Sermon (video): The Holiness of God (Isaiah 6:3)

What does it mean when the Bible says that God is holy? What does God's holiness mean for you and me? The answers to those questions may be much more relevant and rewarding than you think!

In fact, any substantial movement of God among His people has always included this truth. Listen to this sermon as Pastor Matt points out that the holiness of God means that:
1) God is set apart from sin
2) God is set apart from His creation
3) Jesus sets us apart for God

To view the sermon, click here.

Powerful Christianity

On June 13, 2011, my family was vacationing in a church member's condo on the Atlantic Ocean a few miles north of the Kennedy Space Center. We had been to NASA once before but enjoyed it so much that we wanted to visit again. So, we hopped in the car and made the trip.

As we made our way through the complex, we visited the IMAX theater and saw some Hubble telescope pictures of the universe. Through the technology of 3D, we 'traveled' through space to visit stars and galaxies thousands of light years away. We saw pictures of former astronauts. We viewed life size models of rockets and moon vehicles. We also read posters and plaques that contained the rich history of NASA.

But, there was one 'machine' that was the crowning achievement of NASA. It was the Space Shuttle. The incredible technology of that machine and it's massive power are enough to cause an overwhelming sense of awe to overcome anyone who watches it launch.

While we were there, we took some pictures of our boys near some Shuttle models. The picture to the  right shows a 5 years old Joseph standing in front of a fiberglass model. It sure looked a lot like the Space Shuttle on the outside but everyone knew it wasn't the real deal. There were no tiles on the underside of the glider. The 'windows' on the glider were obviously just decals. But, it looked enough like the Space Shuttle for Joseph to enjoy posing with it for a picture.

Then, we saw another Space Shuttle model that had an opening in the right side that allowed people to enter it and look around. It looked much more real! It appeared to be life size. The windows for the cockpit were simply painted on but it had tiles on its underbelly that made it's appearance seem much more authentic. 

Yet, even this space shuttle wasn't real! NASA couldn't take it to the launch pad and send it into space. It had the appearance of reality but it clearly lacked the power.

But then, we took a bus ride to a tower near Launch Pad 39A. We took quite a few flights of stairs and then saw a breathtaking scene! Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-135) was sitting on the launch pad. It would be the very last Space Shuttle to be sent into space.

You can't see it too good in this picture because it was also covered up to protect it from the weather until launch day. (Click on the picture to the left to increase it's size. The top of the orange main fuel tank is visible.) Yet, the scene brought an overwhelming sense of awe that the fake Shuttle models we had seen earlier in the day just didn't produce.

Why? Because the Space Shuttle sitting out on the launch pad was the real deal and it had raw power. It wasn't a fake. It didn't just appear to be real. It was completely authentic! And it had the power to prove it!

Christianity is like that. There are some whose 'religion' is just about appearance. They just put on an outer show to impress others. They try to live a good life, at least good enough for others to think highly of them. Yet, they lack the real internal power to live out a life pleasing to the Lord.

Followers of Christ are supposed to have power. Romans 1:16 says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believers..." Yet, the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy and warned him in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 that in the last days of earth's history, people would "(have) the appearance of godliness, but denying its power..." (v. 5)

That simply means that in an increasingly sinful world (see verses 1-4), there will be those who appear to be followers of Jesus who have never truly been saved. Outwardly, they appear godly. But inside, there has been no heart change. They haven't turned their back on sin and surrendered their life to Jesus. The Holy Spirit is not within them bringing about powerful, life change to make them more like Jesus.

When you boil it all down, that's really how you and I know if we're saved. It's not whether we act like a Christian and everyone else thinks we are saved. It's whether we have the power of Jesus working inside us to make us more like Him. If we don't, we'll never spend eternity in Heaven.

Those fake Space Shuttles were really useless when it came to taking the ride into space. Yet, the Space Shuttle Atlantis was the real deal. It had incredible power at work inside of it! A few days after I took the pictures of it sitting on the launch pad, it took the ride into the heavens much like the video below of a Space Shuttle Atlantis launch I took four years previous.

So ... are you the real deal? Is your "Christianity" only about externals? Are you content that you attend church periodically, put money in the offering plate, offer up a couple of short prayers throughout the day, spend a few minutes in your Bible, etc. Or is your Christianity vibrant because you are enjoying walking through this life with God's Holy Spirit inside of you providing the power to enable you to become more like Jesus?

The answer to that question determines whether or not you will one day, when you walk through death's door, launch into the heavens!



Sermon (video): God's Pattern for Revival (Isaiah 6:1-8)

So your spiritual life has grown stale? It's been awhile since your time in the Bible has really been fun? It's been far too long since you've actually enjoyed praying? You feel unable to overcome the temptations in your life? And you sense that there's GOT to be more to the Christian life than what you're experiencing?

This sermon shows the relevance of Isaiah 6:1-8 as the answer to how we get right with God. It is the pattern that God has used through the centuries to bring individuals and groups back to Him. It's how we get our joy and effectiveness back.

Click here to view the sermon.

Sermon (video): Maintaining our First Love (Revelation 2:1-7)

Did you know that it is quite possible that Jesus could remove His hand of blessing from a church even if it was 1) theologically correct, 2) busy in ministry, and 3) enduring persecution for their faith? It is in Revelation 2:1-7 that we realize just how important it is to maintain our first love for Jesus. If we don't, nothing else really matters. This sermon delves into why it is so important to fan into flame a passion for Jesus.

This sermon was preached at Westside Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky on April 28, 2013. The occasion was "Call Sunday", the day that the pastoral candidate, Matt Ellis, preached for Westside. At the conclusion of the service, the congregation voted to call him as their pastor with a 99.5% vote.

To view the worship service in its entirety, click here.

Recipe for the Demise of a Nation

Over and over in the Old Testament, we see how nations rose and nations fell. If we had lived in those cities/nations, we may have suspected (like we do today) that they declined because of poor leadership, or an inferior military, or bad fiscal policies, etc. Yet, through the vantage point that the Old Testament provides us, we realize that there is always a spiritual aspect to it. God tended to bless nations that complied with His commands and tear down nations that did not.

As we approach the New Testament, we come to a text that is incredible in regard to this topic. God essentially gives us the step-by-step process that nations take as they fall into anarchy (and thus their own demise). The four step process (that seems to be a 'general' rule) is as follows.

Ingredient 1: They serve other gods (Romans 1:18-23)

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things."

Simply put, people and nations who act as if there is no God who rules supremely cannot claim ignorance. Creation itself testifies to the fact that there must be a God. Yet, people/nations willfully choose to act as if He doesn't exist. Rather than have God as the One they enjoy and serve, they live their lives for themselves and go after other things (i.e. power, possessions, prestige, entertainment, gluttony, drunkenness, etc.)

But, once we throw off the restraints of God's commands, we begin to slide down the slippery slope of immorality that leads to our own destruction.

Ingredient 2: They participate in sexual immorality (Romans 1:24-25)

"Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen."

In search of fulfillment and enjoyment, a society who has thrown off the restraints of God's Word will find itself in a sexual revolution (think 1920's and 1960's in America). Rather than valuing the human body, it becomes an object capable of satisfying one's selfish desires outside the confines of marriage.

Ingredient 3: They approve and practice homosexuality (Romans 1:26-27)

"For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error."

Since in a deteriorating society, norms for what constitutes a right sexual relationship are increasingly non-existent, its citizens will continue to push the envelope. Homosexuality is approved and practiced by a growing number of people in that society. (Think America in the 1990's and beyond.)

Finally, Ingredient 4: They obtain worthless minds (Romans 1:28-32)

"And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them."

 

The end result of this whole process is what one would expect. If truth and righteousness are abandoned, who makes up the rules? Society? Well, we've seen in American society that our rules/norms keep changing. What wasn't approved in the last decade is embraced in this one.

 

So, as society continues sliding down the slippery slope of immorality, anarchy becomes a very real possibility. Governments will need to take serious measures to maintain control. Does that sound far fetched? Then why does it seem that as our country has clearly made it to step 3 (embraced homosexuality) that we are also hearing that our country is talking about stricter gun laws for its citizens, drone flyovers of American cities, collection of citizen data from places like Google, etc.?

 

If we don't turn back as a nation soon, we will run full steam into the wall of God's wrath. The question remains as to whether enough of God's children are willing to apply the truths of 2 Chronicles 7:14 in time.  "If my people who are called by name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." Only then is there any possibility of hope!

 

Will Jesus be the only 'imperfect' one in Heaven?

By 'imperfect,' I am not speaking of Jesus' moral qualities. I am also not speaking of His Deity. As God the Son, He is morally perfect and perfectly God in every way.
 
I am using the word 'imperfect' in it's loosest sense by speaking of Jesus' appearance. When something is broken or showing signs of wear, someone could easily describe it as 'imperfect.' It evidences qualities that veer from the beholder's ideal standard and so it is called 'imperfect.'
 
So, at present (and possibly for eternity), does Jesus veer from what we would consider 'perfect' in His appearance? Believe it or not, answering 'yes' to that question isn't necessarily a wrong answer. Let me show you why...
 
Three days after Jesus' crucifixion, He rose from the dead. Acts 1:3 tells us that Jesus mingled with His disciples for 40 days before ascending to the Father. During that time, He had a resurrection body but it was body that was very similar to our own physical bodies (Mary Magdalene initially thought He was just a gardener [John 20:15]; the disciples on the road to Emmaus initially saw nothing unusual about Him [Luke 24:13-35]; etc.)
 
In fact, Luke 24:36-43 provides a conversation that Jesus had with His disciples in which He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that His resurrection body was a physical body similar to the ones they had:
 
"As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, 'Peace to you!' But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, 'Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.' And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, 'Have you anything here to eat?' They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them."
 
Jesus made sure that His disciples recognized that He had a physical body very similar to theirs. This is a very important point for many, many reasons. Yet, I want to focus upon the fact that it was in this physical, immortal, incorruptible body that Jesus was taken into Heaven (Mark 16:19; Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:9-11). The body He had post-resurrection was the body that went to Heaven.
 
Well, did the body that Jesus took to Heaven have something that, in appearance, would seem to be 'imperfect?' Apparently, Thomas (one of Jesus' disciples) believed so. As Thomas showed up to a gathering, some of the disciples tried to convince him that Jesus had risen from the dead and that they had seen Him. Thomas made it clear to everyone present that only one thing would enable him to believe that Jesus had truly risen from the dead. Listen to what he said:
 
John 20:25 "So the other disciples told him, 'We have seen the Lord.' But he said to them, 'Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.'"
 
Jesus showed up a week later and didn't disappoint Thomas.
 
John 20:26-28 - "Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.' Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.' Thomas answered him, 'My Lord and my God!'"
 
What was it about Jesus' hands and side that would have caused Thomas to recognize beyond any doubt whatsoever that it was Jesus who stood before him? The nail scars and the scar where the spear pierced his side (John 19:34). In His glorified, resurrection body, Jesus still had the scars from His crucifixion.

The question remains, "As He resides in Heaven now, does He still have the scars?"

All we need do to answer that question is go the book of Revelation. In chapter 5, John was permitted to see Heaven's throne as the Tribulation Period was about to begin. A call goes out to have someone who is worthy to open the scroll and release the judgments upon planet earth. No one approaches and John begins to weep. But, one of the elders told John to stop crying. Jesus was about to approach the throne and take the scroll. But listen to how Jesus is described in that Heavenly, future scene ...

Revelation 5:6-10 - "And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.'" [emphasis mine].

 

Jesus is described in this Heavenly scene as a Lamb that looked like it had been slain (the original Greek word could be translated 'slaughtered'). Jesus, in this scene, still wears the scars from His crucifixion.

 

Could it be that Jesus will have those scars for all of eternity? Maybe.

 

Could it be that if He does, they will be a constant reminder of the love that God had for us? Maybe.

 

Could those scars be a constant reminder that we were not worthy of such a high price and so we are moved to unimaginable gratitude and unparalleled worship for eternity? Maybe, just maybe.

Birthplace of the SBC Cooperative Program

Southern Baptists are a busy people! Whether it is international or local missions, or whether it is feeding and clothing those ravaged by natural disasters, or whether it is training the next generation of leaders in our colleges and seminaries, etc. etc. etc., we are a busy people!

But these things don't just happen. They cost money. And they cost a whole lot more than any one congregation can provide. Yet, Southern Baptists found a way to fund these endeavors through the Cooperative Program. As we collect tithes and offerings to do ministry in our local congregations and its ministries to the surrounding community and beyond, we pool our monies with other like-minded congregations to fund ministries that no one congregation could fund on its own. What we cannot do individually, we can do together!

Well, where did this incredible program begin? Look at these pictures I took on my run this morning...

Southern Baptist history is rich in Murray, Kentucky.