Apostle – CountUp

Welcome to November ! It’s the first day of November of 2020, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Lets us be glad in it. Let us move forward into a fresh new month on God’s fantastic journey for us.

Back in April and May – during the peak of the pandemic – I wrote a sermon titled “Satan & Hell”. Imagine that – writing a sermon about the devil during a worldwide plague.

I haven’t preached this sermon yet to my church family. I actually skipped over it to preach my last sermon a couple of weeks ago on John – the “Apostle & Elder”.

Although “Satan & Hell” is long done I do plan to review it and enhance it further before I preach it. Here’s how my sermon starts:

Can I preach the Good News here ? Would that be OK ? Check this out:

If the Good News we preach is veiled from anyone – it is a sign that they are perishing. Satan – the god of this evil world – has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe, so they are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News that is shining upon them. They don’t understand the message we preach about the glory of Christ – who is the exact likeness of God.

That’s from Paul’s 2ND Letter to the Corinthians – Chapter 4 Verses 3 and 4, and it sets the stage for the message that I want to share with you today.

And let me set the stage even further. The Corinthians referred to the residents of the city of Corinth. It was a thriving coastal city that sat on a narrow piece of land in-between mainland northern Greece and southern Greece. It was a Roman colony, as it was conquered, destroyed, and then rebuilt by the Romans over a period of about 100 years. During the Apostle Paul’s time it was a busy modern city (for that time) where Romans, Greeks, Jews, and other ethnic groups lived and worshiped together in a densely-populated area. It was a port city that visitors from all around spent time in.

The city of Corinth is still there – 2,000 years later. Over 30,000 residents call it home, and over 60,000 live in its metropolitan area. Ancient Corinth sits to the southwest of the modern-day city. You can visit archaeological museums today on the ancient lands of the original city of Corinth.

So in his 2ND Letter to the new Christians of Corinth – the Apostle Paul – AKA “Pastor Paul” – is trying to prove himself as a leader. You see his fellow Christians doubted him. He was criticized constantly. He was accused of many things he did not do. His life was threatened. So he’s writing this letter – some 25 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ – to defend himself – and to win back his fellow believers and followers of Christ – by gaining their trust – by spreading encouragement and inspiration – by preaching the Good News of the Lord.

Paul’s 2ND Letter to the Corinthians is almost like a redo of his 1ST Letter which was not received very well by the young church in Corinth. He gets very personal in this 2ND Letter. It’s like a reconciliation between himself and his fellow believers and followers of Christ. It’s really a great read. It’s 13 chapters and 257 verses total. There’s enough material in this letter for a young preacher – such as myself – to write sermons for an entire year or two or three. And Chapter 4 – is all about Paul’s preaching ministry. He felt sincerely privileged of having the God-given ministry of sharing the Good News with all – as do I.

So let’s go back to those two verses (up there).

If you can’t hear the Good News – or if you can’t feel the Good News – then there’s another power that has a hold of your heart and mind. The Good News that’s being preached is veiled. It’s hidden behind a veil. It’s being covered-up. It’s being masked. And you’re perishing – if that’s the case.

What’s “perishing” ? To perish is to be lost, to wither, to waste away, to become nothing, to pass away, to die, to be destroyed. There’s a lot of people that are perishing in this world. They are good people. They are God’s children. Some of them are in our own families. Some of them are our friends, our coworkers, our acquaintances, and our neighbors. But they are perishing. They remain in darkness. But we love them. And we want them to see the glorious light of God.

Satan – the god of this world – has blinded the minds of those who don’t (yet) believe, so they can’t see the light. Satan is at work – doing his dirty deeds done dirt cheap.

You know some preachers and some disciples – believers and followers – (that’s us) – don’t like talking about Satan or darkness or fire and brimstone. I am not one of them. If you’re gonna preach the Truth – then you need to preach the whole Truth. Here’s the Truth about Satan. He exists. He’s real. He’s here on Earth. He’s the top heel on this planet. He’s the darkest dude I know. He’s the god of this world. He’s evil. He’s wicked. He’s a crook. He’s a fraud. He’s a deceiver. He’s a deceptor. He’s a liar. He’s a loser. He’s a murderer. He’s a master manipulator …

Last Sunday I preached a full sermon (about 35 minutes) to my church family on John – the Apostle – the Elder.

Here’s an excerpt from that sermon:

John continues – on why the truth and love is so important to him, and why it must be important to us as well:

I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. (2 John 1:7)

Sounds like a lot of people today in this world and of this world. There are false teachers everywhere. They deny that Christ came in a real body. This mislead believers. They distract believers. They try to pull them away from God and His Kingdom.

There are even false teachers inside church buildings today. You must verify what you hear from a teacher – from a preacher – from a pastor – from a televangelist. You must verify what you hear with God’s Truth. If it doesn’t sound right to you – then verify it with God’s Truth. God’s Truth is flawless. God’s Truth is the Word.

In the latter portion of the Gospel Of Matthew Jesus predicts future events. In red letters:

Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in My name – claiming – ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. (24:4-5)

Don’t be deceived by the imposters who pretend to know Christ – when they don’t. Or if they do know Him they intentionally say things that aren’t the Truth.

In the next few verses of Matthew – in red letters – Christ speaks of wars and threats of wars and famines and earthquakes. Sounds like 2020. Don’t be overwhelmed by these events. They will come and go. This is not the end, but the end is near.

Don’t follow the false prophets and the miracle workers who claim they are the Messiah. Jesus Christ is the One and Only Messiah !

I’m teaching out of John’s 2ND Letter, but in John’s 1ST Letter he writes about the false prophets that were in the new church at the time – as well as out in the world. He writes that we need to test them. In 2020 we should “fact-check” them. We must determine whether or not someone talking to us about God – actually has the Spirit that comes from God. Or – is their “Spirit” manmade ?

You know I watch a lot of TBN these days. Billy Graham’s classic crusades are on there each week. That’s what got me watching TBN in the first place several years ago. They’re a few other preachers and shows I watch on a regular basis. I’m always looking for new preachers and new shows. Sometimes I stumble across a new one, and I watch it for an episode or two or more, and I think to myself, “No – no – there’s something that’s not quite right with that. That goes against my learning. That goes against my Bible studying. I need to verify or refute that.”

They’re some preachers on TV who are in it for the entertainment value. They are putting on a show. They wanna be stars. They wanna be rock stars. I’ve visited a few churches like that – in-person – here in South Florida and over in Southwest Florida. It seems to me that they are elevating themselves above the people that they are speaking to. I’m turned-off by those types of preachers. When it comes to God – I don’t want to be entertained. I want to be educated. On Sundays I want to walk out of here smarter – and closer to God – than I was when I walked in here, and I do.

So John knows a thing or two about Jesus. He was with Jesus. He was one of the first to follow Jesus. John is called “the one whom Jesus loved”. He was 1 of the 12 disciples. He was a close personal friend of Jesus. He was there !

And so John writes to us in his letter that if a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body – that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus – that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist – which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. (1 John 4:2b-3)

Jesus Christ came in a real body. God became flesh in Christ. He is both fully man and He is fully God. He is the Christ. He is the Son of God.

That’s the Truth then. That’s the Truth now. That’s the Truth forever. See when you have the Spirit of God within you – the Spirit teaches you the Truth – so that you can go and tell the Truth to others – so that you can spread the Gospel – so that you can evangelize. We are commanded to be messengers for the messages of the Holy Spirit.