What is YOUR Aroma Before the Lord?

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? 

OR

·        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)

¹⁷ For 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)

¹⁸ Let 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. ¹⁹ For 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)

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

²⁶ Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. ²⁷ Instead, 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. ²⁸ God 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)

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.”

---

^[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?

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:

¹ Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed His powerful arm? ² My 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. ³ He 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:

⁴ Yet 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! ⁵ But 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. ⁶ All 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:

⁷ He 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. ⁸ Unjustly 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. ⁹ He 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:

¹⁰ But 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. ¹¹ When 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. ¹² I 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

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)

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.

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!