Bible News You Can Use

Bible news you can use. We off there? Doesn't sound very strong. There it is. Bible news you can use. Where did I get that? I got it from you. I went through and some of the questions and sermons that you had suggestions on. That's what this sermon is about. Other messages coming down the road will be covering those other things. Next week also something someone requested. So I'll be covering those in the next five or six weeks before we get to the spring holy days.

So I wanted to cover four different questions or comments that were given to me from you. Some gave a lot. Some just gave one or two and some gave me none. They were happy with everything the way it was, which is just fine. But I want to go into this first one. The first one was given to me. It's found in the book of Luke. The book of Luke had many questions about it during the time. And it is Lazarus and the rich man. People have had many questions about it. Very deep. Some have even given sermons on it. I don't need that much time to explain it.

So let's go with me. I'll be reading from the New King James Version, chapter 16. And you can see that this is addressed to those who are always persecuting Christ, always putting Him under the gun. And they were, as we see in verse 14, the Pharisees, the scribes, and of course we know the Sadducees. They were the controlling party of the temple and the religious practice of that day. The Sadducees were given that responsibility, that privilege to earn some money from the Roman government.

So let's look at this. And I don't know what your books, what the title over this area says, but many says, the parable of the rich Lazarus and the rich man. Does anybody have that? Right in there? Well, you can write that out. The parable is never in there. This is not a parable. As you can see, Jesus Christ usually says, or the parable of this, the parable, it's not in here. It's not in here. So it's not a parable, but I want to look at what it is.

Let's read verse 19. Said, there was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and ferrets sumptuously every day. So here he's hitting on the rich man. Ferris these were the richest of all the people in the land at the time. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus. Isn't it interesting that Lazarus would be later on part of Christ's story as he resurrected him from the dead. In just a few months he would be doing that, but he gives his name. I think they probably remembered that name.

And he was full of sores who was laid at the gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. Hmm, not a good sight. So it was that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. Wait a minute, I thought the Bible said when you're dead you're dead, and the dead know nothing at all.

So is Christ confused? Is Christ at 32 years of age having a senior moment? Don't think so. Then he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am tormented in this flame. What flame? What? Wait a minute, the lake of fire you're throwing in, you're burned out. That's what my Bible says. So what is Christ doing here? It's confused a lot of people, but so did a lot of parables.

Remember what he said about parables? I remember I had an aunt that asked my father one time, and he said something, well that's a parable. He said, you know why Christ spoke in parables? She goes, yes, to make everything crystal clear. No, it's the exact opposite. It wasn't for everybody. So let's go on and read this, the rest of this little story here. But Abraham said, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things.

But now he is comforted, and you are tormented. So could this be the difference between the lake of fire and the first resurrection and all this? And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us. That seems strange. Then he said, I beg you therefore, Father, that you would send him to my father's house. For I have five brothers that he may testify to them, lest they also come to the place of torment.

Abraham said to him, they have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them, being it was being preached. And he said, No, Father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead they will repent. But he said, If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded through one rise from the dead. And then the story is over. What's that? It just leaves it hanging.

What's he talking about? Well, I think if most of you will actually read various things, you'll find that even the most theologians recognize this as not a parable, but an allegory. It's the type of speaking that is done. What is an allegory? I'll tell you so you can read. I'm reading this from Britannica. Allegory, a symbolic fictional narrative that conveys a meaning not explicitly set forth in that narrative. So, it's a fictitious story about something that's not really related to perhaps even the story.

Why would somebody do that? There's a purpose. There's a purpose Christ had. Matter of fact, Webster's dictionary said an allegory is a symbolic fictional figures used to tell a story or a narrative. So, be this being an allegory, Lazarus isn't real, even Abraham's not real. So, nothing about this is real. So, why would Christ spin such a tale to confuse us?

Hmm, it shouldn't. We know that there's not this place, this hell that people go down there and there's a devil with a pitchfork running and trying to stick us, stick people. We know that's not what Scripture says. So, what is being explained here are brought forth to us. Hmm. We know the Scripture. I write this in Matthew 22, 23, where the Sadducees didn't believe they were the ruling religious party at the time, right?

He's already touched on the rich man, but is he teaching this now to the Sadducees who were always there with the Pharisees and the scribes who were the lawyers because they were supposed to know the law.

So, here Christ was telling something in, is this to the Pharisees? What was it to the Sadducees? What did the Sadducees not believe that the Pharisees believed? Anybody remember Paul even? Say that again? Oh, yes! Very quite right! They didn't believe the Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection.

So, what did they believe in? Wait a minute. You don't believe in the resurrection. They don't need to go to Daniel where he talks about the resurrections or any of the other, but they didn't believe that. So, what did they believe? Anybody have a guess? Hmm. So, if I didn't believe in the resurrection that the Bible clearly teaches, whether it's 1 Thessalonians 4, whether it's 1 Corinthians 15, whether it's Daniel or whatever, okay, leave that out. What would I believe in?

Hmm. The immortality of the what? The soul. That the soul goes on. And that is what the Greeks believed. They even had a name, you know, for Hades. They had all these various names. They even had the Elysian fields. And of course, that was picked up by the Romans. And guess what? Some of that stuff is still taught today in modern Christianity, isn't it? The immortality of the soul. And the soul goes on, and the soul can go to heaven. Or they may be stuck in what is now called purgatory.

Hmm. For any of you former Catholics, you might remember purgatory. Because they believe that somebody can die in there, and they can go, and they're stuck in purgatory. They're stuck in between heaven and hell. You remember the Gulf right here? As a matter of fact, you can read many articles, and they actually call this purgatory. They believe this false story.

This fictitious story that Christ is telling. So, is it possible that Jesus Christ is mocking these people? Mocking because they believe. The Sadducees were believing. There's no resurrection. You even go to heaven, or you go to hell. And they adapted and adopted so many of the pagan teachings.

And yet they were put in charge of the very temple. They were put in charge of worshiping God, the true God. Isn't that amazing? As a matter of fact, they even had the Elysian fields.

Well here, the good people, if you were a hero, like Abraham here in this story, he went to the Elysian fields, which was this place of peace, and everything's great for everyone.

I can't remind you of the kingdom, but no, it's a place for your soul to go.

So, why would Christ teach this?

Teach this.

To make one think. You remember when Paul brought it up? In fact, he's been persecuted by both sides, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They brought him forward, and what did he do?

He brought up the resurrection and then taught it to them, and the Pharisees were, oh yes, and then the Sadducees, oh no, and so he got them fighting amongst themselves, because they didn't know what they believed. Christ is here teaching us how ludicrous pagan teaching really is, and that someone can actually go and say, oh, oh, take something and touch my tongue like he's being roasted on a pit.

To the followers of Christ, to the followers of the Scripture, they knew there were resurrections.

What better way to point out their faults, to point out their falsehoods, than to tell a story that they were kind of, whoa, what's he talking about?

It shouldn't throw us, because we know what the Bible teaches.

So is it ludicrous?

What the Sadducees believed? Absolutely. How did they adopt this?

Because they wanted to be in charge. They were put in charge of the temple, all the money, all the teaching, because they would adjust their teaching to the Roman authorities.

I remember I had a guy call me, hmm, it's been six, seven years ago, and he said, he said, understand you, you're over the Caribbean, and I'm a preacher, I'd like to be hired.

I said, really? He said, yes, I've preached for over 25 years. I said, so you understand our doctrine? Well, I've read quite a bit on the internet about you, and I've listened to some of your sermons. And he said, I'd like to be hired. Matter of fact, I can give you some churches that I've was a preacher. They hired me for a couple years here and there. Some are in Miami, and some are in the Caribbean. I said, really? So, what are these churches? And he named a couple. I said, uh, don't they? Isn't that a Sunday-keeping church? Well, yes, it is. I said, well, we're not. We're Sabbath-keeping church, seventh day keeping church. And he goes, that's okay. I can adapt.

I said, you can adapt? Oh, yes. You know, it's about preaching Christ anyway, so I don't care what your day of the week it is. Can you see this story here? How Christ needed to maybe shake up the people a little bit and say, these, this is what you're following?

These are your spiritual leaders? Wake up. Because all we have to do is know some scriptures to take this completely apart, but it was a fictitious story.

We do know about the resurrections. We do know about heaven and hell. That's something I'll be touching on a little bit later that someone asked about. So, we'll touch on that. So, I hope that gives you some insight into these scriptures. I'd like you to study them. I don't mind discussing them. There are various ways you can take this apart, and I was taught by different leaders to go into the Greek and do this and take this and this. But it's pretty simple.

Jesus Christ exposes teachings, as we should be able to realize if we know the scriptures when false teaching is introduced or when somebody teaches it. Man should not live by bread alone, but by what? Every word.

Every word. That's what's important. The second I'll go to today is the responsibility of husbands.

Scripture says, husbands agape your wives. That's in Scripture. Right, Orwin? Yep. Should know. Read that at his wedding. Has it been a month yet?

Oh boy, you're in trouble. Oh wow, I'm glad she's in with the children's class.

Almost.

Yes.

It doesn't say, or it doesn't mean in the Greek, Eros. I didn't write that up there, does it?

Eros is a type of love, strived in the Greek. It's where we get erotic.

That's not what the scriptures we're going to go to, because that's a sexual kind of love.

Or, filio, family kind of love, brotherly love. Filio storge is a family kind of love.

It's not talking about that. These scriptures that discuss this in Ephesians that I would like to go to, not only tells us what a husband, what I'm supposed to do, what you men are supposed to do, but the responsibility of it to the church and to the community. It's laid out. We have responsibilities. Let's go there, if you will. Go with me to Ephesians. Most of you probably already headed that way. Ephesians 5. Had a guy tell me one time, well, I don't know if I can go through, because I was explaining the responsibilities of a husband, wife. He had marital problems. And he said, well, I don't know if I can really, I've read those verses you gave me, but I really can't go into that. I really don't believe much of that. I said, why is that? Because Paul wasn't married. He didn't know. Okay. If that's where you want to go.

I didn't tell him, but I wanted to say he wasn't homosexual either, but he told you not to do it.

So, let's go to Ephesians 5. Ephesians 5. And let's go to, well, I don't have it up there, but verse 22 said, wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord. This was in the wedding that I performed for, or when we read those. But it goes down to verse 25. Husbands agape your wives.

Isn't it interesting? You read this whole thing in Ephesians, and it doesn't say one time, wives agape your husbands. Huh. Why not? What is agape? Godly love, outgoing love, not looking for anything in return. It's the highest love that there is. It's what God has for us.

It means even when somebody does something stupid, you still love them.

Don't laugh. My wife wanted to laugh, too. She lives with me. So, agape your wives.

Let's see what he's talking about here. Just as, oh no. Now, this is what the guy should have been complaining about. Just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it.

You know what God just did? He elevated the husbands to a level of Christ that we're supposed to love our wives just like Christ loved the church, where He'd get everything, die for the church, beaten for the church, mocked for the church. This is what Paul is instructing the church.

So, this isn't about the wives. This is about the husbands. It's our responsibility to be like Christ. That's kind of too high a bar for me. I don't know about some of you men. You may go right up to that bar and go, yes, I am. But most of us, we, whoo, that's, that's, I feel better with the bar down here. But that's not what the men were given. Verse 26, that he might sanctify, hmm, that's another one we'll get into in a minute, and cleanse it with the washing of the water by the word, adding more depth to it. It kind of makes us have to study. We husbands have to study Christ and see how he lived and what he did and how we then are called upon to live because he says, agape. Christ didn't filio, filio storge the church. It wasn't a brotherly love, even though he called him friends. He agape'd the church, the deepest kind of love you can have. That's what he did. And he said, now he's, now he's transposing that type of love to the husband, the responsibilities on us. And you know, we'd have a whole lot less problems in this country if more husbands acted like Christ, if we had men who stepped up to the plate. This is what he's saying.

Husbands who don't take care of the children, but leave it for the women to do.

This is what he's saying here. Let's go down to verse 28.

So husbands ought to love their own wives as their bodies.

Another level. He who loves his wife loves himself. Why? It's to be one. It's to be one. That's why it's so important that we marry the right one. Many people in here can tell you what happens when you don't marry the right one. You marry the wrong one. Right? I see some smiles on some faces out there. We're not a church that has you come up and testify, so you can feel good about that.

But that's why it's so important that we talk about that before we marry. We have marriage counseling. We do. We do not take this lightly. And it isn't to grill you, was it, Olin?

To make you think and make sure that this is it and what the responsibility is in that you represent Christ. Let's go down to verse 32, because he said, this is a great mystery. What?

What's the great mystery? But I speak concerning Christ and the church all the way back, all the way back to the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve. This is what's coming forward, because Christ is going to have a bride, and He's going to marry the church. And there's going to be a wedding supper. It's described through the Bible many times. But the husband is to always be there, take care of the wife, treat her like Jesus Christ does for the church.

And most people in the world, and I don't think the Ephesians did either, they never figured out that that's part of the picture of marriage, is a marriage between a husband and wife, pictures Jesus Christ in the church, and the future in eternity. It's a great picture. It's a great mystery. No, people just figure out, well, if it doesn't work, I'll just get a divorce. I had the first girl I was serious about.

I was 20, 21, something like that. And I was talking to her, and she didn't understand the Bible or whatever. And I said something about it. She said, well, you know, if we get married, and I said, yeah, if we get married, and she said, you know, if it doesn't work out, we can always just go our separate ways. Well, that wasn't what I was taught. And that's not what the Bible teaches, is the purpose is Christ is not going to, and you can be saying, he's not going to divorce the church. He's not going to divorce his bride, but he's marrying her till what? Forever, since there will be no death, it's not till death do you part, because it's not going to be. And he's always going to agape the bride. We will always be loved.

Finally, 33. Nevertheless, let each one of you in particular sow agape his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. Not one time does it say the wife is to agape, submits respect, because sometimes we don't, do we, as the bride of Christ, agape God, do we? We don't do it.

So when we don't, we must submit and respect.

You know, guess what? We kind of figure that out.

And Christ is the perfect husband. It's definitely not Chuck Smith, near Phil Beach.

This is what we men have been given the responsibility. It starts, and it ends with us.

We know Adam was standing right there when you read the context, when she grabbed that fruit.

And God says she was deceived, but you weren't!

Nothing else. You could have smacked it out of her hand.

Or you could have put it up there and go, no, he didn't do it. Why? He didn't agape his wife.

Men, we have a tremendous responsibility to live up to.

That's why it's important that we go to God. We go to his book, read the instructions of what he wants us to be. Because, just like us, we know, come pass over time, we're all going to be in the room, and we're all going to be realizing what Christ did for us as we read those scriptures, and we know that is deep, binding love for us.

And we feel it that night, and hopefully we feel it all during the year.

Well, men, so will your wives. If we can love agape like Christ, our wives will love us to death. That is what God wants us to do.

The next one, number three. Questions asked, what is sanctification?

What is sanctification? You hear justification and sanctification? Well, I'll let the Bible explain that if you'll go with me to the book of Jeremiah. The book of Jeremiah. Sanctification.

Get back here. You can find Jeremiah. Jeremiah 1 and verse 5. Jeremiah 1 verse 5, New King James version says, before I formed you in the womb, Jeremiah, I knew you.

Before you were born, I sanctified you. And I ordained you a prophet to the nations.

Well, even before he was born, God said, you're going to be a prophet to the nations. I'm going to ordain you. But margin in my Bible has sanctification said, sets you apart. And in Scripture, sanctification, especially in Scripture, means set apart for a spiritual purpose. Otherwise, you just set something apart. Set apart for a holy spiritual purpose. Isn't the Sabbath sanctified? That's what he said in Genesis 2. It's about 3. Sanctified, set apart as holy. So, here God says, those who are sanctified, I set you apart for a holy purpose.

Hmm, goes me to John 10. Let's talk about this. John 10 verse 31. Just showing what sanctification from Scripture means.

Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him because He said, me and my Father are one. That's where that story comes from. Jesus answered them, many good works I have shown you from my Father. For which of these works do you stone me?

The Jews answered, saying, for a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy. And because you, being a man, make yourself God, or equal with God.

Jesus answered them, said, is it not written in your law? I said, you are God's. He's quoting the Old Testament, using the Word. If He called them God's to whom the Word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken, do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, you are blaspheming me because I am the Son of God? So here He's showing, Jesus Christ's showing, I, God, sanctified me. He sent me apart for a holy purpose. So what is sanctification?

It is when we are set apart. When we are given the Holy Spirit, what do we become?

Sanctified, set apart. But it's so important to God that even Jeremiah, before he was born, he was sanctified. Is Jeremiah the only one in history that way?

Could there be people today? Could there be many people sitting in this room who have been sanctified, set apart? Hmm. It looks that way. Go to 1 Thessalonians with me. 1 Thessalonians 4.

Get this old Bible through here. 1 Thessalonians 4. Verse 3, verse 3, said, For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you should abstain from sexual immorality. He was telling them at the time, this is one of the ways in which you have been set apart not to be a part of the world, not to join in at, what is it, Cheetah 2, Cheetah 5, Cheetah whatever they are, these clubs, whatever they are.

That's not for you.

And the matter of fact, he says, you're better than that. You're set aside for a holy purpose. That each of you should know how to possess his own vessel. And he talks about the vessel being sanctified. The vessel is his body. And it's not really special until it possesses the Holy Spirit. Then it is. Then it is holy. This vessel is holy. Once something holy is in it.

Said, not in passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God, that no one take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such as he also forewarned you and testified, for God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.

That's the part of sanctification. That is how we're sanctified. We're set apart as holy.

God even said there are certain holy vessels that he had in the temple. Why were they holy?

Because God made them holy. Nobody can make something holy except for God.

Man can't make Sunday holy. God never made it holy. He only made the seventh day holy.

He sanctified it.

I'll address that this afternoon in Feral Beach a little more, but sanctified comes from the Latin word sanctus. Sanctus. And if I could leave this topic for just a second, because people get people get sanctification and justification confused. Justification means being right with God.

How are you right with God? How do we get right with God? We claim the promises of Jesus Christ. We claim the blood that was shed to take away, not cover, but to take away our sins.

So when we ask for God to purge us of our sins and we call upon the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we're justified. We're made right with God. With God, we're right now. All sins gone, completely gone. That's justification, not sanctification. So if anything else you write down, I don't have it up here, but I will say this because I think it clears things. Sanctification is something God does for us. Justification is something God does for us.

He did it in the past and he's still doing it today. He did it for me this morning on my knees. He made me right with God because I can do all these good things. Oh, I can do this. That doesn't make me right with God. Being cleansed makes me right with God. So justification is something God does for us. Sanctification is what God does for us.

With us. Sanctification is what God does with us. He sets us apart as holy.

Here comes a holy person. How are they holy? God makes them holy.

Like the guy they wanted to come over and preach. Didn't matter, would they?

To him, he didn't even know what day was holy, much less if he was holy or not.

We should know, and we should be so grateful that we are sanctified.

John 17, 17, that high priestly prayer. And Christ is praying. He says, sanctify them by your truth. Your truth.

We are sanctified, set apart, and given that incredible understanding. Finally, last one. The question was asked, how do you grow in faith?

Okay, because it's easy to say. You need more faith.

I need more faith. I've never met anyone who goes, no, I've got all I need.

I have all the faith I need. Don't need any more. Got plenty.

No? Haven't met that person yet.

So, let's look what faith is, the definition, because the Bible tells us, right? Everybody know where I'm going? Hebrews.

Hebrews, matter of fact, it's called the what chapter? The faith chapter. Hebrews 11. Right.

And it says, Hebrews 11 verse 1, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. So, I can't see it. I can't see your faith. You can't see my faith.

The New Living says, faith is a confidence that what we hope for will actually happen. It gives us assurance about things we cannot see. We have faith. We're going to go home after services today, and we're going to pull in our driveway, and we're going to be alive.

I have faith. I have that faith.

You can't see it.

We have faith in a God you cannot see. Don't we?

And yet, here you had these poor pitiful people in the desert. They couldn't see God, even though they had heard Him and saw His works. So, they built a calf.

Moo! They built a calf and worshipped a calf because they wanted something they could see.

True faith is when you can't see it, but you still trust.

You trust that there's a power up there.

That is faith. But, so we can do this, I've got to go to Luke 17.

Luke 17. I'm running out of time.

Luke 17.

Verse 5, because this to me is the true story about faith, that most people either read over or they don't think anything about it. So, let's dig in because the disciples were talking, Christ was teaching them, and then they asked Him the big question that whoever wrote this question, because nobody signed it, so I don't know, but it's a good question, how to increase my faith because we all need it. But the disciples said in Luke 17 verse 5, and the apostles said to the Lord, increase our faith.

You know what He didn't say? Oh, leave me alone.

Oh, go do it on your own. No, He tells them. He tells them the exact thing, except we kind of, well, what happened there? Because I've had people ask you, oh, He didn't really tell them. Yes, He did. Yes, He did.

So, He said, so the Lord said, if any of, if you have faith as a mustard seed, anybody see no mustard seed? I'll tell you a mustard seed. You've got to understand how small it is.

If you've got a pen, I've got one here. You anybody got a pen? Okay, is it right?

Tell them I'll get up there this afternoon.

Okay, put your hand out. Put you a dot right there, like that. Okay, you see that dot?

That's, huh, that's the size of a mustard seed. It's the very size. I've had it.

So, you can look at that today. Wait a minute. Man, if I have faith this small, what can I do? That's what He was telling them. He said, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to the mulberry tree, which was huge, let's go with the cypress tree here, huge tree, be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea and it would obey you.

Wow! It's kind of like the old moving mountains. Uh-huh, just that. I've got to tell me one time, you know, almost every morning you gave a sermon many years ago about how small the mustard seed was, so I started putting this on my hand. Every day when I got up to remind me, I carried it with me all day long. I just had to have that small of faith. End of story? No. He just primed him. He just primed the pump here. And he said, and, continuing the story, which of you having a servant plowing or tending sheep will say to him when he comes in from the field, come at once and sit down to eat? But will he not rather say to him, prepare something for my supper and gird yourself, and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterwards you will eat and drink?

Does he thank the servant because he did the things that were commanded of him? I think not.

So likewise you, this is tight end, likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, we are unprofitable servants, we have done what our duty is to do.

What's he talking about?

This was a real instruction.

Hmm, you want this? You want faith? You want this much power? Because that little dot is a power.

It's a power just big enough to do anything. You want that? Good. It starts with you doing your duty.

You want that without even obeying anything I tell you? You want this? You want me to give you that power without even keeping the Sabbath? With no prayer, no study? You want all this? Ah! Ain't gonna happen, guys. Do what you're commanded, and then you're gonna have this.

Isn't that what James said? James 2? You need faith and you need works, right?

Right? I'll show you my faith by my works. It's not one, it's both. You gotta do something.

You can't just sit back and go, I have faith. No, what we talked about earlier.

You gotta do something. For him to increase your faith, start at the first. Start at the first.

And it was Paul who said, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the what? Word of God.

We need to have faith.

Are you ready to ask God to increase your faith? We should.

That dot is nothing to God.

Because he has the power of the universe. But he said, I'm willing to give you this much.

Just start and do what I ask you to do. And then anything you ask, remember the dot.