This past Sunday, my friend Freddie Smith preached for me thus there is not a new sermon for the podcast this week. So I am posting a sermon I preached in 2017 on the occasion of the recognition Sunday for our high school graduates. The sermon is from 2 Timothy 4 on the spiritual dangers we face today.

Of course, these concerns are not unique to our day. The spiritual dangers we face are not new to the modern area. These concerns are what prompted Paul to warn Timothy in this passage. In this sermon, I share two warnings and then encourage you to stand firm and keep the faith.

Our purpose is not to raise children that stay safe and never face difficulty. We are called to raise children who will obey the call of God even if that takes them into danger or away from our ability to protect and provide. We are called to entrust them into to care of the Lord.

Often on the 4th of July, to my children’s chagrin, I read the Declaration of Independence to the family. It is a fascinating document on so many levels but what always strikes me is the consequence that each signer understood they were taking on when they signed this document. Addressed to the king of Great Brittan they declared among other things “that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown.” Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton of Georgia, along with 53 others knew that with their signatures they were igniting a conflict that very well may cost them everything.

It is true that many of the founding fathers held religious views that were not faithful to the testimony of scripture. Many of them were deists and universalists but not all. However errant their theology was it is right to say that all livened in an error when even the most secular saw the world through a biblical worldview. This worldview gives understanding to the last line of the declaration. It reads:

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Today, it is common to hear people speak of the universe controlling their lives. G. K. Chesterton is credited with saying “When men stop believing in God they don't believe in nothing; they believe in anything.” The Bible does not teach that we are subject to the random whim of an impersonal universe. The Bible teaches that God created the world and is actively involved in the working out of His enteral will in the world and among His creation. This is the idea of divine providence – that is that God is for us.

Paul, in Romans 8:28, declares this amazing truth that God is actively working out all things for good for those called according to His purpose.

This is not the same parable as the parable of talents. Here Jesus is distinguishing between three types of people. The ten servants represent those who profess to serve Christ, but all who profess are true. So the three types of people represented in this parable are:

1. Faithful followers – these are represented by the servants who invest and earn a return with the nobleman’s money

2. False followers – these are represented by the servant that does nothing with the nobleman’s money

3. Enemies of Christ (unbelievers) – these are represented by those who oppose the nobleman’s rule

I am going to give the majority of my attention to the first two groups.

1. Be about the Father’s will

2. Faithfulness pleases God

3. Disobedience reveals falsehood

We are constantly comparing ourselves to others. At the gym, at work. online, and even at church. When we find ourselves among those who we judge as less than us, it makes us feel good. When we find ourselves among those who we judge as greater than us, it can make us ashamed or self-conscience. Jesus exposes the arrogance of our flesh in this parable and demonstrates the only way one can come and know the salvation of God.

What tempts you to give up? All of us have, at some point in our lives, been tempted to give up. Sometimes it happens in the context of sports. Sometimes it seems like you just cannot get a break. Other times it seems like your opponents are so far above you that you have no hope of being competitive. Sometimes it happens in the context of work.

Maybe you are struggling to keep up with the demands of your job. or maybe the stress of your job is overwhelming you. Sometimes the temptation to give up is even more heart-wrenching than normal difficulties. It could be that those in authority are not adjudicating righteousness. It could be that your boss is treating you unfairly. It could be that others are exploiting and taking unfair advantage of you. And all of this leads to the temptation to give up.

This temptation is present in our walk with the Lord as well. Many are tempted to give up and give in to the world's demands because of the hardships and sufferings that come with following Jesus.

In this parable, Jesus teaches us how we are to pray and not lose heart.

This parable is unsettling. And I believe the more we understand it, and the more we rightly identify with the characters in it, the more unsettling it will become. Jesus tells this story to teach major themes about eternity, heaven, and hell. This parable is intended to teach, warn, and to encourage the wayward to repent.

In these two parables Jesus tells the story of two lost items – a sheep and a coin. Everyone hearing this story can identify both with loosing something and the effort of looking intensely for a lost item.

Jesus uses this familiar experience of losing items and the joy of finding them to respond to the grumblings of the religious self-righteous who were complaining about Jesus spending time with and eating with sinners.
With these parables Jesus teaches two things that reveal the character and heart of God toward sinful man.

The people in the room cared very much about the law and about their place in society. Most in the room were confident that they were right with God. It is in response to this outburst recorded in verse 15 that Jesus tells this parable about the invited guests not responding to the master’s invitation. Verse 16 begins, not with Jesus affirming this declaration but with an indication that Jesus responded unexpectantly. To this triumphant remark, Luke records, “but He (Jesus) said to him.”

The invitation to come to salvation is present. But the invitation alone is not enough. The invited must come to the event. To be saved, you must do more than acknowledge that Jesus saves. You must come to Jesus.

The simple truth of this passage is a call to repent. This was the singular message of John the Baptist’s preaching. This was the theme of Jesus’ preaching. And this is the call of every faithful preacher of the gospel to this day.

We live in a world that values things. The sales pitch is always the same, “more things equal more happiness.” We like to hear that we “need” more things, or we “deserve” more things. So often, the temptation to judge our own value or success by the number of things we have collected overwhelms us. And as a result, we pursue an unattainable goal to have enough. The tragedy of all this striving for more is that we invest our resources, talents, and efforts in the attempt to attain things that will never be able to hold the value that was spent pursuing them.

There are riches that brings blessing, but these are not recognized by the world nor celebrated by men. The true treasures that bring true blessings are the things of the Lord. Seek after true treasure and being rich toward God.

Jesus tells these two parables in response to his disciples asking Him to teach them to pray. First Jesus gives an example prayer in verse 2-4 then He tells two stories to illustrate how we are to approach God in prayer and how God responds to our prayer.

As we consider this passage, I want you to see that we are to approach the Lord in prayer like children, that God will answer your prayer, and that the Lord’s heart toward His children is to give good gifts.

Are you justified by your own actions or are you justified by the merciful salvation of Christ? Are you concerned with how much you must do to be right or are you overwhelmed by the limitless mercy expressed through the cross of Christ?

Dear friend – all those who have known the limitless, overwhelming fountain of the mercy of God that flowed through the veins of Jesus on the cross will “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself”

At the first light on Sunday Mary and Mary make their way to the tomb to do the unpleasant task of anointing the dead body of Jesus with strong spices to compete against the putrid stench of decay. The scene that they encounter is anything but what they expected to find. The stone is rolled away. An angel sits on top of the stone announcing the resurrection of Jesus. The Roman guards are so frightened they are literally frozen with fear. The angel tells the two Marys that they are to go and tell the disciples that Jesus has risen from the grave and that He is going to meet His disciples in Galilee.

They depart immediately, with both fear and great joy, to report what they had experienced to the disciples. On their way they meet Jesus. It is in this meeting that Matthew records the first words spoken by the savior after the resurrection.

This is a dark and depressing moment. John alludes to this in his recounting of the event by including the simple reference of “and it was night” at the end of verse 30. It was night indeed – and not only according to the time of day. From this passage I want to share with you two warnings that the life of Judas teaches us. First - proximity does not equal authenticity. Secondly - false assumptions do not equal true convictions.

In this passage we have witness of the last words of Jesus on the cross. They are words of despair and agony. But in this very dark and sad moment there is a display of amazing grace – Jesus is giving His whole life and bearing the whole weight of sin so sinners might be totally redeemed.

Peter was the leader of the disciples in many ways. He led them spiritually. He led them in devotion and faithfulness. He led them in his willingness to sacrifice for Jesus and His kingdom. These things are certainly admirable. But late in the evening as he witnessed the trial and humiliation of Jesus, he fulfilled the prediction of Jesus – denying him three times before the rooster crowed. The third denial was especially low in that to make himself believable he cursed and cussed.

When Peter denied Jesus the third time it was the lowest moment in his life and ministry. But in this moment to total failure, he would learn a truth that changed the course of his life and allowed him to be used greatly for the gospel and God’s kingdom.

The events of this passage begin the night of trials before the Jewish religious leaders who would then turn Jesus over to the civil authorities to be crucified. These events would not go as either side had thought they would. Jesus does not resist. He surrenders Himself. He is surrenders willingly because He is fulfilling His mission of being the suffering servant obedient to the will of God for the redemption of sinful man.

Nations rise and fall. Leaders and rulers rise to power, but all succumb to death and are no more. Not so with Jesus. He was crucified but rose again. Not so with those who follow Jesus. Hated and opposed by the world but empowered by the God of all creation the church stands – not in the power of men but in the power of God. The gospel witness and the faithful church is preserved in every generation and in every situation according to the will of God. Preach Jesus in season and out of season. Preach Jesus when the gospel is well received and when it sets the world in a rage.