Equip the Kingdom

Wake-Up Call

2014-11-09T13:01:00.002-05:00

Wake-Up Call

Rev. Greg Schermerhorn

When terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 9/11/2001, God sent us a wake-up call: He showed us the consequences of our not obeying the Great Commission to take the Gospel to all peoples.

We have refused to send enough missionaries, so now we are sending thousands of troops. We have failed to send our gifts to missions, so now we will be paying billions more in taxes.

As we seek God for revival, here is what I hear God saying to His church:

Churches and Christians of America, I love you. I created you for Myself out of nothing. I made you to be a light to the nations. I established you to be a beacon to the hopeless, to give freedom to the prisoners, to lift up the oppressed.

I created you, not from one people but from many peoples, so you could bring the peoples of the world to saving faith in my Son, Jesus Christ. You were not a people and I made you a leader of nations so you could take my Gospel to the peoples of the world.

I died on the cross in your place. I have redeemed you. I reconciled you from the enemy. I gave you the power of My resurrection. I sent you as ambassadors of reconciliation to those who sit in darkness

and death.

I have seen your good works. You established the United States of America based on my precepts. You opened your arms to the peoples of the world. You proclaimed my Name. You have gone to the nations. Your influence is felt all over the world.

But I have some things against you: Your heart has turned you away from me. My plumb line shows you are not straight with Me.

• You have loved yourself more than Me.

• You have proclaimed your name more than Mine.

• You have flaunted your rugged independence more than you have depended on Me.

• You have praised the cross instead of bearing it.

• You have been more religious than righteous.

• You have been more hedonistic than holy.

• You have been more political than prayerful.

• You have been more economic than ethical.

• You have been more accommodating than evangelistic.

• You have been more materialistic than missionary.

• You have used on yourselves the resources that I gave you to use to bless the world.

• You have prostituted my purpose for creating you as My people.

I am awakening people to eternal things. Don’t you see it? Come to my altar and be set on fire. I can use you only if you repent and are cleansed.

So now, I want to send revival to America so you can join me all over the world as laborers in my harvest fields – to take the light to the one-third of the world’s people who have never heard of my Son, who have never seen a church and who do not know a Christian.

Behold, I stand at the door of your heart, your church and your home, knocking. If you will open the door, I will come in again and fellowship with you, then take you with Me to the peoples of the world. If you RETURN TO ME and are revived, you will be used as a light to the nations. Whoever has ears, let him listen. Whoever has my heart for the nations, pray to Me. Whoever has a tongue, proclaim my salvation to those for whom I died. Come to the cross, lay down your life, die that you may be sanctified, be crucified that you may be multiplied, and live that My Name be glorified by every tongue, tribe, people and nation.

– Avery T. Willis, Jr.

Mission Georgia 40 Day Prayer Devotional-2014

Just in case you don’t know who Avery T. Willis, Jr. was, this quote from him will tell you a bit more about his character and love for Jesus:

“I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and down with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need prominence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me - my banner will be clear.”

I pray that Avery’s message has resonated with you. God starts judgment in His own house first…folks, that’s the church…that is with the Christians. WE, that is us Christians, have to clean up our own house FIRST by humbling ourselves before God and praying in repentance before God will hear us or act to heal our land. Avery Willis pointed out just a few of the indictments that God has against us. There are many, many more that can be added…like the slaying of thousands of babies every day through abortion for example. We cannot continue to be silent, immobile, and unconcerned with the sin all around us and being committed in our collective name and expect to be immune from its consequences. We have an Old Testament and a nation named Israel to examine to see how God dealt with sin. When God’s people dealt with sin, He blessed them. When His people allowed sin to flourish, they paid the consequences of their sin. This is happening to us in the United States of America today. Brothers and Sisters, how many wake up calls do we need? How many wake up calls will the Lord graciously send us?

The solution to the sin problem, here and abroad is the life changing message of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) We Christians know this, but we aren’t telling people about it. Why not? The glorious message of the Gospel is that it is THE GOOD NEWS! Why aren’t we sharing the life changing message with everyone we meet? I have to look at myself too.

Just look at what John 3 says:

John 3:16–18 (NKJV)

¹⁸“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.

If Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10), should we not be seeking to do the same thing by sharing the Good News of the Gospel? You don’t have to know a whole lot to share the Gospel. You just have to know WHAT JESUS HAS DONE FOR YOU! Witnessing about Jesus to others is as easy as telling them what Jesus has done for you. Sharing how Jesus changed your life from where you were to where you are now. It’s trusting that the Holy Spirit will give you the words you need to share and that whatever you say will be used by God to draw someone closer to Him. You may get an opportunity to lead someone to salvation. You may get an opportunity to plant a seed that leads to their salvation later. You may get an opportunity to water a seed that someone else planted, but that will lead to their eventual salvation. Just remember, we are all workers in the Lord’s harvest field. He is the Lord of the harvest. He is the one who does the saving and He allows us to share in the labor with Him. Paul put it this way to the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 3:5–11 (NKJV)

⁵Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? ⁶I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. ⁷So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. ⁸Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

⁹For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. ¹⁰According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a

wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. ¹¹For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Beloved, be encouraged! We serve a Great God! He IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL! He LOVES YOU GREATLY! Be faithful in prayer, be faithful in reading the Word of God, and you will start sharing the Gospel. You won’t be able to stop yourself from telling people what God is doing in your life.

Jesus Was Born For This

2013-12-25T12:52:00.000-05:00

Jesus Was Born For This

Rev. Greg Schermerhorn – December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas! The angels declared the good news of the birth of our Savior to shepherds in the fields surrounding Bethlehem about 2000 years ago. Jesus' birth is the cause for great celebration, today and every day. But I want us to look past the presents and "seasonal" things to look at the true gift of Heaven by looking into what Jesus was really born to do and accomplish in His earthly existence.

Ephesians 2:8–9 (NKJV)

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Now, please allow me to present this passage to you from the Amplified translation of the Bible. Read to what God’s Word says with the nuances of the original Greek text expanded into English:

Ephesians 2:8–9 (AMP)

For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]

It is hard to look at Christmas without looking toward the cross. The virgin birth of Jesus is absolutely important and we gladly celebrate it with a willing world. BUT, Jesus grew up! In His humanity, Jesus grew into an adult to fulfill His role as the rejected Messiah of Israel so that He could become the Savior of the entire world. This is the Jesus that our society rejects.

Jesus stepped out of heaven and submitted Himself to the humiliation of becoming a human. Yes, I said Jesus subjected Himself to the humiliation of wrapping Himself in human flesh.

Philippians 2:5–7 (AMP)

Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:] Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained, But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being.

Jesus willingly became weak and frail. He willingly took on all of the physical limitations you and I live with every day. Jesus, the one who created the universe subjected Himself to becoming an infant. He willingly became helpless and dependent upon others for everything.

As an adult, Jesus would serve others instead of being served Himself. He would demonstrate His love for others through His actions, right up to His final human act of willingly sacrificing His life through the cruelest form of death the world has ever known, called crucifixion.

Philippians 2:8 (AMP)

And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross!

Jesus was crucified after being nearly beaten to death with a Roman scourge. And He did it without so much as a word of complaint or regret.

Passersby mocked Jesus while He hung on the cross. They taunted Him, daring Him to save Himself and come down from the cross. What a temptation that must have been for Jesus! One of the greatest miracles Jesus ever performed during His earthly life is that He stayed on the cross. One thought or, one word from Him, and a legion of angels would have come to His aid, if He had desired it. The miracle is that Jesus loved us more! As John 3:16 says:

John 3:16 (AMP)

For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

Jesus loved us so much that He was willing to endure the torture, the pain, and bear the shame of our punishment to stay there on the cross and complete the task that He was born in human flesh to do. Jesus was born to die! The just for the unjust!

1 Peter 3:18a (AMP)

For Christ [the Messiah Himself] died for sins once for all, the Righteous for the unrighteous (the Just for the unjust, the Innocent for the guilty), that He might bring us to God.

But, PRAISE GOD! This is NOT the end of the story! On the third day after His death, Jesus rose from the dead, ALIVE! You know the day I am telling you about. We call it Easter Sunday!

Jesus fulfilled His task in becoming human.He lived a sinless life.

Jesus died as the final atonement or final sacrifice required by God the Father for remission of all of the sins of mankind for all time.Jesus then rose from the dead confirming His final victory over sin and death.

For the first time in human history, mankind was reconciled before God because of the sacrifice of Jesus' blood. Salvation is open to ALL men, women, boys, and girls of every nationality, everywhere. The good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ says that if you have faith to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, who lived a sinless life, died, and rose again from the dead to pay the penalty for your sins and that He alone can give you the free gift of eternal life, if you simply trust Him for it. Then you shall be saved!

This is what Jesus was born to do! He was born to die for me and for you! Christmas is a celebration of the gift of heaven. The reality of the gift of heaven is the free gift of salvation that Jesus has earned for you! Jesus has done all of the work because you would never be able to do enough good to get to heaven on your own.

Romans 3:23 (NKJV)

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Jesus is the only sacrifice that God has found acceptable to pay for the sins we have committed in our lives. John 14: 6 says:

John 14:6 (NKJV)

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

None of us will ever be worthy to enter heaven on our own merit or good works, no matter how good we are or how much we do to try to earn entrance. We simply cannot earn our way to heaven. We can only enter heaven through Jesus' righteousness. That is His free gift to us.

Romans 6:23 (NKJV)

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Do you remember where we started this Christmas message?

Ephesians 2:8-9 (AMP)

For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]

Eternal Life is the original Christmas present! Jesus was born for this...to seek and to save that which was lost.

Luke 19:10 (NKJV)

for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

I am going to ask you some questions for you to answer to yourself. Have you already received the gift of heaven? Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus as your Savior? Do you know FOR SURE that you will spend eternity with Him in heaven? If you can’t answer “YES” to these questions, don’t despair because I’m speaking to you right now. You CAN have a personal relationship with Jesus and you CAN KNOW FOR SURE that you will spend eternity with Him in heaven. It really is as simple as having the faith to believe that Jesus is God’s Son, who lived a sinless life, died, and rose again from the dead to pay the penalty for YOUR sins and that HE ALONE can give you the free gift of eternal life, if you will simply trust Him for it. If this is the intent of your heart, pray this sample prayer to the Lord:

Lord Jesus,

I know I'm a sinner and do not deserve eternal life, but I believe You stepped down from Heaven, lived a sinless life, died, and rose from the grave to pay the penalty for my sins and purchase a place in Heaven for me. Lord Jesus, I ask forgiveness of my sins. I am placing my trust in you alone for my eternal salvation, and I accept Your free gift of eternal life. Lord Jesus, I want you to come into my heart and into my life as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for saving my soul. - Amen

If this prayer was the sincere desire of your heart, hear this promise of Jesus in John 6:47:

John 6:47 (NKJV)

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.

If you have made a decision to receive the gift of Heaven, please share it with us so we can rejoice with you in your new relationship with Jesus. Also, so we can pray for you in your new walk of life. If you don't know Jesus in a real and personal way as your Savior and Lord, please don't leave the gift of Heaven untouched under your Christmas tree this year. It is truly a matter of eternal life or death.

Merry CHRISTmas to you and your family!

Thanksgiving to God for His Faithfulness

2013-11-24T07:30:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving to God for His Faithfulness

by Rev. Greg Schermerhorn – November 24, 2013

My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.(Ps. 84:1) You have clothed me with skin and flesh and have knit me together with bones and sinews. You have granted me life and favor, and Your providence has

preserved my spirit.(Job 10:11-12) For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are your

works, and that my inner self knows right well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth [a region of darkness and mystery]. Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them. How precious and weighty also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!(Ps. 139:13-17)...Thank you, Lord for

the life you have given to me! Thank you for my parents, Rick & Lee, my brother Brian, and my sister Beth! Thank you for my wonderful wife, Kate! Thank you for my extended family... my in-laws and my many nephews and nieces. Thank you for my church family and friends, some as

close as a brother. I praise you, Lord for your blessings on this my birthday.

Praying for Revival

2013-10-24T21:09:00.002-04:00

Praying for Revival

by Rev. Greg Schermerhorn – October 24, 2013

We hear many people, both pastors, evangelists, and lay people alike, talk about revival. But, what is revival? In like manner, we also hear the term "spiritual awakening" used, frequently in conjunction with the word revival. We certainly need to be praying for both revival and spiritual awakening, but we also need to know what we are asking the Lord to perform in our lives, in the life of our "church", and in the lives of people in our communities...our families, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc.

Revival is the sovereign work of God among His people that draws them closer to Himself and restores, renews, and refreshes the depth and intensity of the relationship. Revival is initiated by the Lord in the heart of the individual believer. It has nothing to do with "revival meetings" or other external forces, save the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the believer as revival can only occur in the life of a believer in Jesus Christ.

Spiritual awakening is the sovereign work of God among those who do not believe in Jesus as their Savior to bring them to a point of saving faith in Him. Spiritual awakening can be the result of many different influences, so no one factor can be cited except that the Holy Spirit was involved in the process. Many other factors could have played a part in the spiritual awakening of a man, woman, or child. It could have been the Scriptures themselves without any assistance from mankind. As the Bible says in Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV)

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The seeds of spiritual awakening could have been planted by the fervent prayers of righteous people over the years.

James 5:16b (NKJV)

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

It could have been the personal testimony of a friend or loved one. Or the testimony of the lifestyle and actions of a believer living out their life that made an impact. The point is this, the Holy Spirit of God is the one who orchestrates the conviction of sin in the life of a sinner who must then choose how to respond to that conviction. They can respond by hardening their heart and turning away from God, or they can respond in repentance by asking Jesus to be their Savior. This is spiritual awakening, the realization of a person that they are hopelessly lost in sin and facing eternal damnation because they don't know Jesus Christ. Then they can respond to Jesus and receive His gift of salvation and eternal life.

As Christians, we have failed to stand upon the truth of the Scriptures. Just look at the moral decay in our American society! Look at the despicable things that are considered "normal" and "acceptable" today. Abortion is more than okay today, it is encouraged! Adultery is more than okay today, it is encouraged! Homosexuality is more than okay today, it is encouraged! Lying is more than okay today, it is encouraged! Our American society is reeling from the mantras of "If it feels good, do it!" and existential philosophies like "The ends justify the means." These mantras fly in the face of a holy God who said:

1 Peter 1:15–16 (NKJV)

but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Where are God's people? Why have we allowed things to go so far in this nation of ours? We were not called to sit idly by while America crumbles in moral decay all around us! We have been called to stand on the TRUTH of Scripture and to oppose sin. Why should we allow sin to be crammed down our throats? Why should we allow Christianity to be persecuted on these shores? Why should we allow our nation's Christian history to be rewritten? Well folks, it's being done right now before our very eyes without hardly a whimper from the Christians of this nation. Why? I suspect that the Christianity of many of our countrymen has been too Americanized to allow them to act. You see, the Americanized version of Christianity allows for any "Christian" to be "excused" from doing anything that makes them feel uncomfortable or takes up too much time. Things like praying, attending church when it interferes with a ballgame, or when you want to sleep in because you stayed out drinking the night before is okay in Americanized Christianity. In Americanized Christianity, we are "all inclusive", so we are willing to have a look and feel more like the world so you won't feel uncomfortable in church. You also won't have to worry about those uncomfortable messages about sin or hell either because we will only talk (not preach) about positive and uplifting things in our services because we are here to cater to you. In Americanized Christianity, we have forgotten about God and wouldn't know what to do if the Holy Spirit showed up in one of our services...He might disrupt our time schedule and we can't have that!

Too many Christians, churches, and denominations have forgotten that JESUS is supposed to be the focus of our worship! I'm an SBC pastor and I am speaking to SBC folks too. We need to abandon this idea that Christianity is easy, that we can cater to every whim, and that we can be like the world without becoming tainted by it. We can't be the light in the world if we are trying to be like the darkness. The ends DO NOT justify the means. We are lacking prayer in our churches, which is probably indicative of a lack of personal prayer time in our lives. If we want to truly see revival in ourselves and our churches, as well as, spiritual awakening in our communities, the prayer time MUST START WITH US! We must pray with confidence and boldness before the Lord knowing that He can and will hear us. This is a prayer that is in accord with His will in Heaven and on Earth (Matt. 6:10). This is a prayer that needs to be heartfelt and continual before the Lord, until He tells us to stop praying for revival and spiritual renewal or He answers our prayer.

To help us pray for revival and spiritual renewal, I have added below the FIRST day of the ARISE 30 Day Prayer Challenge from the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, courtesy of Dr. Chris Schofield. You can download a complete 30 day copy of the ARISE prayer guide, in .pdf format, directly from this link: http://www.ncbaptist.org/index.php?id=286.

ARISE 30 Day Prayer Challenge:

DAY 1 - REPUTATION OR REALITY

REVELATION 3:1 “I KNOW YOUR WORKS, THAT YOU HAVE A NAME THAT YOU ARE ALIVE, BUT YOU ARE DEAD.”

Most rearview mirrors have a disclaimer attached that says, “Objects in this mirror are closer than they appear.” I used to have a sticky note attached to my calendar that read, “Events on this calendar are closer than you think.” A good dose of reality is always helpful to jolt us back to the real priorities and circumstances in which we live. For many centuries (700 BC-100 AD), the city of Sardis in Asia Minor had a rich history and name for being a luxurious and highly fortified city. Its location served the notion well since any approaching army would, at first glance, not welcome the opportunity to lay siege to a city with three sides being cliffs and only one side approachable. The inhabitants of Sardis also believed their city was easily defendable and impregnable. Appearance is sometimes deceiving, as was evidently true concerning Sardis. The city was conquered several times throughout its history and destroyed by an earthquake in AD 17 – so much for being impregnable.

The church at Sardis (see Revelation 3:1-6) also needed a good dose of reality. It evidently had a reputation for being a spiritually “alive” congregation. In reality, it was “dead.” The Lord knew that the church’s reputation was only an outward sign with no real evidence of a genuine inward spiritual life. How this death came about was not the real issue at hand. What mattered most was that they needed to come to grips with a true picture of their spiritual condition. In the eyes of man, it appeared that they were one way, and in God’s eyes, reality was spoken. Reputation among men led to a false sense of security; it always does, until God speaks truth into the situation. What did God say? Their reputation did not match reality. That is why it is important for us to hear from God through His Word on a regular basis. It becomes a reality check, which we all need. Reputation or reality – where are you? Where is your church? What is God saying about your spiritual life? Do you need to “wake up” and have a reality check?

PRAY: Ask the Lord to search your heart for areas where you have not been “real” before Him concerning your spiritual life. Pray that you will hear God’s truth, wake up and return to Him through repentance and obedience.

Remembrance of a Good Father

2013-09-29T03:34:00.001-04:00

Remembrance of a Good Father
by Rev. Greg Schermerhorn, September 29, 2013

Today, I remember my father, Dr. Nelson William (Rick) Schermerhorn, Jr. of Snellville, GA (1942-1994). You see today, September 29th is the nineteenth anniversary of his home going to be with the Lord. My Dad was a young man, not much older than I am now. He was fifty-two years old and died of natural causes "before his time" as we tend to reckon it. My Dad left everything behind: his much loved wife and my mother Lee; me; my brother Brian and his wife Denise; and my sister Marybeth who was still in college at the University of Georgia. He also left behind a successful veterinary medical practice, American Heritage Animal Hospital. He left it all behind. I can attest that none of it went with him into eternity.

Dr. N.W. Schermerhorn in dream car -
Mercedes 300SL Gull Wing Coupe

My father had been sick for many years with an undiagnosed ailment, as far back as the early 1980's. I remember he just didn't feel well, but he kept on working and seeing various medical specialists. No one seemed to know what was going on with his health. One day, one of his doctors, before any diagnoses had ever been made, suggested to him to get his "affairs" in order. My Dad's health created a fair amount of stress in our family. I know that my mother was worried about Dad's health and the seriousness of this unknown condition that was having such a profound effect on him. One day, he found a doctor, an oncologist I believe, who was able to finally diagnose him and devise a treatment strategy. Without divulging all of the family medical history, please allow me to leave it at my father had a significantly compromised immune system. A problem that required constant monitoring and strategy adjustment. In the end, we found out that his immune system was more compromised than we thought. Nineteen years ago today, after being in an induced coma in ICU for twenty-four days, he died, unexpectedly.

Lee and Rick Schermerhorn -
Christmas 1993

Rick Schermerhorn loved my mother and showed that affection to her and to all of us children. He gave us an example of how we were supposed to treat a lady, and how a lady should expect to be treated. He loved the practice of veterinary medicine. He truly loved the animals...dogs, cats, horses, and cows. He liked most of the pet owners and truly loved some of them. My Dad did love people. He was a counselor at First Baptist Church in Snellville, where he later became a Deacon. He had a heart for helping others and for sharing his faith in Jesus Christ.

I started spending a lot of time with my Dad at his office when I was six. When I was twelve, my father gave me my first job. He started me at $2.00 an hour, and that was a lot of money to me. I was in high cotton and had more spending money than any of my friends. I really liked working with my Dad. He told me stories about growing up, college, and other things that I never would have heard if I hadn't spent that time with him. I was

Marybeth, Brian, and Greg

fascinated with the various surgical procedures and other treatments we performed at his hospital. One thing I was not so fascinated with was all of the cleanup duties. There was a never ending supply of cages and kennels that needed constant cleaning. From the time I was six until I was twenty-four, I may have spent more waking time with my father than anyone else in my family. Now, believe me when I say this: I look back at that time with a lot of fondness and happy memories, but I also remember that there were times that work problems followed me home and home problems followed me to work. That being said, I prefer the rose colored glasses version of the past than the one with all the reality mixed in.

My father was a disciplinarian and ran a pretty tight ship overall. Being the oldest of three children had its privileges, but it also had its pitfalls. If you are an oldest child, you can probably

Greg, Lee, Marybeth, and Brian on Marybeth's wedding day

identify with my statement without explanations...if not, ask your oldest sibling. :) Did I get in trouble? Yes. Did I push the boundaries? Yes. Was I one to test the waters? Yes. I can assure you that I deserved every whipping I received...and then some. I won't comment on my younger siblings. Both my parents exercised great love in care in our rearing. They did everything they could have done to give us the best, godly foundation anyone could have hoped to receive. They sacrificed their wants and desires to make sure that we received what we needed. They demonstrated delayed gratification to us instead of the world's "get it now" instant gratification. They demonstrated tithing and sacrificial giving. As a pastor and evangelist today, the things my parents did for me get me excited. I am VERY thankful for what they did for me...thankful to them and thankful to the Lord!

Rick and Marybeth - Dad and Daughter
eyeballing each other

Selfishly, I admit that I wish my father had lived longer...at least to see Marybeth and I both get married. I believe he would have loved my sister's husband, Mark, as well as, my wife Kate, just as he did love Brian's wife Denise. Seeing Brian graduate college and get married made my father very proud. He was also very, very proud of Marybeth when she became Miss University of Georgia in 1994. It was all he could talk about that Summer. I love my Dad because he first loved me. Yes, that sounds a lot like 1 John 4:19 doesn't it? (We love Him because He first loved us-1 John 4:19) But here's why: we were made in God's image. We only have the capacity to love because of God, in the first place. Second, we can only love God because He literally first loved us and further demonstrated that love to us... "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 (John 3:16). God's love is why He sent His Son, Jesus to Earth to bear the punishment for all of our sins.

Schermerhorn Family Christmas 2002 -L-R-Mark, Marybeth, Nelson,
Lee, Lauren, Denise, Brian, Kate, and Greg

My father touched a lot of lives, many more than I ever thought possible. His funeral filled First Baptist Church Snellville on a Saturday, even in the midst of football games and fall festivals. To this day that one final thing about my father's life moves me...even though he was already in Jesus' presence. It was a comfort to me and my family to know that his life had touched so many people. The headstone at his grave bears this inscription: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7" I have little doubt that my father heard from the Lord, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord." (Matthew 25:21b)

Schermerhorn
Coat of Arms

So, if you knew my father, Rick Schermerhorn, think of him and remember to pray for us as we will be doing the same tomorrow. Also, thank God for the godly examples He has put in your life, be they parents, family, pastors, friends, co-workers, neighbors, or the dearly departed. God is GOOD!!! Well, on second thought (to borrow a line from The Old Paths) no, God's GREAT!!!

God is MOST Interested in the Condition of Our Hearts

2013-07-18T13:28:00.000-04:00

God is MOST Interested in the Condition of Our Hearts

Rev. Greg Schermerhorn – Written July 6, 2013 – Published July 18, 2013

Particularly around patriotic holidays, we tend to hear references to 2 Chronicles 7:14 tossed around in conversation. You are likely familiar with this verse, even if you don't know the reference. It has become quite popular in our culture among many who are seeking political change, as well as, those who are genuinely seeking God's will. Here is what the verse says:

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)

if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

We usually hear about prayer in the context of a change in Washington DC, but we never hear about what the verse itself actually says and we never hear about its actual Scriptural context. For example, when is the last time you heard one of these political activist types talk about confessing their own sin and the sins of our nation before the Lord? Or have you heard of any political group who is specifically courting Christians through their use of the Bible, to actually hold prayer rallies where they are humbling themselves before God for the purposes of seeking His will, WHATEVER His will might be, regardless of their own personal or group political agenda?

This brings us to our application today. God is not interested in our politics. God is interested in the condition of our hearts. The condition of our heart determines our politics. Does this mean that God has no interest in the governmental affairs of mankind? Absolutely not. God has ordained government and allows those in power to be there.

The political agenda is not God's agenda. If you have gotten sucked into to the political fray, I would encourage you to get "unsucked" so you can evaluate the truth of Scripture. Am I telling you that there is no merit in political activism? No. I am telling you that there are greater and more important things at stake than a political agenda. Please allow me to start with this thought: God is MOST interested in our hearts. Our hearts determine our politics.

It is my contention that America's greatest problem is truly not political in nature, but spiritual. We will never return to the political structure of our founding if we don't first return to our spiritual roots with the Lord. America was never great because of its politics. She was great because of her faith and trust in Almighty God! The Bible talks about the importance of guarding our hearts.

Proverbs 4:23 (AMP)

Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.

What you allow into your heart, in other words, what you allow into the center of your being, will flow out into the rest of your life! We know this is true. We become like the things we surround ourselves with. We take on the traits of the people we associate with on a regular basis. We become like the books, magazines, blogs, and other things we read. Why do you suppose David wrote:

Psalm 119:11 (NKJV)

Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

We are no different than a computer: GIGO – Garbage In, Garbage Out! We must guard our hearts and minds to prevent trash from being deposited there.

A strong America patterned after the plan our founders used is a good thing, right? I would agree. But is that the best thing...the way God would have it now??? That is an interesting question. One for which I have no answer to give you today. I ask it for this specific reason: Are you willing to seek God's face? Literally to seek out His will above all other considerations and accept it regardless of any preconceived ideas you may have? Do you really want to see the Lord's Prayer enacted literally? Remember, what it says:

Matthew 6:9b–13 (NKJV)

^9b Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ¹⁰ Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread. ¹² And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. ¹³ And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

This is not a trick question. Are you willing to sacrifice your idea of America to have God's will for America? It's a VALID question that, I think, far too few of us have actually considered.

Please allow me to put this into an easier context to grasp. Let's talk about the the refining process and the refiner's fire. What is the purpose of the refining process? Its purpose is to remove impurities from metals. How is it done? Usually through a process of adding heat, pressure, and a catalyst to separate the material being purified from the impurities imbedded within the material.

Let's look at gold as an example of the refining process. Do you know what the number one impurity removed from gold would be? It is silver. A mineral that is also very precious, but not nearly as precious as the gold. In the refiner's fire, God often removes precious things from us to leave us with what is most precious and most important. Who wouldn't keep silver if given the opportunity? But will you sacrifice some silver to have more pure gold? Can we trust God enough to desire His will over our own will? Can we trust Him enough to refine out the things that may be good to leave us with His best?

I want you to read 2 Chronicles 7:14 in the Amplified Translation:

2 Chronicles 7:14 (AMP)

If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

When it comes to living out 2 Chronicles 7:14, are we willing to humble ourselves before God and pray to confess our own sins, as well as, the sins of our nation, so that we can be clean before the Lord? Do we have a broken heart and contrite spirit before God's throne?

Psalm 51:17 (NKJV)

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—

These, O God, You will not despise.

Do we seek God's will with a true craving, a true desire to know it and fulfill it?

Matthew 7:7–8 (NKJV)

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

When we humble ourselves before God and pray to Him seeking His face and His will, the Lord promises to hear us from Heaven. As it says in Psalm 40:1:

Psalm 40:1 (NKJV)

I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.

As the rest of 2 Chronicles 7:14 goes, so goes Psalm 40:2:

Psalm 40:2 (NKJV)

He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.

If God weren't interested in our hearts, He would not have sent Jesus to save the souls of mankind. There would be no John 3:16:

John 3:16 (NKJV)

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.

Let's look at 2 Chronicles 7:14 again:

2 Chronicles 7:14 (AMP)

Now that the Lord has addressed His concern for our heart's condition in the first half of 2 Chronicles 7:14, He is now willing to hear us from Heaven, to forgive our sins, and heal our land. This is a tremendous verse, but it is a single verse that is part of a much larger context. I would encourage you to read the context surrounding the Lord's words to Solomon so that you can grasp the impact and importance of why God said the things that He said. You can gain a good perspective of the context by starting your reading at 2 Chronicles 5:11 and reading through 7:22. This is the story of the dedication of the Temple Solomon built for the Lord in Jerusalem, Solomon's prayer to the Lord before the people, and God's response to Solomon. God wants a personal relationship with you and with me. All that is required is a heart relationship with Him by receiving salvation though the finished work of Jesus!

God's paramount concern for you and for me is the condition of our heart. Do we, in our hearts know His Son, Jesus, as our Savior? All of history has been focused upon that question. All of the Bible has pointed toward God's supreme interest in each of our hearts. Don't you think we should also be interested in them too? That is why Jesus' last words before He ascended into Heaven concerned telling others about the Gospel...looking out for their heart condition!

Matthew 28:19–20 (NKJV)

¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Knowing Jesus as YOUR Savior is as easy as A-B-C!

A-Admit you are a sinner. Repent and turn away from your sin.

Acts 3:19 (NKJV)

¹⁹ Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

B-Believe that Jesus is the Son of God and receive God’s gift of forgiveness from sin.

Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

C-Confess your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Romans 10:9–10, 13 (NKJV)

⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹³ For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Stand on the TRUTH as Truth

2013-07-17T16:55:00.000-04:00

Stand on the TRUTH as Truth

Rev. Greg Schermerhorn – July 17, 2013

"Sometimes Christians have had to rethink the priorities of the Gospel in the light of experience"-Rt. Rev. Nicholas Holtam, the Bishop of Salisbury – What a fool! Since when do we judge God's priorities by our own experiences? Truth IS NOT RELATIVE and cannot be discarded when it no longer suits us. Rev. Holtam's statement was made in reference to homosexual marriage and the continued blocking of the homosexual lifestyle. He likened the current state of affairs for homosexuals as equal to those who endured slavery in centuries past. It is no wonder that Dr. Francis Schaeffer decried the falling away of the mainline Christian denominations as the "failure to stand upon truth as truth." David Platt, author of Radical and Radical Together, said in an article last week: "We have set our minds on the things of the flesh, which is hostile to God, and we exchange God's Word for our experience." ln other words, we exchange the immutable truth for a lie, the eternal for the temporary. Romans 1:20-32 speaks to this issue and other related issues. The rejection of God and truth has consequences.

I ran across the article quoting the Rt. Rev. Holtam and could not remain silent because he is supposed to be a man of God. He should stand upon the truth of God's Word, not try to twist it to suit his or society's whim. I am significantly more interested in the TRUTH than in single issues like homosexuality because if you are willing to stand on the TRUTH, the issues will fall into line in their proper place and context. I don't often call out a man (or woman), but I stand by my earlier comment that the Rt. Rev. Holtam is a fool who is leading people away from the Lord by preaching something other than His Word. I would call on him to be more interested in what God thinks than what his constituency thinks. Remember Jesus' words of caution in Matthew 10:28 (NKJV) "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

References:

Rt. Rev. Nicholas Holtam article: 'Reinterpret your Bible': Bishop bashes gay marriage opponents

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/403768/Reinterpret-your-Bible-Bishop-bashes-gay-marriage-opponents

Rev. David Platt Article: In 'sex-crazed culture,' Bible makes 'no exceptions'

http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=40719

Joy to the World –The Message of Christmas

2012-12-17T16:07:00.000-05:00

Joy to the World –The Message of Christmas

By Rev. Greg Schermerhorn

Luke 2:8–20 (NLT)

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

We have a lot to celebrate this time of year. The commemoration of the birth of our Savior Jesus is a reason for great joy. Joy is the message of the third week of Advent.

Can you imagine being a shepherd sitting in a field watching over your sheep when all of a sudden an angel appears before you and declares, "Don't be afraid!"? Is there anyone here who wouldn’t be startled by that? Terrified? But this angel was on a special mission from God the Father. This angel was sent to the shepherds to declare the birth of God's one and only Son, Jesus, the long anticipated Savior of the world. This very special birth announcement burst the very seams of Heaven with God's joy. God the Father had finally revealed His plan for man's salvation to the world in the form of a newborn babe.

Jesus, the very son of God, had been revealed in flesh, on Earth. The angel declared, "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people." Yes, there was excitement in Heaven, God the Father's joy spread to the angels, and the angels declared God's good pleasure to the shepherds. The birth announcement of the King of kings and Lord of lords was made to the lowest class of society, lowly shepherds sitting under the stars keeping watching over their sheep. The angel brought “Good news that will bring great joy to all people!” Indeed, Jesus not only brought salvation to the Jews but to all people. People of every class and of every background. God's gift, His joy was to be shared with all people everywhere and for all time! Can I get an "AMEN?"

To further emphasize the point, the angel was joined by a great Heavenly host. Legions of angels joined with the announcing angel and began singing praise to God for sending His son, Jesus, to earth. It was a truly joyous occasion in Heaven and on earth. What a startling, terrifying, overwhelming, and reassuring moment it must have been for those shepherds. They were witnesses to something wonderful that had never happened before and it moved them to action.

After the angels departed and returned to Heaven, the shepherds talked amongst themselves and said, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.”

Everything the angel had told them was true. This event changed their lives. It so impacted them that they told others about their encounter with the angel and about the legions of angels that also appeared glorifying God and singing praises to Him. They told others about God's one and only Son who'd been born in Bethlehem as their Savior. They told all the folks they met that everything was just as the angel said it would be.

The shepherds shared in the joy of Heaven when they sought out and found the Christ child, when they glorified God, and when they told others what God had done. We too can share the joy of Heaven. We can and should do the same things that the shepherds did that night long ago in Bethlehem. God has revealed His Son, Jesus, His special Christmas gift to us! He has done this through His Word.

John 1:1–3 (NKJV)

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.

He has done this through nature.

Psalm 19:1 (NASB95)

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

He has done this though the circumstances of our lives. Jesus wants to know us in a real and personal way.

Luke 19:10 (NKJV)

for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost

The first thing we should do upon hearing the good news, just like the shepherds did, is to seek out and find Christ. What I am really talking about here is developing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Why? Jesus loved us so much that He left the comforts of Heaven and set aside His divine prerogatives to die for our sins.

Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus being fully God and fully man specifically came to Earth to restore the relationship between man and God that had been broken apart by sin. Jesus, by His sinless life, by His substitutionary death on the cross for us, by His burial, and by His resurrection from the dead; has become the final atoning sacrifice for sin, for all time, for all mankind. The joy in Heaven at Jesus' birth was because God's plan of grace for mankind was finally revealed.

Jesus is the name that is above all names. Jesus, as God's only Son and as the second member of the Godhead, is worthy of all honor, all glory, and all praise in His own right. But, because of His atoning sacrifice to make our salvation from sin and eternal death possible, God the Father has elevated Jesus to the place of highest honor.

Philippians 2:9–11 (NKJV)

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

All of creation will bow to Jesus and confess Him as the Lord of lords and King of kings, in this life or the one to come. The difference is will you be staying in Heaven with Him afterwards, or will you be departing in shame for the eternal torment of Hell for rejecting Jesus' free gift of eternal life?

Receiving God's gift of salvation is as easy as A...B...C!

A-Admit Admit you are a sinner. Repent and turn away from your sin.

Acts 3:19 (NKJV)

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord

B-Believe Believe that Jesus is the Son of God and receive God’s gift of forgiveness from sin.

Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

C-Confess Confess your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior. This is an 18-inch decision. You have made the mental acknowledgement, now you transfer that knowledge to your heart and confess it with your mouth.

Romans 10:9–10, 13 (NKJV)

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

This is not about praying a "sinners prayer." It is about developing a real and lasting relationship with Jesus, the Creator of the universe and Savior of the world. It is about repenting of your sins, receiving forgiveness from God, and confessing Jesus as your Savior with heartfelt knowledge and conviction. This is about opening the gift of joy that God the Father has given to you for Christmas. How will you respond? Don't leave here without receiving God's Christmas gift to you, the joy of Heaven, Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving – Five Reasons to Rejoice from Psalm 103

2012-11-20T08:35:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving – Five Reasons to Rejoice from Psalm 103

By Rev. Greg Schermerhorn, November 20, 2012

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving this week, have you considered the thanks that you ought to give to the Creator? It should come as no surprise that I believe in a literal six day creation of the world, but that is not what I am here to write about today. I am here to proclaim to you five reasons to rejoice this Thanksgiving.

King David, the author of the majority of the Psalms, wrote Psalm 103 to praise the Lord and to remind us about God’s love, mercy and grace. It is a wonderful twenty-two verse Psalm of praise and thanksgiving to God. Today, we are going to examine the first five verses.

Psalm 103:1–5 (NKJV)

¹ Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! ² Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: ³ Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, ⁴ Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, ⁵ Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

David starts this Psalm with a blessing for God. God does not need anything from us. After all, He is the Creator of the Universe. He is omnipotent, He is omniscient, and He is omnipresent. Please allow me to pause just a moment to explain these $5 theological words I just used. To say God is omnipotent is to say He is all powerful. To say that He is omniscient is to say that God knows everything. To say the He is omnipresent is to say that God is in all places at all times.

I mentioned just a moment ago that doesn’t need anything from us. While this is certainly true, God does WANT and DESIRE to receive praise back from us. Why? Praise is the proper response of the Christian or believer to God’s revelation of Himself to them. Praise is the expression of our delight in God. Praise is worshipful and honoring to God. That is why He desires to receive praise from us.

David’s praise is not just lip service. He is expressing praise as coming from his very soul, that is to say the very core of his being. David is saying that he is worshiping God with his whole body: his heart, his mind, and his very soul. It is much deeper than simply a mental ascent; he feels it down to his core. That is why David says in verse one: “Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!”

King David, the man that the Bible says is a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), gives us five reasons to rejoice in the Lord, five benefits that the Lord has given to all believers in Him. These five benefits are:

1. Who forgives all your iniquities?

2. Who heals all your diseases?

3. Who redeems your life from destruction?

4. Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies?

5. Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s?

All of these questions are really rhetorical. David expected his readers to know the answer. If you have a personal relationship with Jesus, you also already know the answer to these five questions. If you know Jesus, you already experience these benefits in your life. Let’s fill in some of the details to each of the benefits of the Lord that David gave us.

1. Who forgives all your iniquities?

God the Father has done all of these things. He did them when He sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to Earth to be the sacrifice for our sins. Because of His great love for us, God has made it possible for us to be forgiven of our iniquities through the shed blood of Jesus. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. Jesus suffered our punishment unto death to free us from the bondage of sin. There is an Old Testament passage that comes to mind that tells this story well. It’s found in Isaiah 53:5-6.

Isaiah 53:5–6 (NKJV)

⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

2. Who heals all your diseases?

Because of Jesus’ finished work on the cross of Calvary, God heals all of our diseases either here on this side of eternity or on the other. When we have a personal relationship with Jesus, we can have peace here and now knowing that our future is secure in His hands.

Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Nahum 1:7 (NKJV)

⁷ The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.

Psalm 91:1–4 (NKJV)

¹ He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. ² I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” ³ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. ⁴ He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

3. Who redeems your life from destruction?

Jesus redeemed your life from destruction when He came to Earth, lived a sinless life, died a criminal’s death on the cross, and was resurrected from death on the third day. All you have to do is to receive God’s gift of salvation. Jesus made our redemption from destruction as easy as A…B…C! You simply have to Admit you are a sinner. This means you repent and turn away from your sin.

Acts 3:19 (NKJV)

¹⁹ Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord

Believe that Jesus is the Son of God and receive His gift of forgiveness from sin. This is not just a mental acknowledgement that Jesus is the Son of God, but the heartfelt conviction that He is also your Savior. This means that you know in your heart that Jesus is the one who paid the penalty for YOUR sins to be forgiven.

Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Finally, Confess your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior. You do this with your mouth, verbally. It is that easy to receive God’s redemption from destruction.

Romans 10:9–10,13 (NKJV)

⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” ¹³ For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Before we move on, I want to be very clear on this point; salvation from your sins has been paid for by Jesus Christ alone. There is NO OTHER sacrifice needed, nor is there any another sacrifice possible that would satisfy God the Father’s righteousness. Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ ALONE plus NOTHING! Jesus IS the FULL and COMPLETE sacrifice that has atoned for our sins. There is NO OTHER WAY to Heaven! All anyone has to do is to receive Jesus’ finished work on the cross as His gift to you. Failure to receive salvation has eternal consequences that will result in your damnation in Hell. It is an unfortunate reality that many people chose to reject Jesus’ gift of salvation thinking that Hell isn’t real of that their goodness will get them to Heaven. Let me assure you now that there is only one way to Heaven and His name is Jesus.

John 14:6 (NKJV)

⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Romans 6:23 (NKJV)

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

4. Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies?

The Lord crowns us or showers us with His tender regard, His mercy, and His good favor. He has not abandoned us to chance, nor has He abandoned us to the schemes of the Devil. The Lord’s plan is one of indwelling by the Holy Spirit and one of intercession by both Jesus and His Holy Spirit. God takes His blessing us, leading us, guiding us, and being united with us very seriously. I have to ask those who have a personal relationship with Jesus, how seriously do you take your relationship with Him? Get excited about these verses. Both The Holy Spirit and Jesus are praying for us! That’s 2/3 of the Godhead.

Romans 8:26 (NKJV)

²⁶ Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Romans 8:34 (NKJV)

³⁴ Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (NKJV)

¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰ For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

My friend, Mark Mirza with Common Threads Ministries (www.CTMPrayer.org), tells a story I will relate to you here. Nothing catches our God by surprise! This DOES NOT happen in Heaven. God DOES NOT sit on His throne and all of a sudden see something that catches Him off guard. He doesn’t have to call out to His archangels Gabriel and Michael to ask them, “Hey, what happened over there?” Satan cannot do anything without first getting permission from God to do it. Do you remember the story of Job? This is an interesting thought that I would like you to chew on for a moment. I would like this thought to sink into your mind. God is in control. He has COMPLETE sovereignty over ALL events. God is the one who not only created all things. He is the one who spins the Earth and regulates its motion. He put the stars in the heavens and He directs their paths. God not only created everything, He maintains the function and delicate balance of it! We serve a Great God!

5. Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s?

The Lord is the provider of ALL provision. He is the one who gave all of us the skills, talents, and abilities we have. He is the one who breathed life into us. He is the reason we all have a heartbeat and draw breath. The Lord renews our vigor and increases our fervor for the tasks He has given to us to accomplish. He is the One who restores and renews our strength.

Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)

³¹ But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Proverbs 3:5–10 (NKJV)

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. ⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. ⁸ It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. ⁹ Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; ¹⁰ So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.

God’s benefits should not ever be forgotten, but in this case, especially because they have an eternal consequence. Friends, God loves you. He loves your family. He loves your neighbors. He loves your coworkers. He loves this community, this state, this nation, and this world. It is not His will that any should perish and go to spend an eternity in Hell. It is His will that we all have a personal relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus. However, He gave all of us free will to choose our own path. We all can either choose to receive or reject His Son Jesus and His gift of salvation. It is our choice. God is a “perfect gentleman” who will not force His will upon us.

John 3:16–18 (NKJV)

¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ “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.

Regardless of people’s attitudes about Jesus today, there will be a day when they will humbly acknowledge His absolute deity and sovereignty over all creation. Unfortunately, for those who reject Jesus in this life, it will be too late for them to change their position. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. This includes the atheist, the agnostic, the Muslim, the Buddhist, the Hindu, the Universalist…everyone. There is only ONE way to Heaven and He has a name held in honor above every other, Jesus!

Philippians 2:9–11 (NKJV)

⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We have a lot to be thankful for all of the time. Thankfulness should not just be reserved for Thanksgiving Day and a once a year event. Thanksgiving and a thankful heart are the first steps into growing more spiritually mature in your walk with the Lord. If you don’t know Jesus in a real and personal way, you have been shown enough meet Him. If you have questions, contact me or your local Bible believing church. You will never regret meeting Jesus. He will become your best friend. May the Lord bless you and your family this Thanksgiving and may we bless the Lord with all of our soul!

What is YOUR Aroma Before the Lord?

2012-10-17T20:20:00.001-04:00

What is YOUR Aroma Before the Lord?

By Rev. Greg Schermerhorn, October 17, 2012

Ephesians 5:1–2 (NKJV)

¹ Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. ² And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Romans 12:1–2 (NKJV)

¹ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

I’m going to start this article by asking you a question:

How are you living your life? In light of the Scripture passages I started the article with, Ephesians 5:1-2 and Romans 12:1-2:

Have you considered your aroma before the Lord? You know, the aroma of your heart.

· Is it the pleasant, sweet smelling aroma of an offering?

· Is it the stench of unconfessed sin in your life?

I know it’s a pointed question, a sharp question, but sometimes Scripture demands a response from us. The writer of Hebrews said:

Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV)

¹² For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

God’s Word is absolutely true, inspired, inerrant, and infallible. It is living and powerful because it is God’s Word. As such, it has the power to convict on its own without man’s intervention. If you have any doubts, just listen to some of the testimonies given to us by the Gideons of men and women who have come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. For them just reading the Bible so convicted them of their need for salvation that God directed them to the passages they needed without human intervention. As a two edged sword, the Bible cuts both ways, away from you and back towards you. In other words, Scripture has the power to ward off the devil and his demons, as well as the power to convict you of your own sins.

Praise God that we have a Savior that has paid the price for our sins once and for all time. He has overcome the world, He has overcome sin, He has overcome death, and He is seated at God the Father’s right hand interceding for us even now. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, all of our sins. All the sins we have committed in the past, and all of them that we will ever commit. There will never need to be another sacrifice to pay for anyone’s sins ever again. His one death on the cross, His one burial, and His one resurrection from the dead are sufficient for all mankind for all time.

Hebrews 7:26–27 (NKJV)

²⁶ For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; ²⁷ who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

The Apostle Paul spent a lot of time breaking down the theological details of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection for his readers in the first eleven chapters of the book of Romans. Now, he ties it all together in these first two verses of chapter 12. He starts verse one not by saying “I command you, brethren” but by saying, “I beseech you, brethren.” While Paul had apostolic authority, he wanted the motivation for his urging to be love because of what God had done for mankind. Paul wanted his readers to understand that they didn't need to serve Christ in order to receive his mercy because they had already received it.

Romans 5:17 (NLT)

¹⁷For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

Paul urged his readers to present their bodies as a living sacrifice that was holy and acceptable to God. With this request, Paul was drawing on imagery that his readers would understand. For us, we will have to take ourselves back 2000 years ago to understand that same imagery of the sacrifice.

To have a sacrifice would require a priest. It would also require something to be sacrificed. In the Jewish context, there were sin offerings, peace offerings, love offerings, goodwill offerings, and so on. These offerings could have been animals, grains, wines, and such depending upon the purpose of the offering. All of the items being sacrificed would have to have been first-fruits and unblemished. The last major component is that they would have to be freely given to the Lord.

Now, when we look back at verse one, Paul's language makes more sense to us today. Words do have meaning, so we need to take care to study them in their proper context. Paul urgently requested that his Christian brothers and sisters present themselves as living sacrifices. His request that they willingly offer themselves and become a living sacrifice was a reasonable act of worship because God had been so gracious and merciful to them. They were also to present themselves in a manner that was holy and acceptable.

They could do this through the office of the priesthood of the believer. All of us who are saved are a part of Christ's royal priesthood. This is not to be confused with Aaron’s priestly line.

1 Peter 2:5 (NKJV)

⁵ you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

We all can come boldly before the throne of grace because of what Jesus did for us. It's not because of who we are, what we know, where we go to church, what we have given money to, or any other activity or deed. We can only come before God's holy throne because of the shed blood of Jesus. Remember the veil was torn at the Holy of Holies in the Temple when Jesus died on the cross.

Warren Wiersbe said, “As priests, we are to present ‘spiritual sacrifices’ to God. The first sacrifice He wants each day is our body, mind, and will in total surrender to Him.” ^{^[1]}

Hebrews 13:15–16 (NKJV)

¹⁵ Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. ¹⁶ But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

As a New Testament living sacrifice, we’re not just ritually holy like an Old Testament sacrifice. If you're saved, you are truly holy because you're covered by the blood of the lamb, Jesus, the sinless Son of God. When God the Father looks at you, He can’t see your past sins. He only sees that you have been covered by the blood of His Son and that you are forgiven and covered by His grace. In fact, you can look at it like this, you were once “dead” in sin, but now you are alive in Christ and living in your eternal life.

The true attitude of worship is giving our all to God. When we present our bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and acceptable to God, we are presenting our all. When we present the all of our being as a living sacrifice; our time, our talent, and our treasure will follow where our heart has already gone. It’s been said that the Christian who fails in life is the one who has first failed at the altar, refusing to surrender completely to Christ.^{^[2]}

Paul continues in verse two by admonishing his readers not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. This is also an interesting passage. Every Christian is either a conformer, living for and like the world, or as a transformer, daily becoming more like Christ.^{^[3]}Paul doesn't want believers to be conformed or molded to the image of the world. He doesn’t want us carried away by the beliefs, the philosophies, the methodologies, and the strategies of the corrupt world in which we live.

1 Corinthians 3:18–19 (ESV)

¹⁸Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. ¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,”

1 Corinthians 1:25–28 (NLT)

²⁵This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

²⁶Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. ²⁷Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. ²⁸God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.

Paul's goal for us is the same as God's goal for us. It is transformation through the renewing of our minds. The consistent and deliberate act of the renewing of the mind of the believer is an act of submission to the will of God. This process begins at the moment of salvation and it continues as long as you maintain a growing relationship with the Lord. So what does that mean? It means that to maintain a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, you must feed yourself by reading your Bible daily, you must pray consistently, and you must surrender your will to God daily, if not even hour by hour and minute by minute.

As you consistently submit yourself to God and seek to do His will, you will continue to grow more spiritually mature, your mind is constantly renewed, and you will be continually spiritually energized because you are becoming more Christ-like. You will also come to a point that you realize that God's will, God's desires, God's motives, and God's values are really what are best for you in the way you live your life because His way is complete.

2 Corinthians 4:16 (NKJV)

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

One should take notice that transformation is a process. It's not something that happens instantaneously. While it starts at the moment of salvation, transformation will continue for a lifetime. Transformation is the process of becoming Christ-like. It is a process that will never be complete because you'll never be fully Christ. You can only be like Christ, but you want be as much like Christ is you can be! This is part of spiritual maturity. Roy Zuck compared this process to metamorphosis. You know about metamorphosis, it’s the process of a caterpillar forming a cocoon and transforming into a butterfly. Transformation is a process that works from the inside out. It's also a process that has no shortcuts. Feeding yourself daily with Scripture, prayer, and obedience to the Lord are keys to the renewing of your mind and the transformation process so that you can grow more spiritually mature.

The final part of verse two is a benefit of being transformed by the renewing of your mind. By feeding yourself a steady diet of Scripture, by praying consistently, and by being in submission to God's will, you now have the tools to be able to prove what is good and acceptable and within that perfect will of God. The idea here is that the renewed mind can discover and put into action the will of God.

So, you may be asking, “How can I know the will of God?” That's an excellent question. I promise you there's no secret formula, and there’s no 3 or 5 point plan that will lay it all out for you. However, what I can promise you is this: that by doing four things, you can develop a relationship with the Lord that will help you to understand His will in most situations. These four things are not earth shattering tasks. They are four simple and humble tasks that will help you to know God and grow through the renewing of your mind. You might want to write them down.

Number 1: Read Scripture daily, consistently, and systematically. This will make you familiar with God's word so you know what it says: His judgments, His blessings, His love, His mercy, and His grace. In other words, read all of it. Take delight in God's word.

Psalm 119:16 (NKJV)

¹⁶ I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

Number 2: Memorize key verses and passages. Hide God's word in your heart. It will help you defeat the devil and turn away from temptation.

Psalm 119:11 (NKJV)

¹¹ Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

Number 3: Pray daily and pray consistently. Develop a prayer relationship with the Father. And don't just do all the talking. Sometimes you just need to unload and then listen for God’s response.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (NKJV)

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Number 4: Test all things. By this point, you should be reading Scripture, memorizing Scripture, and praying consistently. Test and verify everything against Scripture. When you're unsure what Scripture means, use a parallel Scripture passage to interpret the one you're unsure of. There are no contradictions in the word of God. God will never lead you to violate Scripture and Scripture will never lead you to violate God's will.

1 Thessalonians 5:19–22 (NKJV)

¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not despise prophecies. ²¹ Test all things; hold fast what is good. ²² Abstain from every form of evil.

These four disciplines will help you to discern God's will in most situations. Remember, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Neither God, nor His word, ever contradict each other. If that ever happens, then you know that whatever the issue is, it's not from Him.

Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV)

⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

So what can we take away from this study? Are we living our lives as a living sacrifice that is holy and acceptable to God? Is God pleased with the aroma of our heart? Does it have the pleasant aroma of a living sacrifice that is being lived out to honor and glorify Him? Or does it have the stench of unconfessed sin upon it? They are tough questions that we need to answer after an honest evaluation. If you need to confess sin, do it and resolve to become a living sacrifice. If you don’t know Jesus as Lord, then now is the time of salvation.

Developing a personal relationship with Jesus is as easy as A-B-C:

A-Admit you are a sinner. Repent and turn away from your sin.

Acts 3:19 (NKJV)

¹⁹ Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

B-Believe that Jesus is the Son of God and receive God’s gift of forgiveness from sin.

Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

C-Confess your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Romans 10:9–10, 13 (NKJV)

^{^[1]} Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1992), 400.

^{^[2]} Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1992), 399.

^{^[3]} Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1992), 399.

Who is This Jesus?

2012-04-06T17:40:00.001-04:00

Who is This Jesus?

Rev. Greg Schermerhorn – April 6, 2012

As we approach Easter, it's appropriate to start thinking about Jesus, who He is and what He's done for us through the life He lived. We need to ponder that Jesus is fully God and fully man. He fully relates to us as humans, and He fully understands us as God.

Easter is the highest holy day on the Christian calendar. In fact without Easter, that is: without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, there would be no such thing as Christianity. We would have no reason to be gathered here at church to celebrate Easter, Christmas, or anything else related to Christianity. Christianity exists because of what Jesus did for us 2000 years ago on the cross of Calvary.

We are going to take a look a passage the prophet Isaiah wrote nearly 700 years before Jesus was born. This passage describes Jesus as the Messiah, it describes the things that He would go through as the Christ, and it describes the completion of His earthly mission as the final atoning sacrifice for our sins. Isaiah 53 is one of many passages that Jesus fulfilled during His earthly ministry. Thank God the Father that He fulfilled this prophecy as the Messiah, the sinless Lamb of God that had the power and authority to take away the sins of the world.

Isaiah 53:1–12 (NKJV)

¹Who has believed our report?

And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

² For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,

And as a root out of dry ground.

He has no form or comeliness;

And when we see Him,

There is no beauty that we should desire Him.

³ He is despised and rejected by men,

A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

⁴ Surely He has borne our griefs

And carried our sorrows;

Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten by God, and afflicted.

⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned, every one, to his own way;

And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He opened not His mouth;

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,

And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

So He opened not His mouth.

⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment,

And who will declare His generation?

For He was cut off from the land of the living;

For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

⁹ And they made His grave with the wicked—

But with the rich at His death,

Because He had done no violence,

Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;

He has put Him to grief.

When You make His soul an offering for sin,

He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,

And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.

¹¹ He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.

By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,

For He shall bear their iniquities.

¹² Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,

And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,

Because He poured out His soul unto death,

And He was numbered with the transgressors,

And He bore the sin of many,

And made intercession for the transgressors.

There's a lot to cover in this Isaiah 53 passage, in fact, far more than I will cover at this time. But before we jump directly into our text, let's discuss why Jesus came to Earth and dwelt among us in the first place. There are three passages that come to mind that really speak to why Jesus came to Earth. You may know John 3:16:

John 3:16 (KJV-1769)

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.

The next one is in Luke 4. This passage is early in Jesus’ ministry while He is in the synagogue at Nazareth.

Luke 4:17–21 (NKJV)

¹⁷ And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 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 brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; ¹⁹ To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” ²⁰ Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. ²¹ And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your Hearing.”

Jesus told the people of Nazareth that He was the Messiah and that this Scripture, which is Isaiah 61:1-2, was being fulfilled in their presence. Jesus had indeed come to set free those who were oppressed. He had come to give sight to the blind. He had come to heal the brokenhearted. He did all these things in both the physical and the spiritual sense.

The third passage is also found in Luke. It is Luke 19:10:

Luke 19:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰ for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

We know that Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. What was lost? Mankind was lost … to sin! Jesus had come to Earth to restore mankind’s relationship with God. This is what Isaiah's prophecy was all about.

Isaiah 53:1-3 (NLT) says:

¹Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed His powerful arm? ²My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about His appearance, nothing to attract us to Him. ³He was despised and rejected— a Man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on Him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.

These first three verses of Isaiah 53 talk about the ministry of our Savior Jesus. While many people "followed" Jesus around, they were not followers of Jesus. In other words, they were not true disciples living out Jesus' message. They were simply people following Him around in order to see the next miracle, or the next great sign, or next great wonder that He was going to perform. They were with Him to see and experience the “show”. They had no idea who He was nor did they understand His mission as Messiah. This was also true of His inner circle of the Twelve Disciples. The Twelve Disciples didn't really understand who Jesus was until after His resurrection from the dead.

Jesus came to Earth in humble appearance. This passage indicates that there was nothing beautiful or majestic about His appearance. Specifically, there was nothing about Jesus’ appearance that attracted or drew people to Himself.

We do know that Jesus was acquainted with sorrow and grief. We know that He experienced the same pains, feelings, and emotions that we ourselves feel as humans. We know that He loved, He cried, and He grieved. Scripture tells us He was as human as we are, except for sin.

John 11:35–36 (NKJV)

³⁵ Jesus wept. ³⁶ Then the Jews said, “See how He loved Him!”

Isaiah also told us that Jesus would be despised and rejected. Indeed Jesus came to His own people, the Jews, and they rejected Him. In the end, the crowds that had been following Him seeking signs and miracles chanted, Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Indeed, Jesus’ people did turn their backs on Him and look the other way. He was despised and His own people didn't care.

John 1:11 (NKJV)

¹¹ He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

Why did the events of Jesus’ earthly life happen this way? Many people have asked this question. The answer is really very simple. The answer is to bring God the Father honor and glory. All of these things had to happen in order to fulfill the prophecies about Jesus Christ, the Messiah. The Apostle John tells part of the story in John 12:37:

John 12:37–41 (NKJV)

³⁷ But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, ³⁸ that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which He spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” ³⁹ Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: ⁴⁰ “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their Hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their Hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.” ⁴¹ These things Isaiah said when He saw His glory and spoke of Him.

Isaiah 53:4-6 (NLT) says:

⁴Yet it was our weaknesses He carried; it was our sorrows* that weighed Him down. And we thought His troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for His own sins! ⁵But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. ⁶All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all.

God the Father had set a magnificent plan in motion when He sent Jesus Christ to Earth. By Jesus, the very Son of God, putting on human flesh and dwelling among us, He now has first-hand knowledge of the human experience. Jesus is fully God and fully man. His unique position as God's Son and His unique experience of being both God and the only sinless Man, helps us to relate more to Him. Jesus’ experiences in His humanity help us to see how we can be strong in the Lord with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 4:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Matthew affirmed what Isaiah wrote in verse 4 that Jesus carried our weaknesses and our sorrows. The New King James says He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.

Matthew 8:16–17 (NKJV)

¹⁶ When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and Healed all who were sick, ¹⁷ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses.”

Jesus was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. We are compared to sheep straying in the wilderness. All of us have left God's path at one time or another. All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, so says Romans 3:23. God laid all of our sins on Jesus Christ and used Him as the sacrificial lamb to atone for the sins of the whole world.

Hebrews 9:27–28 (NKJV)

²⁷ And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, ²⁸ so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. …

Jesus didn't die for His own transgressions or His own sins because He didn't have any to die for! Our sins were literally drawn from us and imputed to Jesus so that He could die as the holy sacrifice and when He was raised from the dead those who believed in Jesus Christ as the Son of God had Jesus’ righteousness drawn from Him and imputed to them. Friends, this is what Easter is all about.

Romans 4:23–25 (NKJV)

²³ Now it was not written for His sake alone that it was imputed to Him, ²⁴ but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵ who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

Paul says it in a way that is a little easier to understand here in 2 Corinthians 5:21:

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV)

²¹ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Isaiah 53:7-9 (NLT) says:

⁷He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet He never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, He did not open His mouth. ⁸Unjustly condemned, He was led away.* No one cared that He died without descendants, that His life was cut short in midstream.* But He was struck down for the rebellion of my people. ⁹He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But He was buried like a criminal; He was put in a rich man’s grave.

Did Jesus want to die for the sins of the whole world? Did He want to go through the pain and agony of death by crucifixion? Did He want to go through all the beatings and the scourging? No, of course He didn't want to do that but He was willing to do it because it was God the Father's plan to bring salvation to humanity and it was God the Father's plan for Jesus to fulfill the prophecies of Scripture.

Luke 22:42 (NKJV)

⁴² saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”

Even though Jesus was unjustly condemned to die, He kept His peace and did not lash out at anyone. There were no words spoken in anger or bitterness by Jesus. Why, Jesus willingly laid down His life for us. In fact, Jesus prayed for those who are crucifying Him.

Luke 23:34 (NKJV)

³⁴ Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

And they divided His garments and cast lots.

The Apostle Peter urged us to follow Jesus’ example of righteousness.

1 Peter 2:20–25 (NKJV)

²⁰ For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. ²¹ For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: ²² “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; ²³ who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; ²⁴ who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness— by whose stripes you were Healed. ²⁵ For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Jesus is the ultimate example of turning the other cheek. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. Jesus was at the cross living out Scripture in the last moments of His human life and He was fulfilling prophecy about Himself.

Matthew 5:43–45 (NKJV)

⁴³ “You have Heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Jesus, having borne all the sins of humanity, and having fulfilled all Scripture and prophecy regarding His life and ministry as the Messiah, died as the sacrificial Lamb of God on the cross of Calvary. This was a red letter day in the history of the world. Mankind’s sin problem is about to be a thing of the past. But there still another prophecy to be fulfilled. This prophecy was about Jesus' burial.

Matthew 27:57–60 (NKJV)

⁵⁷ Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. ⁵⁹ When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.

Isaiah 53:10-12 (NLT) says:

¹⁰But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush Him and cause Him grief. Yet when His life is made an offering for sin, He will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in His hands. ¹¹When He sees all that is accomplished by His anguish, He will be satisfied. And because of His experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for He will bear all their sins. ¹²I will give Him the honors of a victorious soldier, because He exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

God the Father was pleased that Jesus had been crucified and that He had fulfilled all of the Scripture concerning Himself. He wasn't pleased because Jesus had been brutalized. He was pleased because Jesus took the sins of the world upon Himself and because He loved us and wants us to have a relationship with Him and spend eternity with Him in Heaven. God the Father was pleased that His Son Jesus was obedient unto death and He showed His good pleasure with Jesus’ excellent work by raising Him from the dead. Jesus' resurrection conquered sin and death forever!

We are the labor of Jesus' soul. We are the fruit that is been born out of His earthly life and ministry. Isaiah said that Jesus would see the labor of His soul and be satisfied. Jesus has done everything for us. Without Him we can have no relationship with God. It's only through Jesus that we enjoy the privileges of prayer and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Thank God He bore my sins, your sins, and the sins of the whole world on His shoulders when He hung on the cross at Calvary.

Romans 5:18–19 (NKJV)

¹⁸ 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. ¹⁹ For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

As a result of Jesus' personal sacrifice for us, God the Father has glorified Him in Heaven. Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us.

Romans 8:34 (NKJV)

³⁴ …It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

Easter is a great time to re-center or refocus your spiritual life with the Lord. This is a time to give honor and praise to Jesus for everything that He's done for you. Without Jesus’ personal sacrifice of laying aside His divine prerogatives, humbling Himself and putting on human flesh, and submitting Himself to human authorities we would not have the opportunity of salvation. There is no skill, talent, or ability that we ourselves possess, and there is no amount of work we can do, and no amount of money we can spend to earn or buy our own salvation. Salvation is a free gift from God, but as we have studied today, it cost Jesus dearly.

Friends, if you don't know Jesus in a real and personal way, there's no better time of year to get to know Him. It really is as simple as A-B-C.

A-Admit you're a sinner repent and turn away from your sin.

Acts 3:19 (NKJV)

¹⁹ Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

B-Believe that Jesus is the Son of God and receive God's gift of forgiveness from sin.

Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

C-Confess your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Romans 10:9–10,13 (NKJV)

⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your Heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the Heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹³ For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Please don’t let this Easter go by without knowing Jesus in a real and personal way. He has paid the ultimate price, in human terms, so that we wouldn't have to pay the price of being separated from God for all eternity, in a Devil’s Hell.

Jesus is the Reason for the Season

2011-12-20T16:14:00.000-05:00

Jesus is the Reason for the Season

by Rev. Greg Schermerhorn

At this time of year, many people wonder, “who was this Jesus?” This is a good thing. Christmas has not completely lost its significance to the commercial holiday that it has become.

Today, we will look at the babe in the manger to see who He IS and what His significance was then and still is today. Let’s start our study in Luke.

Luke 2:1–14 (NKJV)

² And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ² This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. ³ So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

⁴ Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. ⁶ So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. ⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸ Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Nearly all of us have heard this story before, the story of Jesus’ birth. Even the children’s cartoon “Charlie Brown Christmas” tells this story. This is the Jesus that the world is OK with knowing. The world is not afraid of the baby Jesus, nor do they respect Him. Just look at the treatment of our Savior in the movie Talladega Nights. NASCAR driver Ricky Bobby prays to the “Baby Jesus” to bless a family meal. Why? Jesus was “powerless” and non-threatening as a baby.

But…

This is why God chose to send His Son to Earth as a baby…so He would be non-threatening. God, in His infinite wisdom, chose to have His Son become incarnate flesh so that we could relate to Him and understand who He was and who He is!

Hear this next statement very carefully: Jesus was not created by God to be our Savior. Jesus was and still is God! Let’s take a look at the Gospel of John.

John 1:1–3 (NKJV)

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

Jesus is the Word! Jesus was present with God before any of creation existed. John makes clear that Jesus was present and active during the creation of the world.

Jesus set aside His divine prerogatives and literally put on flesh and blood so that He could dwell among us. This allowed Him to reveal God to us in a way we could better understand. He also provided the way of salvation for mankind. Simply put, Jesus was born to die.

John 1:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ 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.

Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

This incarnation where God became human flesh is the greatest part of the Christmas story! God literally put on a human body. You could think of it like one of us putting on a coat! This incarnation set the stage for Jesus to interact with humanity on a personal level. Jesus experienced the whole of the human condition, except for sin! He experienced hunger, pain, temptation, sorrow, need…all of the things that we ourselves experience.

Hebrews 4:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Jesus made clear the purpose of His ministry to mankind, the purpose for His incarnation.

Luke 19:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰ for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Luke 9:56a (NKJV)

⁵⁶ For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”

Jesus came to point the way to God the Father. He came to be the final atoning sacrifice for our sins. Jesus came so that we might have life, eternal life with God.

John 14:6 (NKJV)

⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Jesus described Himself as the Good Shepherd and His people as sheep.

John 10:7–18 (NKJV)

⁷ Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. ¹² But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. ¹³ The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. ¹⁵ As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

¹⁷ “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”

This illustration Jesus used of the Good Shepherd and His sheep describes His relationship to us very well. It describes His purpose in coming to Earth and living among us. It describes His goal for us to have restored fellowship with the Godhead.

The babe in the manger in Bethlehem 2000 years ago is the Savior of the world. This is this same Jesus who existed for all eternity as the second member of the Godhead. This same Jesus bore all of the sins of humanity on His shoulders as He hung on the cross of Calvary. This same Jesus is coming back for the saints at the rapture. This same Jesus is coming back to Earth in victory at the end of time. This same Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords!

Philippians 2:10–11 (NKJV)

¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The greatest gift of all time has been given to us all, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Why? Because God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world…that’s us!

John 3:16–18 (NKJV)

¹⁸ “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.

This brings us full circle back to where we started. God loved us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to do the impossible for us…save us from our sins. We cannot do it on our own. We can only do it through the sinless Son of God, Jesus. He is one who did all of the work for us. We just have to receive it! It is really as easy as A…B…C.

· Admit to God that you are a sinner.

o Repent of your sins and turn away from them.

· Believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He has paid the price or penalty for your sins.

o Receive His gift of forgiveness.

· Confess your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior

This Christmas season, please take the opportunity to share the greatest Gift humanity has ever received with your family, friends, co-workers and acquaintances. There is no easier time of the year to share Jesus than CHRISTmas! It will make an eternity’s worth of difference in their life!

Rebuke of a Nation: Call for a Return to God’s Righteousness

2011-07-06T20:52:00.003-04:00

Rebuke of a Nation: Call for a Return to God’s Righteousness

By Rev. Greg Schermerhorn

Jeremiah 2:3, 7, 11-13, 19-22, 26-28, 31a, 37b (AMP)

3 Israel was holiness [something set apart from ordinary purposes, dedicated] to the Lord, the firstfruits of His harvest [of which no stranger was allowed to partake]; all who ate of it [injuring Israel] offended and became guilty; evil came upon them, says the Lord.

7 And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and good things. But when you entered, you defiled My land and made My heritage an abomination [detestable and loathsome].

11 Has a nation [ever] changed its gods, even though they are not gods? But My people have changed their Glory [God] for that which does not profit.

12 Be astonished and appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked and shrivel up with horror, says the Lord [at the behavior of the people].

13 For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the Fountain of living waters, and they have hewn for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns which cannot hold water.

19 Your own wickedness shall chasten and correct you, and your backslidings and desertion of faith shall reprove you. Know therefore and recognize that this is an evil and bitter thing: [first,] you have forsaken the Lord your God; [second,] you are indifferent to Me and the fear of Me is not in you, says the Lord of hosts.

20 For long ago [in Egypt] I broke your yoke and burst your bonds [not that you might be free, but that you might serve Me] and long ago you shattered the yoke and snapped the bonds [of My law which I put upon you]; you said, I will not serve and obey You! For upon every high hill and under every green tree you [eagerly] prostrated yourself [in idolatrous worship], playing the harlot.

21 Yet I had planted you [O house of Israel] a choice vine, wholly of pure seed. How then have you turned into degenerate shoots of wild vine alien to Me?

22 For though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, yet your iniquity and guilt are still [upon you; you are] spotted, dirty, and stained before Me, says the Lord.

26 As the thief is brought to shame when he is caught, so shall the house of Israel be brought to shame—they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets—

27 [Inasmuch as] they say to a tree, You are my father, and to a stone, You gave me birth. For they have turned their backs to Me and not their faces; but in the time of their trouble, they say, Arise [O Lord] and save us!

28 But where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them arise if they can save you in the time of your trouble! For [as many as] the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah. [Surely so many handmade idols should be able to help you!]

31a O generation [that you are]! Behold, consider, and regard the word of the Lord:

37b for the Lord has rejected those in whom you confide, and you will not prosper with [respect to] them.

This passage of Scripture really preaches itself. It is a rebuke to the leaders of Israel to turn from their idolatry and return to the Lord. It is a warning that the Lord has rejected their ways and their political allegiances and that He will not allow them to prosper. This is God putting the nation of Israel on notice that they have become an abomination in His sight. We can draw some parallels to our nation from this passage. I want to be very clear; God still has a purpose and a plan for His chosen people, the Jews. His plan for the Jews is separate from His plan for the church. He has two separate and distinct plans for his chosen people through Abraham and His chosen elect separated through salvation by grace. That being said, there are many parallels that can be drawn between God’s plan for both of His peoples, the Jews and the Church of Jesus Christ. This is just one of the many reasons we have the Old Testament as part of God’s revealed Word to us.

In many ways, the United States of America is like the Israel of the Old Testament. Both nations were set apart before God Almighty and purposed to bring Him honor and glory. While many modern historians try to deny that our country was founded on true Judeo-Christian values, this is a fact that cannot be denied. It takes only the most rudimentary study of our country’s founding documents to see that they sought God’s guidance every step of the way as they formed our Republic. Yes, I said Republic. This is no democracy because we have a government founded upon law, specifically God’s law. Democracy, in its purest form, is the lynch mob. It doesn’t follow law, only the mob’s desire for or against issues. Indeed, this would be a very dangerous way to govern as decisions are based upon the emotion of the moment.

Our founding fathers knew that freedom had a price. They knew that liberty was not free. They certainly had in mind Gal 5:1:

Galatians 5:1 (NKJV)

5 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

And also:

John 8:36 (NKJV)

³⁶ Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

They knew that this freedom also came with responsibility. Their responsibility was to act in ways that brought honor and glory to God, as opposed to bringing themselves personal gain. They were charged to act in the best interests of the people, above and beyond their own self interests. History reveals to us that America’s founding fathers did just that. They fixed their eyes on Jesus and set about the business of shedding the yoke of British slavery and tyranny. Then they set about the business of establishing a government that had never been tried in all of humanity’s existence. A government that not only honored God, but sought to protect it citizen’s free moral agency to live life as they saw fit, to serve God, or not, was the citizen’s choice. They established laws to prevent the government from establishing a state religion. They wanted to ensure the free practice of freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. Twenty-seven of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were ordained ministers or had degrees from what we would consider seminaries today.

Today we are in bondage to sin as a nation. Our leaders, in general, are not seeking to honor and glorify God. Our nation, as a whole, does not seek the Lord. We have departed from the path chosen by our nation’s founding fathers. We have a nation where wickedness is accepted as a normal and sometimes even a desired behavior. We have a nation where it is not only legal, but mothers are encouraged to consider abortion during their pregnancy. We live in a society where various legal groups sue to prevent God’s name from being used, spoken or prayed, even at funerals. We have elected officials at the highest levels of government that exalt themselves above God Almighty and declare to the world that “America is not a Christian nation.” Truly Psalm 12:8 is true today:

Psalm 12:8 (NIV84)

⁸ The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men.

There is a whole lot of strutting going on in Washington DC, Atlanta, and other seats of political power in our nation.

Now what do we do? God made a promise to Solomon that I believe also has relevance to us in this case. The Lord said:

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

This was addressed to Israel, but we are also called by the name of Jesus. Jesus’ name is the Name above all names.

Philippians 2:9–11 (NKJV)

We need to humble ourselves and confess the sins we have committed as a nation before the Lord! We need to turn from our wicked ways as a nation! This means that our elected officials need to be engaged in this issue to see the truth of God’s Word. If they do not see it or agree with the truth, it is our duty to VOTE to unelect them! Christians can no longer be a silent majority in this country. We MUST stand up and take action. We cannot be complacent. Look at the legacy complacent Christians have left us to deal with! The “be silent” and “the live and let live” attitude are not Christ-like! What did Jesus do when He saw the merchants and money changers in the Temple courts in Jerusalem? He was angry and He cleaned house.

Mark 11:15–17 (AMP)

15 And they came to Jerusalem. And He went into the temple [area, the porches and courts] and began to drive out those who sold and bought in the temple area, and He overturned the [four-footed] tables of the money changers and the seats of those who dealt in doves;

16 And He would not permit anyone to carry any household equipment through the temple enclosure [thus making the temple area a short-cut traffic lane].

17 And He taught and said to them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? But you have turned it into a den of robbers.

Indeed, America also became a house of prayer for all the nations. As a place of true freedom of religion and practice, this nation became a haven for persecuted Christians from around the world. Baptists and Anabaptist were among some of the first Christians to come to this country before it was America. Freedom of religious practice is one of the cornerstones of our country that modern revisionist historians would have you know nothing about.

Isaiah 56:7 (NKJV)

⁷ Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

Much of Isaiah 56:7 is also true of America, in her youth.

How will we change as a nation? It is a daunting thing, but just like eating an elephant, it can only be done one bite at a time. This change starts at the individual level with each one of us. It starts with the personal prayer before the Lord, “Lord, please heal our land.” We must continually seek the Lord in our own lives first and foremost. We are admonished to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus in Heb 12:1-3.

Hebrews 12:1–3 (NASB95)

1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

We have to lay aside the things which keep us from become fully committed followers of Jesus Christ and draw our strength from Him. This is a lifelong process, so realize that you can’t wait until the point where you have reached Christ-likeness to start becoming involved. You need to be on your journey toward Christ-likeness and be involved in the matters that the Lord would have you address.

I believe that there are two issues that every Christian has been commanded to address, regardless of anything else the Lord puts on your heart. They are the Great Commission and the Great Command. These are Jesus’ last commands to us, as His church, before He ascended into Heaven. Here it is:

Matthew 28:19–20 (NKJV)

The Great Commission is the command to reach the lost of this world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Great Command is the command to lead believers toward a state of growth and spiritual maturity in their relationship with the Lord. All Christians share in this responsibility and we are all gifted differently to fulfill this mission. God also gives us individual assignments to accomplish in addition to these tasks based upon His calling in our lives. We are all a Bible that someone else reads. Your actions tell the story of your relationship with Jesus. As citizens of this country, we have a responsibility to see that business is conducted in an honorable way. In our specific case, we were founded upon godly principles and precepts, so we need to seek to elect officials who will honor God and the godly principles and precepts upon which this country was founded.

Pray for America. We have been the second Promised Land for generations of people. For 235 years, America has more or less prospered. Certainly it did for the first 200 years. At the turn of 1900, major secular thought started to invade our country through universities, colleges, seminaries, and even the government. These humanistic ideas have resulted in our country turning its back upon God Almighty. This is evident by our government’s political positions like backing away from Israel in favor of the Palestinians, the overt and successful attempt to change the Constitution’s freedom of religion into freedom from religion, and the general moral decline of our society highlighted by abortion. The wicked are freely strutting about in honor within our society. Pray for America, and her leaders at all levels of government. Pray for your pastor. Pray for your family. Pray for an awakening and a revival. It is not too late!

Family Rejection

2011-06-29T14:56:00.000-04:00

Family Rejection

Who are my mother, my brothers, and my sisters? What happens when your family rejects your walk before the Lord?

By Rev. Greg Schermerhorn

This is a difficult problem, but one that many Christians throughout history have experienced. Even our Savior and Lord Jesus experienced rejection by his family. What do I mean by rejection, you ask? Well, rejection takes many forms from the blatant, even militant variety to the would-be “spiritual” sounding type. Rejection is given by non-believers and believers alike. In this context, the common thread is a disbelief in your ability to know and follow God’s plan for your life. From the non-believer, the rejection is from the view of the world and is, by default, opposed to God and His plans. From the believer, it is, in some ways more insidious because believers think they know what you should do and what is in your best interest, even if their thoughts are in direct opposition to the leading of the Lord in your life. The truth is, rejection and opposition are going to be facts of life for the believer in Jesus Christ, especially for those who are fully committed to serving Him.

Now, don’t take this as a “Doom and Gloom” pronouncement. It is not intended that way. It is intended as a caution so that you can be prepared for this issue when it comes up in your life. Studying Jesus’ life reveals that He experienced rejection from His own family. Mark 3:20-35 tells us the story of Jesus teaching in the vicinity of His hometown. His family, that is to say Jesus’ mother Mary, His half-brothers, and His half-sisters went to go see Him and bring Him home because they believed He was crazy or “out of His mind”! When they arrived to “get“ Him, the crowd told Jesus that His Mother, His brothers, and His sisters were there seeking Him. Jesus replied in this way:

Mark 3:33–35 (NKJV)

³³ But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?” ³⁴ And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! ³⁵ For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”

Jesus was doing the will of God the Father, as He was called to do. He was not going to allow His misguided family to deter Him from the mission He had been given by God. Was this a hard decision, sure, but it would be impossible for Jesus Christ, the Son of God to sin and disobey His Heavenly Father. Was it disrespectful to His mother, brothers, and sisters? No, because they were asking Him to turn His back on the mission God had given Him. They were, in fact, being disrespectful to Him and His calling.

God set up authority structures for us in our lives to guide us and to protect us. We have all been under the authority of someone and are all still under the authority of someone and or something. For example, we were all under the authority of our parents as we grew up. Your parent’s authority was defined by the government’s law and by God’s law. Both government and God had areas where their authority exceeded your parent’s authority. Your parent’s could not ask you or demand that you do something contrary to the government’s law or God’s law. While many will debate the authority of government over a parent and child relationship, Christians will not debate the authority of God over children, parents, and government. God’s authority is the ultimate authority for the Christian. If government law violates God’s law, the Christian will follow God’s law over government law. Thankfully in America, the instance of that violation is far and few between. As Christians, we are admonished to be in subjection to authority as Rom 13:1-7 requires of us. This includes the area of paying taxes. Overall, we must be subject to the authorities in our lives unless they are violating God’s authority.

Jesus said :

Matthew 10:34–39 (NKJV)

³⁴ “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; ³⁶ and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ ³⁷ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸ And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹ He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

Jesus said He would cause division in families. Why? People would have to choose their loyalties…Jesus Christ or family. Even today, many family members cannot bear the fact of being placed in a seat behind the Son of God! But Jesus is very clear on this matter when He says, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”

Family is not the only source of rejection. Friends can reject you too. Family just seems to hurt more because we have been taught our whole lives that “Blood is thicker than water”, “You can only count on family when things get tough”, and “In the end, family’s all you’ve got.” Most of us have heard statements like this our whole lives and have had them drilled into us so that they have become a part of who we are. Jesus teaches us differently as we just saw. Our true family are those who seek God and do His will! Our true family are our brothers and sisters in Christ! This family is not one church or denomination. It is the BODY of Christ. That is, the ENTIRE body of believers in Jesus Christ around the world! This is our family! So we, as born-again believers have a huge family that will love on us and accept us for who we are in Christ!

Jesus said something else about rejection:

Mark 6:4 (NKJV)

⁴ But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.”

Jesus was not accepted by His own family, His own relatives, His friends, and by His neighbors. The whole area around where He had lived growing up rejected Him because they could only focus on His past. Now, that’s a funny thing considering Jesus was the sinless Son of God. How much more difficult is it for us, who have a sinful past, for our families and friends to focus on our present life versus our past indiscretions? Here is the context of what Jesus’ contemporaries said of Him:

Mark 6:1–3 (NKJV)

¹Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. ² And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! ³ Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.

If your relatives and friends have rejected your Christian walk and service to God, you are not alone. You are in the very best of company. As you have seen, our Savior and Lord suffered the same rejection. Take heart and know that this is expected. Don’t let your commitment to the Lord be weakened by an unbelieving relative or a weaker believing relative. Keep a strong witness, always remembering who you serve. They will try their best to derail you. Your relatives and friends may even become the unwitting instruments of Satan in their “well meaning” attacks on your behavior. My best advice to you is to remember to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and your heart open to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Remember the admonition by the writer of Hebrews:

Hebrews 12:1–3 (NASB95)

2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

I hope you find encouragement that our Savior is our living example of perseverance and overcoming. Jesus is the source of our identity and the source of our strength. Only with Him can we do all things (Phil 4:13) and to Him we must give all honor, glory, and praise in all that we do (1 Cor 10:31)!

Open Letter to President Barack Obama

2011-05-19T17:10:00.000-04:00

Open Letter to President Barack Obama

Mr. President:

Why have you decided to interject the United States of America into the middle of the Arab and Israeli conflict? Surely you know that this battle has raged for centuries, yea even millennia, long before the existence of our great nation. You claim to be Christian, but you persist in actions that deny your claims. Your present Middle-Eastern policy toward Israel is an affront to the American people and an abomination before God Almighty. This conflict existed long before Islam existed as a religion and you are allowing us to be drawn into a fight, on the wrong side of the issue. Just in case you have forgotten, this nation was founded on Judeo-Christian values. Yes, that means the basis and origin of the Christian values lay in Judaism. Denial of fact and rewriting of our history cannot change the fact that 24 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence held seminary degrees and some of those were ordained ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Mr. President, you have called yourself a Christian, but you are acting wickedly. I cannot fulfill the obligation of Matthew 18:15-17 privately with you because of our respective positions in society. Here is what the Word of God says:

Matthew 18:15-17 (NASB95)

"If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector."

Mr. President, I am a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven first, and an American second. This is the only forum in which I may have a possibility of communicating with you. I have zero possibility of speaking with you privately, especially as a pastor of a Bible-believing church. Scripture says of the seed of Abraham, Israel:

Genesis 12:2-3 (NASB95)

"And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

The Arabs are the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s other son, of whom was also promised to be a great nation. Genesis 25:18 says he settled in “defiance of all his relatives.” This “battle” or squabble between Arabs and Jews has been going on now for nearly 4000 years. Really, this is a family feud that has gone out of control where brothers, families, and cousins have over the time of 40 centuries become tribes, nations, and religions warring against each other.

Mr. President, you have demonstrated that you prefer issues that are near to the hearts of the practitioners of Islam. Your record speaks for itself and cannot, in truth, be denied. It is alright for you to have a personal preference as a private citizen, but you are representing us, the citizens of the United States of America. You are representing all 308 million of us Americans, not just the small Muslim population. I must also remind you that your constituency is here inside the borders of this country. You are not President of the world. Please stop pandering to our enemies. It makes you and us look like fools. You declared at the beginning of your presidency that the USA was no longer a Christian nation. You were greatly mistaken about that issue and others. Last November, the American people reminded you and the others in Washington DC who is in control: We the People. Our founders knew and understood Psalm 127.

Psalm 127:1-2 (NASB95)

"Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep."

They founded a nation to honor God and seek His benevolence and protection. Today we seek to fraudulently remove Him from every aspect of our public and private lives claiming “separation of church and state”, a clause that doesn’t even appear in the U.S. Constitution. Mr. Obama, surely you know the very first book printed by our government was the Holy Bible!

Our great nation’s founders understood something else too. They knew that they did not know everything. Sure they had tremendous wisdom, humility, and meekness. But they knew that they needed God’s help more than they needed anything else to protect our Republic and to prevent it from degenerating into a democracy or an oligarchy. Our founding fathers also understood Psalm 33:

Psalm 33:8-17 (NASB95)

"Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The LORD nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance. The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; From His dwelling place He looks out On all the inhabitants of the earth, He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works. The king is not saved by a mighty army; A warrior is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength."

Mr. President, as you turn your back on Israel as the leader of this nation, you bring God’s judgment upon us all. This is not a matter for your personal preference; it is a matter for you to do the right thing as every President has done since the refounding of the nation of Israel in 1948. You have an obligation to support Israel’s right to exist on the land where they belong, in the land where they have more than 4000 years of historical claim. There is no other group on the face of the Earth that has the same claim or that is also in possession of the land. When the Jews were not in their land of promise, it was a dry and barren place. When they returned in 1948, the desert started to bloom and the land of Israel was reborn into the land flowing with milk and honey once again. Sir, I know you have been there just as I have been there in the Holy land. God has blessed the land because His chosen people, the Jews, are there. I have photos from the late 1890’s – 1915 that show just how barren it was before the state of Israel was reborn. Do not let your personal preferences, pride, and arrogance bring judgment on this nation.

Rev. Greg Schermerhorn

Equip The Kingdom Ministries

My Jesus Lives

2011-04-11T10:18:00.000-04:00

This is original art is titled "My Jesus Lives". What a magnificent thought and reality as Easter approaches! Jesus is alive! He is risen from the grave! What wonderful truths that have given us the opportunity to receive eternal life! I'm so thankful to serve a living Savior, not a dead and powerless idol. There is power in the blood of Jesus Christ..."life changing, soul changing, wonder working power in the precious blood of the Lamb!"

Birthright

2011-02-15T14:05:00.003-05:00

Birthright

By Rev. Greg Schermerhorn

Have you ever really contemplated the birthright you have in Jesus? I mean, as a person who has received the free gift of salvation accomplished by Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection from the dead? Yeah, salvation means that you will go to Heaven when you die, and I DON’T meant that lightly, BUT salvation gives us so much more than just an escape from Hell!

When you received salvation from God, you went through three distinct processes: justification, reconciliation, and regeneration. Justification is where God declared us as righteous in His sight. This is a judicial pronouncement that we are “NOT GUILTY” of our past sins because Jesus has paid the penalty for us. We would NEVER be able to stand before God guiltless without Jesus’ help. We are justified by faith because Jesus took our sins away. We can’t be good enough, ever work hard enough or long enough to earn our salvation. Only God can give it to us and Jesus is the only way.

Ephesians 2:8–9 (NKJV)

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Reconciliation is the termination of enmity with God and the establishment of friendship with Him. In other words, two former enemies have been brought together as friends because sin no longer separates a Holy God from the forgiven person. This gives us the ability to have a personal relationship with the Godhead: the Father, Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. This reconciliation and new friendship is only possible because Jesus was the propitiation for our sins. What is propitiation? The substitutionary act of Jesus taking our place on the cross of Calvary to be the atoning sacrifice for all mankind causing God to look upon those who receive Jesus’ substitutionary atonement (aka-salvation, getting saved) as righteous because Jesus is righteous. This act by Christ completely satisfied God the Father and made the continuance of animal blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin unnecessary.

2 Corinthians 5:18–19 (NKJV)

¹⁸ Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Regeneration is where the soul is reborn as a new creation. The soul is the psychological part of us or psyche and is where our wants and desires exist. This part of our persona has been at war with God since the time we were born. When we are born again, that salvation experience changes our soul. We become a new creation with a new nature that has new wants and desires that replace our old sinful nature. At that moment, the warring with God ends and God’s peace that passes all understanding begins. This is a peace that only a Christian can understand.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Romans 6:11–14 (NAS)

¹¹ Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,

¹³ and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

¹⁴For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Romans 5:1 (NKJV)

5 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Philippians 4:7 (NKJV)

⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

This is just the start of what happens at salvation. You have a marvelous birthright! You, because of what Jesus has done for you, have been adopted into God’s family as a son or daughter! I mean a FULL ADOPTION, God has made you a joint-heir with Jesus!

Romans 8:16–17 (AMP)

¹⁶ The Spirit Himself [thus] testifies together with our own spirit, [assuring us] that we are children of God.

¹⁷ And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His inheritance with Him]; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory.

Indeed, you were a sinner that has been saved by grace, God’s amazing grace! Learn who you are NOW and chose to leave your old self in the past. Chose to LIVE in the resurrection power of Jesus. Realize that He has given you a spirit of power so that you can live victoriously in your new nature.

2 Timothy 1:7 (AMP)

7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.

Who are you by birthright?

· You are God’s child (John 1:12)

· You are Christ’s friend (John 15:5)

· You are in Christ and He is in you (1 Cor 6:17)

· You are a saint (Eph1:1)

· You have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph 2.18)

· You are complete in Christ (Col 2:10)

· You are a citizen of Heaven (Phil 3:20)

· You are God’s workmanship, created for good works (Eph 2:10)

· You are born of God and the evil one cannot touch you (1 John 5:18)

· You are free forever from condemnation (Rom 8:12)

· You can do all things through Christ, who strengthens you (Phil 4:13)

· You are a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16)

· You may approach God with freedom and Confidence (Eph 3:12)

· You cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom 8:35-39)[1]

When you take hold of who you are in Jesus Christ, and really let that sink in, it WILL change you! You will find that it is easier to live in your new nature and cast aside your old nature. The true you has been changed and transformed. Now, it is against your true nature to sin! The sin nature is not a part of you anymore; it is your past, not your present, or your future. It was crucified with Christ, so it is dead. Your birthright is Life! This is not a complete and exhaustive list of your birthright in Jesus Christ. It is just a very high overview that skims the surface. At the very least, these Scripture passages demonstrate how much God not only loves us as His adopted children, but how much He loves the world. I am constantly reminded of John 3:16-17 (NKJV):

In the Amplified Bible, that first line reads, “For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world…”. That world is us, humanity. Praise God that He loves us so much that He planned from the beginning of time a way for us to be forgiven and restored to sweet fellowship with Him!

[1] Ronald Cobb, “Who Am I?” (Foundations of Biblical Counseling, Luther Rice Seminary, Lithonia, GA, February 7, 2011) excerpt.

The Only Sure Bet

2011-02-02T16:59:00.004-05:00

The Only Sure Bet

Rev. Greg Schermerhorn

People make lots of bets today. I’m not necessarily talking about the lottery, poker, other or forms of open gambling. Certainly these types of bets are prevalent in our society, but the bet I am writing about today is the bet on our future. So many people today are leveraged to the hilt with debt. They have bet their financial future that they will be able to make enough money to pay that bill tomorrow. So many people are living their lives buying everything they want right now on credit. They buy and buy, with the hope of being able to continue to pay their bills, with hope and anticipation of a future date where they will somehow, if not miraculously be able to get ahead of their dreaded payments and retire.

This same wishful attitude and lifestyle has crept into the hearts of people who would consider themselves to be Christian. They attend church on the occasional Sunday, but live a different life during the rest of the week. This is not isolated to a particular denomination, culture, ethnic group, or nationality. People around the world are betting their eternal soul that they can live their life chasing after anything they wish without consequence because they consider themselves Christian and basically good. My friends, that’s a bad bet that could cost you everything for all eternity!

Stop rolling the dice! You can know for sure that your eternal future is secure. Jesus said several things about Himself and eternal salvation and the security of that salvation so that we would know He is the sure bet.

John 3:3 (NAS)

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

John 3:3 is where Jesus is talking with Nicodemus, a Pharisee who was considered to be a righteous man by his Jewish countrymen. Jesus teaches him that he must be born again. This is a new concept to Nicodemus, so Jesus explains that he must be born of water and the Spirit to enter the Kingdom of God or Heaven. This discussion leads to one of the most well know verses of the Bible.

John 3:16–17 (NKJV)

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.

Johns 3:16-17 together tell a great part of the story of God’s love for mankind. The Amplified Bible says, “For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world” that He sent His Son Jesus to be the final and complete atoning sacrifice for our sin, the sins of the entire world for all eternity! Verse 17 emphasizes that God didn’t send Jesus to judge the world, but to save the world from the judgment it was already under due to its sin.

Romans 10:9–11 (NAS)

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

Romans 10:13 (NKJV)

For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Romans 10:9-11, 13 says that salvation is an act that is as simple as confessing verbally that Jesus is Lord because He is the incarnate Son of God, believing in your heart that God the Father raised Jesus from the dead demonstrating His accomplishment of our ultimate atonement for sin then we WILL be saved from eternal death and separation from God. Verse 13 emphasizes that this invitation to receive salvation is open to everyone who calls out to the Lord. We simply have to receive the work that Jesus has done on our behalf.

John 14:6 (NAS)

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

John 14:6 is where Jesus teaches that He is the only path to God the Father, and therefore to Heaven. He is very clear that He is THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE; NO ONE will get to heaven unless they go through Jesus. Being good is a great thing, but it has nothing to do with going to Heaven. Only a personal relationship with the Savior will allow you to enter Heaven’s gate.

John 10:27–30 (NAS)

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. “I and the Father are one.”

Your salvation is secure if you have received Jesus as your Savior! Hallelujah! Here, Jesus says that all who know Him (ie: have a personal relationship/saved) are His sheep, He know us, we follow Him, He gives us eternal life, we will never perish, and NO ONE CAN SNATCH US OUT OF HIS HAND! Oh, and Jesus adds, My Father (God) gave you to me and He is greater than all things and NO ONE can snatch you out of HIS HAND EITHER! Once you are saved, you are always saved. At the moment of salvation, God changed you into a new creation.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NAS)

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

The sure bet is Jesus Christ, the lover of your soul, as well as, the rest of you. He has demonstrated His great love for you by creating you, by laying aside His divine prerogatives to be born as a human to know firsthand our struggles, by dying a cruel death He did not deserve, and by being resurrected to intercede on our behalf at the right hand of God the Father. As the old hymn says, “Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed me white as snow!” The sure bet is eternal, not temporal. It’s time to stop sowing wild oats and get serious about your future. Become a fully committed follower of Jesus Christ. It will radically change your life.

What’s Your Resolution?

2010-12-31T14:07:00.002-05:00

What’s Your Resolution?

By Rev. Greg Schermerhorn 12/31/10

As we come to the end of 2010, have you made any resolutions about 2011? Many people resolve to improve their physical appearance, financial circumstances, employment situation, home life, etc. BUT…have you ever resolved to improve your spiritual life? Have you ever resolved to get to know Jesus better? Have you ever resolved to read your Bible daily? If not, why not?

The Apostle Paul exhorted us to live our lives as a living sacrifice to God, sanctified or set apart for service to Him.

Romans 12:1–2 (AMP)

1 I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.

2 Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].

My Christian brothers and sisters, when you asked God for the forgiveness of your sins and asked Jesus to come into your life as your Savior and Lord, you were transformed into a new creation that is dead to sin.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (AMP)

17 Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!

Jesus has called all believers to live a separated and sanctified life in this world. We are to be the salt and light in the world that points to our Savior. Being judgmental won’t effectively share the message of salvation. God’s great love is what sent Jesus to us in the first place. Focus on God’s love for the lost and let judgment take care of itself (John 3:16-18). This is part of what is the good and acceptable will of God for all believers as related in the Great Commission of Matt. 28:19-20.

My prayer for you in 2011 is that you become souled out to Jesus Christ! If you have asked Him to be your Savior, truly make Him the LORD of your life this year. I hope that you CHOOSE to become a fully committed follower of Jesus Christ. It is a decision you will never regret!

Colossians 3:23–24 (AMP)

23 Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men,

24 Knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [and not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [real] reward. [The One Whom] you are actually serving [is] the Lord Christ (the Messiah).

God the Father Was PLEASED to Send His Son to Earth for Us!

2010-12-23T19:06:00.003-05:00

God the Father Was PLEASED to Send His Son to Earth for Us!

By Rev. Greg Schermerhorn 12/23/10

God the Father sent Jesus to Earth to provide the means of salvation and to restore fellowship with Him now and for all eternity. But have you ever pondered that it actually pleased the Father to send His Son to Earth to be our Savior? There are several Scripture passages that point to this truth. As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ, it is a perfect time to look at why God the Father was pleased to send His only Son to Earth for you and me.

Let’s start here with a couplet of verses that are very familiar to many people.

John 3:16–17 (AMP)

16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

17 For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.

God the Father GREATLY loved and DEARLY PRIZED the world…that’s ALL of humanity, His creation! Before there was time, God knew man would fall into sin and would be separated from fellowship with Him. The Father knew, before He created mankind, that we would sin and He would have to send Jesus to be the perfect, atoning, final sacrifice for our sin in order to restore the fellowship of a personal individual relationship between God and man. To give His people hope, God revealed His plan for salvation to His chosen people, the Israelites, through the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah wrote the prophesy of Jesus’ birth 700 years before it happened.

Isaiah 7:14 (AMP)

14 Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, the young woman who is unmarried and a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [God with us].

Isaiah 9:6–7 (NKJV)

⁶ For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷ Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

The Father announced the pending birth of Jesus to the participants, Mary and Joseph by angelic visit. Both responded in perfect obedience. Let’s first look at Mary. She was chosen by God the Father to be the mother of His Son, Jesus. Scripture says she was a virgin when she conceived Jesus and remained virginal without consummating her marriage to Joseph until after Jesus was born. The miraculous, immaculate conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit and Mary made Him fully God and fully man, but without man’s sinful nature. Mary accepted the charge of God to be His Son’s mother, as well as, the challenge of pregnancy during betrothal to Joseph, a serious offense under the law that could lead to her death by stoning.

Luke 1:26–35 (NAS)

26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,

27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.

30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.

31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.

32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”

34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.

Now seems like a good time to discuss Jewish marriage customs because they are very different than the customs of today. In the time of Mary and Joseph, marriages were typically arranged by the parents of the bride and groom years in advance of the marriage. When a couple became engaged or betrothed, the betrothal lasted a period of approximately one year and the bride and groom each lived with their respective families. The period of the betrothal was used to establish the purity of the bride. The betrothal was considered to be as part of the marriage under the law, and was severable only by divorce or death. A betrothed woman widowed before her marriage was consummated would be considered to be a “widowed virgin”. That should serve to shed some light on the seriousness with which engagement or betrothal was viewed in Jewish society at the time Jesus was born. Both Mary and Joseph were primarily concerned with being obedient to God. Society would have to deal with itself.

Joseph found out that Mary, a woman that he truly loved was pregnant, and NOT by him. Imagine his surprise and utter disappointment and discouragement. Scripture says He was a righteous man and that is high praise. Since he loved Mary, he wanted to divorce her quietly and not accuse her of adultery in the city gate in front of the town judges. That would have only resulted in her death. God sent an angel to tell Joseph why Mary was pregnant and that He should take her as his wife. The angel told Joseph that the child was God’s Son and that he was to be named Jesus. Joseph did all that the Lord commanded. He immediately took Mary as his wife, breaking the social mores of Jewish custom relating to betrothal and marriage. No doubt many people who knew Joseph and Mary believed they had engaged in premarital sexual relations resulting in Mary’s pregnancy. But, as the Bible says, Joseph kept Mary a virgin until Jesus was born.

Matthew 1:18–25 (NAS)

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.

19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.

20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”

24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,

25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

The Father announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds in the fields using a multitude of angels, residents of the heavenly realm where God dwells. This birth announcement didn’t occur to kings, princes, or noblemen. It was made to shepherds, the lowest members of this caste society. They were treated to a most royal proclamation prepared by God to declare the good news of great joy that a Savior for the world had been born in Bethlehem. These shepherds were privileged to see angels praising and glorifying God for his love, mercy and grace extended to us!

Luke 2:8–14 (NAS)

8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;

11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12 “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

The Father announced Jesus’ birth by a celestial event of significant magnitude. This star caught the attention of magi or learned men of the East. We don’t know the exact details of who they were or where exactly they came from. Scripture does not record that information for us. What we do know is that they were wise men who held power and position in their country. They studied the sky and recognized this celestial event had major significance. They traveled to Palestine, following the lead of a divinely created star. They brought kingly gifts for our newborn savior. All this is evidence that they knew it was a significant event. Did they fully understand Jesus was God the Father’s Son and our Savior? It is not clear, but they traveled a great distance to find and worship Jesus. They were also obedient to God when He directed them to go home without reporting back to King Herod.

Psalm 19:1 (AMP)

THE HEAVENS declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows and proclaims His handiwork.

Matthew 2:1–12 (NAS)

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,

2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:

6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared.

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.”

9 After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

The Father announced His pleasure in Jesus at His baptism. This is the start of Jesus’ public ministry. God the Father affirmed His good pleasure with His Son.

Matthew 3:16–17 (NAS)

16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him,

17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

The Father was pleased with Jesus’ work on Earth. Jesus lived His life glorifying His Father. He fulfilled all Scripture in His life, in His death, and in His resurrection from the dead. The Resurrection of Jesus proved the Father was pleased with Jesus’ earthly ministry.

Matthew 28:6 (NAS)

6 “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas, let us remember the baby in the manger is the Savior of the world. The one who loved us so much that He laid aside all of His prerogatives as God to become human, to live among us, experience all of the things in life we experience without sinning, and was put to death unjustly for our unrighteousness. He did all of this for you and me. He came as a child so that you could relate to Him and understand Him in a human context. Jesus is not an impersonal God; He wants you to have a personal relationship with Him not just now, but for all eternity. Christmas can be a time of renewal…new birth for your soul. How? If you don’t know Jesus, first, repent of your sins to God and ask Him to forgive you. There is no sin you have committed which you can’t be forgiven for committing. Second, believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God. Many people believe in their head about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, etc., but they never make that 18 inch decision where they transfer that head knowledge into a heart-felt honest, life changing decision before God. Scripture says that even the demons know about Jesus, but they are going to Hell. Head knowledge just doesn’t change your life. Conviction…life changing, heart-felt, real decisions before God do change your life. Third, ask Jesus to come into your life as your Savior and your Lord. Accept the atoning sacrifice of His death on the cross for your sins. Accept His resurrection as final victory over sin and eternal death in this world. It is that simple.

Romans 10:9–10 (NAS)

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Give yourself the best gift you could ever give…give Jesus! Share Him with your friends and family this Christmas!

300!

2010-12-16T00:15:00.000-05:00

300!
“If I had 300 men who feared nobody but God and hated nothing but sin and were determined to have nothing known among men but Christ and Him crucified, I could set the world on fire.”
— John Wesley

Harvest Time

2010-12-15T23:34:00.002-05:00

Harvest Time

This original art brings to life the Scripture passage Luke 10:2 where Jesus tells His disciples “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” This ripe cotton field in south Georgia certainly serves as a reminder of the fields being white for harvest as mentioned in John 4:35.
©2009 Greg Schermerhorn. All Rights Reserved.

Christian Apathy

2010-12-09T14:27:00.000-05:00

Christian Apathy

By Rev Greg Schermerhorn 12/8/10

Why is there so much apathy among Christians? Why do so many of us live our lives wandering around aimlessly in the desert of defeat instead of living victoriously in the Promised Land of GRACE through the resurrection power of Jesus Christ? I have often pondered this very thought.

What is apathy? The Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines apathy as 1: a lack of feeling or emotion: impassiveness or 2: a lack of interest or concern: indifference. Noah Webster’s Dictionary (1828) defines apathy as a want of feeling; an utter privation of passion, or insensibility to pain; applied either to the body or the mind. As applied to the mind, it is stoicism, a calmness of mind incapable of being ruffled by pleasure, pain or passion. In the first ages of the church, the Christians adopted the term to express a contempt of earthly concerns.

Now that we have an understanding of the meaning of the word apathy, we can move forward with the question of why Christians choose to not live victoriously in the resurrection power of Jesus. I believe it relates to another question. Are they fully committed followers of Jesus Christ? What does that mean you say? Well let’s start at the beginning. Has that individual come to a saving knowledge of Jesus? Did they ever come to a point in their life when they became aware of their individual sinfulness, confessed their sins to God and asked His forgiveness, and accepted Jesus as their Savior and asked Him to come into their life as Lord? If they have done this, have they surrendered their will to Him in order to do His will? A fully committed follower of Jesus Christ lives in the resurrection power, mindful of opportunities to witness to a lost and dying world.

All Christians are called to be fully committed followers of Christ! We are called to be the salt and light of the world.

Matthew 5:13–16 (NAS)

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;

15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

If we, as Christians are apathetic, who will reach those who are otherwise destined for an eternity in Hell, separated from the love of God? If we don’t care enough about our family, our friends, our neighbors, and the world to share the great love God has for them, who will? Where would you be if no one had told you about Jesus and His love for you, His sinless atoning death for you, and His resurrection for you so that you could also have eternal life? For those of us who know Jesus in a real and personal way, do you remember when you didn’t know Him? Sometimes, we need to ponder that past and hit our knees and praise God for His awesome love, mercy, and, grace!

John 3:16–17 (AMP)

As we enter this Christmas season, it is fitting to remember that God greatly loved and dearly prized us, humanity. That is why He sent His only Son, Jesus, to be the sacrifice for our sins and make it possible for us to individually restore a relationship with God. This Christmas, share God’s gift of salvation with someone important to you. Be the salt and light God has called you to be in someone’s life. Store up eternal treasure and reveal the best Christmas gift that has ever been given to your loved ones…Christ Himself!

This Christmas, become a fully committed follower of Jesus Christ!

Merry Xmas to You!

2010-12-04T01:42:00.001-05:00

Merry Xmas to You!

By Rev. Greg Schermerhorn

Now that it is officially the Christmas season, Merry Xmas to you! Don’t cringe, Xmas isn’t removing Christ from Christmas. It is quite the opposite. For nearly 1700 years, Christians have used “X” to symbolize Christ as part of their faith in Jesus Christ. While the secular world may try to lay claim to Xmas as a way to remove Christ from Christmas, you need to know the truth about its origins. Don’t let the world pervert the meaning of Xmas. Educate your friends on its true meaning!

In the Greek, Christ is spelled Χριστος or ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, so because of this, the Greek letter chi, “X”, became the symbol of Christ. Later, another symbol was added to the “X”. It was the Greek letter rho, “P”, the second letter of the Greek word Christ. These letters were joined together to form the labarum, “☧”. This symbol of our Christian heritage can be traced back as early as 317 A.D. to the Roman Emperor Constantine. The labarum is widely used in Catholic, Orthodox, and many protestant churches.

The use of the chi “X” itself or the chi-rho “☧” may well predate Emperor Constantine. There is some evidence that these symbols were used like the Ichthys, ΙΧΘΥΣ, fish symbol where one Christian would draw one half of the fish and the other would complete the drawing. In like manner, one Christian would begin the drawing of the symbol and the other would finish it. This was a method of helping Christians distinguish friends from foes.

In 1436, Johannes Gutenberg invented moveable type printing. Along with that process went the tedious and expensive process of typesetting. As a result, all manner of abbreviations became common. “C” and “X” became accepted ways of abbreviating Christ. Words like Christmas became Xmas, Christian became Xian, Christianity became Xianity, names like Christensen became Xensen and Christine became Xine. Historically, in these cases the “X” is not pronounced “EX”. It is still pronounced “Christ…” so Merry Xmas is not “Merry EXmas” but “Merry Christmas”. Now you know the truth about the origin of Xmas!