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Old Paths For A New Year

12/31/2020

The Bible says in Jeremiah chapter six, verse 16: “Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.”

Please note the admonition to "ask for the old paths" found in this verse. My friend, we need to seek the old paths, where is the good way, and walk in them. In so doing we shall find rest for our souls in the New Year.

     There are several initial observations we should take note of from our text. First, Jeremiah the prophet is quoting the Lord. Jeremiah’s message is not his own. His calling as a prophet of God required him to deliver the Word of God to the people.

It is interesting to note when God called Jeremiah, he told the Lord he could not speak. He told the Lord he was nothing more than a child. Jeremiah shrunk back from the thought of standing before his nation or any other group of people to speak for the Lord.

But the Lord said unto him, “Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.” Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched Jeremiah’s mouth and the Lord said unto him, “Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.”

And so Jeremiah accepted the call of God to carry the Word of God to the people. Our text is an example of Jeremiah speaking the word God put in his mouth. And so Jeremiah says, “thus saith the Lord.”

I must warn you today. It is a grave mistake to ignore the Word of God. When the Word of God is proclaimed, we are declaring “thus saith the Lord.” Only the foolish and short-sighted and unbelieving continue on their frivolous way upon hearing the Word of the living God! Don’t be among them my friend.

     Next, the text contains a very specific admonition from the Lord. It is the Lord who instructs us to “ask for the old paths.” Not new paths, but old paths! I must warn you today of a common temptation that wields great power over rising generations. It is the temptation to depart from the old paths as Satan casts them in a bad light.

He does so by insisting the old paths are not the sole way to truth. In fact, he will insist the old paths are just the dogmatic proclamations of bigoted fanatics. Satan howls with disdain against the idea everyone must travel the old paths. He clamors for new paths that supposedly lead to a better world.

But alas my friend, his new world is a world without God. He promises greater light, but only increases darkness. He promises new paths that produce greater freedom, but the naïve discover too late the new paths are a web of deceptive bondage that drags the soul down to the depths of hell!

     My friend, we need the old paths of the Lord in this New Year. David said, “Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.” Indeed, that needs to be our prayer as well. Let us “ask for the old paths” wherein is the good way and let us walk in them and we shall find rest for our souls.

     Notice again that we should “ask for the old paths” because therein lies the “good way.” The old paths are good because they lead to the fear of the Lord and because they are the paths of righteousness.

These paths show us the way of life itself. Sadly the Lord says of the children of Israel in the book of Isaiah, “I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walks in a way that was not good, AFTER THEIR OWN THOUGHTS” (Isaiah 65:2).

In like manner, there are many in our day doing exactly what the children of Israel did those many years ago. They walk after “their own thoughts.”

Let me say it this way: if you are not walking in the old paths, that is, if you are not following the Word of God, then you are following after the thoughts of mere men. The old paths speak of the Word of God.

Those who refuse to ask for the old paths are choosing rather to follow the words of mere men. Unfortunately, the words of unbelieving men carry far more weight in America today than does the Word of God. We have strayed from the old paths. For example:

Isn’t it true that our nation was not always a nation overrun with idolatry?

Isn’t it true that our nation once honored God, Christ, and His Word in our schools?

Isn’t it true that our nation once embraced the basic definition of marriage as one man for one woman for a life time?

  Isn’t it true that our nation did not always allow no fault divorce?

  Isn’t it true that our nation once held the expectation that men and women would marry before having children?

Isn’t it true that the proliferation of pornography was once unheard of in our nation?

  Isn’t it true that the murder of the unborn child was unthinkable at one time in our nation?

  My friends, we have forsaken the old paths and our nation has embraced a supposed new progressive way of thinking. But the new paths are nothing more than the old lies of Satan himself. And the ways that seem right to the unregenerate minds of modern day Americans will at the end prove to be the ways of death.

Listen to these words from Jeremiah and let me apply the last verse of this reading to our own nation:

“1 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.

2 And though they say, The Lord liveth; surely they swear falsely.

3 O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.

4 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God.

5 I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the Lord, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.

6 Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.

7 How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses” (Jeremiah 5:1-7).

America is guilty of the same unfaithfulness found in verse 7. As the Lord continues to allow material prosperity in America (I have feed them to the full), what has she done to the Lord in return? She has been unfaithful and rebelled against the Lord.

     Now let me show you one final thing in our text. Jeremiah preached in a day when the dark clouds of God’s impending judgment could be seen off on the horizon. Jeremiah would live through the heartbreak of that judgment.

He saw his nation ravaged by a foreign power. He saw many of his people die. He watched as his nation lost her sovereignty and her freedom. Jeremiah says in the book of Lamentations, “mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.” His heart was broken.

The devastation was overwhelming. But know this, at the heart of Jeremiah’s message to the people was a very real invitation. In spite of their backslidings the Lord said to the people in our text, “Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths.”

In effect, the people to whom Jeremiah ministered stood at a crossroad. They could either continue down the path of rebellion, or they could ask for the old paths. That is, they could repent and travel the old paths again. The Lord implores them to “ask for the old paths!”

Then the Lord proceeds to give a powerful promise declaring, “and ye shall find rest for your soul.”

  The invitation was real. The promise was real. Instead of judgment, the nation could enjoy “rest.”

However, the people said “we will not walk therein.” The decision to refuse the old paths finally brought judgment upon the people.

     In this New Year will you choose the old paths? Or do you believe the Bible is out of date and no longer relevant in our day?

I must say that the old paths are quite narrow. The old paths reject the idolatry of multiculturalism. They reject the lie of marco-evolution. They reject the pagan concept of millions of years. They reject the lie mankind is basically good in his nature, and they reject the lie of universal salvation apart from the blood of Christ.

You see, the old paths bring you to the knowledge of the Creator/Redeemer, the only true God and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. The old paths teach you to respect the authority of God’s Word.

The old paths lead you by the way of the cross of Calvary and on to a borrowed, empty tomb. The old paths will lead you to an altar of personal repentance where you can call upon the name of the Lord and be saved.

Ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and you shall find rest for your soul!

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God Sent His Only Begotten Son Into the World

12/13/2020

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Sunday Sermon delivered on 12/06/20

I am speaking today on the subject, “God Sent His Only Begotten Son into the World.”

     It is interesting to note the apostle John expounds upon the birth of Christ in the first chapter of his gospel. In so doing he clearly sets forth the theology central to Christianity. He sets forth the magnificent person of Jesus, the Christ, the unique Son of the living God.

     While Matthew and Luke record the earthly details of the birth of Christ, John begins in heaven itself. He does not discuss Mary, or Joseph, or the manger, or the heavenly hosts, or the shepherds, or even the wise men from the East. Rather, his inspired text takes us immediately into heaven and eternity past. He says in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

     John expands upon verse one as he goes on to say, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

     Thus, John reveals the eternal Word was made flesh, that is, he took to himself human nature. This miracle occurred the moment of the virgin conception whereupon Mary was found with child of the Holy Ghost. This taking of human nature by the eternal Word is what we commonly refer to as the incarnation.

     John’s teaching makes it abundantly clear the child Mary gave birth to was Immanuel, God with us. In particular, he identifies the distinct personality within the Godhead who came to dwell among us in the person of Jesus the Christ. The eternal Word (another title for the eternal Son) came to us in the person of Jesus.

     Brother John MacArthur calls our attention to this essential truth with these words, “If we could condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words,
these would be the words: “God with us.” We tend to focus our attention at Christmas on the infancy of Christ. The greater truth of the holiday is His deity. More astonishing than a baby in the manger is the truth that this promised baby is the omnipotent Creator of the heavens and the earth!”

     Amen!

     Now I come to the text for this message from 1 John 4:9 which says, “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.”

     The apostle John states in our text, “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.”

     The wonder of Christmas is contained in John’s statement, “God sent his only begotten Son into the world.”  John repeatedly states in his gospel that the Father “sent the Son.”

     For example, Jesus states in John 6:38, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” Again, we read in John 17:3, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

     Numerous times in John’s gospel it is said that the Father sent his Son into the world.  The point is this: the eternal Word (the eternally begotten Son of God) was sent to accomplish his Father’s will. The Son “came down from heaven.” The virgin conception clothed him with a human nature. While he remained intrinsically God as a member of the Triune Godhead, the incarnation veiled the glory he had with the Father before the world began (John 17:5).

     Elsewhere Scripture states it pleased the Father that in him (Jesus) should all the fullness of the Godhead dwell in bodily form. In the book of Colossians, the Word of God reveals “it pleased the Father that in him (Jesus, the Christ) should all fullness dwell . . . For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 1:19; 2:9).

     Joseph Pipa, Jr. speaking of Jesus said, “These two simple phrases - "sent forth" and "born of a woman" - sum up the mystery of the incarnation. The eternal Son of God was sent into the world through a process of taking a human nature in the womb of the Virgin Mary. As a result, he was one person existing with two distinct natures. Luther captured the mystery in his advent hymn, "All Praise to Thee, Eternal Lord":

Once did the skies before thee bow;
A virgin's arms contain thee now:
Angels who did in thee rejoice
Now listen for thine infant voice.

     Look again into the Bethlehem manger. The helpless child lying there wrapped
in swaddling clothes was heaven’s child. Although he was God from all eternity past, he humbled himself. He made himself of no reputation, took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men (Phil. 2:7).

     But why—why did our Creator humble himself in this way?

     The Bible says in the book of Hebrews that “he was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death . . . that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Heb. 2:9).

     This passage in Hebrews goes on to say, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil” (Heb. 2:14).

     The latter part of Hebrews 2:14 reaches back to the beginning of earth history. You may recall in the Garden of Eden God promised Adam and Eve that in time the promised Seed of the Woman would “bruise the head of the serpent” (Genesis 3:15). However, in the process of doing so he would suffer a “heel wound.” This language spoke of the future death of Christ and the victory he would win over Satan on our behalf.

     My friends, God sent his only begotten Son into the world to free us from the power of death and bring the promise of eternal life. To do so required his death as a sacrifice for the sin of the world. Thus, he took upon himself human nature to die as the great sacrifice for our sin.

     Think about this for a moment: the Son of God stepped down from his throne with a passion to free you from bondage to sin and death.

     The Scripture reveals Jesus understood the Father prepared for him a body to be offered in sacrifice for sin. Hebrews chapter ten says, “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering you did not want (in other words the Son understood that the Father could never be satisfied by the offerings made under the Old Covenant), but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast found no pleasure. Then said I (the Son is speaking), Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.”

    This means Jesus understood his great sacrifice was necessary to fully propitiate the Divine wrath against sin. He fully understood his death on our behalf was necessary to reconcile us to God.

     Consequently, “for the joy that was set before him” he endured the cross. (Heb. 12:2). With joy he looked beyond the cross knowing his sacrificial death would purchase freedom for a world held in slavery to sin and death. Moved by a passionate desire to save us from our sins, he took upon himself human nature for the suffering of death. Do you fully understand this?

     In light of the Savior’s deep desire to deliver his own from the power of Satan, the message of the angel to the shepherds that holy night should fill our hearts with overflowing joy: “for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord!”

     “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him!”

     That we might live through him! How glorious this is! And all we need do is receive the gift of God’s love.

     I finish now with these familiar words from the gospel of St. John:

“He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:10-13).

     Do you believe upon his name? I believe it breaks the heart of God when any man rejects his love manifested through the gift of his Son.

     And how do men reject that love? Many refuse to accept the overwhelming testimony of Holy Scripture that Jesus is the Son of God. All who refuse to confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God are rejecting the love of God in Christ.

     It matters not if you are Jew or Gentile. Nor does it matter what tradition you grew up in. Once confronted by the witness of the Word through the work of the Spirit you have a decision to make. Perhaps you must give up a misdirected loyalty that denies Jesus as the unique Son of God, God come in the flesh for your salvation. Or perhaps you must once for all turn your back on the love of the world as it pulls your heart away from the Savior.

     But know this—you are making a decision. And your decision will seal your eternal fate. Will you be among those who refuse to receive the gift of salvation? He came unto his own and most of them rejected him, but are you any different?

     Those who say Jesus was “a son of God” refusing to confess him as the Lord who came down from heaven are tragically lost!

     Those who say he was only a prophet are likewise in denial of his unique person. As John says in his first epistle, “he that denies the Son, the same has not the Father.” However, John declares, “whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God.”

As well, those who strip Christ of his Deity and proceed to set him up as some spiritual guru who came to show us the way to some kind of “Christ consciousness” are in terrible spiritual darkness! Unless you repent and turn from such folly soon you will slip into outer darkness where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

     I beg you! Turn to the Lord Jesus Christ! Give up your idols. Give up the wicked imaginations of a rebellious heart and bow the knee to the Son of God. He is the only Savior of the world who came down from heaven to redeem you by the work of his cross and by the power of an endless life! It is time to turn. It is time to bow at his feet and cry out for mercy and grace.

     Hear me: Jesus Christ will save you. He will forgive you. He will deliver you from darkness. He will wash you in his own precious blood. He will raise you out of death and into life. If you will come to him, he will under no circumstance cast you out. He will not reject you. But you must confess he is the Son of God. You must confess he is the Lord who came for your salvation.

     I leave you with the words of the apostle John who said, “And we know that the Son of God is come . . . and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.”

     Hear our text one more time: “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.”

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A Sign to Israel and the World

12/5/2020

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Sunday sermon delivered on 11/29/2020

     Please open your Bible to the OT book of Isaiah and turn to chapter seven. I begin today with a reading of verses one through sixteen as I share a message entitled, “A Sign to Israel and the World.” Isaiah 7:1-16.

     I pause to remind you of the importance of Israel in the sovereign plans of the living God. The Lord’s eternal plan to bring a Savior into the world of necessity included his plans to form a nation through whom the Savior would come. Israel is that nation and is pictured in Revelation chapter twelve as the woman who brought forth a man child, who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron.

     I remind you also the Scripture refers to the one true, living God as “the holy One of Israel” or “the God of Israel” some 233 times with two of those references in the New Testament. The God of our salvation is the God of Israel.

     Upon the birth of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began.”

     Indeed, blessed be the Lord God of Israel who raised up a Savior for both Israel and the world as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets since the world began!

     Now may we read the text from Isaiah 7:1-16 . . .

     Couched in this message to King Ahaz, the king of Judah at that time, is the famous prophecy concerning the future birth of Immanuel. Verse 14 says, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” We will come back to this verse in a few minutes, but first a review of the historical setting in which the Lord gave this mighty prophetic word is necessary.

      Ahaz was of the house of David and reigned in the Southern Kingdom of Israel following his father, Jotham. To place some emphasis upon the house of David bear with me a moment while I read the names of the Kings who reigned over the Southern Kingdom of Israel leading up to King Ahaz.

     Of course, King Saul was Israel’s first king, and he was followed by David. Most of you are probably familiar with the covenant God made with King David. The Lord determined that he would send the Savior through the house of David. By the Lord’s design, the promised Messiah would be a physical descendent of David.

     So, let us pick up again. Following David, King Solomon ruled the nation. And as you may recall, following Solomon’s reign the nation was troubled by a civil war. The war divided the nation into a Northern and Southern Kingdom. The house of David reigned over the Southern Kingdom. Rehoboam was the first to do so. Succeeding sons of the various Kings proceeded to reign as follows: Abijah—Asa—Jehoshaphat—Jehoram—Ahaziah—Joash—Amaziah—Uzziah—Jotham—and then King Ahaz.

     Unfortunately, King Ahaz was an ungodly king. He did evil in the sight of the Lord. 2 Kings 16 states, “But he [Ahaz] walked in the way of the kings of Israel (the Northern Kingdom), yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel. And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.”

     So, Ahaz practiced sordid idolatry. He did not honor the Lord at all. Any reference he makes to the Lord should be understood in the context of just placating the prophet. He pretends to be pious when in fact he is practicing open rebellion against the Lord.

     Of course, the Lord was very patient with the house of David. Despite the behavior of Ahaz, the Lord sent his prophet with good news for the king. Rezin King of Syria and Pekah King of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) would not prevail against Ahaz.

     Note verses one and two again . . .

     So, the Lord sent Isaiah and his son to King Ahaz to say that the plans of those two men to capture Jerusalem and overrun the Southern Kingdom would not stand and would not come to pass (v7).

     Now look with me at verse 9 again . . . If you will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. This was the Lord’s way of saying to Ahaz, “you must trust me, and you must not look for help from another nation (whether Egypt or otherwise).”

     Now look again at verse 10 and 11 . . .

     This is interesting. In his grace the Lord extends to Ahaz the opportunity to ask for a sign that he would deliver the King from the impending threat. In context, it seems to me the Lord is doing so because Ahaz is not a man of faith. He really was not walking with the Lord and he had no personal confidence in the Lord. The Lord knew he needed some confirmation, and in his grace, he offers it. I should quickly add that by design the Lord is setting the table for the great prophetic word found in verse 14.

     You see, it may seem at first glance the famous prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 comes out of nowhere as the Lord deals with this king. However, the Lord uses the occasion to draw special attention to the central focus of his relationship with the house of David--namely that the Messiah would come through the house of David.

     Consequently, the Lord proceeds to reveal in unmistakable terms the Messiah, coming through the house of David, would have no earthly father. This unique and most unusual circumstance would serve as a sign to the nation and to the world.

     Now look again at the response of King Ahaz in verse 12 . . .

     This response was deceitful. King Ahaz responded this way because he did not want to be bothered with the Lord! How do I know? Look again at verse 13 . . .

     The Lord knew exactly what was in the heart of this King and he was not pleased. His false piety veiled his unbelief, and it wearied the Lord!

     However, the Lord uses this occasion to say to Ahaz and to the whole house of David, and for that matter the whole world, I am going to give you a sign anyway.  “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

     It was over 700 years later when this great sign appeared during a quiet night in a little town called Bethlehem as a young virgin girl named Mary gave birth to heaven’s child. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.

     About the time the little baby Jesus was settled from his birth and nestled warmly in the humble garment of his swaddling clothes heaven could not contain itself any longer. In the fields just outside Bethlehem suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds as they kept their flocks by night. They came with news of the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 as the angel said,

     “Fear not, for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

     Please carefully take note of the exact wording of the angel’s announcement. The angel said a Savior was born who is CHRIST THE LORD. The infant child asleep in that manger was “the Lord!” This is Immanuel. This is God with us. The fruit of the virgin’s womb is the God-man. This is the Son of the living God and it pleased the Father that in him should all the fullness of the Godhead dwell in bodily form. This is the eternal Son made a little lower than the angels in the sense that he took upon himself human nature in the person of Jesus the Christ. This is God’s perfect lamb. Is it any wonder heaven could not contain itself?

     Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

     Hear me today: Christmas remains a sign to the entire world. All men everywhere need to take heed to this sign. God has in these last days spoken to us by his Son. Yes, a virgin did conceive miraculously and proceeded to give birth to the only begotten Son of God. Do you believe this good news?

     Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ the unique Son of the living God? Do you believe he is Immanuel? Do you understand that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself? Do you believe Jesus came for your salvation?

     I close with the words of Isaiah 7:9 one more time: “If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.” God required King Ahaz to believe his word. Likewise, God requires that you believe the word spoken concerning his Son. The birth of Christ remains a sign for the whole world.

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Old Paths For A New Year

God Sent His Only Begotten Son Into the World

A Sign to Israel and the World

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