The New Wine is the Best Wine!

In the book of Exodus, the Lord gave Moses the power to turn the waters of the Nile into blood, but here in John chapter 2 Jesus transforms water into wine.  The transformation of water into blood is symbolic of judgement that was to come, but the transformation of water into wine speaks of the joy in the Lord that can be ours when the clay pots of our lives are filled with the water of God’s word!  As John 1:16 and 17 tell us, “…of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.  For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”  Click on the following link for last Sunday’s full teaching on this first of Jesus miraculous signs.

http://www.ccswm.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=451:11272016-the-good-wine&catid=1:sermons&Itemid=25

Doing the work of an evangelist....without actually being one....

John the Baptist was a powerful evangelist, ministering to the multitudes, rebuking the sins of the people, and urging them towards repentance as he prepared the way for the coming of the Lord.  He was, both figuratively and literally, “…the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord!”  Perhaps such vociferous evangelism seems to be beyond your power to emulate.  Does the thought of standing before crowds and preaching the gospel seem a little intimidating to you?  Well if it does, you can relax.  We are not all called to stand before multitudes and proclaim the coming of the Lord…  but we are all called to do the share the truth we have received. 

In II Timothy 4:5 Paul exhorted his young friend to “…do the work of an evangelist…”  So, what does that mean for us today, and what examples can we find in the scripture that show us how to do this work, aside from shouting from the roof tops or out in the wilderness?  John chapter 1:29-51 give us some awesome examples. 

In John 1:29, when John declares “Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” a couple of his disciples became very curious, and decided to follow Jesus to see what he was all about, they very quickly came to the conclusion that this was, indeed, the Messiah.  Instead of keeping this information to themselves, or tucking it away for future consideration, they immediately found someone to share the information with.  It is believed that one of these two men who first followed Jesus was John, the author of this gospel, but the other is clearly identified as Andrew.  After meeting Jesus, the first thing Andrew did was find his brother, and tell him about the discovery.  Verse 41 tells us that “He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus…”

 

This behavior was repeated a few verses later when, after having met Jesus, Philip also has to find someone to tell; vs 45-46 tells us that “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”  Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 

The pattern is simple:  meet Jesus, go find someone with whom you have an existing relationship and who has not met Jesus, tell them what you have found, and invite them to come and see for themselves- No shouting in the wilderness necessary!  

Who Was John The Baptist?

So, who was he?
Where did he come from?
What was it he came to accomplish?
What can we learn from his ministry?

For the answer to all of these questions and more, listen to the latest teaching from Calvary Chapel Southwest Metro in Burleson, Texas by clicking on the link below!

http://sermonsave.com/ccswm/sermons/2016/1113-John1.mp3

Blessings,

-PK

The Divine Expression!

John 1:1 tells us who Jesus really is.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  This passage takes us all the way back to the beginning of time, and at the beginning of time we find that “the Word” was already there! 

Jesus, you see, is not a created being, but is Himself the creator of all things.  The scripture makes it very, very clear that He was both with God, and that He was God.  Jesus was the “Word” which in the Greek language of the New Testament is “logos” and can be translated to mean, “the divine expression.”  Jesus then, is the very expression of God the Father. 

In the book of Hebrews, chapter 1, verses 1-3 this truth is expressed beautifully as it is written, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory  and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power; when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…” (NKJV).  

Not only does this passage confirm that Jesus is the express image of God’s person, it also correlates with John 1:3-5 in confirming Jesus as the creator of all things.  As John writes, “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (NKJV).  Jesus created all things in the beginning, and entered into His own creation, to redeem us to the Father.  He is the divine expression, and came to express not only who God is, but also to express to us the love that God has for us.  He is the divine expression, the very demonstration of God’s love!

An Introduction to John, "That You Might Believe"

Join me in listening to our introduction to the Gospel of John that was presented this past Sunday at Calvary Chapel Southwest Metro, by clicking on the link:  http://www.ccswm.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=448:11062016-that-you-might-believe&catid=1:sermons&Itemid=25.  Or by clicking on the ccswm.org web site listed above.

Have a blessed week,

PK

This week here at CCSWM we will begin our study of The Gospel of John, and I for one, am very excited.  John’s gospel is one of my favorite books of the Bible for a variety of reasons, one of which is that John is very clear about why he wrote it, and another is that John offers a unique perspective on the life and works of Christ that stands apart from Matthew, Mark, and Luke in both content and design.

While some are critical of the differences between the synoptic gospels, as Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called, these differences are not contradictory, but rather complementary.  Of the three synoptic gospels, Mark was written first, and it seems clear that Matthew and Luke referred to Mark when penning their accounts of the life and ministry of Christ.  John was written last of these four, and though John had access to the preceding works, chose rather to compliment them than to simply repeat the things that had been written in them.  John acknowledges these differences, and expresses his purpose for choosing to focus on different details in John 20:30-31 where he writes, “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (NKJV). 

John’s stated purpose in writing this Gospel, is to encourage belief in Jesus as the Son of God, and his profession is that those who do believe will have life in the name of Jesus Christ.  In this brief statement John communicates the heart of the Gospel.  It is my hope, that as we read together, we will be strengthened in our conviction that Jesus Christ is who this book professes Him to be, the only begotten son of the true and living God.