Calvary Baltimore Weekly Sermons

If you've accepted Jesus as the atonement for your sins, God's grace is with you, and his face shines upon you! We will glow in heaven because we'll be covered with the light of God's face. Those who have trusted in Jesus as their only hope will worship him face to face, in his presence! His face will shine on us for eternity.

The New Jerusalem will be built like a temple but without walls, no barriers between us and him. Only if you're washed in the blood of the Lamb will you be brought into the New Jerusalem, into the presence of God, and only because of everything Jesus did for us!

We have more joy than those who live apart from God, even when their grain and wine abound. The idea that joy can be found outside God is the biggest lie; chasing it is fruitless. Only in Christ do we find real peace and joy... Because he created us to only be happy in him!

In him there is perpetual peace and safety, from God and God alone! He is all powerful, awesome, worthy of glory and praise, strong and mighty to save!

"Peace" in today's passage comes from "Shalom," meaning wholeness. This wholeness only comes from a knowledge of God. We must study and live his Word!

Philippians 4:6-7... Be anxious about nothing, and the peace of God will guard your heart in Christ.

Psalm 85:8... When God's people speak his name, he brings peace to the room.

David's joy and peace come when he remembers and pursues who God is! The more you understand God, the more joy and peace you have.

In Psalm 4, David is on the run, fleeing from his rebellious son Absalom. It's nighttime, and his mind is flooded with worries. He cries out to God for help. He's in a tight space (similar to Ps23, in the valley of the shadow of death), and God enlarges it for him, leads him through.

The trap is to think our situation will never get better... we should do as David, and think of all the tight places God has gotten us out of!

Absalom's council was filled with gaslighting fault-finders. In the New Testament, the pharisees similarly continually tried to provoke Jesus, trip him up, prove him wrong. In verse 2, David wonders, how long do I have to put up with this?

In verse 3 comes the remedy: God has set him apart, and hears when he calls! We can trust in God; as God's people, we may be down now, but he'll get us back up.

Verse 4 - be angry and don't sin. Proverbs 16:32, he who is slow to anger is better than he who is mighty!

Paul quotes verse 4 in Ephesians 4:26... as Christians today, we should work through our anger in a way that leads not into sin, giving no opportunity to the devil. Our anger should lead to redemption, to refinement. 

One thought... Lying in bed alone at night, your thoughts are clear and unfiltered. David asks God for his accusers to stop and ponder, and come to the truth. Sometimes we too need to stop talking, get alone with our thoughts and with God, and truly ponder things.

We should be training in spiritual disciplines the way athletes train for their sport. Self-control, hospitality, uprightness. To pursue living righteously, we need the Holy Spirit.

Be angry and don't sin. Anger is inevitable, but you can control how you respond. Wait before lashing out. As we're conformed to the son, our anger will lead less and less to sin.

Jesus himself felt anger, indignation. We should be angry at what dishonors God! We must have zeal, passion for the things of God, and against the things of Satan. God is pleased with this kind of anger.

We must be gentle with those who oppose us, but we must also hate the things that evil and sin bring! Jesus hated evil, and it made him angry. If we're maturing in the faith, we should reject what he rejects!

Zeal for Christ can quickly become zeal for works and legalism, leading to a lack of joy, and ultimately disconnection from God.

Joy must be part of the Christian life! John 15, "...that your joy may be full." Romans 15:13, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy." In Galatians 5:22, joy is a fruit of the spirit.

The ones objecting to Jesus' joyful feasting were the Pharisees. But when the apostles were exhausted, even though people desperately needed to hear the message of the Gospel, Jesus didn't push them harder; he commanded a vacation! His way is not to deny basic necessities or simple pleasures. He allowed time to rest and enjoy quiet time with family and friends.

Caring for others...

Who is my neighbor? Parable of the Good Samaritan... love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus says that means everyone! Mark 6:35-37, "You give them something to eat." He's teaching us that we should care for each other, and leadership is to tend to the needs of the flock.

God provides...

As they distribute the food, the disciples are the hands and feet of Jesus' compassion. Yet they're still confused: how will Jesus provide for this massive group? God brings us to places where we're not sure how he's going to provide... then he provides. If we give it to him, he can do more with our tiny offering than we can do with 200 days' wages.

Give God your fish and loaves, and watch what he can accomplish with them!

Like the child who offered five loaves of bread and two fish to feed a starving crowd of 5000, we can offer our meager gifts to God and trust in his provision, because he provides abundantly for his people! As we work for his Kingdom, we must keep a balance between zealous service and restful celebration.

There's significance to the numbers recorded in the feeding of the 5000, revealing the idea that the Kingdom of God is for all people, Jews and gentiles alike.

Communion and baptism are ways we joyfully celebrate the faith we share in our new lives in Jesus!

This B-Side returns to the death of John the Baptist, taught in Sunday service on July 6th (linked here: subspla.sh/xxq2qhc )...

We're sent out into the world to be known, so God's mighty works can be known. Not so everyone can see how great we are, but to point them to the goodness of God!

Herod arrested John because his wife hated him, but also for power and political benefit.

Herod and Herodias are similar to the Old Testament couple, Ahab and Jezebel. The wife is cunning and controls her pitiful husband, who can only try to appease her, causing her to grow in monstrosity. Herod lets his wife lead to bring peace, but it brings anything but peace!

Herod was worried that though he'd killed John the Baptist, there were now 13 new ones in his place (Jesus and the twelve)! This is the story of the Church: the more we're persecuted, the more we multiply. When we turn the other cheek, it's a powerful witness that captivates people, and God honors it by multiplying the church.

John the Baptist's story ends with his disciples burying him... not the outcome they expected when they started. A foreshadowing of Jesus' crucifixion by a corrupt government. Yet the Church multiplied through it all!

This passage contains a warning about lust, as it was the cause of Herod's actions. He knew John the Baptist was special and preaching truth, yet he threw it all away for a moment of lust. Is a moment of pleasure worth losing your family, your life's work? It mars our witness and burns our lives to the ground. We must be on guard against it! 

The good shepherd referred to back in Psalm 23 is Jesus... he is our Shepherd and King! We were designed to need a shepherd, to worship something, so we all follow some religion, be it politics, self-reliance, atheism. But the only worthy object of our worship is Jesus!

The Good Shepherd lays down his own life for his sheep. He's always kind, faithful, compassionate. He appoints "under-shepherds," the first being the apostles, and now the leaders of the church, replacing the priests of Israel.

Woe to the shepherds who scatter the sheep. Herod was an evil, self-serving shepherd.

Jesus is like a greater Moses, leading his people to freedom. When crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites were arranged in battle formation. The flock of the Shepherd King is an army! 

Jesus is also a greater Joshua... He's leading an army. People coming to him often want him to lead the army the way they want... but Jesus came to convert the nations, not defeat them! We must go into all nations, making disciples and baptizing, to bring the nations to Christ, until the end of the age.

If we belong to God, we also belong to his army. We stand with him, and against the forces of darkness! Not killing our enemies, but even dying for them, for their benefit! We're not waging war against flesh, but against the powers of darkness. Waging war by being faithful to our spouse, training up our children, being a good witness, testifying to the goodness of Christ!

We need to be utterly and totally united with our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is war. We must have unity!

When Jesus confronts his arresters in the Garden of Gethsemane, we see his power and his sacrificial love.

He is the 'I Am,' able to knock an entire army to the ground with just a glimpse of His divine glory. He's the Good Shepherd, stepping forward to protect his flock, willingly offering himself in place of his disciples. Like the olive in an olive press, he was 'pressed' for our sake, allowing the oil of the Holy Spirit to flow out for us.

How often do we truly recognize the magnitude of Jesus's sacrifice? Are we living in a way that honors his incredible act of love? The image of Jesus in Gethsemane should deepen our appreciation for his sacrifice, and strengthen our resolve to live as his devoted followers!

Hebrews was a sermon, probably by Paul, but its authorship is uncertain; could be Barnabas, Apollos or others. It's likely a transcription of a sermon written to a Messianic church. 

Here the writer simplifies the gospel, as if for children. Know your audience! Adults need meat, but babies need milk; the simple, basic things bear repeating for them. They haven't yet grown into the knowledge of the deeper things of God.

The tree of knowledge of good and evil was not an evil tree, but simply a tree that Adam and Eve were not ready for; they were not yet spiritually mature enough for it. Hebrews 5:14, "But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil."

God wants his people to mature to the point that we can distinguish good from evil ourselves, to apply the Word to everyday matters.

A difference between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of man: the closer we look into worldly people or institutions we admire, the more disappointed we tend to get, as the reality doesn't live up to the image. But the closer we get to God and grow in Scripture and godly things, the more we realize how rich and how good it is! "The (truly) good life" is drawing close to God, finding a good church, and spending time with brothers and sisters in him!

Repentance: 2 Corinthians 7: 9-11 talks about what the fruit of repentance should be.

Hebrews 6:2... "Washings" in the Old Testament always pointed forward to the cleansing of Christ, through baptism, the ultimate cleansing from the ultimate defiling of sin.

According to Puritan writings echoing Augustine, "laying on of hands" referred to assessing spiritual growth of a Christian, praying for their growth and strengthening in grace by the Holy Spirit, a confirmation in front of God that they are "one of us," in Christ, and asking God to bless their continued growth.

Hebrews 6:3... "we will do this if God permits." The writer defers to God's sovereignty, asking God for any spiritual growth in this congregation to be brought about through his will.

Christians are to be always learning, growing, and desiring to grow. Come as you are! But don't stay as you are. We must grow daily in our faith, and in our skill in the scriptures.

Christian maturity teaches us the balance in moral issues. We should be moving toward purity, toward Christ, but we must avoid the temptation of legalism, creating rules where God doesn't. A mature Christian recognizes the nuance in moral issues.

Six elementary doctrines of Christ:

1. Repentance, moving away from dead works

2. Faith, moving towards God

3. Baptism

4. Laying on of hands, assembling at church, asking for help

5. Resurrection of the dead: eternal life for believers

6. Eternal judgment for those who reject him

Standing still and not growing is not an option, as we continue to be conformed to the image of Christ. We are a living epistle to those who desperately need Jesus!