glass, he also got a closer view of the construction materials, and he wrote what he saw.

Here we use concrete for foundations, studs, and sheetrock for walls, but there, the foundations are built of precious gems and the walls of jasper.

Even the foundation sparkles in Heaven. Heaven is glorious because it is filled with the glory of God.

The gates are made of pearls, each of the twelve gates cut of one beautiful pearl.

The best way John could describe Heaven, or New Jerusalem as he called it, was “as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2).

It will be beautiful, pure, holy, perfect for God is Heaven’s architect and builder.

Heaven Will Be Heaven Because Jesus Reigns There

If the walls were drywall, the streets were gravel, the gates were wrought iron, and the foundations were concrete, Heaven is still Heaven because of who is there.

There Jesus Christ, God incarnate, reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords.

His perfect will is done in Heaven, which is why we pray for His will to also be done in earth.

You remember this song written by Lanny Wolfe:

“Heaven for Me:”[3]

Verse One:

I’ve heard of a land that is wondrously fair

They say that’s its splendor is far beyond compare!

In that place that’s called Heaven my soul longs to be

For where Jesus is it will be Heaven for me.

Verse Two:

Now, if walls there weren’t jasper

And if streets were not gold

If mansions would crumble and if folks still grew old

Still I’d see ev’rything I’ve been longing to see

For if Jesus is there it will be heaven for me!

Chorus:

Heaven for me

It will be Heaven for me

Jesus will be what makes it Heaven for me

All its beauty and wonder I’m longing to see

But Jesus will be what makes it Heaven for me.

Jesus Christ died for your sins on the cross and defeated death, Hell, and the grave. He rose from the dead on the third day and graciously provided a way through the gospel for you to live in Heaven with Him as your Lord and Savior.

Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2–3).

Every neighbor in Heaven will worship Jesus Christ as Almighty God.

You will worship Jesus in a place of purity and innocence. The purpose for our creation will be fulfilled to the fullest as we sing around the throne of the Most High.

John saw “a throne set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald” (Revelation 4:2–3).

Jesus, the Lamb of God, will sit on the throne, reigning over all creation.

I Will Praise God on Earth in Preparation to Praise God in Heaven

If you have a tough time worshipping Jesus now, then it is doubtful you will enjoy Heaven.

If you are not thankful here for what Jesus has done for you or haven’t allowed grace to pull out of you a gratitude for Jesus’ work in your life, then Heaven may not be as enjoyable for you as others.

When John finally saw Jesus as He truly is, he fell at His feet as though John were dead. (See Revelation 1:17.)

Although John walked with Jesus for three years, he finally saw Him as He is, and John promised us that one day we would, too:

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (I John 3:2).

John also saw “ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands” of angels, and he heard them cry out, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing” (Revelation 5:11–12).

He saw elders, people Jesus had redeemed, fall and worship Him.

John did not have to wait until He made it to Heaven to worship Jesus like the angels and elders are worshiping in Heaven right now, and we don’t either.

We praise God here because God is worthy, and we are practicing for when we get there.

If you love to worship Jesus here, you are going to love Heaven.

CONCLUSION

In 1983 Tom Trimble wrote a song entitled “I’m Just Warming Up.”

When I see those pearly gates and they swing open wide

I’m gonna shout for joy when I’ve reached the other side

All of my pain and sorrow there I will forget

And if you think I shout down here, you ain’t seen nothing yet

I’m just warming up, I’m just warming up

I’m just warming up, for that meeting in the sky

If you think I’m strange, don’t wait for me to change

(‘Cause) I’m just warming up for when I reach the other side

Everyone wants to go to Heaven (at least the wise do), but we need to be reminded that this world is not our home. Even our darkest days here are not worthy to be compared to the glory over there:

This world is not my home

I’m just a-passing through

My treasures are laid up

Somewhere beyond the blue

The angels beckon me

From heaven’s open door

And I can’t feel at home

In this world anymore

Oh Lord, you know

I have no friend like you

If heaven’s not my home

Then Lord, what will I do?

The angels beckon me

From heaven’s open door

And I can’t feel at home

In this world anymore[4]

[1] SOURCE: God’s Word for Life Adult Lesson Guide Summer 2025. Pentecostal Publishing House. Lesson 3.4 – A Heaven to Gain.

[2] Thayer’s Greek Definitions. G3963

[3] Song Title: “Heaven for Me” (sometimes referred to as “Jesus Will Be What Makes It Heaven for Me”). Original Release Artist: The Speers. Original Release Album: God Gave the Song. Original Release Year: 1974. Writer: Lanny Wolfe.

[4] Jim Reeves. This World Is Not My Home.

Categories
Bible Teaching

The Power of the Name

<<THROWBACK SERMON: December 13, 2007 (Rockport, IN)>>

God wants you to receive your miracle tonight (Word of the Lord to me on 12-9-07): 

They came from distant lands and around the block.  They traveled by foot, land, and sea.  They spent money they didn’t have to get to a place where they could worship and sacrifice to God.  They did it every year, but this year was different.  God was pouring out His Spirit in Jerusalem on Pentecost.  Many heard the noise and received, but the majority didn’t.  Don’t come all this way and receive nothing.  Don’t allow ritual to get in the way of your Holy Ghost appointed miracle.

“The devil may be out to defeat you, but God is out to defeat the devil.”[1]

In fact, He has already done more than that: “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn. 3:8).

Jesus Christ has all power (Mt. 28:18, “…All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”) and we have access to that power through the Name of Jesus.

Acts 3:4-7

4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.

5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.

6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

“Look on us” – – you’ve got to be focused to receive your miracle.  This is the way to deal with people in pain and in need of the touch of God.  Get their attention.  You have what they need.  You have JESUS!

Give your total attention to Jesus and look Him in the eyes with eyes of faith and expectation.  Get so close to Him that you don’t see anybody else, hear anyone else, or are aware of anyone but Him.  Strive to only hear and see Jesus.

Peter and John had everything they needed to minister to the man.  They had a Name: It was stronger than the devil’s name – It’s stronger than your problem – Greater than your need – More intoxicating than your pain

That name is Jesus!

That Name is higher than any other name and it “is holy, harmless, undefiled…and made higher than the heavens” (Heb.7:26).

Philippians 2:9-11, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Only the Name of Jesus can heal you and make whole that lameness in your spirit, soul, or body.

Why is there so much power in the Name of Jesus?  T.W. Barnes believed that this was so because:

  1. His Word is in it – John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word…”
  2. His Blood is in it – Jesus is a blood name that redeems all people from sin and the effects of sin (sickness, disease, mental disorders).
  3. His Spirit is in it – The Holy Ghost that you received when you spoke in tongues the first time was that Spirit of Christ in you.
  4. The authority of heaven is in it – All power in Heaven and earth belongs to Jesus Christ.
  5. His faith is in it – He made every by the power of His own Word.  He spoke it and it happened.[2]

When we speak the name of Jesus the devil sees all these things coming at him and he runs.  Satan cannot stand against the Name of JESUS.

Aren’t you tired of shouting and nothing happens?  Do you ever “Amen” the preacher but no change happens in your life?  Are you aware of the people all around you every day in need of this Name and not experiencing the power of Jesus, His Blood, mercy, the Holy Ghost?

Put the name into Action!

According to T.W. Barnes, many people pronounce the name of Jesus without really knowing how to say it. He specified four ways to say the name of Jesus:

  1. Say it with love; the early church had great success, because they loved not their lives, they loved that Name. Love is powerful. Their love gave them reverence for the Name
  2. Say it with vision. Say it seeing the invisible. A woman said, “I resist the devil and he doesn’t leave.” Bro. Barnes asked her, “What do you look for? The Bible doesn’t say resist him and see him sitting on your shoulder; when you resist him you should see him running. The devil no doubt left you when you said in Jesus Name, but since you did not expect him to go, your thinking made you as miserable as if he stayed with you.”
  3. Say His name with faith. Religious leaders in Israel asked the disciples, “How did you heal the man crippled from his mother’s womb?” Peter answered, “…by the name of Jesus Christ…”
  4. Say it while living a life of sacrifice. The disciples sacrificed everything for that name. We need to love it enough that no sacrifice is too great to make for Jesus.[3]

We’ve go to learn to put that name in action.  All that man needed once the Name was spoken into his life was for somebody to put it into action and help him get to his feet so he could stand, walk, and leap.

There are people in the church and in the world who need you to speak the right name into their life.

That name is JESUS!

Reach out your hand in faith, call upon that Name, and place your confidence on Jesus, not the person praying for you. 

Place your trust in Jesus and He will heal your sickness/lameness, He’ll strengthen you in your areas of weakness and give you boldness.

[1] Jakes, T.D. (1997). So You Call Yourself A Man? Bethany House Publishers: Bloomington, MN. p. 40.  (**Much of this is taken from pages 56-58 as well**)

[2] Freeman, Nona. (2007). A Prophet in our Time.

[3] Ibid.

Categories
Bible Preaching

Walls of Integrity v. Doors of Compromise

<< THROWBACK SERMON: December 21, 2003 (Vevay, IN) >>

Job 27:5-10

5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. 6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live. 7 Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous. 8 For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul? 9 Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him? 10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?

Job 31:1-10

1 I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? 2 For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high? 3 Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity? 4 Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps? 5 If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit; 6 Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity. 7 If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands; 8 Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out. 9 If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door; 10 Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her.

Presumption:  ***See notes on obedience*** (Ex: Moses struck the rock twice, king Saul’s disobedience and presumptuous offering, Uzziah)

Ps. 7:8, “The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.”

Ps. 26:1, “Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.”

Ps. 26:11, “But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.”

Proverbs 11:3, “The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.”

Proverbs 20:7, “The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.”

Genesis 39:1-14

vs. 11, “And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.”

Joseph was innocent, but his character was still called into question because he unwittingly placed himself in a compromising position.

Isaiah 26:1-4

1 In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. 2 Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. 3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. 4 Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

The Rock of Ages has appointed walls and bulwarks of salvation as a habitation for those who keep the truth in their integrity.

1 Peter 2:11-12

11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Romans 12:1-2

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Song of Solomon 8:8-10

8 We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? 9 If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar. 10 I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.

You will either stand as a wall of integrity or you will allow compromise to breach the door of your heart.

Job proved his integrity!

Job 2:3, 9-10

3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause…. 9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. 10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

Job is one of the first examples of a man who prayed with his heart.  His only way of access to God before the trial was through the sacrifice of animals, but then his animals were destroyed. 

Job’s living sacrifice to God was his testimony of integrity before the Lord.

The devil desires to attack and destroy your point of contact (line of communication) between you and God.

God wants the hidden places of your heart.  Submit them all too Him. You have places where even God cannot enter. Give those places to Him and witness the work that He will do in your life.

Categories
Bible Preaching

Wilt Thou Be Made Whole?

<<THROWBACK SERMON: April 22, 2007 – borrowed and inspired by a sermon preached by Royce Cornelius>>

John 5:2-9, “2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. 5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? 7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. 8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. 9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.”

Notice:

  1. Impotent = to be weak, feeble, to be without strength, powerless, to be weak in means, needy, poor, sick.[1]
  2. The impotent folk waited for another to help them.  They were looking for a Savior
  3. A certain man = we don’t know his name, whether he was married, what his infirmity was, or his age, only that he was in that infirm condition for 38 years.
  4. vs. 6, “Wilt thou be made whole?” = Other translations read:
    1. NASB, “Do you wish to get well?” – removes the importance of the word “whole”
    2. RSV/ESV, “Do you want to be healed?”
    3. NEB, “Do you want to recover?”
  5. The man’s restoration back to wholeness relied on his obedience to the command of the Lord.
  6. Whole = sound, of a man who is sound in body to make one whole (i.e. restore him to health), metaphorically: teaching which does not deviate from the truth.[2]

Consider the reality that many in our churches are:

  • Religious, but not saved
  • Churchy-fied, but not sanctified
  • They holler, but are not holy
  • Speak in tongues, but don’t allow the Holy Ghost to direct their lives
  • Come to the altar, but don’t give their whole self to God
  • Satisfied with less than purity, holiness, morality, complete transformation

Wilt thou be made whole? 

Do you really want to be saved?

Are you really seeking God in every aspect of you life?

Have you truly tried to clean up all the deficits of your personality, nature, urges?

Have you really tried to present yourself to God as “a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Ro. 12:1)?

Are you really striving not to be “conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Ro. 12:2)?

Do you really want to stop doing what’s ungodly?

Do you really want to please God and obey His Word?

Do you want to be made whole?

In the Apostolic church we tend to close our eyes to what’s obvious in our churches – – that there are those among us who really don’t want to be made whole.

We choose to ignore the deficits among us, and even in our own lives, ignoring the fact that some of us are not whole, and are still crippled by:

JealousyEnvyHatred
GossipingBack-bitingStrife
Digging up the pastTale-bearingLying
Playing the busybodyArrogancePride
LustSelf-righteousnessLooking down on others
Spiritual superiorityBad attitudesAnger

Denying the truth that there are still cripples among us – – that there are still those among us not living up to the Bible standard of salvation and holiness.   This denial stymies the free flow of Holy Ghost and hinders a true sovereign move of God in our midst.

Do you really want to be made whole?

Are you saved?

  • What are you saved from?  Hell?
  • Are you saved from Lust? Pride? Arrogance? Ditch Digging?
  • These examples of unrighteousness are indicators that some of us still need to be made whole.
  • Signs that some of us like being weak in some area, or another.

Do you really want to be saved?

Can you really and truly sing, with a clear conscience, “I Am a Friend of God?”

Can you really do that when you’re backbiting, gossiping, holding grudges, and full of lust?

Kenneth V. Reeves wrote: “Whoever digs up another person’s forgiven sin, and remembers in his conversation what God under forgiveness (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; 1 Jn. 1:7-10) cannot remember (Heb. 8:12), probably makes the sin of the other person his own property.”[3]

Do you want to be whole?

Are you striving deep down in your heart to live right and holy, or do you hide behind lying on the altar when in the church house and living ungodly away from it?

Anyone can be moved to the altar through the emotional impact of an anointed and convicting sermon, but it is what you do on your own that defines who you truly are.

Lionel B. Fletcher wrote:

“To be hidden from observation is a severe test of character.”[4]

“The thoughts that are welcomed in our minds…are a reflection of our true selves as we appear in the sight of God.”[5]

Wilt thou be made whole?

Jesus saves completely and wholly, not partially or half-way.

You’re either saved, or you’re not – holy, or not – right, or not.

Do you want to be saved?

God won’t heal your body and leave you spirit and soul unsaved.

He doesn’t do a half-way job and leave you mean, bitter, arrogant, contemptuous, hateful, and full of lust.

He doesn’t save you and leave your nature, personality, and urges messed up.

Jesus saves all the way.  He saves to the uttermost.  He saves completely.

Colossians 2:10-12, “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

2 Cor. 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

True salvation delivers you from the state of being a cripple.  Bible salvation delivers you from the need to strut your stuff, show-off, to play the peacock.

Hebrews 2:1-4, “1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. 2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; 3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

When you’re saved you’re delivered, rescued, set free, and brought out of all the unrighteousness you’ve ever been guilty of sinning. 

1 John 5:17, “All Unrighteousness is sin.”

You can’t be saved with sin tucked away somewhere in your life, like some hidden guilty pleasure.

Romans 1:32, “…they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

Do you really want to be made whole, to recover, to be healed? 

To be saved?

Do you want to live outside of sin?  Do you want to live free and clear of a crippled life?

Max Lucado wrote:

“I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ.”[6]

Jesus is coming back for a church that is whole: “…a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27).

If you want to be made whole then there’s something you and only you have got to do.  A decision, drive, and desire that stems from your own hunger to be made whole and righteous: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matt. 5:6).

Your spouse, parents, pastor, friends, and children can’t do it for you.

You must obey the Word of God and decide to be led by the Spirit of God and not your urges, personality, or lust.

You must fully obey the Bible Standard for salvation: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).

Paul asked the question:

Ro. 7:14-25, “24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

Who can make you whole?  Only Jesus!!

Peter & John’s faith in the name of Jesus Christ wholly heals the lame man:

Acts 3:16, “And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.”

Do you want to be saved?  Come to Jesus.

Wilt Thou Be Made Whole?

[1] Thayer and Smith. “Greek Lexicon entry for Astheneo”. “The KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon”.  Retrieved: 4-22-2007. <http://www.biblestudytools.net/Lexicons/Greek/grk.cgi?number=770&version=kjv&gt;.

[2] Thayer and Smith. “Greek Lexicon entry for Hugies”. “The KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon”.  Retrieved: 4-22-2007. <http://www.biblestudytools.net/Lexicons/Greek/grk.cgi?number=5199&version=kjv&gt;.

[3] Reeves, Kenneth V. (1990). The Lost Sons of God. Inspirational Tapes & Books: Granite City, IL.

[4] Fletcher, Lionel B. (1933). The Pathway to the Stars. Hunt, Barnard & Co., Ltd: London, England. p.23.

[5] Ibid. p.25.

[6] Lucado, Max. (1999). When God Whispers Your Name. W Publishing Group.

Categories
Bible Preaching

The Voice of the Blood & The Song of the Redeemed

<<THROWBACK SERMON: PREACHED ON JULY 2, 2006>>

1st Recorded Act of Worship Accepted By God in the Bible Involved the Shedding of Blood.

Gen. 4

1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.  2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.  3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.  4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:  5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.  6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?  7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.  8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.  9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?  10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.  11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;  12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

Heb. 11:4, “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.”

Heb. 12:22-24, “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.”

Jesus became our scapegoat – “Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate” (Heb. 13:12).

1 Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”

Thomas Jefferson:

In his first draft of the Declaration of Independence (1776), Jefferson condemned the British crown for sponsoring the importation of slavery to the colonies, charging that the crown “has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere.” However, this language was dropped from the Declaration at the request of delegates from South Carolina and Georgia.

–Thomas Jefferson’s First Draft of the Declaration of Independence

The idea of Hallowed Ground:

  • Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (…we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.)
  • Hallowed Ground demands to be respected and reverenced.  It often celebrates what is best in us.

The Idea of Cursed Ground:

  • Rabin’s Granddaughter’s insight at Auschwitz ( There were no birds ).
  • Cursed Ground points out mankind’s greatest mistakes.

Abel’s Blood cried out for justice

The Blood of Christ grants mercy

The Blood played a significant part in the OT and NT.

  • It covered sin, and thus removed guilt
  • It cleansed whatever it touched
  • Intimacy with the Blood is progressive
    • On Moriah life was redeemed by the shed blood
    • In Egypt it was sprinkled on the doorposts
    • At Sinai it was sprinkled on the people

Heb. 10:19-22, “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”

“Sin is determined opposition to a holy God.” –Andrew Murray

Heb. 9:11-14, “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

The Voice of the Blood – Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:1-14)

The Song of the Redeemed – Their Testimony (Rev. 12:11)

The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power

Thank God for the Blood

There’s Power In the Blood

I Know It was the Blood

When I See the Blood

I See a Crimson Stream of Blood

The Blood Prevailed

I Know His Blood Has Made Me Whole

God Gave Me a Song

Categories
Bible Teaching

Bound but Free, Free but Bound

Stephen Kuntzman | 7/29/2025 | 7:00 PM

Text: Genesis 50:15-21 

(15) And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.  (16)  And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, (17) So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.  (18)  And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.  (19)  And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?  (20)  But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.  (21)  Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

First time “Forgive” is found in the Bible.

<<Tell the story of Joseph and his brethren>>

He wept because his ten elder brothers had forgotten his forgiveness.

He had forgiven them 17 years ago, but they were in bondage to their own sordid past, fearful emotions and unbelief.

Joseph had released them, but they could not enjoy their freedom.

They were physically free, but spiritually bound.

“Joseph was a type of Christ in the Old Testament. The famine was an event designed to bring the brothers to repentance and a saving knowledge, both physically and spiritually. The tragedy of the famine created the circumstances that led to freedom for these men, for they had been in bondage to a wicked crime against their brother for many years. It was forgiveness from Joseph that led to that freedom.”

-Os Hillman

Freedom

-President Franklin D. Roosevelt named Four Freedoms in his State of the Union Address to the Congress on January 6, 1941:

  1. Freedom of speech, and expression—everywhere in the world.
  2. Freedom of every person to worship God in his own way—everywhere in the world.
  3. Freedom from want—which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants—everywhere in the world.
  4. Freedom from fear—which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor—anywhere in the world.

It was that last fear that bond those ten brothers.

The fear was, “Now that Dad is dead, what will Joseph do?”

They did not judge Joseph as he was, but as they were.

The reason so many people continue to live in bondage and cannot enjoy the freedom that Jesus offers is because they have never truly received His forgiveness.

When you are truly free your priorities change and you are no longer drowning in a quagmire of past regrets

True freedom means you trust God’s mercy and, grow in His grace, and your relationship with Jesus becomes intimate, close and full of trust.

When you have truly accepted the forgiveness of God the chains fall and you experience true freedom:

1. Freedom from hate, unconditionally. 

2. Freedom from self-pity. 

3. Freedom from fear of possibly doing something that may help someone else more than it would help you.

4. Freedom from the kind of pride that could make a man feel that he is better than his brother.[1]

Gal. 4:21-5:1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” 

  • Paul is referring to the bondage of the flesh versus the freedom of the Spirit referring to Ishmael and Isaac: “But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise…. we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.”
  • Then Paul refers to the liberty – freedom – Christ grand us with as He frees, liberates, and releases us from:
    • “…the yoke of bondage”
    • Liberty from the power and guilt of sin, which nothing but the grace of Christ can take away[2]

Romans 8:1-2, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”

When you truly know Jesus – The Truth – you are free from sin:

(31) Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; (31) And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (32) They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? (34) Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. (35) And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. (36) If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.[3]

Bondage

Over the last twenty years, I have seen a rising infatuation with inspiration, but an aversion to real anointing.

“Inspiration does not break the yoke of bondage. Only the anointing breaks the yoke of bondage.”[4]

And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.[5]

You can tell how bound a person is by the way they speak. In 1956 Evangelist T. L. Osborn wrote Faith’s Testimony: and it is a true today as it was then:

The Importance of Confession

You said that you could not do it, and the moment you said it you were whipped.

You said you did not have faith, and in that moment, doubt arose like a giant and bound you.

Perhaps you never realized that, to a great extent, you are ruled by your words.

You talked failure, and failure held you in bondage.

You talked fear, and fear increased its grip on you.

Solomon said, “Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth. Thou art taken (captive) with the words of thy mouth” (Pr. 6:2).

Testifying – Witnessing – Confessing

Few Christians have recognized the importance of confession and the place it holds in their lives. Whenever the word “confession” is used, they automatically think of confessing sin, weakness, and failure. But this is only the negative side of the subject.[6]

Positive Confessions:

  • “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
  • “God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
  • “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14).
  • “My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
  • “I am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me” (Romans 8:37).

Forgiveness 

Scars (mentally, emotionally, physically) are reminders of

past hurts that have healed.

You carry the reminder as a lesson in life, but that reminder need not paralyze you.

Forgiveness releases you from the feelings and bondage associated with the pain. 

Forgiveness is not saying that what happened was/is ok, but it’s releasing you from the pain associated with the hurt so

that you can move on.

The scar then becomes a gentle reminder that you are a survivor and you can overcome anything.

It ain’t easy forgiving God, people, or yourself sometimes, but it’s a decision that you make and then keep.

So, when that old pain flares up you remind yourself, “Wait, I choose to forgive and I refuse to fall back into that trap of turmoil, pain, and hurt.”

You do that enough times and eventually all that remains is a scar, and as time passes the scar fades.

“One of my wise teachers, Dr. Orr, told me, ‘There is only one thing evil cannot stand, and that is forgiveness.’” 

-Fred Rogers

Forgiveness Doesn’t Allow Abuse

Joseph’s own brothers had attacked him, thrown him into a cistern and sold him into slavery (see Genesis 37:12 – 28) — causing him to be separated from his loving father for over 20 years.

And though Joseph had much to forgive, he did not dwell on the offenses. He gained grace from God and let go of what others had done to him.

His response is a healthy model for us when we’ve been hurt or sinned against: we need to let it go and then get what we need from God and people who can give.

That is a better life.

Unforgiveness destroys a good life. Forgiveness creates it.

Forgiveness is not denial. We need to name the sin against us to forgive it, as Joseph did (see Genesis 45:4 – 5; 50:20). He worked through it. He named it. He expressed his feelings about it. And then he let it go.

We need to watch out for the resistance that will want us to stay in the past, trying to collect a debt that will never be paid.[7]

Forgiving People have been put in positions where they had to learn forgiveness. Have you been betrayed? Hurt? Offended? 

“Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little” (Luke 7:47).

Forgiving is Releasing, you must learn to forgive and be free (Luke 6:27-38):

(27)  But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

(28)  Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

(29)  And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.

(30)  Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

(31)  And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

(32)  For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

(33)  And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.

(34)  And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

(35)  But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

(36)  Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

(37)  Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

(38)  Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

[1] Source: Duke Ellington. (4/29/1969). Four Major Freedoms to Live By and Enjoy.

[2] Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible. Galatians 4:21-5:1.

[3] John 8:31-36

[4] Lee Stoneking

[5] Isaiah 10:27

[6] T. L. Osborn. (1956). Faith’s Testimony : the Important Secret of Confession Unveiled and How to Keep Your Healing. https://archives.northwestu.edu/handle/nu/56853.

[7] Source: Forgive, Grow and Find God’s Path for You (21-Day Plan).  @YouVersion plan http://bible.com/r/Xv

Categories
Bible Preaching

Go In Power

Stephen Kuntzman | July 27, 2025 | 7:00 PM

1 Corinthians 2:1-5, “(1) And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.  (2)  For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.  (3)  And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.  (4)  And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:  (5)  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

The Lord is seeking people who will press into Him: (12)  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. (13)  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, (14)  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.[1]

Daniel 11:32, “…but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”

Albert Barnes says, “The word exploits…is supplied by the translators, but not improperly. The meaning is, that they would show great prowess, and perform illustrious deeds in battle.”

<you have held back and been held back long enough>

When you visit Jerusalem they will take you to:

  • The site of the Last Supper in the Upper Room
  • The Mount of Olives
  • Gethsemane
  • You’ll see the Eastern Gate
  • They’ll take you to Caiaphas’ Palace ans you’ll see the prison and pit they Jesus in there.
  • You’ll pass by Pilate’s Hall
  • You’ll see Golgotha and the probable area where our Lord was crucified
  • Just a little over a 100 yards you’ll see the empty tomb
  • They’ll take you to the Pool of Siloam
  • You’ll walk up the pilgrimage road from Siloam in the City of David up to the Temple walls
  • They’ll take you through a tunnel and when you exit you’ll be at the western wall of the temple
  • Just around the corner of the temple you’ll walk along the southern wall of the temple, you’ll see mikvah pools in front of the steps southern wall.
  • As you walk up the steps to the southern gate – the gate beautiful – you find an elevated area many call “the upper room,” and this is where the Holy Ghost was poured out on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2.
  • It’s where they waited…

Acts 1:8 – they had to wait, we don’t. We have the power, it’s already been poured out: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”[2]

Hab 1:5, “Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.”

So easy to look outside yourself, but the power or God is in you.

[1] Philippians 3:12-14

[2] Acts 1:8

Categories
Bible Teaching

Dynamic Duo

Stephen Kuntzman | July 27, 2025 | 10:00 AM

Text: James 2:14

What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

The Dynamic Duo[1]

Ancillary Text: Genesis 22:1–14

(1) And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. [availability]  (2)  And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.  (3)  And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. [faith in preparation]  (4)  Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.  [faith tested with time] (5)  And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.  [hope] (6)  And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.  [faith in action] (7)  And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? [Isaac is no mere boy, but a man of 37]  (8)  And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. [a messianic prophecy, but also a rhema word for that moment] (9)  And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.  [faith and works] (10)  And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. [dynamic duo of Abraham and Isaac – trust in God and trust in the man of God]  (11)  And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.  (12)  And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.  [God saw his faith and rewarded it] (13)  And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.  (14)  And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. [God will see – or – God sees and provides]

Lesson Text: James 2:14–26

(14) What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?  (15)  If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,  (16)  And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?  (17)  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.  (18)  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.  (19)  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.  (20)  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?  (21)  Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?  (22)  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?  (23)  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.  (24)  Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.  (25)  Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?  (26)  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

God calls us to put our faith into action, and so we demonstrate our faith through our works.

INTRODUCTION

Topeka, Kansas, is well known in American history for multiple reasons. In Topeka the events that led to the famous Brown v. Board of Education case occurred, which resulted in the desegregation of American schools.

Topeka was also the location of the Bible school where Charles Fox Parham and his students believed and taught that speaking in tongues was the initial sign of Holy Ghost baptism, helping to spark the modern Pentecostal movement.

Also, the city where Pastor Charles Sheldon, in 1896, decided to try something different during the Sunday night services.

Instead of a traditional sermon, he began reading a novel he was writing by presenting one chapter each week to the congregation. The story became so popular that soon the church was full of people wanting to find out about what would happen next.

Eventually the book would be published with the title In His Steps, and it remains a popular book to this day.

The story is set in fictional Raymond, a railroad town in the Eastern United States. It opens with the main character, Reverend Henry Maxwell, pastor of First Church of Raymond, sitting in his home on Friday afternoon preparing his Sunday sermon. When his efforts to concentrate are interrupted by a panhandler, the pastor brushes him aside and gets back to what he considers a more important activity.

On Sunday morning the same man shows up to service and addresses the congregation. He then immediately collapses and dies a few days later.

Reverend Maxwell is affected deeply by these events and begins to question his selfish behavior.

He challenges his congregation with a question that causes a revival in the lives of virtually everyone in the town: what would Jesus do?

Inspired by this simple, yet profound question, the members of Central Congregational Church begin to look for ways to use their position in the community to bring about changes that will form Raymond into a place God desires it to be.

What would Jesus do?

We would still do well to consider that provoking question because one of the essential components of true biblical theology should focus on what we believe and what we do.

Living for God is much more than simply listening to the preached Word of God on Sunday mornings; we must respond and follow what the Word of God calls us to do.

When God’s Word calls us to repent, we must repent.

When God’s Word calls us to love our neighbor and forgive those who hurt us, we must hear and heed.

We would do well to enter every service asking ourselves two questions:

  1. What does God want me to know?
  2. What does God want me to do?

THE DYNAMIC DUO OF FAITH AND WORKS

The Danger of Faith without Works

Peanut butter and jelly. Coffee and donuts. Rest and relaxation. Batman and Robin. Some things seem destined to always go together.

The same should be true of faith and works.

Bernard of Clairvaux wrote, “Hell is full of good wishes or desires.” Today, we say, “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.”

Neither of these quotes are from the Word of God because they are not exactly accurate.

Being cast into outer darkness and eternally separated from God is not simply the end result of good intentions – it is the direct result of sin.

Likewise, we understand that good works alone cannot earn us entrance into heaven.

You will never be good enough to purchase your own salvation because, even on your best day, the Bible declares all your righteousness as nothing more than “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6).

It is impossible to do enough good deeds to erase the stain of one single sin.

You must apply the gospel to your life through the new-birth experience because neither good works nor good intentions are enough to save you.

This simple fact is demonstrated throughout the Word of God:

If Noah had the faith to believe it was going to rain but refused to build the ark, he would have drowned.

If Peter had answered the question, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” by explaining that simply changing their mind about Jesus was enough for salvation, the people may have gone home with a repentance experience, but they would not have been born again. (See Acts 2:36–39.)

The Power of Faith with Works

When faith is combined with works the power of God is released.

Faith and works are both involved in all elements of obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ:

  • 2 Thessalonians 1:8, “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ”
  • 1 Peter 4:17, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” 

You must do more than have a change of mind about your sinful state; you must repent of your sins by turning from your old life. It is not enough to feel sorry for past mistakes; you must quit sinning.

For those who gathered to be baptized by John the Baptist, he demanded they “bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance” (Luke 3:8).

Jesus taught the same doctrine when He instructed the woman caught in adultery to “go, and sin no more” (John 8:11).

Repentance is how you obey the death of Jesus. You must have faith to believe that His death on the cross of Calvary was sufficient to pay your debt to sin, and then you must do the work of turning from sin.

After you repent of your sin, you respond to Jesus’ burial by being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ:

“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”[2]

When the first Gentiles were brought into the New Testament church in Acts 10, Peter did not just suggest they be baptized; rather, he “commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord” (Acts 10:48).

Your new birth is not complete without Spirit baptism. In His supreme wisdom, God provided you an undeniable sign that you have been filled with His Spirit.

Multiple experiences in life can make the hair stand up on your neck or give you moments of joy or a sense of peace.

However, only the baptism of the Holy Ghost allows you to worship God in a language you have never learned as you declare “the wonderful works of God” (Acts 2:11).

That experience involves a level of faith in the Word of God combined with surrendering your whole self to Him.

Faith without works is dead, but the combination of faith and works produces the new birth.

I Will Demonstrate My Faith through My Works

Just as faith apart from obedience will not result in salvation, your walk with God after the new birth is equally dependent upon the marriage of faith and works.

If Jesus had only declared His identity with words, the statements He made would have been true, but the opportunity to prove their accuracy may have been lost. The Bible declares: “Jesus . . . went about doing good” (Acts 10:38).

When John the Baptist sent messengers asking whether Jesus really was the Messiah, Jesus offered the works He had done as evidence:

“Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached” (Luke 7:22).

Why do you think the majority of Jewish society rejected Jesus even after witnessing so many marvelous miracles?

The Book of James contains the most notable commentary on this subject. James asked these rhetorical questions: “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?” (James 2:14).

James then gave a very practical example to illustrate his point. If we encounter a brother or sister needing clothing and food and say, “Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled” without offering practical help, it is of no use (James 2:16).

“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17).

THE FAITHFULNESS OF ABRAHAM

God Challenged Abraham’s Faith

To see faith in real life, let us look at the “father of the faithful” based on Paul’s description of Abraham as “the father of all them that believe” (Romans 4:11).

The first eleven chapters of the Book of Genesis chronicle approximately two thousand years. In those chapters we read about Adam and Eve, the story of Noah and the Flood, and how God confused the languages because of humanity’s disobedience in building the Tower of Babel.

We see some detail, but the Bible paints in rather broad brushstrokes until we reach chapter twelve where we are introduced to a man named Abram and his wife Sarai. The next fourteen chapters are devoted exclusively to that one man and his family. If we add in the portion of the Bible dedicated to Abraham’s son, grandson, and great-grandson, we see a total of thirty-nine chapters devoted to this one extended family.

Abraham is celebrated in God’s Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11: “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went” (Hebrews 11:8).

Abraham was called, and then he obeyed.

Abraham combined faith with works.

If he had sat around his entire life bragging about God speaking to him and explaining how much he believed God’s promise without ever leaving his hometown, his spoken faith would have been dead words.

But to be proven faithful required more than one action. Abraham left his hometown, separated from his entire family (including his nephew Lot), and received the promised son named Isaac. Then the Lord challenged Abraham’s faith yet again with a call that must have been incredibly difficult to hear:

“Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of” (Genesis 22:2).

Abraham Proved to Be Faithful

No one can truly understand the anguish he felt to offer up his own son to God as a sacrifice. Abraham must have thought, God, this did not make sense. Is this really Your plan? Your nature? Yet Abraham’s response may be one of the most impressive examples of faith in God we read in the entire Bible.

Consider the test of Abraham’s faith. He had waited approximately twenty-five years for his promised son to be miraculously born. He had received the promise from God that through Isaac all nations of the earth shall be blessed. Then God said to sacrifice his promised son, Isaac.

Do not underestimate what this means: Abraham would have to lay his 37-year-old son on an altar and kill him as a sacrifice to God.

Can you think of any reason it would make sense for God to call Abraham to offer Isaac?

How could Abraham do something so barbaric? Offering Isaac directly conflicted with the promises God had given him. But there are two reasons for those concerns:

  • First, Abraham loved Isaac, but he loved God more. One of the main issues for Abraham was whether he loved the promise (Isaac) more than the promise keeper (God). Abraham passed the test by his willingness to sacrifice his son unto the one who gave him his son.
  • Secondly, Abraham had enough faith and trust that if he followed what God told him to do, the Lord was able to prove Himself faithful. Again we discover insight in the Book of Hebrews that helps explain Abraham’s thought process. The Bible explains Abraham reasoned that if God had promised all the nations of the earth would be blessed through Isaac, then when he followed God’s instructions and sacrificed his son, “God was able to raise him up, even from the dead” (Hebrews 11:19).

That is certainly faith with works.

But that resurrection miracle was unnecessary because as Abraham lifted the knife to sacrifice Isaac, the Lord stopped him and provided a ram as a sacrifice in place of Isaac, a beautiful Old Testament foreshadowing of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

I Will Seek to Be Found Faithful When Tested

Today we are faced with the same choice as every saint of God who has come before us. Unlike Noah, we will probably not be asked to build a large boat out of gopher wood, and we certainly should not expect God to call us to sacrifice our children. However, we must be mindful that living for God always has and always will require some level of sacrifice.

Only by a combination of faith with works is it possible to please God. The Book of James is often called the New Testament companion to the Old Testament Book of Proverbs. We are encouraged to be “doers of the word, and not hearers only.” If we only hear the word without taking proper action, we are guilty of deceiving our own selves (James 1:22).

This same principle can be applied to believing without taking action—faith without works.

You must daily decide to allow the Word of God to be the mirror through which you evaluate your actions and motives to ensure you are not guilty of Jesus’ warning in Luke 9:62, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

A proper combination of faith and works will ensure we endure to the end and obtain salvation.

CONCLUSION

The year 1955 was significant. America had endured the Great Depression, experienced the thrill of victory in World War II, and found itself one decade into the Cold War with what was then known as the Soviet Union. President Eisenhower sent the first military advisors to Vietnam, and in that same year, a woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, an event that sparked the Civil Rights Movement and inspired Martin Luther King, Jr.

Also in 1955 a recently retired man sat on his front porch and watched as his Social Security check was delivered to his mailbox. His life had been difficult. When Harland was only six years old, his father had died, causing young Harland to take the lead in caring for his younger brothers and sisters when their mother entered the workforce. He had dropped out of school in the sixth grade and held a wide variety of jobs since then: a railroad worker, a tire salesman, an unsuccessful politician, and others.

At the age of sixty-five, all he seemed to have to show for his efforts was the promise of another Social Security check being delivered. He went to the mailbox, retrieved his check, and thought to himself, Is this all my life is going to be, just sitting on the front porch waiting for my next check to arrive?

The thought was discouraging. Harland decided to pause and write down all the blessings in his life, listing everything, even the small things. You could say he was counting his blessings, naming them one by one. He wrote that he was the only person in the world who knew his mother’s recipe for fried chicken, which included eleven different herbs and spices. That day he decided to become a doer. He visited a local restaurant and asked if he could get a job cooking chicken. Soon his chicken became the most popular item on the menu.

Later Harland opened his own restaurant, which soon became a string of restaurants we now know as Kentucky Fried Chicken. He sold to a national organization for millions of dollars and served as their public representative until his death in 1980 at the age of ninety. All this became possible when “Colonel Sanders” refused to simply sit on the porch waiting to receive; he decided to do something with what he already had.

If Colonel Sanders realized his recipe and his fried chicken were gifts, and if his decision to do something with that knowledge allowed him to achieve fame in our society, what can the church of the living God do if we will become doers of the Word instead of hearers only?

Let’s Pray:

  • For God to help us become doers of the Word and not hearers only.
  • For God to give us the confidence to stand when life challenges our faith.
  • What types of sacrifice has God required from you in your walk with Him?

[1] SOURCE: God’s Word for Life Adult Lesson Guide Summer 2025. Pentecostal Publishing House. Lesson 2.4 – A Dynamic Duo.

[2] Romans 6:4