"Name Above All Names"

Philippians 2:5–7 ⁵Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

          What is the likeness of man?  We say we were created in the likeness of God, however we do not seem to have all of the same characteristics of God.  We might have many of the same characteristics of the ancient Greek gods.  Actually the Greek gods had more of mans characteristics then Jesus had.  But Jesus came to us in the likeness of man being born as a true man and as a true God.  It was for our sake that Jesus came in our likeness.

           He looked like a man, He walked like a man, and He talked like a man, but He spoke like our God, and held Himself accountable like our God.  He was perfect like our God, He healed like our God, He even forgave like our God.  Yet Jesus Christ came to us in the frailest of ways.  Jesus came to us humbled as a baby, one that should have been easy for Herod and Satan to have destroyed in His infancy.  But, He was also our God...

          Adam and Eve were formed in the likeness of God given free will to choose to obey God or to disobey God.  If Adam and Eve had continued to obey God they would have still retained their free will.  Well that didn't work!  Unlike Adam and Eve before the fall we can no longer choose to not sin and do everything perfect!  But there was one who did come along, in the likeness of man, and He has free will.  And the choices this man made were greater than we might have dared to imagine.

Zechariah 9:9      ⁹Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

          A man came today who looked nothing more than any other man.  This man came riding on a beast of burden, a donkey of no great stature, yet people lined the streets to pay Him homage.  This man wore no extravagant clothing or robes there was no crown upon His head or fancy jewels upon His wrists.  He was dressed like any pauper who walk the streets.  This man was as plain as you or me.  He was riding on a donkey in the likeness of a man.  Though He looked just like all of us He was the Name Above All Names!

Philippians 2:8–11 ⁸And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

          Jesus Christ was God, but in His choosing went to the cross as a frail man to suffer in the likeness of man.  But this suffering was not just in the likeness it was real as was the humility and as was His death that He chose for you and me.  He is the Name above all names because He is the Christ who came to save us because we cannot save ourselves.

          Praise to God the one who humbled Himself to give mercy and suffered our pain for our sins.  Alleluia to our Christ who died for our sins and gave us grace which leads us to everlasting life.  And Alleluias and Praises to Our Lord and Savior who gives us eternal relationship and life with Him.  Amen.

"I Really Wish I Would Cry More Often"

Hebrews 5:1–4 ¹For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ²He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. ³Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. ⁴And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

            Who do you say that we are?  We claim to be many things and to be Christian too, but the question we need to ask ourselves is what is a Christian? 

 

Wikipedia says" Christian worldview (also called Biblical worldview) refers to the framework of ideas and beliefs through which a Christian individual, group or culture interprets the world and interacts with it. Different denominations of Christianity have varying worldviews. There are varieties of particulars within the Christian worldview, and disputes of the meaning of concepts in a Christian worldview, but certain thematic elements are common in the Christian worldview."

 

But, who do you say we are?  Are we an active and lively part of the body of Christ? 

Someone asked me once if I would lead you down some crazy path.  They did not consider that though I like to joke I really take the Holy Scriptures very seriously.  For anyone to take anyone else down some crazy path one would have to teach against the Holy Scriptures and that is something I cannot do because I truly do believe in Yahweh and His every written word.

James 3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

            Why do you think I harp on you to read and study the Holy Scriptures?  I thank you that most of you trust me, but truthfully, the more you know the Holy Scriptures the more you will know what I am teaching you.  What is important is for you to know more of what God teaches you, and you get that through the studying of the Holy Scripture through a... wait for it... a BIBLE STUDY, yep that's it. 

The Pharisees whom these verses were written about and for may have claimed to be more than what they really were.  But, I claim that I am just another sinful man who was called to teach both you and me what God's plan is for us, and that is salvation through God.  I, like all others am a sinner, who needs a savior, and a savior who will love me for what I am, and hopefully mold me to be one of His children.  I have much to sacrifice for I know my sin and though it might not be what my accusers say my sin is, it is clear to me and to God what my sin is, and what sacrifice needs to be made for them.  Thanks be to God that sacrifice was made through Jesus Christ.

            The Pharisees lifted sacrifices up to God for the sins of others. Hopefully if the Pharisees were true to their beliefs they also made sacrifices for their own sins.  I certainly do not lift up sacrifices to God for you or me, however I do lift up prayers for both you and me daily.  I certainly need prayer and repentance as much if not more than everyone else, and I try to go to our Lord regularly both night and day.  This is a good chapter of Hebrews for all pastors, priests, and saints to read and study. For it humbles us all, lets us all know our needs for a savior, and that nothing that is good for us comes only through God, Yahweh.

Hebrews 5:7–10 ⁷In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. ⁸Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. ⁹And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, ¹⁰being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

            "I really wish I would cry more often," and especially when I pray.  We can certainly cry because we realize our sin, but we can also cry for joy when we realize that we have been forgiven.  I think we gain strength in faith and God when we do cry in our prayers.  It is not whining that we lift up to God, Yahweh, but deep respect, repentance, and reverence.  It is truly reverence when we lift up our tears to ask our Savior God for peace in our hearts through His forgiveness.  Jesus even cried loudly and for good reason that He gave tears.  Our Savior, our Christ gave up tears of love for all whom God calls and not just those to be pastors, but all whom He makes saints through the blood of His only begotten Son.  For Jesus Christ prayed for all who need to be saved from their sin, He prayed for you and me!

Mark 10:45 ⁴⁵For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

            Christ serves us through His works that come from the cross of salvation.  Our Lord and savior comes to us with His wounds He received from our sins and serves us forgiveness into eternal life and everlasting relationship with our God who loves us dearly.

Jeremiah 31:34 ³⁴And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

            Wow, isn't this awesome, not only does our God forgive us, but He also chooses not to remember our sins for all eternity.  It is a clean slate, a clothing of His righteousness, His means of grace, and mercy.  It is like the pearl that one found and sold His life to purchase this pearl that our God calls you and me, kept to be most valuable forever and ever.  What an Awesome and Wonderful God we have!  "I can cry in joy more often, Christ is our savior." Amen.

" Believe It or NOT? "

John 3:17–18       ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

          You can sit down and relax now, Jesus did not come to condemn anyone.  Whether you believe in Christ or you do not believe in Christ, Jesus did not come to condemn you.  Rather Jesus came to help you to believe and save you.  Christianity is not a cruel religion that has the excuse to go accuse and condemn anyone to death.  Christianity is a belief of forgiveness and a means of salvation for all.  However, there are those who live condemned at least until they come to believe in the name of the only Son of God. Believing in the "name" is to believe in everything that Christ is actually and scripturally about.  Certainly non-Christians don't understand this, but sadly there are even Christians who don't understand this as they try to recreate Jesus.

          That we were all condemned once, this is the law that we were born into, it is the law of a sinful nature.  We were cursed when Adam allowed Eve to take a bite of the forbidden fruit and therefore disobeying God.  It was not the fruits fault, and it was not God's fault, it really was not even the serpent’s fault that both Adam and Eve disobeyed God.  Adam and Eve had real free will and they misused it and therefore, disobeyed the one and only law they had been given.  Pretty simple, one law, don't eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  After that Adam and Eve gave up their free will, and not only imprisoned themselves in the prison of sin, but imprisoned all of their offspring and all generations thereafter.

          "Whoever does not believe is condemned already."  It's not because God made this choice or that God chose to block anyone from believing. The condemnation comes from our imprisonment to our sinful nature of which all have, whether we are believers or not.  And if you think you have free will then I challenge you to never sin again for the rest of your life.  You can't!  What are you going to do then? 

Ephesians 2:1–10 ¹And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ²in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

          We are all like the one who drowned in the pool you were told not to enter and someone pulled you out.  We are in the state of helplessness, and I don't mean Michigan!  We cannot do anything to resuscitate ourselves, if someone else does not intervene WE WILL DIE!  Folks, this is not free will. We have a problem Bunkie that we have no power to overcome.  Talk about being a worthless nut!  We can't even yell out save me Jesus.  Right now the choice is not ours to make!

          Maybe on the faith we had before we drowned in the forbidden waters of this world that someone might be graceful enough to revive us, someone might resuscitate us.  If your faith is in the world, well hope they are not mad at you that day you drowned, or they did not notice your sin you drowned in.  Our world does not preach forgiveness, it preaches revenge.  The prince of this world came to condemn and it did not come to save.

Thanks be to God, He is who He says He is, and not who mankind tries to say He is. God listened to that faith we had even when we forgot it and drowned in our sinful nature, and what is awesome is He wrote Himself upon our hearts so that every person will have that possibility and probability to be brought into believing. 

Ephesians 2:4–5 ⁴But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

          We lay here drowned in our sinful nature without the free will to save ourselves, and who should come along to revive us and bring us into life?  It is the one who has given His life to be rich in mercy, who loves us even though we are like Adam and Eve who failed to obey Him and who paid the penalty for our sin.  Jesus Christ comes to our aid and resuscitates us, giving us back the breath of the Spirit, and taking care to help us see we are His.  We belong to Christ because Christ chose us and Christ chose us because He loves us despite our sinful nature.

Ephesians 2:4–10 ⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

          If we drown and have been revived we cannot boast that we saved ourselves, but we can boast in the one who revived us.  It is our savior Jesus Christ who revived us and it is He who we can boast about.  For He did not come to condemn us to death because we are sinners, but Jesus Christ came to save us from being drowned in our sinful nature.  Notice that John 3:18 talks about not believing and does not talk about not sinning.  Here we have what is true, we all sin, believers and non- believers alike.  But, Christ brings us to faith, by His grace to save us. Now read this last verse.

John 3:21   ²¹But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God.”

          Jesus Christ is the one who does what is true, because He has no sin or sinful nature.  Christ is the light and comes to the light of God the Father, and the deeds that He has carried out He has carried out in God?  Jesus Christ the true and only Son of God's deeds which should now be clearly seen is that He daily brings us and more to believe, saves us through His grace and mercy, because He actually loves us all.

          John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  Believe it or NOT?  Amen to that.

"Because We Are Forgiven"

1 Corinthians 1:18–20 ¹⁸For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

²⁰Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

          We live in a world that thinks it is wise and almost all knowing.  To our world studying the bible is folly.  To most Christians it has been a very long time that we care to think of the need to study together God's word.  And the Body of Christ asks, "Who do you say that I am?"  The problem might be even Christians do not know who the Church is or even who Christ is.

          It is a hard question Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?"  What makes it hard is even though Jesus' disciples walked with Him they still only saw the form of a man who talked a lot about His death to come.  And, though the disciples listened to His word they didn't understand what Jesus' death meant.  It would seem that the Messiah would have used wisdom to show He was the all powerful and could not be killed, but of course this is the wisdom of man.  Here's something to contemplate, even the disciples had to take it on faith that this was the Christ, the true Son of God.

          It is important to point out that there were others who appeared to do the same miracles that Jesus had.  Many came before Jesus and were killed and their followers scattered never to be heard of again. Acts 5:36-37.  We think that just because Jesus healed a few people and drove out demons that this would be enough to prove Jesus was the Christ.

          There was one thing that helped the true disciple believe, which was the prophecy word of the scriptures.  Again something to point out is Jesus knew all of the scriptures of the Old Testament, and taught them as well, at least since He was 12 years of age. Luke 2:46-47.  The faith of the disciples were based on hearing and learning the word of God. 

We wonder why at times we have a hard time with our faith, and even as Jesus gives us the answer to gain faith we ignore it and continue to doubt.  Romans 10:17.  The problem we have is we take most words at face value and play the game of semantics.  Hearing the word of God is not just listening with our ears, but to read and listen to what we study of God's word with our minds so that we get the complete word of God.      

          1 Corinthians 1:21–22 ²¹For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. ²²For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

          When you stop to think of God's wisdom it confuses us because at times it is just the opposite of the wisdom of men and women.  Most of mankind would say if one sins then they should be punished to the letter of the law.  Our world demands someone is punished whether they are really guilty of the sin or not.  Most of mankind would also say unless it pertains to me!  We enjoy dishing out punishment to others, but when the tables are turned then it's just not fair.   So you would think that most people would jump on the Gospel wagon and sing for joy praises to Jesus Christ. 

In the wisdom of Christ He pardons us by taking on the punishment to the letter of God's law which is punishment by death and dies for our sins.  This does not make any sense when our world screams that the guilty should pay a penalty deserving of the crime committed.  And if you are the someone who should pay for the crime, it still doesn't make sense, but it is a good feeling knowing you are forgiven.

1 Corinthians 1:30–31 ³⁰He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. ³¹Therefore, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

          Who do you say the Church is?  If we say we are the church then we risk boasting about ourselves.  We should be proud and joyful being members of this church, but our boasting should be that we were made members of the body of Christ because of Christ.  This is not a law but a privilege that Christ died to give us membership in the true Church.  Christ cloths us as members of His Body, making us holy and redeeming us into the love of God.  Who do you say we are as the Church?  We are part of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, everlasting life and eternal relationship active with Yahweh.  Because we are forgiven.  Amen.