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Join us as we worship the Lord through his word
All right, good morning, it's good to see everyone.
I know I woke up this morning and saw snow and thought, oh boy.
But thankfully in this area, the roads were clear. There are some members whose roads were not so clear, and so let's keep them in prayer for those who are unable to be here, whether it's from traveling, whether it's from sickness or whether it's just from a little ice on the road.
We like to begin each and every Lord's Day by going over one of the four ecumenical creeds, and for this month, it is the
Nicene Creed, and we will read that together. We believe in one
God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible, and one
Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten of the
Father, born of the Father, light of life, very
God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the
Father, whom all things were made, who tore up the sin from our salvation, came down from heaven, and was imparted by the
Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was laid at your hands, and was crucified also unconsciously.
He suffered and was buried, but the third day he rose again, according to the scriptures, and ascended into heaven.
He sits at the right hand of the Father, and he shall come again to the
Lord to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Ever -Living, who proceeds from the
Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets, and we believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic
Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins, and we look forward to a life in the world to come.
Amen. Amen. Again, it's good to see everyone who is able to be here today, and let's continue to remember those who are not able to.
In order to follow along with our service, you will need a bulletin, and the bulletins are found on our information table as you walk in through the door.
We plan on having also the same information table in both entrances on these side rooms as well.
I got the tables and the offering boxes for those, but I haven't had the time to get those up.
But also back there, as I mentioned on the information tables with the bulletins, is a designated spot for giving.
So if you're here today and you are prepared to give, there's two ways to do so. One is through that box, and the other way is through our new website, crbctallahoma .org.
But as always, your being here is a gift, and we're so grateful that you're here today.
Again, also back there on the information table, but the one on the other side would be, let me see,
David and Donna's membership papers. So if you're a member here, make sure to grab their membership papers and read over them.
That way, I think it's next week, we'll welcome them into membership. And also back in the foyer, we have a cry room slash changing area for babies.
So if you have a young one and you need to take them there. Bathrooms, we have four bathrooms, two for men, two for women, upstairs and downstairs.
You have to exit through these doors to get to them. I know it's a lot of announcements. I'm trying to figure it out. Hopefully within the next month or so,
I have all this stuff memorized. I won't have to be stumbling as much. Women's Book Club has started.
Evangelism, I think me and Red, as weather permitting, we're going to start back up, not this coming
Saturday, but the following Saturday, we will get back doing regular evangelism work.
So if you're interested in joining that endeavor with us, please see
Red. And we have started a three -year Bible reading plan as the church.
If you want to jump on board with that, it's not too late. And we do have a Wednesday night prayer meeting that meets in the fellowship hall.
Also in the fellowship hall, after the service, we will have a fellowship meal together, and it'll be a joy to see every one of us back there for that.
Now, if you would, please take your copy of the bulletin, and we will go over together our call to worship.
Our call to worship is taken from Psalm 100. Psalm 100. Make a joyful noise to the
Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come into his presence with singing.
He is the Lord. It is he who makes, and to me it is. We have preached people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him. Bless his name. Our God and Father, Lord, we do come to you in the name of your
Son, Jesus the Christ. And Lord, we come to you through his name, emboldened by your spirit, who has proceeded from both you and the
Son. And in the name of the Son, Lord, the name of Jesus, we ask that you be with us today.
We know that you are here. You embody the believers through the Holy Spirit, and the word tells us in the book of Revelation that you walk among the lampstand.
But Lord, we pray that as you walk among us, as you are here with us, Lord, that you make yourself evident to us in our worship to you.
Lord, we love you, and we thank you for allowing us to gather this day to corporately sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to you, and to devote ourselves to the teachings of the apostles, and to break bread, and to fellowship with one another.
And Lord, we ask that as we meet together to do these things that you have commanded, that you bless us, but not only us, but all true churches around the world who gather together for the same purpose.
And now we pray the way our Lord himself taught us to pray. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Amen. He's risen. Yes, let's stand and we'll sing Psalm chapter 106 verses 1 through 5.
We'll sing it to the melody of Amazing Grace. Because His lovingkindness lasts through all eternity,
O 'er who can fully praise the
Lord, O 'er count His deeds of might?
How blessed are they who just as keep and always do what's right.
Remember with faith which you your people show,
O come draw near that salvation, that with your chosen joy,
Prosperity in your efforts is most joyful.
Mighty Fortress is our God. In 114, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore, we will not fear. Psalm 46, one through two. ♪
A mighty fortress is our God ♪ ♪
A bulwark down at the fort ♪ ♪
A little screaming foe seek to work us bold ♪ ♪
His craft and power and arm with rule ♪ ♪
On earth is not his seat ♪ ♪
Did we in our own strength confide? ♪ ♪
Our striving would be lewd, not upright ♪ ♪
On our side, the man of God's own to be seen ♪ ♪
Thus good that may be, Christ Jesus it is he ♪ ♪
The Lord upholds his name from age to age the same ♪ ♪
And he must win the bath ♪ ♪
And though this world with devil's filth ♪ ♪
Should threaten to undo ♪ ♪
We will not fear for God hath built his truth to triumph through ♪ ♪
Prince of darkness, good and true ♪ ♪ Shall not for his name take it ♪ ♪
God's truth abideth still, his kingdom is forever ♪
All right, amen. Behold our
God, who is like the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high, who looks down to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth.
Psalm 113, five through six. ♪
Who has held the oceans in his hands ♪ ♪
Who has numbered every grain of sand ♪ ♪
Kings and nations tremble at his voice ♪ ♪
All nations rises to rejoice ♪ ♪
Our God seated on his throne ♪ ♪
Come, let us adore him ♪ ♪
Nothing can compare, come, let us adore him ♪ ♪
Given counsel to the Lord ♪ ♪ Who can question any of his words ♪ ♪
Who can teach the one who knows all things ♪ ♪
Who can call his wondrous deeds ♪ ♪
Riding on his throne, come, let us adore him ♪ ♪
Has felt the nails upon his hands ♪ ♪
He's felt the guilt of sinful man ♪ ♪ God eternal, humble to the grave ♪ ♪
Jesus, savior, risen now to reign ♪ ♪
God seated on his throne, come, let us adore him ♪ ♪
Behold our king and compare him to the
Lord ♪ ♪ Come, let us adore him, for to build us a tower ♪
Let's be seated. Morning, beloved.
Is this? Okay, I had to make sure. The acoustics in here are so much different. If you would, we are gonna be going through our
Old Testament reading, Genesis chapter 25, verses one through 18. As Genesis chapter 25, verses one through 18.
I'll be reading out of the NASB. Genesis 25, one through 18. Now Abraham took another wife whose name was
Keturah. She bore him Zimron, and Jachshon, and Midian, and forgive me on the names, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.
Joshkin became the father of Sheba and Daban, and the sons of Daban were
Asherum, and Lutsim, and Lemun. The sons of Midian were
Ephaph, and Ephur, and Hanach, and Abadah, and Eldah. All these were the sons of Keturah.
Now Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac, but the sons of his concubines, Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and sent them away from his son
Isaac eastward to the land of the east. These are all the years of Abraham's life that he lives.
175 years, Abraham breathed his last, and died in a ripe old age, an old man unsatisfied with life, and he was gathered to his people.
Then his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machphela, in the field of Ephron, the son of Sahar, and the
Hittite, facing memory. The field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth, there
Abraham was buried with Sarah, his wife. It came after the death of Abraham that God blessed his son
Isaac, and Isaac lived by Bir L 'chaim rule. Now these are the records of the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom
Hagar, the Egyptian, Sarah's maid, bore to Abraham. These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names in the order of their birth.
Nebiyoth, the firstborn of Ishmael, and Kedar, and Hadbil, and Misbim, and Mishim, and Duma, and Masah.
Hadad, and Tima, and Juter, Nefesh, and Kedema.
These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their villages and by their camps, 12 princes according to their tribes.
These are the years of the life of Ishmael, 137 years, and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.
They sailed from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt, as one goes towards Assyria.
He sailed in defiance of all his relatives. This is the word of the living God. Let's go to our bulletin once again as we review our catechism, question number three.
Question three, how many persons are there in God? Answer, let's pray our corporate prayer of confession together.
Holy and merciful God, in your presence, we confess our sinfulness, our shortcomings, and our offenses against you.
You alone know how often we have sinned in wandering from your ways, in wasting your gifts, in forgetting your love.
Have mercy on us, O Lord, for we are ashamed and sorry for all we have done to displease you.
Forgive our sins and help us to live in your light and walk in your ways.
For the sake of Jesus Christ, our Savior, amen. And if your faith is in Jesus Christ, then
I can assure you, based on the promise of the word, that your sins are forgiven. Let's stand once again.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. In the life
I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2 .20. ♪ What gift of grace is
Jesus my Redeemer ♪ ♪ There is no more for heaven now to give ♪ ♪
He is my joy, my righteousness and freedom ♪ ♪
My steadfast love, my deep and boundless being ♪ ♪
To this I hold, my hope is only
Jesus ♪ ♪ For my life is wholly bound to him ♪ ♪
Oh how strange and divine, I can't sing, all is mine ♪ ♪
Let not I, but through Christ in me ♪ ♪
The night is dark, but I am not forsaken ♪ ♪
For by my side, the Savior he will stay ♪ ♪
I labor on in weakness and rejoicing ♪ ♪
In my need, his power is displayed ♪ ♪
To this I hold, my shepherd will defend me ♪ ♪
Through the deepest valley he will lead me ♪ ♪
Oh the night has been won, and I shall overcome ♪ ♪
But through Christ in me, no fate
I dread ♪ ♪ I know I am forgiven, the future sure ♪ ♪
The price it has been paid, Lord Jesus bled ♪ ♪
And suffered for my part, and he was raised to overthrow me ♪ ♪
To this I hold, my sin has been defeated ♪ ♪
Jesus now and ever is my plea ♪ ♪
The chains are released, I can sing ♪ ♪
I am free and not I, but through Christ with every breath ♪ ♪
I will follow Jesus, for he has said that he will bring me home ♪ ♪
And day by day, I know he will renew me ♪ ♪
Until I stand with joy before the
Lord ♪ ♪ To this I hold, my hope is only
Jesus ♪ ♪ All the glory evermore today ♪ ♪
When the race is complete, till my lips shall repeat ♪ ♪
And not I, but through Christ sing ♪ ♪
When the race is complete, till my lips shall repeat ♪
Amen, let's be seated. Good morning, beloved.
Today's New Testament reading will be Mark 1, verses 16 -20.
I'll give you all a moment to get there. Passing alongside the
Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
And Jesus said to them, Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.
And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw
James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, who were in their boat, mending the nets. And immediately he called to them, and they left their father
Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. This is the word of the
Lord. Amen. All right, you have your copy of the
Scriptures. Please turn with me to the Gospel of John, chapter 15. The Gospel of John, chapter 15.
We will consider verses 12 -17. The Gospel of John, chapter 15, verses 12 -17.
And this is message number 94. Message number 94.
Let me open this up in prayer. Our glorious God in heaven, you who hold all things in your hands, you who rule all things,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Lord, we acknowledge that you are the one true
God, and that you have revealed yourself to us in the person of Jesus Christ.
Lord, we could not keep your covenant, and therefore we deserve your wrath.
But you sought fit to send Christ, the
Messiah, the seed of the woman, who will live the life that we could not live, and to take our punishment that we deserve in our stead.
And Lord, you have sent to us your Spirit. And I pray, Lord, that your
Spirit will speak forth through me to your people who have your Spirit. And for those who do not,
Lord, that today you will grant to them salvation. Lord, that this message will comfort the believers and convict the sinner.
That, Lord, you will use me in this endeavor. And I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Who in here would willingly choose to become a slave, to be in bondage?
If I left it there, those of us in our right mind would say, no, absolutely not.
No one would willingly enter into slavery. And yet that's what the
Christian life is all about. Have you ever heard this statement?
If Jesus is not Lord of all, then he is not Lord at all. Anyone ever heard that before?
This is a very popular statement in what's called the Lordship Salvation Controversy.
The Lordship Salvation, this controversy, really took root in the 1980s.
John MacArthur wrote a book fighting what's called easy -believism. As he popularized the concept
Lordship Salvation in a book called The Gospel According to Jesus.
And up until our day, we have what's called the Lordship Guys versus the easy -believism guys.
If you haven't dove into that controversy, it's all over YouTube. I've heard this prior to me becoming a
Christian. I was aware of these two sides of supposed
Christians fighting among themselves. Easy -believism would say something like this.
All a person has to do in order to become a Christian and stay a Christian is to believe in Jesus Christ.
Meaning they do not have to live for Jesus. They only have to believe.
And if I left that there, you should be able to see why this controversy took place.
John MacArthur is quoted in saying this. In fact, in the back of a
Ryrie study Bible, it says, false theories add to the doctrine of salvation, repentance, confession, and the
Lordship of Christ. End quote. Meaning that a person does not have to repent, does not have to confess, and does not have to live under the
Lordship of Christ. Again, if I just left that there, you could see why this
Lordship controversy took place. Now, what hurts the
Lordship controversy, in my opinion, is that they say that you have to make Jesus the
Lord of your life. Like this is your responsibility. This is something that you have to do.
And I'm sure some of you have heard that before and may have even said that before.
I have. I've said that. The reformed position fights against both the
Lordship salvation and easy believism. The reformed position would say, we do not make
Jesus Lord because Jesus is Lord. He is
Lord. Whether you like it or not, Jesus Christ is
Lord. And there's nothing you can do about it. We do not put Him on the throne, my dear friends,
He's on the throne. He's ruling and reigning and He's putting all of His enemies under His feet.
And if you're here today and you are a Christian, you are an enemy who has been footstooled because of the rule and reign of the
Lord, the Master, the King. Now, I know they would probably say, well, that's not what we're saying.
My dear friends, that's what people are hearing. And that one cannot believe outside of repentance, right?
Repentance, the Greek word metanoia, you've heard me say this before. When I'm up here preaching,
I'm parched, I'm thirsty, my hand can't grab the bottle of water and twist the knob without my brain sending signals to my hand.
My body does not act without my mind telling my body how to act.
This is repentance. It's when your body follows your mind.
This is why repentance is so important because in Ephesians chapter 2, it says that the unbeliever who is dead in their trespasses and sins, that with their bodies, they're carrying out the desires of their mind.
As Christians, our bodies need to be carrying out the desires of our mind. And it is impossible to believe in Jesus Christ without first turning from that which you trusted in prior.
You cannot just believe. You must first stop believing in what it is that you had your trust in in the first place, which is why believing, just believing doesn't work.
There is no believing outside of repentance. You cannot walk in one direction and all of a sudden walk the other direction without deciding to turn around and walk the other direction.
That's repentance. You cannot believe. I could not trust in Christ without first stop trusting in myself.
Because I was who I worshipped, that ugly guy that stared back at me in the mirror, right?
That's who my trust was in. I had to first stop trusting in myself.
Look to God by putting my faith in Jesus Christ. And one cannot be saved outside of confession.
Romans 10 9 -10 says this, because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is
Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised
Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
And yet they say, you do not have to repent. You do not have to confess, nor do you have to live under the
Lordship of Christ. And as we've been studying, one cannot be a
Christian and not keep the commandments of Christ. John 14 15 says,
Jesus says this, He says, if you love me, you will live how you want.
No, that's not what He says. He says, if you love me, you will keep my commandments.
Meaning that those who do not keep His commandment, the commandments of Jesus, they do not love
Jesus. You want to know if you love Jesus? Do you keep the commandments of Jesus?
Do you believe in Jesus? Do you love your neighbor as yourself? Because if you don't, you don't love
Jesus. Luke chapter 6 verse 46. Jesus said this. He said, why do you call me
Lord, Lord and do not do what I tell you? You feel the weight?
The Greek word for Lord is Kyrios, which means Lord or Master. Jesus is
Jesus Kyrios. Jesus is Lord. Caesar is not
Lord. Jesus is Lord. He is Lord. And this word, which means
Lord or Master, it speaks to whom a person or a thing belongs to.
To call Jesus Lord, you're saying that you belong to Him. This is the language of a master in a slave.
This language, this core tenets of Christianity is one of the reasons why the gospel is foolishness in the context of Scripture as well as in the context of our day.
Because we believe in a man from the first century born in Nazareth who was a carpenter, that he is
Lord and Master. That he is God in flesh. That he came into time.
He lived the life that we could not live and he took the punishment that we deserve in his death and he was buried.
And then on the third day, he rose again from the grave. That he ascended into heaven.
That he's ruling and he's reigning right now. That he's on the throne of David. And that he's coming back again.
That he is King of Kings. And he is Lord of Lords. He is Master of Masters.
And it's not just foolishness right now, people. It was foolishness at the time of this letter being written.
Our theme for this Lord's Day is friends with the Master. And my proposition is this.
This is what I hope to prove to you today. That the friends of the
Master are the obedient slaves. Join me as I read for us our text.
John chapter 15 verses 12 through 17.
Jesus speaking. He says, This is my commandment. That you love one another as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this that someone lay down his life for his friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants for a servant does not know what his master is doing.
But I call you friends for all that I have heard from my father
I made known to you. You did not choose me but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide so that whatever you ask my father in my name he may give it to you.
These things I command you so that you will love one another.
In our outline we're going to see that slaves of Jesus keep the commandments of Jesus.
They are friends with Jesus and they are chosen by Jesus. So point number one, slaves keep the commandments of Jesus.
Amen. Point number two, slaves are the friend of Jesus.
And point number three, slaves are chosen by Jesus. Pretty simple.
As we transition, Judas has left to betray Jesus and Jesus with the remaining 11 disciples have left the upper room and they are walking to the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus will pray to his father.
Jesus had just told his disciples that he not the nation of Israel but he is the true vine and that his father is the vine dresser.
And that those that are his, those vines that are his are the clean, those branches that are his are the clean branches.
And to those clean branches the father prunes in order to bear fruit.
The clean branches here are those that are Christians. These are the believers that are branches that have been born again.
They're not connected to Jesus in a way that there is no connection. They're connected in a way that there is the connection.
They don't just look like they're a part of something. They are a part of the something, something which is the vine.
And that his branches, these are these clean branches, are to abide in him.
We are to abide in him and by keeping his commandments. And they've been going over those commandments, right?
And it boils down to our believing in Jesus Christ and our loving one another.
The commandments were to love God and love neighbor. You love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all of your strength.
How? By believing in the name of Jesus Christ. And those that believe in Jesus, guess what we do?
We love our neighbors. In the context, it's really not so much talking about your nearest neighbor to your house.
First, it's broken down to your household, your family, your wife and your kids. Second, it's talking about those in the household of God if you want to get particular.
Your brothers and sisters in Christ. That the world is supposed to look at us and see our love for one another and that is supposed to be a witness that we are who we say we are.
If I say that I believe in Jesus and I treat every one of you like you don't matter to me, guess what they see?
A hypocrite. You say, well, anyone that sins is a hypocrite.
No, my dear friends, that's not true. That's not true. A hypocrite is someone that says they believe in Jesus Christ and they do not love their neighbors.
That's a hypocrite. You're professing something that you're not. It's a believer in Jesus Christ because those that believe in him love their neighbors.
Point number one, for those of you who are taking notes, slaves keep the commandment of Jesus.
We're going to see this in verses 12 through 13, but I want to back up a little bit and I'm just going to read verses 12 through 9.
Chapter 15, beginning in verse, excuse me, verses 9 through 12.
Did I say that backwards? Yeah, that's the dyslexia. Look at verse 9.
As the father has loved me, this is Jesus speaking. As the father has loved me, so I have loved you.
So with the same capacity that the father loves the son, the son loves the direct context, his disciples, but you and I as well.
He says, abide in my love, just as I abide in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love.
So how do you abide in his love? Keeping his commandments, believing in Jesus and loving one another.
Verse 11. These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full, that it should be our joy to believe in Jesus and to love one another.
Verse 12. This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you.
That don't put weight on you. You don't have a pulse. Jesus is calling us to love one another with the same capacity as the father has loved him and he has loved us.
We are to love one another. To understand this, we must understand first that this is not a new commandment.
I mean that this is a new commandment. Excuse me. In Leviticus chapter 9 verses 9 through 18, it reiterates to us the law of God, the ten commandments, the
Decalogue. But in verse 18, he gives to us this commandment.
Leviticus chapter 19 verse 18 says this. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people.
Speaking of the Israelites. But you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
I am the Lord. Jesus here in this gospel, the gospel of John is strengthening.
He's strengthening the law of God. And one could even say that he's using general equity from my general equity theonomist out there.
He's using general equity by applying the standard of the love of the father to him and his love for his disciples to us.
He's strengthening the law that's given in Leviticus chapter 19 verse 18 verse 19.
And we have seen him do this before. We've seen him do this in Matthew. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 5.
Matthew chapter 5. We're going to read verses 27 through 28.
Matthew chapter 5 verses 27 and 28. This is Jesus speaking.
He says you have heard that it was said. Here's the commandment. You shall not commit adultery.
That's a part of the death law. That's the big 10, right? This is number seven of that commandment.
You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Guilty. Right. Every one of us have with our eyes mine, our mind's eye.
I said that backwards. Have looked at someone with lustful intentions. I've never committed adultery.
You're a liar. Every one of us by way of general equity, meaning the application of the moral principle of the law of Moses, Jesus applies the 10th commandment.
You shall not commit. You shall not covet. He applies covetousness to the 7th commandment.
You shall not commit adultery. He uses general equity. He strengthens the 7th commandment by applying the 10th commandment to it.
You see that? In the old covenant, we are called to love one another as we love ourselves.
However, in the new covenant, we are called to love one another in the same capacity, with the same capacity as Jesus has loved us.
You see the strengthening of it? It's not just good enough that you love your neighbor.
It's not just good enough that you love them as you love yourself anymore. We're to love one another.
As brothers and sisters in Christ, we're to love one another in the same way that the Father loved the Son and the
Son has loved the disciples. Amen? You feel the weight? Is your heart saying guilty?
I haven't done this. Mine has. I hope
I'm not in a boat by myself. This is what's new about the commandment.
We're to love one another the way that Jesus loves us. Now, how much did
He love us, you ask? Go back to our text, John 15, and look at verse 13.
It says, Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
I wonder who's done that. Does anyone come to mind?
Can you think of anybody who has laid down their life for their friends?
Anyone come to mind? Turn with me to 1 John 3, and we'll look at verse 16.
1 John 3, verse 16. This is the same author of the
Gospel of John. 1 John 3, verse 16.
John writes, By this we know love.
What he's about to say is how we know what love is. By this we know love, that He, speaking of Christ, speaking of Jesus, laid down His life for us.
We ought to lay down our lives for the brothers, for one another.
That's what love is. You feel the pressure yet?
Are you at the boiling point? Now, we in here today will probably never, notice what
I'm about to say, get the opportunity to lay down our lives for one another.
Notice the word opportunity. We will probably never get the opportunity to lay down our lives for one another.
But we do have the opportunity to live for one another. To live for one another.
Christianity is not done in a vacuum. Christianity is done collectively. It's done collectively.
We cannot keep God's commandments without one another. Because if I only believe in Jesus without expressively showing my love to my brothers and sisters,
I'm a hypocrite. I need you guys in the gathering in order to show you
I love you. Point number two.
Well, let me just say this real quick. Don't tell me that you will die for the faith, but you will not die for the faithful.
And don't tell me that you will die for the faith and the faithful, but you will not live for them.
You know, I just, like I'm really not hearing that. Right? It's all got to be true.
We are called to carry our cross. We're called to carry our cross.
Point number two. For those of you who read, who are taking notes, slaves are the friend of Jesus.
Slaves are the friend of Jesus. And as we read verses 14 and 15, I want to point out something real quick.
Your translation of scripture might say servant. The Greek word here is doulos, and it means slave.
Now I'm sure you can understand why translators today do not prefer to use that word.
But that's what it means. And I'm going to read it in that capacity of what it means, of what it actually should say.
Verse 14. You are my friends if you do what
I command you. No longer do I call you slaves for the slave does not know what his master is doing.
But I call you friends for all that I have heard from my father.
I have made known to you. Now let me begin by pointing two things out concerning the word slave here.
Slavery in the context of scripture is not like the horrific slavery that took place in America, as well as other places in this world.
Slavery in the context of the ancient world was different.
And that's where we find ourselves in concerning this word. And we spoke about this before when we came to a verse that we needed to walk this out.
In the context of our text, if you were wealthy enough to own a slave, you would most likely spend most of your time with your slave.
You would spend more time with your slaves, especially if they were trustworthy, than you would your own family, your wife and your kids in the ancient world.
And it was not uncommon for the master to befriend their slave, especially if their slave was trustworthy.
The master would befriend them. The slave would be a friend of their master.
He was someone that he could trust, confide into. With that said, the master would have to befriend the slave.
The slave could not befriend the master.
It was not that way around. The master would be the one to befriend the slave.
Slaves did not befriend their master. This was seen as the greater befriending the lesser.
Now, I'd like to give you a little illustration of this. As y 'all know,
I know Jane's wife. It's kind of like a big name in the reform community. I might mention here and there, like, yeah,
I'm friends with Jane's wife, but I've never heard Jane's wife say that he was friends with Jeff Ross.
I'm just saying, right? He's never actually said those words, right?
But obviously, yeah, that's my homeboy. I got his phone, and I do. I got his number. I could call him.
I can text him. But he's never actually said the words.
But you know why I have this number and why I can text him? Because he approached me.
This relationship, you call it what you want, that I have with Dr. White, it's not because I pursued him.
He befriended me, even though he hasn't said it publicly, like me and Jeff are homeboys, right?
He hasn't said those words. I'm reading into it. I'm using conjecture here, right?
I'm sure he feels that in his heart, right? Just take the, you know,
Donald Trump's about to enter office, right? I cannot walk up to the White House and knock on the door and say,
I'm here to see Trump, my homeboy. What's up, right? Like, I get tackled by so many different guards and secret services.
But if Trump knew me, he said, that's Jeff Rice. That's my homeboy.
Let him in, right? I don't have the authority to go to him and befriend him, but he has the authority to come to me and befriend me.
This is the greater coming to the lesser. Does that make sense?
And that's how it was in the ancient times. And what we see here in our text is that God the greater is befriending the lesser.
The greatest of all, the greatest of all, he who created all things enters into time, takes on flesh to befriend his slaves, those that abide in him, those that believe in Jesus Christ and those that love one another.
We are the friend of the master. Proverbs 18, verse 24 says this,
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
And my dear friend, that's the kind of friends Christians have with Jesus. Jesus is the friend that sticks closer than a brother.
If we had an organ player here, that's when they would start doing that music, right? He's the friend who sticks closer than a brother.
What is this proverb communicating? It's communicating to us that this is the kind of friend that is more loyal than a blood relative.
He's loyal to us. When we are faithless, he is faithful.
While we were enemies, Christ died for the ungodly. Romans chapter 5.
And because he is our friend, a friend who spends time with us, he reveals to us all that the
Father has made known to him. Christ, through the power of the
Holy Spirit, reveals to us his plan, his plans. He reveals to us his promise.
He reveals to us his covenants. He reveals to us his purpose. And he reveals to us the mystery of God.
He reveals these things to us because we're his friend. But here's what
I want to communicate real quick. If friendship is predicated on a condition, it is not friendship.
However, let's not confuse human relationship with our relationship with the creator.
The two are not mutually exclusive. I mean, the two are not the same. The psalmist in Psalm chapter 25, verse 14 says this.
The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him. Tony was speaking about this in Sunday school.
How there is a sense of terrifying fear that comes from the
Lord. Jesus says, don't fear him who can destroy the body, meaning other people.
You know, I'm not to fear ye. The only thing you can do to me is destroy my body. All right?
That's it. Jesus says, don't fear him who can destroy your body, but fear him who can throw both your body and your soul into hell.
And so in a sense, we have to have this fear, right? I remember growing up, like you speak about this quite often about my dad.
My dad was a terrifying man. As being in my mom's arms,
I used to watch my dad get into fights because he was an alcoholic and he would just beat people senseless.
And I can remember just visual, I can see this as a young infant child. I remember two, three, four years old, five years old, six years old, watching my dad beat people up and just seeing this with my eyes and you know, like stuff that I shouldn't have saw.
Right? And so when my dad got onto me, I had a horrific fear of my father.
I'm not saying that children should have that kind of a fear like I grew up, but it's healthy for a child to in one sense have a state of fear for a parent, knowing that they're not playing.
Like I knew my dad wasn't playing. My dad wasn't beating me up, but I knew he wasn't playing. And when he told me to do something,
I did it. I remember I was about to run away when I was 15. I had everything packed. I walked out the door.
I was grabbing the door and I had to walk out. And I remember my dad saying these words. He said, if you ever run away, I'm gonna find you and kill you.
I'm not saying that's good, but this is what happened. He said, I'm gonna find you and kill you. And I grabbed open that door and I went to walk out and I said, you know what?
He was, he seemed serious. I didn't run away because I feared my father.
He didn't play. And in one sense, I think it's good for the children to know that their dads and their parents are not playing.
Maybe not, that's too much as extreme as my parents were, but it's good to have some kind of a healthy fear of your parents.
But also it's like, it's a reverent fear, right? It's a fear of respect.
Like I don't, Ray was talking about with police officers, right?
When a man wears that badge, the honor that we're to give to them is a reverent fear.
We honor him. In one sense, both of these have to be true for us.
God is not playing. If you do not repent and put your faith in Jesus Christ, you are going to be tossed both body and soul into hell.
He's not playing. Those of us who are
Christians, we don't have that fear of God tossing us into lake of fire, to hell fire.
But we are to remain to have a reverent fear of God, to honor
God. This is the friendship of the Lord is for those who fear
Him. And He makes known to them, who? Those who fear
Him. What does He make known to them? His covenant. All that He has heard from the
Father. Yes, friendship. Yes, excuse me. Yes, Jesus is the friend of Christians.
However, Christians are still the slave of their master.
Let's not get it twisted. Now, if I told you, if I gave you, well, you know, you can be my friend if you do something.
That's not how human relationships work. God is the creator of all things.
He sets the boundaries. He tells the oceans, this far and no further. He tells the earth, whether you're low birth, flat earth, whatever, tilt this way or lay this way and don't do it any other way, right?
He's in control of all things. I'm trying to please everybody, right? He's in control.
He's in control of everything. He is sovereign. He's ruling and he's reigning. Paul, Peter, Jude, James, when they opened their ladders, they identified themselves as slaves of Jesus.
Romans 1, verse 1, Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus.
2 Peter 1, verse 1, Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ.
Jude 1, Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and the brother of James.
James 1, verse 1, James, a slave of God and of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Jude and James were half -brothers of Jesus.
They didn't believe in him while he was on the earth living the life that they could not live. They were his brother.
His brother. They grew up with him. Now they're saying, he's my master, my curious.
I'm his slave. And yet they're friends with their master.
So too, you and I, we are in fact friends of Christ. However, we are also the slaves of Christ.
And in our next point, I hope to clear up why it is that people don't willingly become slaves.
Why people don't willingly choose to become slaves. Point number three, slaves are chosen by Jesus.
Slaves are chosen by Jesus. We're going to see this in verses 16 through 17.
Let's begin by looking at the beginning of verse 16. Jesus speaking to his disciples said, you did not choose me, but I chose you.
The direct context, the direct interpretation of this context is
Jesus choosing his disciples. And we have seen this when you read through the gospels, right?
You see that Jesus chose his disciples. At this time, disciples actually chose the person that they would follow.
Right? In order to be worthy enough to ask the rabbi, could you follow them?
You're supposed to have the whole Tanakh and Talik memorized. And you're supposed to be able to memorize the 300 and something passages concerning the
Messiah who was to come. You had to have really, really, really good memory.
Very, very highly educated, right? The people that he chose in his time on the earth were not highly educated men.
They were fishermen, tax collectors. And this is one of the things that caused ruckus in the ministry of Jesus is because Jesus as a rabbi is going to people who did not have this information memorized and telling them to follow him.
They throw down everything, they stopped whatever they was doing and they followed Jesus. So the direct interpretation is
Jesus choosing his disciples and we see this in the gospel. But what you may not understand is is that this is two -tier typology.
Jesus choosing his disciples is pointing to the greater reality of God in eternity past choosing the elect.
Jesus as God, the God -man on earth choosing who it is that would follow him in his earthly ministry is pointing us to a greater reality of the
Father who would choose those who would follow Jesus throughout the church age.
This is the purpose of the Father concerning the covenant of redemption. As we as reformed people understand that in the covenant of redemption the
Father chose before anything, before in the beginning, before all things that the
God had made a covenant with one another and that the Father chose who it would that would be saved.
And you say that's not fair. Talk with God about fairness. Who are you to answer back to the potter?
The Son's purpose was to come into time and to live the life that those whom he chose could not live and to take upon himself the death that they were to die.
The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to apply that purpose to those whom the Father chose. The Father chose.
Jesus choosing his disciples is pointing us to that greater reality. Turn with me a few chapters back to a few
I've said, but John 6. John 6.
Look with me at verse 37. John 6, verse 37.
Jesus said this. He said, All that the Father gives to me will come to me.
And whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
And this is the will of him who sent me. Notice the will, the purpose. And this is the will of him who sent me that I should lose nothing of all that he has given to me.
This all here is speaking of particular people. Those whom the Father chose, the elect of God.
But raise them up on the last day, for this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the
Son of Man and believes in him should have eternal life. And I will raise them up on the last day.
So when Jesus is telling his disciples that you did not choose me, he is saying that slaves do not choose to be slaves.
A slave does not choose their master. We do not choose because we were chosen by God.
That's what this is communicating to us. And like the disciples of Jesus, when we finish reading verses 16 and 17, we will have a clearer understanding or a clear understanding of what it is we were chosen for.
Look back at verse 16. You did not choose me.
For those that believe that this is only speaking to the disciples, if that's the case, then the rest of this text has to be only to them too.
And you'll see why it cannot be that way. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit.
Are the disciples alone to go and bear fruit? And that your fruit should abide.
Believe in the name of Jesus, love their neighbors so that whatever you ask, my father in my name, he may give it to you.
These things I have commanded you so that you will love one another. In order for us to bear fruit, we must first love one another.
And in order for us to love one another, we must first believe in the name of Jesus Christ. And we practice this love for one another collectively as we gather together as the church.
We gather to practice the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self -control, faith, moral excellence, knowledge, perseverance, godliness, and brotherly affection.
Which one of these can you do by yourself on your own with no one around? None of them.
And these fruits can only be done by those who bear the fruit of righteousness.
What is that? You being made right. You being legally, positionally justified by God through faith in Jesus Christ.
And those that bear the fruit of repentance. For the righteous will live a life of faith and repentance.
I truly believe that when we are connected to the true vine, which is Jesus Christ, in the new covenant as his branches who believe in the name of the
Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, that the Father prunes us to bear these fruits.
You say, Jeff, I'm having trouble with this fruit. Like the O -A -A -N -A saying, keep coming back.
Works if you work it right. This is what he has given to us. He snips, he cuts, he prunes us under the authority of the word of God.
You say, I'm a Christian but I'm living in sin. Keep coming. Submit yourself, devote yourself to the teachings of the apostles, to the breaking of bread, to fellowship and prayer.
And you will see that God will change your life through the ordinary means of grace.
This is what he has given to us. And if we bear these fruits, not only does it clearly show that we are the elect of God, but the
Father, he will hear our prayers and he will answer them.
You say, Jeff, you're speaking in prosperity. No, I'm not. If you want to know how important it is to keep the commandments of Christ, Proverbs 28 verse 9 gives us the answer.
Proverbs 28 verse 9 says this, if anyone turns away his ear from hearing the law, the law, his rules and his precepts, if anyone turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
Your prayers to God are an abomination if you do not want to hear the law of God.
If you do not want to hear, thus says the Lord, if you do not want to come and gather and be under these teachings, your prayers are an abomination.
You say, Jeff, that's hard. It's not me. I'm just telling you what he says.
If you turn your ear from believing in the name of Jesus Christ and loving your brothers and sisters, even your prayer is an abomination to God.
Now, I know that what I've said these last month or so as we've been going through the gospel of John has been very difficult.
It's been very heavy. There's been some weighty things said. And listen, next week will be no different.
We're entering into some meat. And I was talking to someone not long ago about Calvinism.
And I mentioned how I have a love -hate relationship with it. And I do, right?
If we're honest, we do. Do I believe it? Yes. Do I like it? I have my moments, right?
There's things that the Bible says that I wished it didn't say. Can I be honest?
But since it says it, I devote myself to it. I bend the knee.
I bow down to it. I argue with God.
Do I like it? Sometimes the call for us to gather and to love one another is essential, so much so that you cannot truly be a follower of Christ outside the church.
This is what He set up. The church is His bride. To remove the church from the earth.
There is no Christianity. There is no Christianity. No church, no
Christianity. God has established the church so that we can express our love for Him and for one another.
And Christ has chosen us. And He has appointed us, not just the disciples, us, here today,
Tallahoma, Tennessee, to bear fruit. Love, joy, peace, patience, so on and so forth.
The fruit of righteousness and repentance. And that our fruit should abide.
That word there, abide, means to remain. That our fruit should remain.
That it should keep on keeping on. Right? That it should keep coming back. And this is talking about the fruit of perseverance.
In Calvinism we have what's called this last point, right? The T -U -L -I -P. The P is for the perseverance of the saints.
That we will march forward. That we will keep pressing on.
Why? Because God has given to us His Holy Spirit. And Ezekiel tells us, chapter 25 -27, that His Spirit causes us to keep the law.
And we're here. And we're underneath His Word. And those that are baptized partake in His supper.
And we're fellowshipping. And we're singing to one another in psalm, hymn, and spiritual song. Father, the vine dresser is cutting away that rottenness in us.
He's snipping away. He's shaping us into the image of Jesus Christ. So we can keep on keeping on.
Conforming us to the image of His Son. That we are to remain in the vine.
And that we are to remain in the church. Every one of us have broken
God's law. There's been times when we've turned our ear from God's law.
Thankfully, God chose in eternity past to save. And He sent His Son to accomplish that purpose through His life, death, burial, and resurrection.
And someone preached to us the gospel message. And we heard and that Holy Spirit applied that message to our life, which is why you're here today.
Being conformed to the image of Christ. That although we've broken
God's law, God has paid our fine. Because of what Jesus Christ has done.
Christian, let us never forget that. Let that never leave our lips. And understand this, that you have the power of God on your lips.
And when you leave here, or when you're fellowshipping here, even if it's a brother here, sometimes we need to be reminded of what
Christ has done. Sometimes you just need to be in the shower preaching to yourself. As you're struggling with sin,
Christ lived the life that I could not live. He died the death that I should die.
Right? He was buried and on the third day, He rose again according to the scriptures.
Oh, Jeff, repent. Keep marching forward. Keep pressing on.
We are available to anyone who wants to talk. If you're here today and you need prayer, whether it's concerning a salvation issue or you're just sick in body, we'd love to pray for you.
Please meet with us after the service. Join me as I pray to our
Holy God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Lord, I pray that I did my due diligence. God, I just ask if I said anything today that was not of you, that you will remove it from their minds and hearts.
Lord, I trust that your word will not return void and that it will accomplish its purpose, whether it's to cause people to love you more or cause people to hate you all the more.
You are in control, and I pray today that your word will do just that, that it will go out and accomplish its purpose.
Lord, we love you and we thank you for Christ. We thank you for your spirit. And God, now as we're about to partake in this meal, knowing that you will use it for the growth, as the knife and the snips to conform us to Christ, Lord, I pray that for those who are unwilling, those
Christians who have not confessed, who have not been living under your lordship, that you will not let them partake in this meal, but that you will grant them repentance and faith in Christ.
Lord, for those of us who have sinned, who have confessed, who are living under your lordship, who call you master and Lord, that you will use this meal to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ, that through this you will shape us, and we know that you will do so.
In Jesus' name, amen. Let's stand.
Oh, the mercy our
God has shown To those who sit in death's shadow
The sun on high pierced the night
Born was the cornerstone Unto us a son is given
Unto us a child is born
He who is mighty has done a great thing
Taken out flesh, conquered death's sting
Shattered the darkness and lifted our shame
Holy is his name The yoke of sin has been broken
Once a slave, now a conqueror
Unto us a son is given Unto us a child is born
Holy is his name
Now my soul magnifies the
Lord I rejoice in the God who saves
I will trust his unfailing love
I will sing his praises all my days
We are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit We ask that you not partake
But if this is true of you, please come and join us at the table We serve both wine and grape juice
The wine will be found on the two ends and the grape juice will be in the middle The night when
Jesus and his disciples were gathered around the table for the last
Passover Jesus inaugurates a new covenant His body broken for us and his blood that was shed for us
We read this in Mark chapter 14 verses 22 -25
Verse 22 And as they were eating, he,
Jesus, took bread And after blessing it, he broke it and gave it to them and said,
Take, this is my body Verses 23 and 24
And he took a cup And when he had given thanks, he gave it to them
And they all drank of it And he said to them, This is my blood of the covenant
Which is poured out for many Verse 25
Truly, Jesus says, truly I say to you,
I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine Until the day when
I drink it new in the kingdom of God And as you prepare to leave this place, hear now
God's invitation for life and Christian discipleship Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong And let all that you do be done in love
And now if you are able, please stand as I pray over you the prayer of benediction
And please lift your hands if you are able To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
And made us a kingdom priest to his God and Father To him be glory and dominion forever and ever
Amen Remain standing as Pastor Cal leads us in our doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise him all creatures here below Praise him above his