Equal to God
Notes
Transcript
Opening
Opening
We are people have ODD contradictions some time.
Church in rural america decided to gather to pray that a new liqueur store- cigarette gambling store would be removed from their town.
that met every night for weeks...
praying please Lord, strike down this Den or inquiries
The prayed and prayed and the shop owner was aware of this church.
One night a lightening strike hits the store and it burns to the ground.
the shop owner goes to court and sues the church and its people
they are shocked at the man’s audacity.
the court date comes and the man makes his case that the prayer meeting from the people are responsible for the damage
the church denies they had anything to do with the burning of the building
the argument rages one
when the deliberations are finished the judge says that he will deliver his ruling as the details are complex
BUT he says one thing is clear The shop owner of the business believes in the power or prayer and the church does not.
The shipowner the bad man truly believes in the power of prayer and the CHURCH apparently does NOT
ouch.
Most of todays message is centered around false beliefs, missing the power of God and Judging others.
Conflict
Conflict
John 5:18
This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him,
because not only was he breaking the Sabbath,
but he was even calling God his own Father,
making himself equal with God.”
Well.....
there are a few issues here.
the Jews in this verse does not represent the Masses,
but a faction of the Jews
and specifically the Leaders the Pharisees and others.
Jesus healed a man
and the only solution that the Pharisees can see is MURDER?
I would advise that you don’t forget that Jesus was the that arrived on the Passover and upset their little operation in the Temple Court, so we was on their radar.
Lets think about it for a minute
They could have decided to exploit Him for profit
to bring Him into the synagogue to teach
they could have ask to use him for personal healing
They could have dragged him outside of town and stoned Him
or numerous other actions
BUT THEY DECIDE on MURDER.
that is pretty HARSH reaction. ‘
There was JUST something about Jesus
Pharisee thinking
Pharisee thinking
In the most basic sense the Pharisees were seeking to address a violation of THE LAW.
We find ourselves judging there actions don’t we?
Our love for Jesus and our love for others will push us to judgement or protective behavior.
The Pharisees believed they were protecting NOT only God’s law, but there people.
Look at the main verses in question.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
and then
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
This is the basic issue
to exchange addressing two violations by violating another yourself
13 “You shall not murder.
you see God gave Moses 10 things to live life by
and in the Books of the Torah ( the first five)
God gives commands
I can promise you this… God never contradicted himself in any law.
God did not and would not create a PATH OF CONFUSION
that is the Devils business
Remember SURELY in Genesis 3:1-4
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,
3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
That voice in your head is not ALWAYS FROM GOD
God is clear on a SIMPLE RIGHTEOUS LIFE
The Bible is an amazing guide to answer those questions if you study, read
pause pray and ponder it.
man has taken that from there with the confusion that even Paul gives us
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
The majority of our study on John will be about the Wrestling MATCH
the battle that Jesus has and fights
showing GOD’s Way over Man’s Way
battling traditions
battling selfishness and pride in the leaders of the day.
Cool --- SPOILER ALERT
JESUS WINS!!!
AMEN
OUR Actions and Reactions
OUR Actions and Reactions
it is often easy to judge others
What is the reason by judging others?
in an article in from Arcadian counseling it states the number one reason is....
It Helps Us Feel Superior
Judging others often makes us feel superior. Tearing other people down is one the most common ways people prop themselves up. By judging others harshly, we compare ourselves to them and feel superior. Compared to their lives, their behavior, they're physique, we look pretty good!
We are insecure because of not fully accepting WHO we are in Christ.
but like the church people when the bacon hits the pan
we can deny the very thing that we “stand for”
we see the needle in someones eye and miss the log in our own.
Part of our human condition
Jesus just healed a disabled man
to bring it our discussion up a notch
the ESV that i read from last week didn’t mention ANGELS
yet in some other versions it mentions that the JEWISH people believed that it was and Angel of the Lord that stirred the waters in that pool for healing
and the FIRST PERSON TO GO IN WOULD BE HEALED
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 5
[1waiting for the moving of the waters;
4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.]
the culture of this story was one that looked at the LAW and believed in
miracles.
Friends we suffer from that today.
we believe partially in miracles,
we question or miss the miracles around us today
and we have a version of LAW inside of us that leads us down
wrong paths at times.
Missing THE WAY with a way
We pray for something,
and God brings change and because we don’t see the whole picture we doubt.
You hate your job, you lose your job, you are totally upset and then God opens the door to a better world.
We resist change because the UNKNOWN scares us
This is another part of the Pharisees issues here we Jesus.
Jesus is making CHANGE Happen
Jesus is challenging the Status QUO
Our Understanding
Our Understanding
Our understanding
Simply put is often as sideways and hypocritical as the PHARISEES
most of us have a sneaky little SIN GAUGE inside of us
and unfortunately it is not always tuned to the same frequency that God uses.
Let me drift us back
Jesus has cleared the temple,
healed a officials son of a life threatening disease
and now healed an invalid
and the Pharisees hear about it
and seek to MURDER HIM because of the violation of doing it on the SABBATH
?
If Jesus did it on any other day would they have been IMPRESSED and AWED or would they have still missed it??????
Our Pharisee Friends are missing the Miracle
and we are so guilty also.
Case for Equality
Case for Equality
Let me give you the Largest reason the Jewish Leaders were upset
Deuteronomy 6:4 (ESV)
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
you see one argument for the elements of Jewish Salvation is
Yahweh’s awesome actions
Yahweh’s covenant with the Jews
and the following of God’s Law revealed in the Torah (first five books)
in Deut. 6 verse 4
Hear O israel --- Is a call to remember these important Jewish facts
God is above ALL
You are special and set apart
and you MUST follow the law to be saved.
and the Pharisees were the Military Police of the day.
Look at this verse and then we will close
Deuteronomy 10:12 (ESV)
12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you,
but to fear the Lord your God,
to walk in all his ways,
to love him,
to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
The Pharisees in our minds were awful..
How could they do or think that to OUR JESUS?
Yet they were raised, trained and ordained to follow YAHWAH,
and to ensure that others KNEW the TRUTH of the LAW.
Things we teach today.
Fear the Lord
Walk in Christ
Love Him with all your heart and soul
Serve Him with everything in your life.
If some one challenged that would you be angry?
[PAUSE]
Have you been upset that a Pastor challenged your beliefs?
Have you thought a politician was being a Hypocritic
have you thought someone Dressed wrong for Church
How about thinking someone is wrong not praying before a meal?
I pray not to be like the Pharisee’s in your life
but like Jesus in your heart and mind.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
Next week we are going to study Jesus’s answer to the statement in verse 5:18
Just like that church in the story i told you upfront
We need to believe in the power of the Lord
We need to believe He is ALIVE AND IN CHARGE
that the Lord IS NOT RISEN JUST ON EASTER
JUST REMEMBER EASTER CELEBRATION IS EVERY MOMENT OF OUR LIVES
that the Lord will answer prayer and we learn to TRUST
Friends we need to work hard to conform to Him
Seek to not be a hypocritic
To stop when we see something DIFFERENT, and way it with SCRIPTURE, not our beliefs.
Be able to be challenged with out Murdering some ones
character, or good name.
seek to be like Jesus
One with the Father
Knowing the Lord our God is One with You
and the We are all One Body in Christ Jesus
we are all a little different, a little odd
But i prefer to say that we are all
wonderfully and fearfully made in the image of Jesus
when we accepted Him as our Lord and Saviour
Jesus is ONE
Jesus is the Father
The Father is Jesus
and in order to KNOW, TO BELIEVE, TO LIVE IN ASSURANCE
My biggest personal belief in my life with Christ
is this:
Jesus must and has to be GOD.
For only God is perfect
For only God is totally and completely with out sin
The salvation of the Jews required a perfect Lamb
completely unblemished
and Friends
OUR JESUS is the Only ONE that Has Ever Been that can
Fulfill that ROLE.
Christians rest assured
In Christ is Eternal Life.
Amen