He Came Unto His Own...
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
What is it that you love?
What is it that you say, “I love ‘blank’ more than anything else in this world”?
Your wife/husband
Your children
Work
Your happiness
The church
There are many things in this world that we give importance in this world but for the Christian, we need to ask this question: Do we love those things more than we love Jesus?
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
If there is anything you love more than Jesus - you are a Christian name only.
Israel thought they were the people of God because they were children of Abraham.
They have accused Stephen, a young Greek Jew who had become a Christian, of four things
Blasphemy against God
Blasphemy against Moses
Speaking against the temple
Speaking against the law
You see, Israel thought these things were what made them who they were - what is it that you think makes you you?
Joseph - a mediator
Joseph - a mediator
Joseph was given to the people of God to save God’s people.
9 “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him
He ends up saving both Egypt and the patriarchs and their families.
God sent them a savior and they were not able to see the need for salvation or the savior
Joseph was not perfect
But he kept his eye and his faith on God
In this way, Joseph was a foreshadowing of the Christ to come
John 1:11 (ESV) — 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
There are a couple of things we need to realize
We do not always recognize or accept help
Well, that’s just dumb you say
In 1965, the surgeon general released its warning on cigarettes causing cancer (though it wasn’t until 1971 that it actually started printing on the packs) - how many people have you known that smoke anyway?
Today, they have vaping
That causes respiratory, heart, and digestive diseases as well as decreasing your immune system and reproductive systems
And if you vape with nicotine, yes it still causes cancer
And yet, even with the warnings, people are still vaping
We should not be surprised that people refuse Jesus even today
Even though there is even a greater price than death
The is the second death - an eternity of suffering in the Lake of Fire
14 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all.
Stephen quotes
Genesis 46:27 (ESV) — 27 And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two. All the persons of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were seventy.
But in the Greek version of the OT (the Septuagint) , which took the 70 and added Joseph’s five descendents that had been born in Egypt.
Israel, was then in Egypt for 430 years and Joseph and his salvation of Egypt was forgotten.
2 reasons -
That God’s glory might be shown and known to the world (we looked at that last week)
That the Amorites sin would come to completion
Genesis 15:16 (ESV) — 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
God is a merciful God
Luke 1:50 (ESV) — 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
Proverbs 9:10 (ESV) — 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Job 28:28 (ESV) — 28 And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’ ”
You see, again to Israel, what was more important than anything to them is what they did and where they did it
they worshipped at the temple
they were children of Abraham
they followed the teachings of Moses and the Law
Well, we would never do such things, would we?
We are the people of God because
we have been baptised
we go to church (at lease on Sunday morning’s)
and sometimes we do good stuff (if we happen to have time)
What makes us the people of God is not what we have done or what we are doing but we are the people of God
Because of Jesus
Because of His work on the Cross
All those other things come as overflow of our love of God in response to our salvation
You see, Israel had forgotten God’s own warning
6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Jesus had reminded them when they came and questioned Jesus why He was eating with sinners.
13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
God calls to sinners and rejoices when they come
7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Jesus came to save that first time but the next time He is sent it is to judge
39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”
Which reminds us in the end of this...
33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
And reminds us of the warnings in scripture -
36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,
10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
So, I ask you - do you seek to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, body, and soul? And when you do not, are you grieved that you have fallen short?
Nobody likes to feel grieved (sad or disappointed in yourself) but the Bible tells us that grief brings repentance, and repentance leads to salvation which is to Jesus and His work on the cross.
If you are here today and feel grief with the realization that you have wronged God know that the Holy Spirit has opened your heart to that - answer that call and repent, come to the cross and receive the salvation being offered to you!