Ablaze Church Sermon Podcast (Audio)

Solomon wanted to be able to discern between good and evil so he could act in obedience to God’s will. Such discernment required a mind capable of analytical judgments. Solomon knew a heart that listens to the Lord could supply the basis for making correct decisions. His desire was

to conform to the Lord’s way and for the willpower to act accordingly. That is why Solomon said, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10). Along with Solomon, this week we will learn how to overcome confusion with wisdom from God.

May we never forget that we, through faith, have been integrated into the body of Christ that we may help, encourage, and move into action, as a body of believers rather than as individuals. To grow faith that dispels fear, we need other people of faith. This is the power of symbiosis among Christians, a mutual beneficial relationship between people of faith.

The peace that Jesus offers us is not a promise to remove the pain and difficulties in our lives. Those troubles are always a part of daily living. Someday when Jesus returns, all our troubles will be gone; until then, He offers a peace that is calm, unafraid, unruffled, and confident because we place our lives in His hands. When we trust the Lord, nothing can harm our innermost being, nothing can shake us from the intimate connection we have with the Lord. Through our saving faith, despite external circumstances, we have a peace that cannot be destroyed and is beyond our understanding.

There really is no limit to what evil the human heart can conceive. So before we try to confront the evil outside of us, we need to examine the evil within every heart. It is Jesus who pulls no punches when describing the evil that comes out of the human heart. The bad news is that we all have evil inside of us. The good news is that Jesus Christ, in His goodness and mercy, overcame that evil for us by dying on the cross and then offering us His righteousness as a free gift that can only be received by faith. Through the gift of faith our hearts can overcome the evil within. All glory, for overcoming evil, be to Him!

The prophet Habakkuk is a prophet of comfort and strength to a very weak nation. Because of the peoples’ sins, the land that they inhabit will be taken away from them. Habakkuk calls the people to find strength in the Lord, their God, and trust Him with a steadfast faith. Habakkuk questions why evil existed and why the Lord permitted evil to afflict His people. The Lord’s answer may not completely satisfy our sense of fairness or goodness. Through Habakkuk we too are called to steadfast faith when we are going through difficult times and weaknesses in life. We find His strength in knowing the Lord works through evil circumstances for our good, just as He worked through Jesus’ suffering and death for our salvation. No matter what opposes you, take joy in the God of your salvation who is your strength.

The phrase “David and Goliath” has taken on a more popular meaning denoting an underdog situation, a contest where a smaller, weaker opponent faces a much bigger, stronger adversary and wins. Most people are led to believe the smaller weaker one was David, the shepherd boy, and the stronger was the giant named Goliath. Actually, the smaller, weaker opponent was Goliath who faced the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the creator of the heavens and the earth. Goliath faced a bigger opponent and did not even realize it. He defied the armies of the living God, and in doing this, Goliath sealed his fate. God almighty enabled a little shepherd boy to enjoy the victory, but the battle was won by the Almighty.

One day a lawyer asked Jesus a question in order to trap Him and make Him look bad. The lawyer, who was an expert in religious laws of the Jews, asked, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?” (Matt. 22:36) God did give the Israelites a great variety of laws including moral, ceremonial, and civil laws. In fact, the Jews had 613 laws that they proclaimed as important.

The firstborn of both man and beast within the nation of Israel belonged to the Lord. This type of consecration was a formidable challenge for the people. It meant that they had to first yield their lives to the Lord. There was a special case when it came to a donkey. The donkey was not acceptable as a sacrifice. The people were to redeem the firstborn male donkey by sacrificing a lamb or by breaking the donkey’s neck, thus killing it without spilling blood.

In Chapter 17 of the Gospel of John, we have a prayer that Jesus prays to the Father in Heaven on behalf of the Church. He asks that His disciples would be united in being sent into the world to show to the world that Jesus is the Savior of the world. The goal is not to unify all churches, but to populate heaven. Jesus wants people of the world to see the witness Christians make of the truth about Jesus. Whenever Christians ignore God’s Word, they foster divisions within the Church and diminish their witness. But Jesus is the truth that will unite His Church, glorify the Heavenly Father, and enable His people to fulfill their calling in a troubled world.

In Chapter 17 of the Gospel of John, we have the longest prayer of Jesus ever recorded called, “The High Priestly Prayer”. This prayer is rich in theological insight as to what the Lord wants His Church to be doing. In the first part of the prayer, Jesus asks that the Father be glorified through the Son and that those who know the Father, through the Son, would also glorify the Father and that they would keep His Words.