When God became a Man

When God became a Man

Text: John 1:1-14.                              

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
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.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.
He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
“And the Word became 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.”

King Solomon stood in the lavish temple he had built, he spoke these words: “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!” 1 Kings 8:27. If God did dwell on the earth, what would He be like? What would He say? What would He do?  

This is the theme of our text. For God did indeed dwell on the earth, as a man, a sinless man! The gospels are not the full picture they are but snapshots of the life of Christ. John 21:25 says “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.”

Matthew emphasized Jesus as King of the Jews.

Mark emphasized Christ as the suffering servant.

Luke emphasized Christ as the Son of Man.

But John emphasizing Jesus Christ as the Son of God!

The entire Bible is about Jesus Christ, all of history is HIS story. He is on every page in types, symbols, and shadows. And the gospel of John explains the fulfilment of all of those in the person of Jesus. It is in John that we learn that Jesus IS the lamb from Old Testament sacrifices.

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29.

Here is the theme of the entire Bible: It is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world! Adam and Eve sinned. Their boys inherited that sin nature. Both were told to bring a sacrifice for their sins. Abel brought a lamb, Cain brought fruits and vegetables. No wonder Abel’s offering was accepted, and Cain’s rejected, what made the difference? The Blood of the lamb!

          We keep seeing the lamb covering for sin:

1.    In Genesis 4:4, the lamb was slain for ONE MAN. “Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering” Genesis 4:4.

2.    In Exodus 12, the lamb was slain for ONE FAMILY. Where God told every family to take one lamb, sacrifice it, and apply its blood to the top of the doorpost and the sides (what were they forming? A cross of blood!).

3.    In Leviticus 16, the lamb was slain for ONE NATION. God told the high priest to kill a lamb for the sins of the whole nation of Israel (this was done once a year for hundreds of years).

4.    In John 1:29, Jesus is introduced, “Behold, the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.” All the other lambs were leading up to this; they were just pictures of the perfect Lamb to come. The Lamb to span all eternity! Now there's no need to sacrifice literal lambs, they were only pictures of Christ, and once you have the fulfilment, you no longer need the 'type.'

It is John who tells us that Jesus is the lamb of the Old Testament.

It is John that tells us that Jesus is the temple of the Old Testament.

Solomon's temple was made of gold, marble, and brass, magnificent, and breathtakingly beautiful. And everything in that temple was a picture of Jesus, who was yet to come. Even the colour schemes pictures aspects of His character and nature.

          As you walk into the courtyard you pass by the brazen altar where the lamb would be slain, a picture of the cross. You would come to the brazen laver, the water of the Word, and Jesus IS the Word! Inside the temple is the table of showbread, Jesus, the bread of life. The golden lampstand, Jesus, the light of the world. The altar of incense, Jesus our High Priest, makes intercession for us.

          John gives us many deep truths, but only one major theme: Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and is the only one who can give to you eternal life. 

CONCLUSION:

God became a man and dwelt among us! And we beheld His glory.

The beginning of evil

The beginning of evil

Text: Genesis 3:9-10.     

“Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” - So, he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

Adam found himself in his worst nightmare, “naked before God.”

Genesis is the “Book of Beginnings.” Nearly everything that we know about mankind began in the Book of Genesis.

E.g. The beginning of the universe, time, man and woman, family life.

Later we will see:

Today I want to start with the beginning of Satan, doubt, sin, punishment and judgement, during the fall of mankind.

1.    THE FIRST MENTION OF THE DEVIL, GENESIS 3:1-5.

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, 'you shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?”

And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'”

Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Many people have the belief of God, be it the Christian idea of a Heavenly God, or some sort of divine being. Yet, so few believe in a person called the Devil, Satan. So today I what to first speak about the beginning of evil through Satan

What can we learn about the Devil from his first mention in Genesis 3?

a.     He is cunning, verse 1. “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.” Meaning: he is sly crafty, sneaky, foxy, scheming, etc.

b.    He is the author of doubt, verse 4. “Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.”

c.     He is the chief of liars, verse 4. “Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.” He is the father of lies (John 8:48), and he invented the sin of rebellion, which is as the sin of witchcraft! (I Samuel 15:23). Satan is a liar. 

d.    He will use scripture to deceive men! And if Scripture will help Satan’s cause, he will use scripture. Notice how he twists this passage of what God said: Genesis 2:17 “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Satan twists the truth to say in Genesis 3:5 “You will not surely die.
For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” But, that is not what the Scripture said.

e.     He is the enemy of God. He is the ruler of an evil kingdom standing in opposition to the Kingdom of God.

          Satan attempts to overthrow God, but will end up in the lake of fire. “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” Revelation 20:10.

2.    THE FIRST MENTION OF SIN. GENESIS 3:9-11. 

Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So, he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

Their eyes were opened, but they did not become as gods as the devil promised them; however, they saw their nakedness. Adam and Eve lived years before BC (Before Clothing!) They had been naked all along, but were not informed what being naked meant. Look at verses 9-11, God is saying to them, “Who told you that you were naked? Where did you learn about nakedness?”

a.     Sin is attractive, verse 6 “it was pleasant to the eyes.” Do not be deceived by sin. It will bait you, trap you, tempt you, appeal to you, it will sway you; but, it will blind you; and it will cause you to fall.

b.    Sin is pleasurable for a season, Hebrews 11:25 “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.”

c.     BUT, sin destroys. Sin is a cancer that destroys the soul of man (and often the body of man). James 1:15 “Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” If you are involved in the practice of sin, you are on the road to death and damnation.

Notice what sin did to the family of Adam: Imagine the regret, the heartbreak, the sorrow, that Adam and Eve were going through as they buried Abel their son (killed by his own brother Cain). Sin will always bring sorrow, heartbreak, and regret. Sin destroyed Adam’s family, brought remorse and heartache to all of Adam’s days.

3.    THE FIRST MENTION OF THE SAVIOUR. GENESIS 3:15.

          “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

God’s plan before Creation was for the salvation of mankind.

1.     The plan has always been Jesus Christ. “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” Ephesians 1:4.

2.     The plans of God is not an afterthought. There has never been any other plan.

3.     The plan of salvation is not an act of desperation. God has never lost control of the universe, nor the destiny of mankind. He has had this same plan for man’s redemption for all eternity past.

Conclusion:

Today, you are either following the voice of the Devil, living your life in sin (wrong doings), that will take you to hell for all eternity. Or today, you can hear the voice of God speaking to you, to repent, and to accept salvation through His Son Jesus Christ.

“That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” John 3:15-18.

Today, you can be safe in the love of God, “Then the Lord God called to (all men and women) and said to (them), “Where are you?”

Do not be found naked before God, but be clothed in His righteousness today!

The power of God in our lives

The power of God in our lives

Text: Luke 4:18.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”

Here is a passage of Scripture that was going to be fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus, for it describes what Jesus came to do and what He is still doing in lives today. Jesus came to deal with the vast problems that have afflicted mankind throughout history:

Poverty: “To preach the gospel to the poor.”

Sorrow: “To heal the brokenhearted.”

Bondage: “To proclaim liberty to the captives.”

Suffering: “And recovery of sight to the blind.”

Oppression: “To set at liberty those who are oppressed.”

In short, He came “to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” He presented Himself as the answer to all the needs of mankind. And it is true, whether you think of these in a physical sense or in a spiritual sense. Christ is the answer to mankind’s need!

When Jesus spoke to people, they saw the power of the Holy Spirit in His life. Today in our lives we need to be men and women FULL of the Holy Spirit whatever our ministry. We tend to think of the Holy Spirit as gently leading us to Christ, and gently showing us the way to follow the Lord.

BUT! The Bible thinks of the Holy Spirit as ALMIGHTY POWER! Power in which God is acting. We need to renew our relationship with God and the Holy Spirit, for men cannot make you desire God and the Spirit, only God can. So, we need to awaken our own desires, and have a willingness to seek the fullness of the Spirit in our lives.

What Jesus started, the Church must continue. For the Spirit of the Lord should be upon US, to continue His work.

1.    POVERTY.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon US, because He has anointed US to preach the gospel to the poor.”

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.”

I speak by divine appointment. I am divinely inspired to speak. Anciently kings and prophets and the high priest were set apart to their work by anointing with oil, 1 Kings 19:15-16; Exodus 29:7; 1 Samuel 9:16, etc. It is interesting to note that at the top of the list of Jesus’ ministries, is the fact of preaching the “good news” to the poor.

This was the main reason of Jesus own ministry and it should be the same main reason in the Church today. We are to preach the Gospel to those that are in poverty. The Pharisees and Sadducees despised the poor; but the gospel seeks to bless them, to give comfort where it is felt to be needed, and where it will be received with gratitude.

The poor feel their need of some source of comfort that the world cannot give, and accordingly Jesus the Saviour met with his greatest success of the gospel among the poor. The “poor” are meant all those who are needy of the comforts of this life, and who therefore may be more readily willing to seek treasures in heaven; all those who are sensible of their sins, or are poor in spirit Matthew 5:3.  

          Spiritual poverty is perhaps the most depriving and impoverishing form of poverty that people can ever know. So, Christ Jesus came to announce the good news of God’s grace, forgiveness, and love to those who were suffering because of the poverty of sin. Jesus came that He might reverse this spiritual poverty that has troubled humanity from the beginning of time.

2.    SORROW.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon US; He has sent US to heal the broken-hearted.”      

“To heal the broken hearted.”

To console those who are deeply afflicted, or whose hearts are “broken” by external calamities or by a sense of their sinfulness. Christ came to be our “Great Physician;” for He was sent to heal the broken-hearted, to comfort and cure afflicted consciences, to give peace to those that were troubled and humbled by sin, and under a dread of God's wrath against them, and to bring them to rest who were weary and heavy-laden, under the burden of guilt and corruption.

          So also, should we seek to bind up and heal the broken hearts around us today?

3.    BONDAGE.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon US, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”

          Captives are those who have been captured and restricted by some power and deprived of their freedom to be and to do right. Jesus here is referring to those who find themselves taken captive and deprived by sin. In this manner the gospel imparts favour. It may not mean “a literally opening of prison doors,” but it releases the mind captive under sin; it gives comfort to the prisoner, and it will finally open all prison doors and break off all the chains of slavery in sin.

Jesus came in God's name to discharge poor sinners that were debtors and prisoners to divine justice. The prophets could but proclaim liberty, but Christ, as one having authority, as one that had power on earth to forgive sins. If anyone finds themselves enslaved by sin and crushed by evil, they alone need to accept the fact only they can seek a way out of their captivity. Jesus came to set free people who are held captive by their sins, to make them children of God.

4.    SUFFERING.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon US, and recovery of sight to the blind.”

          Many are sick in body today. Yet Jesus said, “These signs and wonders shall follow the preaching of His Word.” These signs are the signs of the healing power of God in the bodies and minds of the sick, for no sickness is outside the power of God’s healing power.

          We should always expect signs and wonders to follow the preaching of the Word of God, when it is anointed by the power of God. All people everywhere are drawn to miracles and healing, as they were in Jesus’ day. So, should they be in these days, if the Church is where it should be in God, God will bless HIS WORD with HIS signs and wonders.

5.    OPPRESSION.

“To set at liberty those who are oppressed.” “The Spirit of the Lord is upon US, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

          Time is short! Tomorrow will be too late for many that will never see tomorrow, so TODAY is their day of Salvation. If Christ should come today, who will be left to preach the Gospel, to heal the sick? So, let us be ready now to do the work of the Master. The harvest is great, but the workers are so few.

CONCLUSION:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”

The Adam’s family

Text: Romans 5:19.

“For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.”

“Therefore, just as through one-man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.
And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.
For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.
Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” Romans 5:12-21.

          I want to speak about the “Adam’s Family,” not the dark family that lived in a spooky old house, with Lurch the butler. But this family starts with a dark secret called sin. What a strange family the Adam’s family was, for they had it all, and yet gave it all away. We are part of this same Adam’s family! We continue in our heritage as we “lurch” through life, still allowing sin to “fester” within us. What a strange “thing” is this Adam’s family. 

          Very simple I am saying that by “one man” disobedience sin enter this world, and by the work of “one man” Christ the second Adam’s obedience, sin was dealt with once for all. Because we were all condemned by one we can all be saved by One. In Jesus the second Adam we gained 'much more' than we ever lost in Adam.  

There are THREE things we can learn about the first Adam:

1.    He was a real man, verse 12.

“Therefore, just as through one-man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” Romans 5:12.

Many today say the first three chapters of the Bible are symbolic in nature. Even many Christians today try to marry the Bible to evolution and billions of years in order not to be laughed at and say there was no real Adam and Eve, it is just a picture of our earliest ancestors and how we choose sin. 

There had to be a real Adam, for our salvation depends upon it. According to our text, if one man, Adam, did not plunge us into sin, then one man, Jesus, could not save us from sin! “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous” Romans 5:19.

Why do people deny the existence of Adam? To do away with the existence of God!

Evolution: says man is evolving, moving from darkness into light. If today’s mankind is getting better based on the past, pity helps those that are coming after us. Evolution is a religion with no God.

Creation: says man is devolving, moving from light into darkness. All the evidence is there, just look around you. If there was no Adam, then there was no fall, no sin, and more so no need for a Saviour or a God.

2.    He was a ruined man, verse 12.

“Therefore, just as through one-man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” Romans 5:12.

“Sin entered” the world. Satan tempted Eve by saying “has God said” just like the world does today; they doubt God's Word and the existence of God! Then the devil got Eve to add to God's Word by saying “we cannot eat the fruit or touch it!” Did God say they could not touch it? No! Every cult in the world starts by somebody adding to God's Word. Then Lucifer went on to deny God's Word by saying, “you shall not surely die!”

Eve was deceived, but Adam sinned with his eyes wide open. He knew he was disobeying, and that is why he gets credited with the fall, in the garden, God came looking for Adam.

3.    He was a representative for man, verses 12-14.

“Therefore, just as through one-man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come” Romans 5:12-14.

How do we know we are all racially related to Adam? Because we look and act like him. Adam sin was passed down to his son, and then to his son, then to his son, etc. until sin was passed down to you and me.

We inherit from our father:

Death, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come” Romans 5:12-14.

Other than by the rapture none of us are getting out of this world alive. We all fight it, and we all will eventually lose.

Sin nature, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. Romans 5:12.

This is why we have to teach our children to tell the truth, and not to lie, to share, and not to be selfish, to obey, and not to disobey, to control their temper, and not to lose it. Anything that is wrong comes naturally because of the sin nature.  We are not sinners because we commit sins; we commit sins because we are sinners!  

Here is the downward spiral of sin in Romans 5:

Verse 12 “Sin entered.”

Verse 20 “Sin abounded.”

Verse 21 “Sin reigned.”

          Here is a simple example: a man takes a drink, the drink needs another drink, and the drink finally takes the man.

CONCLUSION:

We have seen a family portrait of the Adam’s Family. Death reigns, sin abounds, and judgment is coming. We get all of this through Adam, but there is salvation found in the second Adam Christ Jesus. Are you in Adam or in Christ? We began in Adam by virtue of our birth, so we need a rebirth to know Christ and to share His nature.