“The 3:16’s” – 2 Timothy 3:16

Some years ago I took a vacation to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.  If you have never been there, you should go.  It is just incredible.  Texas has some beautiful country but this is almost like being on another planet.  It not only has incredible beauty and wildlife but it has hot springs and geysers and boiling, bubbling pools of mud or sulphur everywhere you go through the park.

I saw all kinds of deer, antelope, buffalo, birds, fish and even a black bear.  All through the park there are signs about how to treat the wildlife.  Warning signs are all over the place, especially about the buffalo and the bear.  All the signs say not to get any closer than 100 yards to the bears.  You have to put all your food in your camp in these special bear bins to keep the bears out.  They take safety very seriously especially when it comes to bears.

One day as I was driving through, I noticed that a bunch of cars had pulled over to the side and everybody was looking at something off the road in this meadow.  So I pulled over too thinking it was probably just a deer or something.  As I pulled over a park ranger was getting out of his vehicle too so I knew it must be something big.  Sure enough there was a black bear about 200 yards off the road.

The bear was just easing his way through the meadow eating berries or whatever he could find.  Everybody is taking pictures of course but this one lady is walking toward the bear as she is videoing him.  And she is beginning to get pretty close.  She is obviously looking through the camera and not where she is going because she starts to get within 100 yards of the bear and the park ranger starts to holler at her.

But she is not listening.  She’s just walking straight toward the bear and now the bear sees her and starts to alter his course to stay away from the crazy woman.  But she keeps walking and now the ranger is practically screaming at her.  All her friends are hollering and even the bear is giving her dirty looks.  But she keeps on just marching straight toward the bear.  Finally, she gets to what I would guess is about 40-50 feet and the bear that had been trying to ease away from her has had enough and he just takes 2 giant leaps toward her and I don’t know how close he was but if he had wanted to the bear could easily have had her for lunch.  But he didn’t want to hurt her.  He just wanted to be left alone.

As you can imagine, the woman finally gets the hint and she screams and throws her camera and runs as fast as she can toward the ranger and practically jumps in his arms.  Well, he went to loudly telling her how much trouble she was nearly in even though, at this point, I’m pretty sure she understood.  I don’t remember what all the ranger said to her but I remember her sobbing and telling him over and over again, “I didn’t know! I didn’t know!”

I remember thinking how foolish that sounded.  Every 3 feet there was a sign warning about bears and not to get too close to them.  All of the literature in the park talked about bear safety.  And the park ranger literally screamed at her over and over again.  “I didn’t know.  I didn’t know.”  Needless to say, nobody felt very sorry for her.  But I bet her camera has some great video on it, especially the last 2 seconds where it was thrown 20 feet in the air and then crushed by a bear paw.

I wonder how many times God is going to hear those words, “I didn’t know!  I didn’t know!”  And how many times is He going to say to someone, “I tried to tell you.  I told you through your friends, through creation. I sent my prophets.  I sent my Son.  I even wrote it all down for you in a best-selling book.” And yet there have always been and there will always be people who say they did not know.

If you want to know something about someone, what better way to learn about them than to read something they have written? When Hitler started to gain power in Germany and started making speeches, I understand he was very eloquent and easy to listen to. People were enamored with how he spoke and the way he seemed to connect with his audience. But had they read his book Mein Kampf they would easily have seen his anti-Semitism and racial prejudice.

And if you want to focus on Jesus then what better way to get to know Him and what He would have us do than to read the book inspired by God Himself? So, as we continue our sermon series entitled “The 3:16’s”, let’s do just that. Let’s read what this inspired book has to say about this inspired book. And through this look at 2 Timothy 3:16, we can adjust our focus onto Jesus. Why? Because a focus on Jesus will change this church and a Jesus-focused church will change the world.

Read 2 Timothy 3:16. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

As usual, Paul has a way of saying in one sentence more than most of us will say in a lifetime. Paul is writing to his young friend Timothy who is now the pastor of the church in Ephesus that Paul had started and Paul is writing to him to encourage him and give him some help in knowing what he should do.

Being a young pastor, I’m sure Timothy welcomed the letter from an older, wiser brother. I can picture Timothy, who I am sure had never pastored a church before, suddenly being turned to to answer all kinds of questions and this one sentence was probably the best piece of advice he could have gotten.

You know the old saying that there is no such thing as a dumb question. Well, I think sometimes people take that as a challenge. I remember when I first told people I was called to be the pastor here. I had several people ask me the craziest questions. What is Satan’s last name? Are there cowboys and Indians in the Bible? Did Jesus fly like Superman? I would ask them what they thought the Bible said and they didn’t know. They just wanted me to tell them.

And today when people ask me what I think they should do about this situation or that relationship I try to always start by asking them what the Bible says about it. And since the Bible is a guidebook and not a rulebook, it may not answer the question of “Should I buy a new car or a used one?” but it will give you the guidelines you need to make wise decisions. And do you know why the Bible is a wise guidebook? Because it is God-breathed. I want to look at that word first and then we will see how we can use it to focus on Jesus.

“Theopneustas” is the word in Greek according to my concordance. Theo means God and pneustas means breathed. Like a pneumatic tire has air blown into it, the Bible was revealed and inspired by God. Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Adam was theopneustas; he was God-breathed.

Well now, that’s just absolutely fascinating there pastor but how is that going to help me to focus on Jesus? Well, let me ask you something. If you want to know Jesus better; if you want to learn more about Him and become more like Him then what should you do? I would recommend getting closer to Him. I think we better start working on our righteousness to get closer to the One Who is righteous.

And what better way to work on our righteousness than to study the God-breathed book that is useful for training, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness? The great commentator Warren Wiersbe uses this outline for this verse and I want to expound on each word using this outline. He says teaching (or doctrine) shows us what is right, rebuking shows us what is not right, correcting shows us how to get right and training shows us how to stay right.

In the Antarctic summer of 1908-9, Sir Ernest Shackleton and three companions attempted to travel to the South Pole from their winter quarters. They set off with four ponies to help carry the load. Weeks later, their ponies dead, rations all but exhausted, they turned back toward their base, their goal not accomplished.

Altogether, they trekked 127 days. On the return journey, as Shackleton records in The Heart of the Antarctic, the time was spent talking about food -- elaborate feasts, gourmet delights, sumptuous menus. As they staggered along, suffering from dysentery, not knowing whether they would survive, every waking hour was occupied with thoughts of eating. Jesus, who also knew the ravages of food deprivation, said,

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for RIGHTEOUSNESS." We can understand Shackleton's obsession with food, which offers a glimpse of the passion Jesus intends for our quest for righteousness. www.sermonillustrations.com

If you want to be right before God then you absolutely have to know what is right. You have to know what the right thing to do is. And for most people trying to figure out what God says is right means a lifetime of frustration.  Trying to figure out what they should do in any given circumstance, even for Christians, can sometimes seem almost impossible.

A bishop of a century ago pronounced from his pulpit and in the periodical he edited that heavier-than-air flight was both impossible and contrary to the will of God. Oh, the irony that Bishop Wright had two sons, Orville and Wilbur! Wright was wrong. Sure of himself, but wrong. Robert P. Dugan, Jr., Winning the New Civil War, Page 38.

But we are told right here in our verse that all scripture is useful for teaching or for knowing what is right.  One problem people have is this:  they grab the Bible and open it to a certain book and expect their questions to be answered in italics on that page.  Almost as bad is having a favorite verse and relying on it to be the answer to all your questions. 

One of my favorites is Proverbs 3:5-6 that says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and he will make your paths straight.”

I encourage people all the time to read, study and apply that verse when they have questions but even it can be misused if all you do is use that verse.  What?  How is that Todd?  Well if all you do is trust God to make your path straight and you never actually get off the couch and start to walk down that path then you will not know where to place your next step.  And that may sound trivial to you but the secret to knowing what is right is to use “all scripture” as Paul says here.

What does the whole canon of scripture tell you to do?  Don’t grab one or two verses and expect to be spoken to by God.  Can you imagine if young David had shown up to the battlefield and had seen Goliath and just said, “Well, I’m just going to trust the Lord”?  What David did was trust in the Lord but then he went and got 5 stones and took off running toward Goliath.

All scripture is theopneustas, God-breathed, and is useful for training.  So use all of scripture to learn what is right.  It also says that all scripture is useful for rebuking or reproof which is knowing what is not right.  And just like with training or knowing what is right, knowing what is not right will require the whole canon of scripture as well.  But when it comes to knowing what is not right (and this applies some to training as well) can I focus your attention on the 10 Commandments for a minute?

And as soon as I say “10 Commandments” you say, “Todd, Todd, Todd, that is so Old Testament.  We don’t live under the Law anymore!”  And you are very right.  It is very Old Testament and we don’t live under the Law but that means we are not saved by the Law.  It doesn’t mean the Law has no value.  Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 that He didn’t come to abolish the law but to fulfill it.  And when the rich young ruler came to Jesus in Matthew 19, Jesus wanted to know if he had kept the Law.

And when you have a question about something in your own life; when you don’t know which way to turn, the 10 Commandments and the whole Mosaic Law is a great place to start still today.  Should I spend money on this thing?  Well, will it become something that you put before God?  Should I marry this person?  #7 is “Do not commit adultery”.  Should I start this hobby or apply for this job?  Keep the Sabbath holy.  If it breaks one of those rules, I guarantee you that the answer is no, don’t do it.

And when used in conjunction with the whole canon of scripture, the teachings of Moses, David, Paul, Jesus and all the others, you have your strong foundation on which to build your life, knowing what is right and what is not right.  All scripture is useful for teaching, rebuking and correcting.  Correcting means knowing how to get right.  We have seen how to know what is right and what is not right but sometimes we need to know how to get right.

The word translated “correcting” in our passage means to restore to a right state.  A few years ago, an angry man rushed through the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam until he reached Rembrandt's famous painting "Nightwatch." Then he took out a knife and slashed it repeatedly before he could be stopped. A short time later, a distraught, hostile man slipped into St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome with a hammer and began to smash Michelangelo's beautiful sculpture The Pieta. Two cherished works of art were severely damaged. But what did officials do? Throw them out and forget about them? Absolutely not! Using the best experts, who worked with the utmost care and precision, they made every effort to restore the treasures.  Swindoll, The Quest For Character, Multnomah, p. 49.

And why did they restore those treasures?  They restored them because they were treasures.  They are precious and wonderful and meaningful.  And that is exactly how God feels about you.  And do you know that is the most wonderful bit of knowledge you can have when you need to be restored?  And we are told this all through the Bible.  The scriptures are useful for restoration because not only is it a guidebook and we can know what is right and what is not right but it is also a big ol’ fat love note to every one of us.

When you or somebody else needs to be restored back to a loving relationship with Jesus then there is no better word of encouragement than to simply tell somebody (or even to remind yourself) that Jesus loves you.  The simplest of children’s songs is, as usual, the most powerful.  “Jesus loves me this I know.  For the Bible tells me so.”  I can’t say anything more powerful or more important than that when you need to know how to get right.

Lastly, we see that all scripture is useful for training or instruction.  It is useful for knowing how to stay right.  We have seen how it is useful for knowing what is right and what is not right and for knowing how to get right.  How is the Bible, all scripture, useful for knowing how to stay right?

Earlier I said that if you want to know something about someone, what better way to learn about them than to read something they have written?  And if you want to know something about staying right then that is exactly what we are doing right now.  Who better to ask about staying right than the Apostle Paul himself?  In fact in just a few more verses from here in chapter 4, verses 6-7, Paul says, “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

This is probably Paul’s last letter he ever wrote.  He knows his time is short and he wants Timothy to follow his example.  What is it about Paul that allowed him to stay right all those years?  Paul had an encounter with the one, true living God.  And that encounter led to a life-long relationship with Jesus.  Paul’s focus was on Jesus.  His writings were about Jesus.  His passion was for Jesus.  And because his passion and focus was on Jesus, it changed his life.  And because it changed his life, Paul’s life was spent, poured out, changing the world. And it can change your life too.  It can change your world if you will just let it.  Accept Jesus into your life today.  He loves you and He died to have a relationship with you.

“The 3:16’s” – 1 Timothy 3:16

"When she was just a girl / she expected the world / But it flew away from her reach / And the bullets catch in her teeth / Life goes on, it gets heavy / The wheel breaks the butterfly."– Coldplay “Paradise”

You cannot go against nature Because when you do Go against nature It's part of nature too Our little lives get complicated It's a simple thing Simple as a flower And that's a complicated thing - Love and Rockets “No New Tale To Tell”

“Cosmic systems intertwine / Astral bodies drip like wine Comets shoot across the sky / Can't explain the reasons why / I like to singy singy singy / Like a bird on a wingy wingy wingy." –Madonna “Impressive Instant”

Just one more I promise: Louie Louie, oh no Me gotta go Aye-yi-yi-yi, I said Louie Louie, oh baby Me gotta go - The Kingsmen – Louie Louie

No, I have not started taking some kind of drug that I should not be taking. Those are actual lyrics to popular songs along all kinds of popular genre. What’s scary is that I know some of you were singing along as I read those. You may need to find a good hobby. When they say, “They don’t write ‘em like that anymore” it’s not always a bad thing.

It just proves that nowadays you can have a hit song with words that make no sense at all. But it hasn’t always been that way. I would love to have heard the Psalms written by David and the others being sung in the original language and accompanied by the harps, flutes and other musical instruments that they had.

When we get to heaven, I want David to play some of those old gems and let us all sing along. Won’t that be fun? You know what? Then we can get the band Casting Crowns to play that song we did first this morning, “Glorious Day”. Can you imagine singing along with David to “One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
One day the stone rolled away from the door
Then He arose, over death He had conquered
Now He's ascended, my Lord evermore
Death could not hold Him, the grave could not keep Him
From rising again”?

And while we have lots of Old Testament hymns in the book of Psalmsand we all have our favorite modern music that we enjoy worshiping with, we don’t know a lot about what the first church did for music. We do know some but not much. And if it weren’t for Paul we wouldn’t have much of anything.

We read last week in Colossians 3:16 that we are to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songswhich I didn’t have time to look at in detail last week. But I will say this that Paul was telling us to use all kinds of music in our worship including using instruments because the word interpreted “psalm” there means a song accompanied by plucking a stringed instrument with your fingers. Sorry Church of Christ friends but I’ll go with what Paul says.

And in our passage today we see an actual excerpt from one of their hymns that the first church would have used in their worship. It was evidently a song they all would have known and while the music is lost forever, the beautiful and powerful words are captured forever in 1 Timothy chapter 3. Paul wrote two letters to his friend and co-worker Timothy who was at this time pastor of the church at Ephesus.

Paul had started this church in his missionary journeys but left Timothy there to deal with the problems that would come up and so later on he wrote a personal letter to Timothy just to let him know what he needed to do. Can you imagine getting a letter in the mail from Paul? Can you imagine Paul sending us a letter to Christ Fellowship telling this church what we needed to be doing? You would pay pretty close attention, wouldn’t you? Well, here it is and it might as well be entitled First and Second Christ Fellowship. So let’s look closer at the beautiful song written in the letter just to us in 1 Timothy 3:14-16.

“Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, ¹⁵ if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. ¹⁶ Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great:

He appeared in the flesh,
was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.”

I want to start by saying that there is, as usual with Paul, a lot here. And I will not be able to do it justice and couldn’t if I had a month of Sundays but we will be able to discuss some of it more in detail tonight at 6 pm. Some of you that have been around a while know that there is just something special about Sunday nights at Christ Fellowship and there always has been.

But this morning we continue with the 4^th installment of our series entitled,“The 3:16’s” as we move through several books of the New Testament looking at the third chapter and 16^th verse and supporting verses, in an effort to ensure the focus of this church is always on Jesus. And it is evident that Paul wanted that first church to have their focus on Jesus as well and that Paul knew that a focus on Jesus would change that church and that a Jesus-focused church would change the world. And that is exactly what happened.

What is it about music? What is it that moves and beats and breathes and lives inside of a person? Whether it is Beethoven or Van Halen, music has a way of changing people; their attitudes, their outlooks, their very lives. Without music life would be lacking. Martin Luther said, quote, "The devil takes flight at the sound of music, just as he does at the words of theology, and for this reason the prophets always combined theology and music, the teaching of truth and the chanting of Psalms and hymns. After theology, I give the highest place and greatest honor to music." Unquote.

And when you combine music with theology as Paul has done here then you unleash a force to be reckoned with. You unleash a song about the birth, life, death, burial and resurrection of the most powerful Entity in the universe in just whose name is the power to give life. In fact, if you notice, Paul doesn’t even have to include the name of Jesus and no one would ever mistake it.

Paul says here that the way for people to live and to conduct themselves in church is to focus on Jesus. And he says in verse 16 that it is a mystery. According to my commentaries, the word mystery in the original Greek wasmusterion and it meant something a little different than it does now. It meant something that was revealed to the elect; to the initiated or to the predetermined ones. And for true believers and disciples of Jesus we know

He appeared in a body,
was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.

And as believers we know this but it is one thing to know with your head and it is another to have a relationship with the One true God through His Son Jesus and we can have that relationship because He appeared in the flesh. Somebody please explain to me in simple English how that happened, would you please? Explain how God can become man born of a woman; a baby with needs, a child with fears, a teenager with desires and a man who knew no sin. You can’t explain that. It is a mystery that has been revealed to us, though. And we believe. And it is through that belief that we have a relationship with Him.

It says He was vindicated by the Spirit. Vindicate means to corroborate, justify or prove. Jesus was proved to be God by the Spirit in everything He did and everything He said. Even as a child, as it says in Luke 2:47 that, “Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.” As a man there were many times that He said it didn’t matter what Moses said or what the Law said or what anybody else said, but when Jesus said, “I say unto you…” people knew He spoke with authority and that authority was the very Spirit of God.

It was that same Spirit that came down on Him in the baptismal waters of the Jordan where Matthew 3says, “the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighted on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” InJohn 16:14, Jesus said, “The Spirit will glorify me…” Like a spotlight that is not seen itself but makes known something else, the Spirit’s role is to point to Jesus, to vindicate Jesus and to focus our attention on Jesus. What else did the spirit vindicate? Absolutely nothing. Jesus is unique; the One and Only.

When it says next that He was seen by angels most of us think that was not that big of a deal in the scheme of things. Of course they had seen Him. He was and is and always will be just like God the Father and the Spirit. Jesus existed before the angels were created. Of course they knew Him. But I want you to turn to the last book of the Bible; to Revelation chapter 5 and read with me there what the angels saw.

Revelation 5:1-12 says, “Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” ³ But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. ⁴ I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. ⁵ Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”⁶ Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.⁸ And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. ¹⁰ You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” ¹¹Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. ¹² In a loud voice they were saying:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”

The angels were used to seeing Jesus in Heaven. They were used to the Trinity; the Father, Son and Spirit being One. They saw Jesus on earth. They ministered to Him at times. They were there from His birth until they rolled the stone away from His tomb. But in this passage in Revelation we see the angels see Jesus in a whole new way. Even they didn’t know Who would open the scrolls but you can just see and hear the adoration in their voices. Finally! Finally One Who is worthy! Worthy is the Lamb!

It says He was preached among the nations. He was seen by the angels and preached among the nations. And to us, that’s again no big deal. Lots of things are preached today. To preach just means to proclaim and what are some things proclaimed? Turn on the TV and you will be proclaimed to about everything in the world. Every product is the best and you need it now to make your life complete. Just call this number today.

And while some of that stuff may be good and powerful for lifting dog hair out of the carpet or removing gray from your hair and cleaning the soap scum out of the shower, the real power is in the name of Jesus. Think about it. Romans 10:14 says, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, known as "the prince of preachers," felt he delivered his sermon so poorly one Sunday that he was ashamed of himself. As he walked away from his church, the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, he wondered how any good could come from that message. When he arrived home, he dropped to his knees and prayed, "Lord God, You can do something with nothing. Bless that poor sermon."

In the months that followed, 41 people said that they had decided to trust Christ as Savior because of that "weak" message. The following Sunday, to make up for his previous "failure," Spurgeon had prepared a "great" sermon -- but no one responded. http://www.sermonillustrations.com/

Aren’t you glad that it’s not by the power or eloquence or lack of from the preacher that makes a great sermon? I sure am. All God asks is that you preach. He will make it powerful. He will change lives through your words. And He will allow those words to be believed on in the world. And that is the next point. 1 Co. 1:21 says, “God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.” And when Paul says in our passage this morning that Jesus was believed on in the world, it is a multi-faceted mystery or musterion.

It is a mystery that God uses us to preach His Word and His Son and it is a mystery that anyone believes. Our hearts are so hard and we are so proud but think about the crowd that was being preached to in those days. At Pentecost, (Acts 2) Peter preached the Word of God about His Son Jesus. And do you remember what happened? Of all people, Peter! Don’t you know the other apostles winced when ol’ Pete stood up and opened his mouth? What is he going to say this time?

His audience was the very people who had just recently crucified and killed Jesus and now Peter the loud-mouth; Peter the untrained; Peter the fisherman stands up, proclaims what he knows about Jesus and something happens! Peter goes from being all those things to being just Peter the preacher. And not because of anything in him but through the power of the One in Whom he preached, 3,000 people were saved and added to the church. 3000 people believed.

And lastly, we see that Jesus was taken up in glory. He was dead on the cross and buried in a tomb but He rose again just like He said He would. And just like He said in John 14 He has gone to prepare a place for us; for me and for you. He said, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” That’s too much! I can’t comprehend that. It’s too much of a mystery for me to understand. But because He has proven Himself true and He has proven Himself faithful, righteous and holy…I believe Him.

And because I believe Him; because I believe in Him and because I believe everything the Bible says about Jesus my focus has been changed. In fact, my life has been changed. I am a new creation. I am forgiven. I am redeemed. I am a joint heir with Jesus to all the good things heaven has to offer in the next world and so that brings me peace and joy in this world.

What about you? Has your life been changed? Has your attitude changed; your heart; your mouth; your witness; your language? A relationship with Jesus doesn’t make you better. It makes you new. It makes you different, set apart and holy. And if that is not how you act then I would love to talk to you this morning about what it really means to not only believe in Jesus but to believe Jesus. I’m not talking about how often you go to church or how much you give or how many little old ladies you have helped across the street.

Today is the day of salvation and true salvation starts with believing Jesus, repenting and turning away from the ways you have displeased Him and making Him Lord of your whole life with your focus on Him. Because a focus on Jesus will change your life and a Jesus-focused church will change the world.

“The 3:16’s” – Colossians 3:16

So we are all driving down the road on this highway of life.  Some people are going fast, some slow.  Some have fancy sports cars that cost a lot of money and some of us – well, some of us don’t drive anything fancy.  I’m probably more of a ’67 Volkswagen bus than a Ferrari, know what I mean?  But we are all doing the best we can.

While nobody’s trip is particularly easy, some people seem to be enjoying the trip more than others.  Everybody goes through rain showers and thunderstorms but it seems like some people can just leave the top down and never get wet.  But most of the time you find out later that you just couldn’t see how wet they were.  They just chose to smile through the storm.

But we are all navigating the best that we can because we all want to get to the same place at the end of the road.  And while some people don’t believe there is anything at the end of the road, most of us have faith that even when the road ends that our journey will continue for eternity somewhere.  Some of us even have a map on how to get there.  And we trust this map and would swear by its inerrancy even when the signs along the road might say something else.

There are big billboards that say just get on this highway and it will take you to where you want to go.  But our map says otherwise.  Our map says to take this little Farm to Market road and so we do.  Sure, we get lost sometimes and find ourselves on the main road with lots of other traffic but most of us find our way back to FM 1 and twist and turn down the road.  But today as we look at the map, it tells us to get off the paved road and go through the rusty gate onto a dirt road.

There is a sign up ahead that says, “Proceed With Caution”.  Another one says, “Bridge May Ice In Cold Weather”.  Even another says, “Bumps Ahead”.  You look and the road is filled with pot holes and rocks.  Is that a tree limb down in the middle of the road down there?  Surely this isn’t the way.  But the map…

And then you see a friendly face.  Somebody you know is encouraging you to continue on.  It’s the Apostle Paul.  You know him and you trust him and he is waving you on through.  But it looks so hard and you are pretty sure that even the cow pasture would be an easier trip but Paul says to come on this way.  What do you do?  It’s time for you to make a decision because that is where we are today. 

We have left the easy highway and we have left the scenic back roads and we have crossed the cattle guard and now we start down this caliche corridor that most people wouldn’t drive a tractor through.  And it’s found in Colossians 3.  It actually starts out pretty comfortable; pretty peaceful, thankfully.  The second part is where we turn the music up and sing along with the tunes even though some of us have it on the wrong station.  But that’s ok

But when we get to the third part there are lots of places in the road where you can see that somebody has stopped and made their own path off the road and went off into that field off to the left.  And I don’t know whatever happened to them.  The road was just too rough and they couldn’t follow it.  So, unfold your map and turn to Colossians 3.  I want to read verses 15, 16 and 17.  Colossians 3:15-17.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Now, even over here in my rickety old Volkswagen bus I can hear what some of you are saying.  Some of you are saying you can’t make that trip.  Some of you don’t understand the directions, you don’t like the scenery, and besides, you just washed your car and don’t want to get it messy.  And how important could it be anyway?  Oh, sure, we all like the Apostle Paul but what does he know?  Vehicles have changed over the years.  And it’s not like it’s a command or anything, right?

In a couple of weeks we will talk more about how all scripture is God-breathed and how if Paul or Timothy or Jude or Moses or any of those guys says to do something in these scriptures that they are speaking for God.  But for now, just consider it a command from the lips of Jesus Himself as we are told here to do three things in these three verses.

·         Let the peace of Christ rule

·         Let the word of Christ dwell

·         Let the name of Christ motivate

We continue our focus on Jesus in the 3:16’s of the New Testament.  We have looked at John and Acts and today we read part of what Paul wrote to the church at Colosse.  And the whole book of Colossians is devoted to teaching that church (and this church) to focus on Jesus.  He wanted that church (and this church) to focus on Jesus because he knew that a focus on Jesus will change the church and a Jesus-focused church will change the world.

And with his focus on Jesus, Paul tells us in verse 15 that we are to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts.  And right here I hear some of you slam on the brakes.  You stop in the middle of the little road and you look ahead and you think you just can’t do it.  You’ve tried and failed.  But your car just isn’t made to handle that kind of terrain, evidently.  Well, let me continue this metaphor for just another minute (even though it’s starting to get a little annoying) and just say that you can have peace; you can follow this road because you remember that the car you are in is not your own anymore.  It’s a rental!

1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price.”  And that’s good news, my dear family!  If God owns you and He says to do something then you can just do it knowing that the results are up to Him.  And that in itself should bring you peace.  He loves you.  He owns you.  He will take care of you.  Why are you worried about anything?  But not only that, look at what else Paul says in this verse. 

“Let the peace of Christ rule”.  First off, this isn’t just any peace.  This isn’t just the absence of war kind of peace.  This is the peace of Jesus Himself.  Did Jesus have peace?  What did that peace look like in His life?  Several times in the Gospels Jesus would be teaching and He would reference to the Pharisees something about being God and they would get all into a frenzy.  One time it says they even picked up rocks to stone Him right there.  And what does Jesus do?  He walks off.

You know how the action star in a movie will set the charge to blow up a building and then casually walk off, never looking back as the blast covers the whole screen behind them?  Yea, that’s kind of what Jesus did.  He would just say, “No.  It’s not my time yet.”  And then He would just walk off in perfect peace.  That’s the same kind of peace that we should have and not only should we have it but Paul says that it should rule in our hearts.

That word “rule” is an athletic term.  It literally means to umpire.  Isn’t that interesting?  Just nod politely, ok?  It is to me.  How can peace be the umpire in our hearts?  Well, what does an umpire do?  He calls people out.  He says some can stay and some have to go.  He gives the rewards.  He sets the rules and if you don’t play by the rules you have to leave, right?

With peace umpiring your heart, “Up to bat next we have Anger coming to bat.  Anger is on quite a hot streak here lately folks.  He’s batting  .1000 in this heart, but wait…the umpire is talking to Anger…and look at that, the ump has thrown anger out of the game without him even getting to bat!  Haven’t seen that in a while.  Up next is Jealousy and I don’t think he stands a chance with this umpire!  I knew it.  The umpire just cited rule Philippians 4:8 and substituted Jealousy with the up and comer named Lovely.  What a great game!”

“Let the peace of Christ umpire your heart.”  Isn’t that good?  Some of the most beautiful verses in the Bible talk about peace.  Let me read just a few of them. 

John 16:33

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Isaiah 26:3

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

Psalm 4:8

In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

How much is peace worth to you?  Well you already have it available to you.  You just have to let peace umpire your heart and when those feelings of anger, doubt, fear, jealousy or regret come up wanting to play ball, throw the bums out!  You can do that!

So, we have seen how to let the peace of Christ rule.  Let’s look at the next verse and see how to let the word of Christ dwell.  Verse 16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell among you richly…”  The word of Christ can be interpreted as anything the Bible says about Christ or anything that Christ says about Christ.  I believe Paul would put special emphasis on the Gospel of Jesus found in Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.  I believe that because he always did do that.

You may have or see a version that says “the word of God” but I understand from reading lots of commentaries that the correct rendering is actually “the word of Christ” specifically.  Why would Paul stress the word of Christ over just saying that the whole Bible should dwell in us richly?  I hear young Christians or new believers say things pretty often about wanting to study the book of Revelation or wanting to know questions about creation from the book of Genesis and I always want to encourage them to focus on the Gospels first.

Go to the book of John and just roll around in that for a while.  Stew in it.  Steep yourself in that for a good long while until you have a better picture of Who Jesus is first.  I find that for myself, when I get stuck trying to figure out some theological question that if I just go back to one of the Gospels and I remind myself of how Jesus acted, what He said, what He meant and the things He did, then things start to become clearer about everything else.

You can’t fully understand Genesis without knowing Jesus.  You can’t be an Old Testament Bible scholar without being a Jesus scholar.  When your focus is on Jesus, it will change you.  When it says to let the word dwell richly that means it is to feel at home.  It should be invited in so often that it has refrigerator privileges.  Don’t you love to go to your best friend’s house and know that if you get thirsty you don’t have to ask; that you can just go get a drink out of the fridge?

You have been there so many times you feel comfortable there.  That’s how the word of Christ should be in our lives.  We should have scripture posted on the mirror, in the car, on your Facebook.  We should be quoting it to each other and talking about the change that it has made in our lives.  Let those words dwell richly in our lives.

Lastly, we are to let the name of Christ motivate.  We have let the peace of Christ rule.  We have let the word of Christ dwell.  But now in verse 17 we are to let the name of Christ motivate.  Read verse 17 again.  And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Now verse 16 is a great picture of a worship service:  teaching and singing and gratitude to God.  And we would like to read verse 17 in a corporate worship setting, wouldn’t we?  We want it to say, “Whatever you do…in church…” or “Whatever you do in Bible study…” or “Whatever you do when the preacher is watching…”  But there is no such qualifier.

Paul says that whatever you do, whatever you say, wherever you go, whatever you put in your mouth, whatever comes out of your mouth, every aspect of your life you do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus and to give thanks for it.  Ouch!  I told you this part of the road was gonna get rough.  But don’t blame me.  I blame that pesky Paul for it.  But even then it is God’s word through Paul, so what are ya gonna do?

You know one of the reasons I love this church?  I love this church because we don’t have a bunch of rules here.  And do you know why we don’t have a bunch of rules here?  Because rules are for kids.  They are, seriously.  When your kids were little you had to tell them everything.  Brush your teeth.  Go to bed.  Don’t watch that.  Put that down.  Don’t eat that.  Don’t say that.  Put her down!  Right?

But now that your kids have grown up, you don’t say that anymore, do you?  You might say to have a safe trip or be careful or something but you don’t give them rules.  Paul understands that.  He’s not talking to little kids.  People all the time ask me about what is legal in God’s eyes and what is not.  Can I eat this?  Can I drink that?  Can I watch such and such?

Right here Paul is answering all those questions.  If you can do whatever it is and look God in the eye and say, “I am doing this in your name, God, and I thank you for it.”  If you can do that …knock yourself out.  The Bible is a guidebook, not a rulebook.  It never says, “Thou shalt not drink alcohol” or “Thou shalt not smoke cigarettes” or “Thou shalt not eat bacon at every meal”.  And I’m not just picking on that kind of stuff.  What about that second piece of pie?  God asks did you eat that in my name too?  What about that bad word, that movie you watched, that place you like to hang out or that joke you told?

Put these verses in your margin—1 Peter chapter 4 and verse 11: “That God in all things may be glorified” (1 Peter 4:11). Or, here’s a great verse—put this one down: 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 31: “Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Eating your lunch today ought to be for the glory of God— anything that you do. And, after lunch today, if you get to do the dishes, doing dishes ought to be for the glory of God. One homemaker had this sign up over her kitchen sink: “Divine services held here three times a day, doing dishes.” That’s what the verse says: Whether you eat, or whether you drink, or whatsoever you do, do it all to the glory of God. (Adrian Rogers)

Adrian Rogers calls that “Monday morning religion” as opposed to just Sunday morning religion.  He said “If people would begin to live on Monday what is preached on Sunday, people would begin to believe what is preached on Sunday around the world!”  And we say that is what we want but do we want it enough to allow the peace of Christ to rule, the word of Christ to dwell and the name of Christ to motivate?

Do we want to change this church, this county and this country?  Then we have to focus on Jesus.  Because a focus on Jesus will change this church and a Jesus-focused church will change this world.  What are you focused on today? 

“The 3:16’s” – Acts 3:16

I’m sorry. Y’all may have to be a little bit more patient with me today. It’s been a long, rough week plus we have had a lot of prayer requests this morning plus I’ll admit to still getting just a little bit nervous every Sunday morning and it’s all just kind of hitting me this morning. I hope it’s ok but when I get stressed out I like to eat just a little piece of chocolate. I hope that will be alright.

I’ll tell you what. I’m not going to. I will be a little more professional and just get going. No chocolate for me this morning. So, turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 3. This is a beautiful passage of scripture for us this morning. (Pull out a cigarette and lighter as I speak and start to light up)

Now this won’t be a problem, will it? I mean it just helps me to relax and kinda take the edge off. You can just close your eyes and listen if seeing me smoke bothers you. I really need it because of the calming effect. Does it really bother you? Ok, I won’t do that then. No chocolate and no Pall Mall for me this morning. I’ll just make it through on my own. I’m sorry. I’m just really stressed out but let’s continue.

Back to Acts 3. This is the story of the beggar who was taken to the gate to beg and on this day Peter and John meet him and change his whole life. Now is everybody there in Acts 3? While the remainder of you turns there, I just need a quick drink. (Pull out beer bottle and start to take a swig – don’t worry, it’s washed out and filled with water) I’m sorry but this will just really help to calm my nerves. Is that so wrong?

I just feel like I need a little help this morning. I’m stressed and nervous and I’ve had a rough week and I know that this will help to relax me. People do it all the time, right? Why is it crazy for me to do it? Maybe I need a vacation but right now I just need some help getting through this so get off my back! J

Ok, if I can’t eat chocolate, have a smoke or drink a beer, then what can I do? I mean, I understand that those things will help; at least they do for some people at least for a minute or two. Now the Bible says in Psalm 3:5-6says to “trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” If I need help I probably should do as David did in Psalm 34:4where he says, “I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears”

See, the world says to just do what you can to take the edge off. Self-medicate until life is just a little bit easier. But God doesn’t want to just take the edge off. He wants to deliver you from all your fears. He wants to heal you. He wants to renew your mind not just change it up a little bit. He wants to make you a new creation, not a creation whose mind has been numbed so that the hurt doesn’t hurt quite as bad. Hear me now. God loves you so much He wants to give you immeasurably more than you could ever ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within you! (Eph. 3:20)

Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that appears to be right to man, but in the end it leads to death.” The thing about that way is that it seems right. I looks like it would work. It looks like it would help. People say it does. But most of us have been doing this long enough to know that when you take your focus off of Jesus then the best you can hope for is second best. The best you are ever going to get is a little better…for a little while…hopefully. And maybe not. Maybe you don’t even get that.

Two thousand-something years ago in Jerusalem, there was a crippled man who was laid at the gate of the temple everyday to beg for money. And he did that because it made sense to him. I would imagine it never occurred to him to ask for anything else. It never crossed his mind to ask anybody for healing. Money was all he knew to count on.

Now, I want you to picture this scene, if you will. This man was around 40 years old and he had never been able to walk a day in his life and so some very good friends would carry him to a place where he could beg for money. When it says that they brought him to the gate of the temple, my mind thinks of a chain-link fence with a gate or maybe a retaining wall of some kind but this gate was the “Beautiful” gate.

The historian Josephus writes that this gate to the temple was overlaid with Corinthian bronze, and far exceeded in value those plated with silver and set in gold. And this was just where the lame man wanted to be. He wanted to be where the money was and he wanted to be where the pious people where; or at least where the pious-acting people where.

So, when Peter and John went to the temple that day, I have an idea that the man saw them coming and maybe he held out a cup or a container of some kind. Maybe he had a sign asking for help. I don’t know. But it was obvious that the man was crippled and everybody knew why he was there. But on this day, he had no idea that his life was about to be to be changed and that for thousands of years people would tell this story.

Acts 3:1-10 tell the story of how he asked the apostles Peter and John for money. Like most of us, they didn’t carry much cash but knew right away that they had something better for this man than money. It says they looked him in the eye and just told him to stand up and walk. And that is just what he did. Can you imagine? Bones and muscles that had never had the man’s weight on them before are suddenly able to carry the man and even allow him to jump.

And I don’t know about you but if I am this guy and this happens to me, I’m gonna cause a scene. And that’s what this man does. He hollers and jumps around and pretty soon everybody is starting to gather around wondering how this happened; how the lame man they have seen sitting there for years is now able to walk. And that’s where I want to start reading this morning.

Let’s read Acts 3:11-16. While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. ¹² When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? ¹³ The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.¹⁴ You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. ¹⁵ You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. ¹⁶ By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.

We continue with the second part of our series entitled “The 3:16’s” as we look at 7 different books of the New Testament and their third chapter and 16^th verse. Last week we looked at the most famous 3:16, that of John’s Gospel, of course. And I told somebody this past week that after preaching on that verse, which I had never done before, I realized why it was the most popular and greatest verse in the Bible…until I started studying Acts 3:16, which, I believe, gives John a run for his money.

It may never get quoted as often but it is a powerful and beautiful verse full of information and motivation so let’s unpack this thing. Let’s start by reading just the 16^thverse one more time real slowly, soaking it all in. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.

Now, we saw last week how Jesus talked to Nicodemus when Nic came to see Him one night. Jesus told Nic that Nic had a problem - he couldn’t get to Heaven. Jesus then told him what the solution to that problem was - Jesus Himself. And then Jesus told him what his life would be like afterward – he would have eternal life. Jesus wanted Nic’s focus to be on Him and we saw through that conversation that a focus on Jesus will change the church and a Jesus-focused church will change the world. And we see it again here plainly in Acts 3:16 and supporting verses.

A quick read of this passage and it’s obvious that the crippled man has a problem but I don’t think that is the problem that is to be focused on here. In fact, I believe this incident has very little to do with the crippled man. I believe that the problem is had by the people that are standing there witnessing was has happened to the crippled man and Peter recognizes it immediately.

Read verse 12 again. When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?” See, that’s the problem. And it’s a bad problem; a problem that everybody has at one time or another and it is far worse than not being able to walk. The problem is believing that man is the solution.

When I grew up and finally moved out of my parents’ house, at age 7 J, I hit that steep learning curve that most young people hit. I found out pretty quick that when something broke or wore out or ran out that I didn’t have the money to just go get another one. I either did without or I fixed the old one.

I remember one time my microwave quit working so I tore it all apart and saw that it just had a loose wire and so I fixed it. And I was pretty proud of myself. Another time a gate fell apart and I shimmed up the hinge just right to make it work like new again. And I was pretty proud of myself. And I had a ’67 Mustang at the time and it always needed work and so when the carburetor messed up I just took it all apart. Bad mistake. I had parts everywhere. And I had to swallow my pride and ask for help.

And how many times do we all do that every day? When a relationship goes bad, “I can fix that.” When we lose a job, get a bad report from the doctor or lose a friend, we just decide to knuckle down, buckle down and do it, do it, do it. We resolve to try harder until we just burn out and then we give up. How much harder could the beggar at the gate have begged before he was healed?

How much louder could he have cried out? How much bigger could his sign have been before his legs got healed? It’s a ridiculous question. It would never work. And yet that’s what we do all the time. We try harder when God says to just be still and know that I am God. David said, “I sought the Lord and He delivered me!” Our problem is believing that we are the answer.

I heard a lady say the other day that she liked a certain church because they motivated her to try harder. What a shame that her church doesn’t read 1 Peter 5:7 to her instead. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” James 1:17says that we get perfect gifts from God. And James 4:2 says, “You do not have, because you do not ask.” Do you realize that nowhere does Jesus ever tell somebody to just try harder? And to do so is an insult to Him. Our problem is that we think that we are the answer.

Peter and John didn’t try harder and that is why the first thing they did was to put the focus on Jesus. They pointed out the problem and then they revealed the solution. And what was the solution? Verse 16 says it is faith in the name of Jesus. The great old preacher Billy Sunday once said, “There are two hundred and fifty-six names given in the Bible for the Lord Jesus Christ, and I suppose this was because He was infinitely beyond all that any one name could express.”

If there really is just something about that name, as the song says, then that something, for us, is faith. Martin Luther said, “God our Father has made all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything, and whoever does not have faith will have nothing.” Read it again.

George Muller said, “Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man's power ends.” Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. “

The crippled man in Acts 3 was rewarded because of faith and it wasn’t even his faith. It was the faith of Peter and John that healed the man. And that leads us to the last point. We have seen the problem. We believe that we are the answer to the problem and that is the problem. We see that the real solution to the problem is faith in the Lord. And now we see what the result is. We see that the result of faith is as verse 16 says,“complete healing”.

Ooh! Pastor Todd is going all “health and wealth”on us now! Stand back. No, but I will tell you this from the Spokesman Review several years ago. A study conducted by sociologists at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., found that 4 percent of those who regularly went to church reported poor health, compared with 9 percent of those who did not attend a house of worship. And 36 percent of weekly worshippers reported they were in excellent health, compared with 26 percent of non-attenders.

So, what does that tell us? I think it tells us absolutely nothing. In fact, I don’t put any stock in it whatsoever. Listen, when we think of that crippled man now in Heaven, we like to think that he is up there still running and jumping, celebrating and making up for all those years he was lame. But I would have to disagree. I believe with all my heart that man is up there on his knees before Jesus saying, “Thank you for my salvation. Thank you for my complete healing. Sure that physical healing was nice on earth but honestly, I can barely remember all that. But I have eternal life and eternal peace with a perfect body and I now have experienced complete healing. Thank you, Jesus!”

We pray so often for physical healing and we should. I have no doubt at all that Jesus still heals, that He can and that He will but I still go back to those 3 young men in the book of Daniel who bravely and rightfully said ”…but even if He doesn’t, still I will praise Him!” Why were they able to say that? Because they knew that this life is but a vapor, a wisp of smoke and then it’s over but we have the promise of complete and everlasting healing through faith in Jesus.

Physical healing here on earth is great and wonderful and often given by a merciful and gracious God but all that is is taking the edge off of life. All that means is that the hurt and pain are put off a little while, only to come back and sooner or later, it will overtake us. But God is concerned with so much more. He wants to give us so much more. He doesn’t just want to make it a little better for a little while. He wants to give complete and eternal healing.

Joni Eareckson Tada has been in a wheelchair since 1967 when she dove into the Chesapeake Bay after misjudging the shallowness of the water. She suffered a fracture between the fourth and fifth cervical levels and became a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the shoulders down. Somebody said to her that they bet she will be glad to get to Heaven to be out of that wheelchair. She replied something to the effect that she will be glad to get to Heaven so she can be free of this flesh.

It’s not the partial healing that she is looking forward to the most. She is anxious to be rid of the old person inside of her; the old man, the old flesh that brings her so much pain. Maybe some of you can relate to that. You don’t have to be paralyzed to crave the freedom of complete healing. You have tried to be a good person. You have tried to do what is right. But you always fail. And so you try harder and harder until you just burn out.

Well, your real problem is believing that you are the solution when the solution is just Jesus and faith in Him. And when your focus is on Jesus you can experience complete healing. That’s what we all need. That’s why a focus on Jesus will change this church and a Jesus-focused church will change this world. So quit trying and focus on Him.

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