Scripture: Matthew 10: 38-40

Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. ⁴⁰ “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 

Scripture Commentary: What is life?

Life is a gift from God. What do you do with a gift? You may play with it, wear it, throw it away, cherish it, or use it. There are so may ways you can use a gift.

In Matthew 10: 38-40, Jesus offers ways to use the gift God has given us. He says that with this gift there may be pain, heartache and discomfort, but in the end there is eternal joy.

Jesus did not come to bring the kind of peace that eases differences just for the sake of superficial comfort.

Conflict comes to people who follow Jesus. In following Christ you are leaving the things of the world behind, and in doing this you may be leaving loved ones. Jesus says you have a choice. Take up your cross and follow Him or go the way of Satan.

The way of the world is temporary. The money, glamour and glitter are only for a moment. Jesus’ way may have hardships and difficulties but did the world give Jesus a life of roses? No! So why would you get better?

Jesus calls you to a higher mission than to find comfort and tranquility here on earth.

To take your cross and follow Jesus is to be willing to identify with Him and to experience opposition from the world that is on another path that is not following the things of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Matthew 10

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Matthew:

Not Everyone Has a Relationship with God. What About You?

Jesus Came to Save the Lost

Scripture: John 3: 16

 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Scripture Commentary: For God so loved us …

John 3:16 is one of the most important verses in The Bible. For God so loved the world that He gave us the sacrifice of His only begotten Son!

What a gift, what a promise! And what a choice we have! We can choose to accept Jesus Christ or not accept Him. We each get to choose. The entire gospel comes down to the choice in this verse.

God so loved us that He sent His Son to prepare a way for us for redemption.

When you love dearly, you are willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice. God paid the highest price with the life of His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus accepted taking the punishment for our sins on Himself. By this, He offers us a new life with His Father in heaven.

The eternal life Jesus has for us is not the life we are living here on earth. It is a life free from sin, sickness, death and chaos. This heavenly life is not an extension of what we are enduring here.

In the Old Testament the priest sacrificed unblemished animals daily to atone for the sins of the people. When God sent His Son as a sacrifice for our sins, He was perfect without blemish for He had no sin. As such, Jesus is the only one who could be sacrificed for the sins of all people.

For God so loved us that He lets us choose our path.

We are to serve and put our love and trust in Jesus Christ; His promise of everlasting life in His Father’s Kingdom is ours for eternity. To reject Jesus is to spend eternity in Hell. If you think you are living in hell now, this is nothing to what is waiting for those who reject Jesus.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

John 3

Read Other Commentary from the Book of John:

Believe … Even Thomas The Doubter Believed

Jesus Is the One and Only

Sermon, Who I Am Not  – Part Three: Who Is the Messiah?

Scripture: John 1: 19-27

¹⁹ Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders^[c] in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. ²⁰ He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”  ²¹ They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”  He said, “I am not.”  “Are you the Prophet?”  He answered, “No.”  ²² Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”  ²³ John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”^{[d]  24} Now the Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵ questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”  ²⁶ “I baptize with^[e] water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. ²⁷ He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” 

Jesus is the only perfect sacrifice.

John the Baptist said he was not worthy to be Jesus Christ’s slave or to take off His shoes.  John emphasized why he came; to prepare the way for the Messiah.  The Messiah, the Son of God, is the only one who has the power to forgive you of your sins.

A life had to be given to pay the penalty for sin and God sacrificed Himself.   Jesus Christ is the only perfect sacrifice; His death removed all obstacles between God and us. 

Jesus gives us direct access to the Father.

We now have direct access to God the Father through Jesus Christ, our advocate.  John the Baptist took his place as the humble servant.  In Luke 7:28, Jesus says, “For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

Think about this: the day you stand before God and He looks at you, He will ask if you did the tasks He gave you.  Will He welcome you to His heavenly kingdom or will it be as Jesus says in Matthew 25: 12, “But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”

If John the Baptist felt so inadequate to even unlace Jesus’s sandals, how then are we not to serve Jesus with all of our mind, body and soul?  Whatever sense of pride and self-importance we may feel has to melt away.

In Judiasm, religion, a lamb was sacrificed in the temple every morning and evening for the sins of the people (Exodus 29: 38-42).  Isaiah 53:7 prophesied that the Messiah would be led to the slaughter like a lamb.  The price for the people’s sins was the price of a life. 

Jesus Christ was the price for all humankind.

The sacrifice had to be perfect, without spot or blemish.  The sacrifice had to be sinless.  No one except Jesus Christ fits this description.  This is the way that our sins are forgiven.

This is why John the Baptist, even though he was a well-known preacher with a large following, he knew the role he was placed here on earth for: to be the kerusso, the announcer for the coming of the Messiah.

In conclusion, John the Baptist told the Pharisees who he was not.  He was not the Messiah, not God’s only Begotten Son and not the light for the world.  Also, he was not the Lamb of God, not the one to take away the sins of the world.  Additionally, he was not the alpha or omega, and not the I AM.  And he wasn’t able to raise the dead and heal the sick.  He wasn’t the Messiah.

John the Baptist was the one who baptized with water; the voice of the one calling to prepare the way of the Lord.  He was the servant of God.

Who are you and what are you doing for God? 

What are you doing for your neighbor?  Are you reflecting the light of Jesus Christ?  Do you spread the Gospel of Jesus, help your neighbor, and show love?  Are you trying to be the servant that God placed you on earth to be?  We are not perfect but we are to be the best servant for God that God created us to be.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:

John 1

Luke 7

Matthew 25

Exodus 29

Read Part One and Part Two of the Sermon, Who I Am Not

Sermon – Part One: Who I Am Not

Sermon – Part Two: Do You Know Who Jesus Is?

Sermon, Who I Am Not  – Part Two: Do You Know Who Jesus Is?

Scripture: John 1: 19-27

¹⁹ Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders^[c] in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. ²⁰ He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”  ²¹ They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”  He said, “I am not.”  “Are you the Prophet?”  He answered, “No.”  ²² Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”  ²³ John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”^{[d]  24} Now the Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵ questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”  ²⁶ “I baptize with^[e] water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. ²⁷ He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” 

Do you know who Jesus is?

Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the sacrificed Lamb that was led to slaughter, the High Priest, the Prince of Peace, the Light of the World, God’s Only Begotten Son, and the I Am.

John the Baptist was preordained in his mother’s womb when the angels told his mother how he was to be raised.

God has a plan for each of us, like He had for John, but to know your mission, you must know and accept God.  The Book of John shows Jesus as fully human and fully God.  Although Jesus took full humanity onto Himself, He never ceased to be the eternal God who has always existed.  He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things, and the source of eternal life.  This is who John the Baptist tells the world that Jesus is.

Jesus is the one true light.

We, like John the Baptist, are not the source of God’s light; we merely reflect God’s light.  Jesus Christ is the one true light.  He guides us to the Father.  We must never think we can be the one who brings the light; we are only reflectors of Christ’s light.

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we become part of God’s family and are spiritually alive with God’s grace.  This is God’s gift to all of us. 

Don’t be like the Pharisees that went to John the Baptist asking who was he.  They had the Old Testament.  They had the Torah plus the prophets to tell them who he was. These same books told them about Jesus Christ.  These same priests outwardly obeyed God’s law to look pious while their hearts were filled with pride and greed.  These religious leaders believed their oral traditions were just as important as God’s Word.

The Pharisees asked John who gave him authority to baptize.  They really were asking why was he baptizing God’s chosen people like Gentiles? When John replied that he was baptizing with water, he was merely helping the people perform a symbolic act of repentance.  But one was coming who would truly forgive sins.  He is the Messiah, Jesus Christ, God’s only Begotten Son.   He is the only one with the power to forgive.

John the Baptist said he was not worthy to be Jesus Christ’s slave or to take off His shoes.  John emphasized why he came; to prepare the way for the Messiah.  The Messiah, the Son of God, is the only one who has the power to forgive you of your sins. 

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

John 1

Return Next Week to Read Part Three of the Sermon, Who I Am Not

Read Part One of the Sermon, Who I Am Not

Sermon – Part One: Who I Am Not

Scripture: John 1: 19-27

¹⁹ Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders^[c] in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. ²⁰ He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”  ²¹ They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”  He said, “I am not.”  “Are you the Prophet?”  He answered, “No.”  ²² Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”  ²³ John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”^{[d]  24} Now the Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵ questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”  ²⁶ “I baptize with^[e] water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. ²⁷ He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” 

In John 1,  John the Baptist is asked, “Who are you?”  In verses 20 and 21, he tells them who he is not.  People today will tell you who they are.  I am a banker, a brick layer, and lawyer, a car washer, a teacher.  The list goes on and on.  But the real question is who are you really?

Are you a follower of Jesus Christ? 

Do you believe Jesus is God’s Only Begotten Son, the Lamb of God, The Messiah, the light for the world?

Some will say yes but their words have no meaning.  What does Jesus mean to them?  If they do not love or study the Word, and there is no forgiveness in their life, they practice or worship a religion of self-gratification. 

What is your real agenda?

The priests and Levites sent the Pharisees to question John the Baptist about who he was, not about who he was serving.  But their real agenda was to find out why so many people were coming to hear him preach and be baptized in the wilderness. 

The Jews did not baptize.  Their duty as guardians of faith caused them to want to investigate any new preaching.  (Deuteronomy 13: 1-5 and Deuteronomy 18: 20-22).  Deuteronomy tells them to beware of false prophets who encourage worship of other gods.

In questioning John the Baptist, they wanted to find out if he had the credentials of a prophet.  John’s popularity was growing to the point that his followers were leaving them for John.  They were jealous. 

The Pharisees had four questions regarding John the Baptist’s identity:

1. Was he a prophet foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18: 15)?
2. Elijah (Malachi 4: 5)
3. The Messiah, a high priest
4. A false prophet

John denied being the first 3 personages.  He called himself, in the words of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

The Pharisees kept pressing John to say who he was because they were expecting the Messiah.  The Pharisees were Jewish leaders educated in the Jewish law, religious prophecy, and the Book of Isaiah telling of the voice of him crying in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord.

These same priests rejected Jesus Christ, the Messiah, when He came.  The Pharisees missed the point.  They wanted to know who John was but John wanted them to know who Jesus is.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:

John 1

Deuteronomy 13

Deuteronomy 18

Malachi 4

Read Other Sermons from The Gospel Mailman:

What Would God See From Heaven Today?

We All Have Sinned

Return Next Week to Read Part Two of the Sermon, Who I Am Not

Scripture: 2 Kings 20: 1-3

In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”  Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Scripture Commentary:

Isaiah tells Hezekiah he is going to die soon and there is nothing that can be done.  Death will happen to all of us and there is nothing we can do about it.  It’s an appointment each of us will have to keep.

The question before you is what are you doing before you die?  Are you out partying and lounging around doing nothing or are you serving God to the best of your ability?

Your arrival date is recorded in the book of life as is your departure date.  But as you read on in 2 Kings 20, you see that God says, “I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you.”  Hezekiah does not die right away; He is given 15 more years.  

Maybe someone you know was told they would die soon.  Maybe it was you.  But it didn’t happen and more time was given.  Did you acknowledge God for what He did?  Did you thank Him? And what will you do with that time?

Life is a one-time gift from God.  And death, also, is part of the journey.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

2 Kings 20

Read Other Commentary from the Old Testament:

What Is Your Purpose?

Wait Upon the Lord

Scripture: Isaiah 47: 10-12

You have trusted in your wickedness and have said, ‘No one sees me.’  Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’  ¹¹ Disaster will come upon you, and you will not know how to conjure it away.  A calamity will fall upon you that you cannot ward off with a ransom; a catastrophe you cannot foresee will suddenly come upon you.  ¹² “Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries, which you have labored at since childhood.  Perhaps you will succeed, perhaps you will cause terror.

Scripture Commentary: There is no magic spell; no one knows the future.

The average person likes to check the astrology section of the newspaper to see what the stars have to say about their day.  Like a magic spell, they plan their day around what they read. 

This is what the citizens of Babylon did as they sought the advice of the astrologers and stargazers of their time.  The Babylonians were so caught up in their own power and greatness.  They felt secure, and their king, Nebuchadnezzar, thought of himself as a god.

Don’t put your trust in magic that cannot deliver you.

Sorcerers and soothsayers cannot tell you what God has planned for you.  They don’t know their own future; they cannot know yours. 

God took everything from Nebuchadnezzar.  The lesson here is not to get so self-centered that you forget who is really in charge.  God made us from earth and we will return to dust until God comes again and calls us back to His presence. 

If you want to know about your future, repent and turn your life over to God.  Put yourself in His Hands.  Spread the gospel of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  God will forgive, forget and wipe away your sins forever.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Isaiah 47

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Isaiah:

How Would You Answer the Call, “Whom Shall I Send?”

Christ Is a Great Light Piercing the Darkness

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 33: 10-12

¹⁰ The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. ¹¹ So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. ¹² In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors.

Scripture Commentary:

Many of us are in distress, saying to ourselves, “I’ve sinned so many times that there’s no way God will ever forgive me. I am totally lost and will end up in hell.” Well, let me tell you about Manasseh who reigned over Jerusalem for 55 years. He was an evil, wicked king who built altars to, and worshipped, false gods. If you were to list corrupt evil kings, the name Manasseh would probably be at the top of the list.

After learning about Manasseh, you may say, “Well, I’m not that bad.” But sin is sin. There is no size to the sinful lifestyle. Manasseh realized his sinfulness and turned to God and repented for his sins.

Like the thief on the cross with Jesus, you can go to God and repent your sins. God listened to Manasseh and forgave him. Do not let overpowering guilt put a barrier between you and God.

There is no sin God will not forgive if you truly repent. Man may or may not forgive but God always forgives. Until you take your last breath God will be waiting with open arms and a loving heart, ready to accept you into His family.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

2 Chronicles 33

Read Other Commentary from the New Testament:

Put Your Trust in God

The Congregation Lifted Up Their Voice

Scripture: Proverbs 3: 5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.^[a]

Scripture Commentary: Trust God in everything.

In a class on human behavior, the instructor divides the class into groups of 2. One person is blindfolded and turns around 3 times, after which they are told to fall backwards. They are to trust that someone will catch them.

In Proverbs 3, Solomon tells us to trust in the Lord with “all your heart.” We live by faith, not by sight, right? In the experiment above, the person who is blindfolded knows his/her classmate. S/he is to trust that s/he will be caught.

Trust and obey.

God, who you haven’t seen, tells you to trust in Him. Obey His commandments. Walk in His light and He will guide you. The proverb uses the word “heart.” This is not your physical heart. It is the Holy Spirit God has placed in you.

We think we know everything. So why ask God? We say we love God but we leave him outside our decisions.

Verse 6 says, “in all your ways submit to him.” Is God part of your decision making process? Solomon tells us what part God should play in our lives – everything! We should have an all encompassing, fully committed relationship with God.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Proverbs 3

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Proverbs:

What Do Your Words Say About You?

What You Do For Christ Has Lasting Value

Scripture: Job 42: 7

⁷ After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. 

Scripture Commentary:

God made it clear that Job’s friends had not spoken the truth about Him. The fact that God mentioned no specific sins against Job confirms that Job led a devout and obedient life. Job’s friends erred in assuming that Job’s suffering was the result of sin.

How often do we play judge and jury when we witness things happening in someone else’s life? Like Job’s friends, we judge without knowing what God is doing. God is in control and He is the one and only judge.

Job prayed for his friends after they criticized him. It’s difficult to forgive someone who has accused you of wrongdoings. But Job did forgive.

Jesus did the same thing. In Luke 23: 34, He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

If you cannot forgive, how can you ask for forgiveness? Are you praying for those who have hurt you?

Would Job have praised God had nothing been restored to him? The answer is yes. Read the entire book of Job and you will see that Job understood that he came from God and belonged to God. That is the truth of of everyone’s life.

All you have belongs to God and it is His gift to you. Do not hoard His gifts; share them. Jesus said that whoever gives up something for God’s Kingdom will be repaid. The payment may not be here on earth but when God welcomes you to take your rest in His eternal home with Him.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:

Job 42

Luke 23

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Job:

Have you considered my servant, Job?

Have you considered the testimony in the trial?