The Most Important Theological Lessons (part 4)

We are almost ready to begin first Corinthians on a verse-by-verse basis here on Sunday mornings. We have over the years preached through a variety of books. I think I've gone through Several of the major New Testament books.

We just finished Matthew 5 to 7 the Sermon on the Mount and first Corinthians is brewing. But in the meantime, I thought what would be good for our congregation now that I've been able to be your pastor for the last 12 Years years what would be good for the congregation to learn?

We have lots of new people lots of brand new members as of last week. And so I wanted to discuss important theological lessons that I have learned in the last 20 years of being a Christian 15 years being in Ministry and so let me give you about Oh 12 in review super fast and then we'll pick it up with 13 today.

Lord willing will be the last day. Up here on the pulpit. I don't know why it was a transportation security administration notice of baggage Inspection on my pulpit. I don't know who did that, but don't do it again.

I it just distracts me and It's a strange thing. What would be good for you to learn? I always appreciated when I had a mentor that would teach me things. I appreciate it when John MacArthur would say there's a few things that I really want you to know.

Years ago, I was in New York and I sat and had lunch with John and I said John I've been a pastor for about six months now. What is the inside information and scoop because this is very difficult help me to be a pastor.

I want to know what to do as the new pastor of Bethlehem Bible Church and John looked over at me and he said You'll figure it out. And I thought what kind of answer is that from John MacArthur? You'll figure it out so he taught me many theological lessons and that was actually a good lesson for me to learn because He couldn't come and pastor you for me.

I had to do that very thing in Review lessons that I've learned that I want you as a congregation to affirm to reaffirm or to learn for the first time. Number one. God is utterly sovereign over everything in the universe.

Including those that go to heaven and those that don't. Perdition and eternal life. God is sovereign over every molecule the molecule of the universe. He didn't just let it rain today. He sent the rain.

That was number one. Number two there are no shortcuts for holy living in our day and age. We want instant. We want microwaved we want to immediately arrive. But God has ordained growth slow growth growth for the Christian growth that would entail sweat and toil of course prayer of course the Spirit of God and his ministry, but God has designed that we work out our salvation with fear and Trembling Philippians chapter 2 and it is him who works in us as well.

But we want to make sure we don't fall prey to shortcut Christianity. I need to get slain in the spirit. I need to have the special blessing then everything will be fine. The blessing that you will receive is as you work out your salvation.

Number three. God does not love me more when I obey and the converse as well. He doesn't love me less when I disobey. We looked in great length in John chapter 17 about how God when he loves someone he Loves them with this eternal Everlasting love similar to his love of Israel.

He's loved them in Jeremiah with an everlasting love. You don't love your children. Are you ought not to love them less when they disobey and more when they obey? They're your children, and we are God's children and therefore we are loved like the father loves the son.

Can you imagine that John 17 God loves you as much as he loves Jesus Christ? Number four. Anxiousness is a sin and a signal of my prayer lessness. Anxiousness according to Philippians chapter 4 is a sin other places in the Bible as well.

And it basically reveals to me that I'm depending on myself. That I'm trying to run the show with my wits with my money with my resources. And it reveals that I am depending too much on myself and God graciously grants me the fruit of my disobedience.

Called anxiousness so that I might turn from that forsake it and run away. Feeling anxious isn't as bad as it could be. Feeling anxious is good because then it tells us something is broken. We're not thinking properly, and we're not doing the positive side of anxiousness, and that is trusting.

Show me the antonym for anxiety, and I'll show you the word for trust. Number five. My feelings should never lead me instead. They should serve as a barometer for my actions and thoughts. Basically we live in a feel culture.

But we know we need to do things sometimes like church discipline like preaching like evangelism. Even though we don't feel like it if you wake up tomorrow, and don't feel like going to work I suggest you go to your job even though you don't feel like it.

Number six the key to sanctification is Thinking. The key to sanctification is thinking we looked in detail in Romans chapter 6 about Thinking that we were counted dead to sin and were counted alive to Christ Jesus.

I almost want to repeat all these and preach them through again, but I'm not so let's just we're gonna have to. Staccato fashion this up. Number seven. Is that a word actually staccato fashion, but you know what I meant yes.

Number seven the three most important things when you evangelize are remembering the total depravity of man. So you only give the word the glory of God. You preach for God's glory. You don't preach for souls to be saved primarily.

They will be saved as God allows and as good pleasure. It's a good desire to want your friends to believe the gospel. But when you preach you preach for the glory of God. And you don't say I'll preach for people to get saved because what if then you turn down the message of sin our?

Substitutionary atonement and then the third important thing in evangelism is Evidentialism is for Christians archaeology science Carbon dating anything like that. It's not going to take a dead sinner.

And make them alive. It's the Word of God that's active and it's living and it is a message of Christ. Romans chapter 10 that saves people. Number eight. I must be content with God's revelation. There are things in here that God purposely does not want you to know and therefore we should rest in that and relax in that.

Versus spending all our time trying to figure them out at the risk of not obeying. There's plenty in here to obey. We don't have to always ask the proverbial. Why question. Sometimes the question is It's not for you to know maybe never maybe in heaven when you get to heaven.

You'll be very content with God's revelation. Number nine. All end time study should change your life at Eschatology should be ethical. Warren Weir's be said it is unfortunate people run from one prophetic conference to another.

Filling their notebooks marking their Bibles drawing their charts and yet not living their lives to the glory of God. If you like to study in time theology, you should say Jesus is coming back. It should change the way I live.

Number ten. We're almost done with our review that we must embrace the active obedience of Christ Jesus. That is to say Jesus didn't show up on Friday to die. He lived a whole life of obeying the law under the law.

He did everything perfectly fulfilled this law even with baptism identifying himself with us and then when we As we trust in Christ Jesus. We get his perfect life put into our spiritual bank account and Jesus bears our sin in his body on the tree.

Number eleven. The providence of God is more amazing than so-called miracles today. Providence of God and how he works everything out. Romans 828 like it's much more Magnificent to me than some kind of faith healer who lengthens legs and makes your feelings turn into gold.

Next point I just I can't you can't redo that. Number twelve. God is jealous. God is jealous. He's called a jealous God in Exodus chapter 20 in Exodus 34 It says his name is jealous and God wants the affection rightly do him.

God is our is the one who loves we are the beloved and when something comes in and infringes upon that love. There's a reaction by God a holy and just reaction and now we come to new information the 13th lesson in Kind of a topical study we're doing but I'm going to do exegesis in the middle of the topic the 13th lesson I'd like you to learn and affirm is that Jesus's death although excruciate excruciating was not Primarily Excruciating because of the thorns the fists and the nails in other words as Bad as the death of Jesus Christ was at Calvary, and he did suffer under men.

The suffering of God was more important that he suffered under the hand of God, I'll never forget. When we were watching the Jesus movie one time and I think Haley was about three years old and they were Punching Jesus and hitting Jesus and there was spit and blood and just horrible things done to the actor portraying Jesus, and I'll never forget it as long as I live.

Haley got up and she began to cry and she walked over she was little enough I think she kind of waddled over and she went over up to the screen and she began to kiss the screen. Because they were so beating Jesus that she she was empathetic.

She was sympathetic and she wanted to say how could they do that to Jesus? Well 30 ,000 other Jews were crucified by Jesus. I'm excuse me, but I Just pray with me Lord get me through this message today.

30 ,000 other Jews were crucified like Jesus. Why were why was Jesus special? Around the time of Jesus there were all these other Jews crucified. They Suffered physically, but what we have to remember is that God was punishing Jesus on the cross that is more important although Human suffering was important.

It was prophesied by the psalmist and other Old Testament prophecies. But you have to remember that Jesus's death assuaged God's wrath. Let's turn our Bibles to Luke 23. We have to remember as our theological lesson lesson that Jesus just didn't suffer under the hands of mankind.

But he bore God's wrath. And you don't get the death of Christ unless you understand sin and holiness. You cannot understand it properly and you've got to see that sin really is an atrocity to God. As you're turning there, there's all kinds of definition of sin and sometimes we just think you know maybe like Schuller It's a lack of self-esteem or or something like that sin is heinous.

Sin is an atrocity to God. Sin is Repulsive to God. There's all kinds of language in the God and in the Bible about sin is like a dog going back To its own vomit. Sin in Romans chapter 3 is likened to poison.

Sin in Matthew chapter 23 is likened to the smell of rotting corpses in tombs. Sin kills. Sin killed Adam it killed Abel through Cain. Sin is horrible. Listen to Jeremiah 44. Yet I sent you all my servants the prophets again and again saying oh do not do this abominable thing.

Which I hate. Sin is an atrocity to God is an abomination to God and unless you understand that You can't really get your mind around the cross. We live in a bell-curved society. We find people who are worse than we are.

We think we're good. That's not how you should think about sin. Arthur pink said quote in the treatment of the Son of God received at the hands of Men we see sin in its true colors stripped of all disguise.

Exposed in all its hideous reality in its true nature as rebellion against God. We also see the fearful wages of sin death and separation from God. Since Christ hung there as sin bearer he received the punishment due to them.

You've got to understand that sin is gross. You also need to understand that God is holy. The seraphim who are holy and have no sin in them what do they do to their faces as they're in the presence of God.

They hide their faces. This is not like Peter saying to Jesus on the boat a woe is me. I'm undone because I'm a man who's sinful and I've got the God of the universe in my boat, and he's holy and I'm sinful.

Even the holy angels cover their eyes. Job says in God's presence. I abhor myself. He realizes his sin. He realizes God's holiness. Daniel says in Daniel 8 there remains no strength in me. My comeliness was turned into corruption.

Hebrews chapter 10 says the Lord will judge his people. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of a living God and that is exactly what Jesus did. He fell into the hands of the Living God the Father and was judged.

Look at Luke 23 verse 44. Why was the death of Jesus special compared to the 30 ,000 other Jews who were also? Crucified. And by the way years ago with that new that movie that came out the passion of the Christ while it may have shown crucifixion in all its heinousness.

It did a bad job of showing because I guess you can't show it through Hollywood that there was something worse than thorns. Worse than spit and worse than punching somebody to the point that you couldn't recognize them as being a man.

And that is the wrath of a holy God on sin, even if it was the Sun bearing the sin. We pick up the narrative in Luke 23 44. It was now about the sixth hour. It's noon and Darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour 3 p .m.

And the Sun was Obscured. Jesus has been suffering at the hands of men again the punching the hitting. The piercing side and now we have darkness and Jesus says in Matthew 27 my God my God. Why has have you what? forsaken me.

From 9 to noon Jesus is on the cross and men Punch him hit him spit on him mock him ridicule him. But now the suffering of man is pretty much done. And now we're going to see Jesus suffer at the hands of God the Father and the Sun Seems to be blotted out even in tradition a secular writer says that that Just prior to Christ's death.

He wrote this either the deity himself suffers at this moment or sympathizes with one that does. Why dark what is happening here with this darkness you have to ask yourself the question. It's dark at the middle of the day.

What is going on is the light of the world being extinguished? Did the Sun say I won't shine on such a travesty. Well, if you study your Old Testament, you'll begin to quickly say this when there's darkness.

There's often what? Judgment not every time it's dark. There's judgment thankfully for us right tonight. But throughout Scripture you'll see the Old Testament idea darkness linked to judgment it's just like there's a Train engine and the next car and they just link up and you think there's darkness there's judgment.

Do you think there could possibly be judgment going on here this passage or is just getting dark kind of some kind of eclipse? Listen to Joel 2 and I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth blood fire and columns of smoke.

The Sun will be turned into darkness and the moon to blood. Before the great and awesome day that the law of the Lord who comes. Amos chapter 5 is the same thing the linking up of judgment and darkness.

Alas you who are longing for the day of the Lord for that purpose will the day of the Lord be to you. It will be darkness and not light that I shall make the Sun go down at noon and make the earth Dark in broad daylight, that's all judgment many other passages.

You could look at judgment. Darkness, they go together. Now. Here's the question God is judging at this very hour. But who are what is God judging? God was judging our sin on his son at Calvary the sin question is being settled right now on Jesus and Jesus cries out with intensity my God my God.

Why for what end? This isn't despair or somehow questioning. This is like a lost child as it were. Jesus isn't lost I know but as a lost child might call out for his father. That's the same kind of intensity here.

God was forsaking God was actively forsaking Christ. And this is very tragic why. Because This has never happened between the father and the son ever how close of a personal relationship. Did the father have with the son for all eternity was it close was a kind of close listen to this language.

Jesus said in John 16 behold an hour is coming and has already come. For you are to be scattered each to his own home and to leave me alone. And yet I'm not alone because the father is with me. This is a strange cry coming from Jesus who said in John 8.

Coming from the father in John 8 This is my beloved son in whom I am well-pleased and then Jesus said I am the father and one he that sees me sees. The father the father will not leave me alone. Now I think abandonments horrible.

We read about Logan Airport, and they they find babies in the restrooms. Spouses abandon their spouses. But here we see God the father Giving the cup of wrath to his son and the son drinking it down to the last dregs.

Would it be fair to say from noon to 3? God the father took all the torments of the damned in hell forever and Compressed them into three hours and then placed them on the son and then poured out his holy Roaring wrath on his son.

The answer is yes. Unspeakable the just dying for the unjust. This is not just we feel bad that he got his beard plucked out. Although I with Haley would say that's a sad thing. This is Jesus in first Peter 2 24.

He himself bearing our sins in his body on the cross. Galatians chapter 3 verse 13 having become a curse for us. Our iniquities laid on Jesus and then the eternal powerful wrathful God. Avenging sin on Jesus, even though he never ever sinned.

And look at the passage verse 45. I Think there was probably a sound of this don't you. And the veil of the temple was torn in two. Sacrifices are done. They're complete. Access now to God access to the Holy God is not through a bunch of sacrifices.

It's through Christ's death only. Now here's my question. Especially if you're a visiting unbeliever or a member who's an unbeliever even if that could be if God didn't spare his own son. Would he spare you.

Be assured that he will pour out his wrath on you if you die in your sins. Every sin ever committed will be punished. And if you commit that sin and you become saved God saves you that sin has been paid for by Jesus.

But if it's not been paid for by Jesus, you will pay for that sin or else God would be unjust. He who believes in the Son has eternal life. But he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

One man said consider then what you're doing when you sin, would you rush to your own ruin? Would you drink poison? Consider the wages of sin is death and that wrath and hell come with sin. Consider punishment in hell will be without pity misery without mercy crying without comfort and torment without ease.

Your only hope is the love of God who because of his mercy saves sinners like you. Number 14 number 13 in summary is when you think of the cross don't just think of human suffering think of the Sun. Suffering under the rightful just holy hands of the Father and you'll understand the cross and substitutionary atonement a lot better.

Number 14. Number 14 I could tell we're gonna have to go faster. But you know you get into these things and you just want to preach just want to talk about it. I've been doing the radio show now for several weeks and it's a weird thing.

The counter goes down to 329 50 and I'm just supposed to talk in the microphone. I don't know if anybody's out there listening who might be listening. Maybe no one but now I see faces. I see Bibles and so I think I got a congregation in front of me.

I'm gonna let it go today. So buckle your seatbelts right now. All right number 14. Faith is a result of salvation. Not the cause. Faith is a result of salvation. Not the cause. We talked about this on the radio on Thursday, but I want you to turn to Ephesians chapter 2.

God gave you your faith get it out of your mind. If you think this way I Believed on my own then God was allowed to save me. This is the button. I have to push to allow God to save me. The button I push is my own faith friends that is works righteousness.

I think a believer an immature one a new Christian could maybe believe that way. But if you now believe scripture, you're gonna say God saved me and then granted me faith. He he of course you have to believe but your belief doesn't cause you to get saved.

It is the result of it. And I think at the end of the day you'll say to yourself then this gives more praise to Me no God. Ephesians 2 8 we have to remember that although faith is a command. It is also a gift if you've been here any amount of time.

You've heard me talk about this a lot, but it's an important theological lesson. So we want to put it in the series Ephesians chapter 2 you notice earlier in verses 1 through 3 the plight and and the the CV the resume of man and we have the brilliant.

For by grace you have been saved through faith in Ephesians 2 8. Faith a commitment a confidence a humble trust in. Does not save you. What saves you? Grace saves you. Christ saves you. Christ perfect life and his perfect death confirmed by the Resurrection saves you.

The conduit the non meritorious non wage conduct is faith. What is the reason what is the cause of your salvation? It is not look at the text 2 8 for by grace. You have been saved because of faith. Is that what it says?

It doesn't say because of faith it says what it says through faith. Where is the because of found back up in verse 4? But God being rich in mercy you want to know the reason you want to know his motivation.

Why did God save you it wasn't because of your faith? That is a degrading thing that when we speak of God that somehow, you know I supply my faith. God does all the rest friends. Here's what you supply and I supplied it as well sin.

Lots of it. God when it comes to your saving package. Here's my contribution me the sinner and I didn't say well I've got this faith because even that faith is going to be tainted with sin. What is the cause of your salvation verse 4?

But God being rich in mercy. There's the because because of his great love with which he loved us. That's a different way to construct the Greek word verse 8. You're saved through faith showing that it's an instrument.

Yes, you have to believe but you're going to see this is a gift from God the because the cause of your salvation when you're in heaven and God says begin with the angels to worship my son and. If an angel were to ask you why are you here?

I guarantee you first of all, it's a hypothetical question. But second of all if you were to be asked you wouldn't say because my friends they didn't have enough sense to believe. But but I really believe when that evangelist got up and and and I believed you think you'd say that.

Here's what you'd say. I Don't know what hit me. I love my sin. Sinner go in my own way and God sent his spirit to go after me and he quickened me. He made me alive. He regenerated me. He declared me.

Just he gave me saving faith and I said I believe. Won't you which one gives more glory to God? I'm the one. I mean I've got a friend and you heard about my friend very often his nickname is the anvil and the anvil has he's bald and he's Got a big beard down to here and he looks like he should be some kind of Fight guy.

What do they call it? MMA WWF. I have no idea. WAF Peter. You're betraying what you do out of the heart. The only difference between the anvil who I hope God still saves and me. Is that God visited me with mercy and because of his great love he loved me.

He saved me and I responded with faith. You have the baby being born think about especially some of the new parents here. The baby is forced out of the birth canal. The baby doesn't climb out. The baby doesn't help its way out.

It is forced out. Why did Jesus use it must be born again. Talk in John chapter 3. Salvation is something done to you. And when the baby comes out and feels how cold it is and everything else the baby responds with what?

Would you ever say the baby is saved because of their the baby is delivered because they cry. And that's what got him out. Yeah, and then that somehow the mother has to go. We'll get this crying kid out of here.

No. How can you get this complete? Lack of trust in yourself this complete trust in the work of another when you're still a sinner. You are visited with the grace of God and you respond. Yes simultaneously.

Logically, though it has to be regeneration first and then you respond simultaneously. It probably happens all at the exact same time. Grace doesn't earn anything. It's not some quality or virtue that we can produce it as a trusting in the Spirit of God for what he has done.

It relies on divine grace the cause of your salvation market. If you're a Christian, it's not because of your faith. It's because of God's mercy. We don't believe we contribute 1 and that's the faith.

Thomas Hooker the Puritan said God justifies the believing man not for the worthiness of his belief. But for the worthiness of him in whom he believes. Now that will increase your praise. We contribute nothing.

How about this? Let me just read you the verse Acts 18 27. He helped greatly those who had believed through grace. How do you believe you believe through grace and look back at your text Ephesians 2 8 for by grace?

You've been saved through not because of faith and that not of yourself whether it's the faith or all of salvation process. It's not of yourself. It's not of you. It is the gift of God. This by grace through faith salvation is not of ourselves.

Spurgeon said at every point of salvation you just write to you right above what you think you've done not of yourselves. What's the text say it is the gift from God not from anyone else not from your pastor not from yourself.

Not from your mom. It is the gift of God. Are from God. Number 15 number 15. You might think this is self-serving. I Hope you don't think that number 15 the 15th lesson that I've learned as we're wrapping this series up is that God?

Jesus Christ loves preaching. The world says forget preaching. Austin O'Malley said sermons are like pie crust the shorter the better. HL Mankin said what is the function of a clergyman? Answer. He gets his loving but he gets his living by assuring idiots that he can save them from an imaginary hell.

It's a business almost indistinguishable from that of a seller of snake oil for rheumatism. Preaching outmoded preaching. Old preaching is like the Horse and buggy compared to the Conqueror jet. But if you turn your Bibles to Mark chapter 1 let's quickly look at this and you'll see that Jesus loves Preaching.

Jesus has commanded preaching. You ought to love preaching. You ought to love preaching. I remember when I was an unbeliever. I didn't love preaching at all. I wanted that long boring message to get out of there.

And please give me more comedy more humor more illustrations to pop culture and let's get the thing over with. I didn't want to hear. From some boring old book, but then when God gives you faith. He causes you to be born again.

You respond with what I? Got up. You know it's like when I talk to two people and they say I've got like 500 sermons on my iPod and got to get a bigger one so I could put 5 ,000 on there or walking around with sermons or reading books about sermons.

They're listening to sermons. They're coming back on Sunday night for sermons and all of a sudden you say God has given me a desire to want to learn about him through preaching. Jesus loved to preach.

I would go so far to say the primary purpose of Jesus's life on the way to Calvary was to preach. Good news, and if you love Jesus, you'll love preaching. Look at Mark chapter 1 verse 34. One of my all-time favorite accounts if I get to travel to Africa or anyplace else I always talk about this because preaching seems like it's on the way out.

Preaching somehow in our society seems like it's harsh and critical and overbearing. It's a synonym for negative things. Don't you preach to me? Mark chapter 1 if you're an unbeliever here today, you're still gonna look at this and go that is an amazing thing and Jesus Mark 134 healed many who were ill with various diseases and cast out many demons and Jesus was not permitting the demons to speak.

Because they knew who he was. They knew who he was and now we're gonna have a little intermission. Here's kind of a little interlude quiet kind of change of pace. What's happening here? Look at the passage.

In the midst of Jesus a super hectic schedule. Strategically mark says verse 35 very early in the morning. While it was still dark Jesus got up left the house and went off to a solitary place. Where he prayed.

So now the plot is thickening. It's getting kind of quiet and you think what is going on? Why is he doing this? Why is he retreating? He got up very early sometime between 3 a .m. And 6 a .m. It's probably dark out there and at the text says that he had a lengthy protracted time of prayer with the father.

Now put yourself in Simon's shoes. Simon. Look at the next verse. Simon and his companions went to look for him. And when they found him they exclaimed everyone is looking for you. Can you imagine you wake up in the morning?

Simon finds all the crowd of people around because now more sick people are surely there more people who are demon-possessed are surely there. Simon's looking around. This is gonna be another great glorious day.

There's all kind of miracles and I get to be there. I'm on the inside scoop. I'm Peter James and John and I'm the. I'm Peter and this is gonna be great. He looks all around. He says well, there's one important person missing missing and that is Jesus.

Where is he? Go check the room. Go check this room. Go check upstairs. Jesus isn't around the miracle working. Jesus is at your house and a bunch of people are outside who need miracles and you're left.

His forehead was probably getting moisture by the moment. So what do you do? Go get Jesus. I Hate it when I just see this passage and they exclaimed and people preach it like this. Everyone's looking for you.

Everyone's out there looking for you Jesus. Now I can't find out the intonations and the pitch and the voice and the volume. But I guarantee you I would if I was a betting man, I'm not but I would bet this.

Jesus is gone and now Peter Runs around he finally finds him and they exclaim what? Exasperatedly with hands on hip everyone's looking for you, you know, we did that. That's what you would do. The hunt was on release the hounds.

To look for there doesn't even give the NAS is just poor on this. It is an intense word. It means to track down with single-mindedness. You go get him like with a heat-seeking some kind of missile. No deviations.

Go get this Jesus. Everyone's looking for you. More people are at the door. Messiah and you're not there. What do you expect me to do now? You get back there and you start healing them right now. That's the idea.

I think Peter has said things like that before. Now Jesus could have said get thee behind me Satan. He said that to Peter before. What does Jesus say? Does Jesus love preaching? What about these people who are healed physically but spiritually are not forgiven and they go to hell anyway.

Even though they have all their limbs. Even though they can hear even though they can see Jesus replied. Here's a shocking statement. Here comes a slap in the face. Figuratively with a cold hand. Let us go somewhere else to the nearby villages.