Pleasant Garden Baptist Church Podcast (Sermons)

4 Demands of Compassion

John 4:1-26, 39-42

Demand 1 - Compassion Demands We Go To Hard Places

1 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 

2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 

3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 

4 And he had to pass through Samaria. 

5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 

6 Jacob's well was there;

Demand 2 - Compassion Demands We Go At Inconvenient Times

5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 

6 Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

Demand 3 - Compassion Demands We Give What Matters Most

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 

11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 

12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 

13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 

14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

Demand 4 - Compassion Demands We Tackle Difficult Issues

16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 

17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 

18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”

The Result - People Are Brought To Faith In Jesus

39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 

40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 

41 And many more believed because of his word. 

42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Pergamum – Resisting Compromise

Revelation 2:12-17

12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. 

13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 

14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 

15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 

16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.  

17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

1. Jesus praises faithfulness in the face of outside pressure (2:13).

 13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. ---Revelation 2:13 (ESV)

2. Jesus warns of compromise in the midst of a sinful culture (2:14-15).

 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ---Revelation 2:14-15 (ESV)

3. Jesus commands repentance when His church falls prey to slippery slopes (2:16-17).

 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’ ---Revelation 2:16-17 (ESV)

 

4. Jesus promises sustenance and reward for those who overcome (2:17).

 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’ ---Revelation 2:17 (ESV)

“Threads of Faith”

Luke 1:5-25, 57-80

1. Thread of desperation (v. 5, 7)

2. Thread of prayer (v. 10)

 

  And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ---Revelation 5:8

 

  And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. ---Revelation 8:3-4

 

3. Thread of promise (v. 13, 16-17)

 

  For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch . . . ---Malachi 4:1

  “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.  And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” ---Malachi 4:5-6

  Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.  ---Isaiah 41:10

  Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.  ---Proverbs 3:5-6

  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  ---Matthew 11:28

  I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart!  I have overcome the world.  ---John 16:33

4. Thread of assurance (v.19)

5. Thread of celebration (v. 57-66, 67-69, 76-79)

https://notes.subsplash.com/fill-in/view?page=rde9V5xfifh

 

Smyrna – Suffering Well

Revelation 2:8-11

8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. 

9 “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 

10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation.  Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’ 

1. Jesus is the only fully valid plum line for making sense of our place in time and culture, and that must drive us (2:8-9).

2. Jesus keeps count differently than the world, and that must define us (2:9).

3. Jesus knows what we will face, and that must encourage us (2:10).

4. Jesus knows what He has prepared for us, and that must guide us (2:10-11).

Ephesus – Recovering Love

Revelation 2:1-7

1 To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 

2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 

3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. 

4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.  

5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 

6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 

7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’ 

1. We should be grateful that Jesus sees our faithfulness even if our love has waned (2:2-3, 6).

2. Jesus desires (and deserves) our love above all else (2:4).

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. ---Revelation 2:4 (ESV)

We love because he first loved us. ---1 John 4:19 (ESV)

17…that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. ---Ephesians 3:17-19 (ESV)

  

3.  We should be quick to remember, repent and return when Jesus corrects us (2:5).

5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. ---Revelation 2:5 (ESV)

Have you left the love you had at first?

 

 - Can you remember a time you were more intentionally close to Christ?

 - Has Jesus commanded you to repent of a sin you are entertaining?

 - Has a conflict between you and someone else weakened your prayer and devotion time?

 - Does the world and its trappings draw more interest from your heart and time?

What Will Jesus Do For His Churches?

Revelation 1:9-11, 20

 

9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 

11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

 

20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. 

 

1. Jesus will commend a church’s faithfulness.

2. Jesus will confront a church’s disobedience.

 

      I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. ---Revelation 2:3 (ESV)

 

3. Jesus will command a church’s obedience.

4. Jesus promises reward for a church’s endurance.

     He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. ---Revelation 2:7 (ESV)

 

5. Jesus sends His church’s pastors.

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write… - Revelation 2:1 (ESV)

 

6. Jesus determines seasons of effectiveness for a church based on her faithfulness.

7. Jesus cares about His church and His churches.

 

Application Questions for Jesus’ Church:

 

- Are we interested in Jesus’ evaluation of us as His church?

- Will we repent where He confronts us?

- Will we persevere where He warns us of coming difficulties?

- Will we rejoice where He commends us?

- Will we realign ourselves where He guides us?

Jesus in the Revelation

Revelation 1:9-20

9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 

11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”  

12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 

13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 

14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 

15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.  

16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 

18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 

19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.  

20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Jesus in the Revelation

1. Jesus honors our pursuit with His holy presence (1:9-11)

    I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day… ---Revelation 1:9-10 (ESV)

    But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. ---Psalm 73:28 (ESV)

    You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. ---Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV)

    Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. - ---James 4:8 (ESV)

    Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. ---Hebrews 10:22 (ESV)

2. Jesus grants guidance through His powerful voice (1:11, 17-20).

    17…Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. ---Revelation 1:17-18 (ESV)

 

    - He has a calming voice (fear not).

    - He has a confident voice (I am…).

    - He has a conquering voice (I died, and behold I am alive forever more).

    - He has a controlling voice (I have the keys to death and hades).

3. Jesus instills awe with His mighty authority (1:12-17).

4. Jesus extends comfort through His gentle touch (1:20).

Contents of the Ark of the Covenant

Exodus 25:17-22

Hebrews 9:1-12

17 “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. 18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. 20 And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. 21 You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. 22 And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.  - Exodus 25:10-22 (NKJV)

9 Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. 2 For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the [a]sanctuary; 3 and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, 4 which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; 5 and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. 6 Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services. 7 But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance; 8 the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. 9 It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience— 10 concerned only with foods and drinks, various [b]washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation. 11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things [c]to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. - Hebrews 9:1-12 (NKJV)

**Contents of the Ark of the Covenant**

1. Aaron's rod - which budded - GOD LIVES! 

2. Mercy Seat - GOD LOVES! 

3. Golden Jar holding Manna - GOD LASTS! 

The tablets of the covenant 

PREPARING FOR THE RETURN OF JESUS — PART 2

Revelation 1:7

7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. 

WHAT DO WE DO WITH PLACES OF DISAGREEMENT IN UNDERSTANDING

REVELATION?

—> DISAGREEMENT EXISTS ON HOW BEST TO INTERPRET REVELATION AS A

WHOLE.

A Preterist is someone who interprets the book of Revelation with respect to the

past. Specifically, the Preterist believes that John wrote Revelation in the first century to

address the situation faced by the church at that time.

Historicist interpreters relate the book of Revelation to specific historical events. Some attempt

to show how Revelation predicts events from the first century up until their own time.

The Futurist thinks about the book as a prophecy of the end events and the second coming of

Christ, particularly chapters 4-22.

The Idealist approaches the main points of the theology of Revelation, like assurance of the

victory of Christ over Satan and his allies. The idealist studies Revelation for principles that

would help Christians to live rightly in the here and now.

—> DISAGREEMENT EXISTS ON THE NATURE OF THE MILLENNIAL REIGN.

Postmillennialism affirms that the world at large will eventually be evangelized and won to

Christ. This will turn out in a world characterized by universal peace instead of strife, universal

prosperity instead of inequality, godliness instead of evil, and so on, though the time period

may be more or less than a thousand years.

Historic Premillennialism teaches a single return of Christ that will take place before his

millennial reign. Historic premillennialists believe in a posttribulational rapture of the church.

This means that the church will be present on earth during the tribulation under the Beast.

Even so, Revelation assures Christians that they are secure with God even if they die a martyr’s

death (Rev. 11:1-2; 12:11) and God will protect them from his wrath on the Beast and his

followers (Rev. 7:3-4).

Dispensational Premillennialists first emphasize the pretribulational rapture of the church that

must occur sometime in Revelation before the beginning of the Great Tribulation. They also

emphasize the distinction between ethnic Israel and the church. Therefore, when John speaks

about “Israel” in Revelation 7:4, he is speaking about ethnic Israel and not about the church.

Third, they are committed to premillennialism. Premillennialists believe that Christ will come

back to conquer the Beast (Rev. 19:11-21). After that victory, he will set up his kingdom and

rule with his people for 1,000 years. Fourth, dispensational interpreters are generally

committed to interpreting prophecies literally. As a result, they usually favor a literal, rather

than symbolic, interpretation of the numbers in the book of Revelation. 

Amillennialists see the millennium as spanning the same time period when most of the

judgments and the reign of the Beast occur. The millennium is a symbolic time period that

begins with the exaltation of Christ. It continues until Satan is released from the abyss to gather

his troops to fight against the armies of Christ. The amillennial order of events is: Christ’s

present, spiritual reign over the church; increasing apostasy on earth; the Great Tribulation;

Christ’s second coming with deceased saints; the destruction of evil powers; the general

resurrection of believers and unbelievers; the Last Judgment; and the eternal state.

Amillennialism thus affirms that at the end of the age there will be one return of Christ, one

resurrection and one judgment. 

—> DISAGREEMENT EXISTS ON THE TIMING OF THE RAPTURE.

Pretribulationalists teach that the rapture will occur before the Great Tribulation begins. These

attempt to demonstrate that while God’s people have always suffered trials and tribulations,

there is yet coming on the earth a definite period (7 years) of unparalleled tribulation in

fulfillment of Daniel’s seventieth week (Dan 9:24-27; Jer 30:7). The church, however, will be

raptured before this period begins (Rev 3:10) and will then return from heaven with the Lord at

his second coming seven years later. 

Posttribulationalists teach that the rapture of the church will occur after the Great Tribulation;

thus they are referred to as Among the various theologians who advocate this position there is

difference of opinion over whether there is a definite period of Great Tribulation (though all

admit that the church has been in tribulation since her beginning). 

Midtribulationalists teach that the rapture will take place in the middle of the seven year

tribulation before the wrath of God is truly poured out in the last three and one-half years

(before the battle of Armageddon).

—> HOW DO WE NAVIGATE THESE DIFFERENCES AMONG ONE ANOTHER? 

• If many of the most biblically educated of Jesus’ day missed his first coming, we should

be even more careful how firmly we hold to our convictions about the prophetic future.  

• We should be gracious towards those who hold to different views of the end times.

• The Scriptures plead with us to focus our attention on how we are living now rather

than on how things will end.

Preparing for the Return – Part 1

Revelation 1:7 

1. First Level Doctrines consist of what we must believe to be a Christian. 

2. Second Level Doctrines consist of what distinguishes us from other Christian groups.

3. Third Level Doctrines consist of areas where we can disagree in the same church. 

7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.  Revelation 1:7 (ESV)

Concerning Jesus’ return, we can all agree that…

1. His return is certain, though the day and time are unknown

Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. -  Acts 1:11  

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” – Matthew 24:36

2. The return of Jesus will be personal, bodily and visible to all. 

3. The return of Jesus will be magnificent. 

4. Jesus will return as Judge and Savior.