The Open Word (Audio)

It’s easy to find excuses and ignore that quiet voice or gentle nudge that pushes us to do something out of the ordinary or uncomfortable. It’s easy in everyday life to miss those opportunities to step out in faith and follow Jesus. As Pastor David reminds us in today’s message, we serve a powerful and all-knowing God. If we are carefully listening, we will hear God’s call in our daily lives. Often times, we won’t understand His will or direction, but if we trust Him and follow, we can expect Him to do great things through us.

It was not a coincidence that the crucifixion of Jesus was carried out during the time of Passover. There is deep meaning in the timing of this great act of love. As Pastor David explains in today’s message, long before Jesus was born into human flesh, God knew His purpose for Him. In the same way that He presented the enslaved Israelites with protection from the death of the firstborn, He presented Christ as a sacrificial Lamb, bringing salvation to anyone who accepts His gift.

Judas literally walked with Jesus, witnessing His miracles first hand, hearing all of His teaching. He was an apostle, a follower, he bore all the signs of being a believer, but, as Pastor David explains in today’s message, while Judas lived in close proximity to Jesus, his heart was far away. While the betrayal may not be as severe or apparent, there are those in the church today whose hearts betray Christ. They look and act like a believer, but it doesn’t go any deeper than that.

In one of His final moments leading up to His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus took the time to wash His disciple’s feet. Even those of His betrayer. As Pastor David explains, this act is a great example of how we should interact with our world. It exemplified God’s enduring love and patience. He looked at this world that has hated Him and rejected Him, and He loved us. He went beyond just feeling love and stepped in front of a bullet for us. We deserved eternal death, but He gave Himself so we could have eternal life.

One of the biggest deceptions that Satan levies against us is the idea that we are basically good and surely God will grant us a pass for our good behavior. It’s an easy pill to swallow, but the truth we learn in Scripture is that all of us are born into sin and deserving of eternal judgement. As Pastor David emphasizes in today’s message, just living a life that somewhat resembles righteousness isn’t good enough. We need the righteousness that only can be achieved through the blood of Jesus.

In today’s message, Pastor David warns us against becoming intoxicated, both in a physical capacity, as well as mentally or spiritually with the cares and distractions of this world. Both forms distract from the fullness of an intimate relationship with God. Drunkenness may be easy to avoid for most of us, but the amusements of this world often sink their claws into us in a more subtle manner. One distraction follows another: emails, texts, Facebook… and before you know it you can’t remember the last time you spent time with God.

The mortal life is challenging. It has many moments of joy and pleasure, but those are tempered with the times of hardship, toil and pain. As Pastor David explains in today’s message, the time of Tribulation that will come in the end times will be an exceptionally difficult time, especially for believers. But we do not live for this earthly life, because we know that there is something so much better to come. These trials are only temporary and pale in comparison to the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

Satan knows Scripture better than you. He even tried to use his knowledge in tempting Jesus. As Pastor David warns us in today’s message, when we encounter an enemy of the Gospel, it’s possible they will know Scripture just as well, or even better than us. We can spout verse after verse, but they will fire right back, and we may find ourselves foundering. It is important to study and know God’s Word, but sometimes our most effective evangelism tool is to tell our own story of salvation and what Christ has done for us.

As believers, we can expect persecution. Especially as we approach the end times, we will begin to experience more and more outright oppression. This does not sound appealing. No one looks forward to pain or mistreatment. But as believers, we can take a different perspective. Pastor David encourages us to see persecution as an opportunity to display the love and grace of Jesus Christ. It may be met with animosity, but there is a chance that the light of your Savior will pierce the hardened heart of your oppressor.

The state of our world is pretty bad. Darkness has taken hold and if we look at current events and historical context, it’s not hard to find alignment with end-times prophecy found in Scripture. For some this brings fear and anxiety. But, as Pastor David encourages us in today’s message, as believers, we have nothing to fear. Things will get worse, and this world may bring harm to our flesh, but we have a greater hope of eternal communion with our Savior.