The Sixth Sunday of Easter (GA)

John 20:29-31

²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

³⁰ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

I have not seen a lot of things. There are a lot of things that I do not believe. But there is amazingly a lot of things that I do believe. Some of us have not traveled to other countries or around the world. Are there times when you question whether the world is truly round or spherical? I say this so that you can think about all the things you believe that you have not proven, or seen. I have never proven my parents are my actual parents, but I believe it.

All these things here are written so that you may believe in Jesus Christ. It is interesting how John does not write all these things are written to prove that Jesus Christ is Lord. All these things are not written to prove beyond all possible doubt. But they are written so you may believe. How about that? It is not about the words on the page proving something, but it is about the Word of God used by the Holy Spirit to establish something in your heart and mind.

John wrote these words along with the Revelation to St John. He writes these words on paper so that people will believe. Jesus is coming quickly and John does not want anyone to be caught with their preverbal pants down. God desires for all people to be saved. St John likewise desires to bear witness to this love of God. It is therefore not about us searching the scriptures to prove Jesus. It is about us listening and believing in the one who died for your sins.

We can either desire to be skeptics and have to have everything proven to us. Or we can trust that there are many things we can believe without seeing. We can believe these things based on eyewitness accounts. We can believe these things in listening to people who know more than we do. You can even listen to the Word of the LORD. Either way the important thing is Jesus Christ died for your sins. He died so that you would have life and life everlasting. 

The Sixth Sunday of Easter (OTA)

Amos 9:11-15

¹¹ “In that day I will raise up

the booth of David that is fallen

and repair its breaches,

and raise up its ruins

and rebuild it as in the days of old,

¹² that they may possess the remnant of Edom

and all the nations who are called by my name,”

declares the Lord who does this.

¹³ “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,

“when the plowman shall overtake the reaper

and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed;

the mountains shall drip sweet wine,

and all the hills shall flow with it.

¹⁴ I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,

and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;

they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,

and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.

¹⁵ I will plant them on their land,

and they shall never again be uprooted

out of the land that I have given them,”

says the Lord your God.

The booth, house, or temple of David is fallen. It is in complete disrepair. Maybe there was a sinkhole. But God is going to take these ruins and restore them. If you follow the Kings of Israel and Judah, you will notice how things continue to fall apart. Things keep getting worse. Some even lose all hope as they are led away into exile.

Amos is there to give us Hope. Amos tells us about a time when the fortunes of Israel will be restored. The City will be rebuilt. The Fallen will rise again. This message is a strong message of hope to all of us who live in a fallen world. It is so easy for us to think of how other people have ruined or wrecked this world.

But it is not other people's fault. It is not even your fault that the world is corrupt. It is the fault of sin. Wait a minute! It is sins fault that everything is messed up. Sin is caused by people's actions. Sin entered the world through Adam and Eve's original sin. Sin has become a part of every human being and everything in all of creation. There is not one thing that is not broken because of sin.

But listen to the words of hope. Amos tells us about how the broken can become unbroken. The fallen can be restored. The city will be rebuilt. People will plant and will be able to reap of the harvest. God will plant them in this land and they will never be uprooted again.

Jesus Christ is the root and descendent of David. He is the one who was sacrificed, torn down, killed, and buried. He was a destroyed temple, yet he is risen. Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. He lives and reigns. When he returns he will restore all people, raising them to eternal life or eternal death. He comes to make you alive. Come Lord Jesus Come quickly.

The Sixth Sunday of Easter (NTA)

Romans 11:1-10

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. ² God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? ³ “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” ⁴ But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵ So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. ⁶ But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

⁷ What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, ⁸ as it is written,

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,

eyes that would not see

and ears that would not hear,

down to this very day.”

⁹ And David says,

“Let their table become a snare and a trap,

a stumbling block and a retribution for them;

¹⁰ let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,

and bend their backs forever.”

God has not rejected his people. God's people have failed to listen to him. Most of us remember how Pharaoh's heart was hardened. But God talks about the stubbornness of his own people. The people of Israel have not listened. They have not opened their eyes. They have rejected him.

The chosen ones of God are chosen. They have been selected. God has opened up their ears. God has opened their eyes. He has given them the words that lead to eternal life. The problem comes is how do you reconcile: "The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened" with "if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace."

God has done everything for your salvation. God sent his son to pay the price for your sins. God has restored his son to life. God has raised you from dead in your trespasses to new life. God has done this as a free gift for you.

But we are stiff necked sinners. We do not want to hear god talk about our sinfulness. We do not want to accept a free gift. We always want to do things for ourselves. We do not want to allow someone else to heal us. We want to choose our own God, even if that means choosing Jesus Christ.

God chose you. He chose you and washes you clean. He chose you to make you whole. He chose you and calls you through the Holy Spirit. He does not want you to stumble or fall. He therefore makes sure it is not about you. But about Jesus Christ who died to save you.

(Watch out for double predestination. Or only predestination to Hell.)

The Sixth Sunday of Easter (NT)

Revelation 22:6-20

⁶ And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

⁷ “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, ⁹ but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

¹⁰ And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. ¹¹ Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”

¹² “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

¹⁷ The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

I should offer a warning to anyone who reads this blog. I do not always make it clear, that the first part of this blog is the Word of God. The second part of this is my writing. I am not adding to the Word of God. I am not subtracting from the Word of God. My desire is for you to read every part of the Word of God.

But here we listen as Jesus has shown John a revelation concerning him. He concludes this message with a very basic concept. Many people have forgotten this concept. Jesus says, "And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book." In other words, Jesus is going to return ASAP, so bless other people by offering them this book.

The Word of God has been there for people to read for some 2000 years (~1930). It has been preached and taught to people throughout the world. People continue to teach it in the truth. They continue to spread the message that Christ has died for your sins. Christ is coming back soon. He is going to raise the dead and judge both the living and the dead.

Jesus Christ has done all these things to save you from your sins. He does not desire us to hold it in. He does not want us to keep silent. Nor does he tell John to bind this book up so people will not read it. But God wants you to tell everyone you know what he has done for you and them.

Jesus Christ died for your sins. He died to set you free. He died so that you can live with him in everlasting life. Come Lord Jesus Come quickly!

The Sixth Sunday of Easter (OT)

Ezekiel 24:1-14

In the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. ³ And utter a parable to the rebellious house and say to them, Thus says the Lord God:

“Set on the pot, set it on;

pour in water also;

⁴ put in it the pieces of meat,

all the good pieces, the thigh and the shoulder;

fill it with choice bones.

⁵ Take the choicest one of the flock;

pile the logs under it;

boil it well;

seethe also its bones in it.

⁶ “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose corrosion is in it, and whose corrosion has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, without making any choice. ⁷ For the blood she has shed is in her midst; she put it on the bare rock; she did not pour it out on the ground to cover it with dust. ⁸ To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance, I have set on the bare rock the blood she has shed, that it may not be covered. ⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great. ¹⁰ Heap on the logs, kindle the fire, boil the meat well, mix in the spices, and let the bones be burned up. ¹¹ Then set it empty upon the coals, that it may become hot, and its copper may burn, that its uncleanness may be melted in it, its corrosion consumed. ¹² She has wearied herself with toil; its abundant corrosion does not go out of it. Into the fire with its corrosion! ¹³ On account of your unclean lewdness, because I would have cleansed you and you were not cleansed from your uncleanness, you shall not be cleansed anymore till I have satisfied my fury upon you. ¹⁴ I am the Lord. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord God.”

The Lord is going to judge his holy city. The enemy is at the gates. The Lord comes to the people with a parable. The parable is simple. The people are a pot ready to be boiled. They did not hide their bloody acts from God. They left them out in plain site to mock him. Thus, the Lord is going to judge his people.

Here again you have parable that may be very difficult to understand. What does a pot of Water have to do with Israel? What is meant by these choice pieces of meat? Why are you adding bones to your soup?  Are we supposed to enjoy eating the marrow that is boiled out of the bones?

I have not had very many boney soups. I would have to listen to other people's thoughts with regards to bones in their soup. But I know there are bones in the city. I know that the city was the choice city of God. But the city has been filled with blood. The pot has become corrosive. This pot is no longer good for cooking.

The question for every sinful human being today is: Are you a corrosive pot? Are you living in a city that has blood on its hands? Does God desire to cleanse you from your sins? Well I know that the last one is true. I am not going to talk about your corrosiveness on other people, nor about your cities bloody hands.

Jesus Christ was sent into the World to save you from your sins. He was sent to die for the sins of the World. He was sent to cleanse the world from its corruption. He died on the cross for the sins of the World. He died to cleanse the world with his blood. There is definitely blood on his hands, but that blood is for your forgiveness.