Life’s Ultimate “What If?”

April 8, 2012 By revheff in Exposition Tags: deity of Christ, Easter, gospel, judgment, justification, resurrection 1 Comment

Today’s Easter message from 1 Cor. 15:12-20 is now on the web. You can listen to the audio here.

Here is how I summarized the argument in this portion of the epistle:

But here’s the good news. Paul has trafficked in the hypothetical for the purposes of his logical argument in these last eight verses. He has made his point. Denying the reality bodily resurrection results in logically necessary consequences of the most catastrophic kinds – false gospel, futile preaching and faith, fraudulent witness, flourishing sin, forever death, and forlorn-to-the-utmost believers. But none of that is the case! Look at v. 20. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. So we may rightly, and I am indebted to John Piper for this insight, reverse the implications of all six of Paul’s logically necessary consequences. We have no false gospel but a true one with Christ raised from the dead. We have no futile preaching and faith it produces, but full and worthwhile-to-the-max preaching and faith with Christ raised from the dead. We have no fraudulent witness but truthful witness with Christ raised from the dead. We have no flourishing sin but rather fully forgiven sin before God and resurrection power to fight its remaining influences until one day we are completely delivered from this flesh with Christ risen from the dead. We have no forever death but everlasting life and hope of being reunited with all those who have fallen asleep before us with Christ risen from the dead. And we have no forlorn, misplaced, pitiable hope but rather an enviable, blessed-above-all-others kind of hope, even if it costs us our lives, with Christ risen from the dead.

Blessed Easter to all.

We are anything but forlorn! He is risen. He is risen indeed!

Nothing for Which Jesus Cares So Much (Part 7)

April 1, 2012 By revheff in Exposition Tags: deity of Christ, faith, indwelling, obedience, Trinity Leave a comment

Today’s message from John 14:15-24 is now on the web. You can listen to the audio here.

Here is how I tied together the entire passage in our last look at this section of the farewell discourse:

Genuine faith that knows the Father and the Son who is in the Father demonstrates itself through obedience to Christ’s commandments. There is no love for Christ, no genuine belief in God, apart from a treasuring of Christ’s commandments. This alone will suffice for the measuring rod of your faith as to it genuineness. Do you evaluate it in these terms? Christ alone can give you this kind of faith. If you admit your rebellion against him and failure to keep all His commandments and put your trust in His death on the cross for your sins, He will forgive you and He will send you His Holy Spirit to indwell and empower you and He Himself and the Father will indwell you and strengthen you and aid you in every way as well.

Do you wonder if you ever will overcome that besetting sin? There is a Niagara of help in the Godhead. This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith (1 John 5:4). Here is where we must focus in our battle against the flesh. Greater is He who is in you than He who is in the world (1 John 4:4). The good news of the gospel is that because of Christ’s finished work on the cross and His going to the Father, all the resources of the gospel now envelop our hearts and lives. No wonder R. A. Torrey said: I can think of no thought more humbling or more overwhelming that the thought that a person of Divine majesty and glory dwells in my heart and is ready to use even me. He does indeed. One God. Three persons. More than enough for our every need.

On this Palm Sunday may we praise God for the Triune provision that is mutual indwelling and the promise for all we need for a life of treasuring Christ’s commands and walking in obedience to Him.

Nothing for Which Jesus Cares So Much (Part 6)

March 25, 2012 By revheff in Exposition Tags: belief, comfort, deity of Christ, doubt, equipping, faith, resurrection Leave a comment

Today’s message from John 14:15-24 is now on the web. You can listen to the audio here.

Here’s how I summarized the point of the text:

Jesus’ loving care in thoroughly preparing His own for their mission points yet again to His identity as Messiah that we might believe in Him. Indeed there is nothing He cares so much as our faith, genuine faith that treasures and keeps His commandments. And why are they not burdensome, to use 1 John 5:3 language? Because of the Trinitarian provision for our aid in obedience – the gift of the Spirit in helping us, the coming of the Son in the resurrection for assuring us, and next time, Lord willing, we will consider the indwelling of the Father, and not just the Father but the Son as well, both promising to make their home with us. Amazing!

Praise God for the Trinitarian provision for operation-saving-faith-resulting-in-obedience!

Nothing for Which Jesus Cares So Much (Part 2)

February 19, 2012 By revheff in Exposition Tags: authority, character, deity of Christ, faith, farewell discourse, love, mediator, mission, prayer, the name of Jesus Leave a comment

Today’s message from John 14:8-14 is now on the web. You can listen to the audio here. Our apologies for the lesser quality of the audio. We had to resort to a back up recording source due to a glitch with our primary one. Thank you.

Here’s how I summarized the sermon:

So what have we seen as we move further into Jesus’ farewell discourse in this two-part message? Jesus’ loving care in thoroughly preparing His own for their mission points yet again to His identity as Messiah that we might believe in Him. There is nothing for which He cares so much as our faith. For bolstering that faith we look to His continual witness of words and His ongoing witness of works, both the ones He did in the flesh while on earth and the beyond-all-we-can-ask-or-think (Eph. 3:20) works He continues to do through we who believe as we faithfully pray in His name, claiming His authority and reflecting His identity.

So, dear ones, let us ask. There are exceptions, but more than not we do not put God sufficiently to the test. We fail to pray. Let us have praying homes, let us having praying leaders, let us have a praying church, especially when it comes to our mission near and far to engage peoples for pursuing ultimate satisfaction in Jesus. And let us allow the thought that to pray in Jesus’ name means that He is not just the savior of our sins but also the savior of our prayers through His death on the cross too compel us to come boldly especially in praying for the salvation of specific people, the spiritual growth of one another, and whatsoever else may promote the fame of the name of Jesus.

Praise God for the advantages that have come with Jesus at the Father’s right hand including the mighty means of access that is intercessory prayer!

Nothing for Which Jesus Cares So Much (Part 1)

February 14, 2012 By revheff in Exposition Tags: deity of Christ, evidence, faith, love of Christ, signs, Upper Room Discourse, works Leave a comment

Sunday’s message in John 14:8-14 is now on the web. You can listen to the audio here.

Here’s how I summarized the gist of the sermon:

Jesus’ loving care in thoroughly preparing His own for their mission points yet again to His identity as Messiah that we might believe in Him. There is nothing He cares more for in His love for them than their faith. He dogs them with this question do you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Believe, He says, for two rock-solid reasons – His words from the Father and His works for the Father, both done in the flesh and through His followers – even greater works because He goes to the Father.

I should say that I spoke prematurely about the Mark manuscript recently discovered as being actually confirmed as authentic. That is still under consideration. For more information on this significant development click here.

Prelude to a Dying Savior’s Last Words

December 12, 2011 By revheff in Exposition Tags: deity of Christ, failure, faith, glory, grief, guilt, love, prophecy Leave a comment

Sunday’s message from John 13:31-38 is now on the web. You can listen to the audio here.

Here’s how I summarized things:

Because of Jesus’ great care in preparing His own for His departure, we should believe in Him as the Messiah, God’s Son – His pointing to glory both of the Father and the Son, His providing for grief in the New Commandment to love one another, and His protecting from guilt in the predicting and praying through betrayal. Have you put your faith in Jesus as the Messiah? His miraculous works commend Him to you. His astonishing claims do the same. And His compassionate care for His own beckons you to trust Him. No one will ever care for you as thoroughly, lovingly, and completely as Jesus. Believe Him today!

The Encore Message of the Missionary Messiah (Part One)

June 27, 2011 By revheff in Exposition Tags: baptism, darkness, deity of Christ, knowing God, light Leave a comment

Yesterday’s message from John 12:44-50 is now on line. You can listen to the audio here.

Here is how I summarized the passage:

Jesus makes a predominantly positive message here. He promotes the forever benefits of faith in Him as the Messiah. To believe in Him is to know the Father. To believe in Him is to enter His light and escape the darkness. But implicit with the positive comes the negative, the flipside of the coin. Not to believe in Him is not to know the Father. And not to believe in Him, to reject Him, means not to enter the light but remain in the domain of darkness. That leads to our third forever consequence of belief in Jesus as the Messiah. But it – deliverance from the judgment, along with the fourth – observance of the commandment, will have to wait until next time.

Praise God for the baptisms that God gave us as real-life examples of not remaining in darkness but walking in the light of Christ!

A Greek Guide to Getting Close to Jesus (Part One)

March 27, 2011 By revheff in Exposition Tags: belief, deity of Christ, discipleship, Evangelism, faith, salvation, seeking Jesus Leave a comment

Today’s message from John 12:20-26 is now on the website. You can listen to the audio here.

My synopsis of the text was as follows:

The Spirit of God working through John wants us to go with the Greeks. He would have us express the same desire – we would see Jesus. He means for us to take our cue from them. He wants us to believe in Jesus in light of their example, as He does with everything else He shows us in the gospel from the signs Jesus did to the things He said (John 20:30-31).

Let me put it in the form of a theme as always. Follow the Greeks’ lead in seeking Jesus toward believing in Him as the Messiah. You will need four things from their example if you want to get somewhere close in proximity that their search brought them: deliberately focused intentions for Jesus, directly engaged connections to Jesus, dramatically altered perceptions of Jesus, and decidedly shared affections with Jesus.

I mentioned a link to an interview with Mark Dever of 9 Marks called Culture of Discipling that gives some great principles for doing the second of these things from the Greeks’ example. I highly recommend it. You can listen to that audio program here.

May this be a week where we draw closer to Jesus and help others do the same!

Faith’s Ultimate Display (Part Two)

February 27, 2011 By revheff in Exposition Tags: belief, deity of Christ, devotion, fear of man, giving, humility, spiritual insight Leave a comment

Today’s message from John 12:1-11 is now on the web. You can listen to the audio here.

Here’s how I closed the sermon:

So, do we get it? Compared to Mary we have so much more to go on this side of the cross! If we do get it, if we understand the truth of what Jesus has done and it grips us such that we believe in Him as the Messiah, our Savior, it will lead to commitment marked like hers with even extravagant devotion – intensely personal, financially sacrificial, extremely deferential, publically unconventional, and spiritually insightful attachment.

Oswald Chambers, in My Utmost for His Highest, said this:

There is only one relationship that matters, and that is your personal relationship to a personal Redeemer and Lord. Let everything else go, but maintain that at all costs, and God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purpose, and yours may be that life.

Let everything else go, but maintain your personal relationship to Jesus at all costs.

How Read You the Signs?

February 13, 2011 By revheff in Exposition Tags: belief, deity of Christ, hardness of heart, miracles, rejection, signs 2 Comments

Today’s message from John 11:45-57 is now on the web. You can listen to the audio here.

Here’s how I closed the sermon:

The divided reactions to Jesus’ signs challenge us to examine our own that we might believe in Him. Many believed. Some rejected. Jesus withdrew. Others reflected. Where do you see yourself in these closing paragraphs of John 11? Are you like the many who believed? Have you seen the Son of God in His works and words and come to Him to do His bidding like Lazarus, Martha, and Mary? Or are you more like those who rejected, even conspired against Jesus? Either way He will use you. One way or another He will accomplish His purposes through you. Do you want it only to occur unwittingly? I hope not. Trust in Christ today that He might work in partnership with you as opposed to sovereignly in spite of you. How read you the signs?