In this text, our Lord does a number of things that demonstrate His divine authority over the situation that He and His disciples were in. He was always in complete control. God gives to us a Savior who exercises sovereign authority over all things. And when you and I are going through a trial, knowing who God is and that He is in complete control is the greatest comfort there is.

There are many -antichrists- who are active in the world today. They may not be -The Antichrist- who is to come, but they are antichrists nonetheless. What this means is that you and I are going to encounter the spirit of antichrist all the time, every day. So what are we to do- How are we to respond- God calls believers to stand firm in His word in the face of raging opposition to God.

Repentance is a necessary component of the saving grace that is granted to every believer through faith in Christ. A faith that is not marked by genuine repentance is not saving faith. At the same time, repentance is not an oppressive -legalism- forced upon the believer, but is part of a joyous response to the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit works within the heart of God's elect.

God declares His greatness through all of the things He has created. The reason it is so important that we get this right is because the credibility of the gospel itself rests upon the truthfulness of Genesis chapters 1 - 11 and God-s account of creation in chapters 1 - 3. Equally important and probably most evident regarding God-s creation is that through it, He has declared His greatness.

In the Lord Jesus Christ, God gives us a Savior who is greater than Moses in providing for the needs of His people. Moses prayed and God gave manna from heaven. But Jesus created food for the people before their very eyes. He is greater than Moses. Christ truly is our -all in all.- He is the one who can provide the manna for our souls. He is the only one who can provide the Bread of Life. And He calls us to place our trust in Him for every provision. He calls us to come to Him and to trust Him for eternal life.

God warns us of the power of unbelief. Unbelief had the people of Nazareth in a stranglehold. They could see the wisdom, the power, the greatness of Jesus words and works, but they steadfastly rejected Him. Not only did they reject Him, but they were offended by Him. And you and I can expect to see the very same response in people today. While on the one hand, people can see and will admit that Jesus is great, they will persist in their rejection of Him, even being offended by the gospel and by the righteous and godly lifestyle the Lord Jesus calls us to. Are you one who is in some way offended by the Lord Jesus Christ-

In the verses, God calls us to present the gospel of the Old and New Testaments. There is only one gospel, and God calls us to show people both treasures that are old and treasures that are new. We are to show that the gospel is that of both the Old and New Testaments. You are called to be an expert in the gospel.

Many people today are all too happy to accept the mercy, grace, love and forgiveness of the gospel, but they draw a line when it comes to any doctrine of final judgment, of God-s separating the saved and the unsaved, of His wrath or of an eternal hell that involves punishment and suffering. Far too many people have created a god in their own image that is not the true God of the Bible, and they eliminate anything they think is negative. In this passage, though, God warns us of the coming judgment at the end of the age. It is coming.

In these verses, God declares the surpassing value of becoming part of His kingdom. There is nothing in all of life that is greater or more important than entering into the kingdom of heaven. There is nothing that is more valuable than knowing Christ and having a saving relationship with Him by faith.

Sermons are a vital part of our worship as believers and followers of Christ. But there are right ways and wrong ways to listen to a sermon. In Nehemiah 8, God tells us how He wants us to listen to a sermon.