A Sermon For You
A Ministry of Huckaby’s Evangelism
Today’s Sermon Title
Some Things Hard To Be Understood
By-Evangelist Gary Huckaby D.D.
Prayer:
Heavenly father, Please speak to us today through this message. We need Thee Lord. As best as I know how, I yield myself to You. Use these lips to proclaim Your great truths to this people today. Revive the Saved, and Save the lost for Jesus sake. In the name of Christ our Lord. Amen!
Our Text today comes from the book of 2 Peter 3. Please turn with me to this portion of God’s Word and read along with me if you will. I would like to read the whole chapter and please notice verse 16 from which I take the title for this message.
2Pe 3:1-18; "This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen."
There are a great number of things that we all do not understand today. Many have questions that can not, nor will be answered until we are in the presence of the Lord. Questions such as; Why does God allow good people, to suffer bad things in their life? Or, why do wicked men and women seem to get away with their evil deeds? Why doesn’t God do something about people who murder other people?
How can terrorist people kill themselves and thousands of innocent other people and not have to pay for their actions? How can a young man or woman, strap explosives to their bodies and blow themselves up in a crowded place hoping to take the lives of others, and then think that they will be rewarded for their actions? How can a grown man or woman cause pain for a young child or infant, and then just act as if it is ok.to commit such an evil act? How can Doctors take unborn innocent lives from their mothers womb and feel that they have not committed a great sin against God? It is hard for me and I hope many of you to understand why people can not get along with one another? Why a husband wants to take the life of his spouse, or visa, versa/ How can a man exchange the natural God given use of his body to commit an act which is clearly forbidden by God with another man, or a woman with another woman?
It seems hard for me to understand why there are so many differences within the Christian community and so many differences among hundreds of denominations in the Christian Church? Why are there so many denominations, for it was not so at the beginning? Why do many Churches have arguments and fighting within their own local assemblies? Why does God allow this? Why doesn’t He put a stop to it?
Maybe you are smarted than I am, and I am sure most of you are, but why are there some things hard to be understood?
The only answer that I can come to is that it is because we do not yet know the whole purpose of the Almighty God. We can trouble ourselves over many unanswerable questions and never fully know the right answer no matter how much we try. No matter how much we contemplate over them, or fret about them. We must therefore come to the place in our hearts to trust that God will give us his answer some day. And I believe that day is not far off. I believe that things in this world are coming to a head very soon. First with the return of Jesus for His Church, and then in His glorious second coming, and in judgment. Jesus clearly proclaims in John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Now, having given you the introduction to this message, I want you to know that there are at lest three other things which God tells us in the Bible that are hard to be understood, and I want to focus on these three points in the message today.
(1)
The Way Up Is Down
James 4:10, says; "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."
One thing that is hard to be understood is that the way up is down. If you want to be saved you must fall at the feet of Jesus Christ and receive Him as Lord and Saviour. There is no other way of salvation other than this. In the book of Job we are told; Job 22:29, "When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person."
To be humble means to go down. The Greek word for humble is "tapeinoo" which is defined as, "to depress, to humiliate, ( in condition, or heart) abase, bring low." If you are ever to have God’s gift of everlasting life you must first fall down at the feet of Jesus Christ, just as the afflicted of His day. The Bible tells us in Matthew 15:30, "And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them:" Before the lame, blind, dumb, maimed and many others were healed, they first were cast down at Jesus feet.
Jarius when asking Jesus to heal his little daughter fell at Jesus feet. Mark 5:22-23 "And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live."
The Syrophenician mother came and fell at Jesus feet to ask for healing for her daughter in Mark 7:25,
"For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:" Again, the demonic was found at the feet of Jesus after he was made whole in
Luke 8:35, "Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid." Mary fell at Jesus feet in humility in John 11:32, "Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." The great apostle John himself fell at the feet of Jesus when he received the book of the Revelation of Jesus and saw Him in His glory, Revelation 1:17, "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:"
If you are to be lifted up, you must first go down. Fall at Jesus feet and repent of your sins. Receive Christ into your heart and life and be saved. The apostle Peter tells us, 1 Peter 5:6 "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time;"
(2)
The Way To Live Is To Die
Another thing that is hard to understand is that the way to live is to die. We are told in John’s Gospel of this. John 12:24-25, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. When Jesus was explaining the way of everlasting life, He used the illustration of a seed. Until a seed dries and dies it is no good to produce another plant. Unless it is dried it will rot before it will germinate and come up.
There are many references to this fact in the Gospel accounts but I will use just one here. Look at Matthew 16:24-26, "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" We must die to self to be saved! It is our willingness to give up our life to Christ that God accepts and gives in return eternal life by His Grace.
The apostle Paul in his great resurrection chapter says this about our physical bodies and the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, "But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body."
If you want to be in the resurrection of the just, then you will have to die. If you want to have everlasting life, then you must be willing to lose your own life to receive Christ life. His life is a never ending life, for He rose from the dead never to die again. He is the Only Begotten Son of God, meaning that He was Begotten from the dead to die no more.
Once a man who had just been saved, called the evangelist who won him to Christ. "Preacher," he said, "I have been a drunk most of my life and you showed me the way of salvation, but now only a few days after my profession of faith, I want a drink of wiskey so bad that I think I am going to die!" The evangelist replied to this new convert; "Sir, that is just the thing you must do, you must die, that Christ will live in you." A couple of hours after that conversation, the man called the evangelist again, and said, "Preacher, I have the victory! Praise God, I just died!"
My friends the way for us to live is for us to die to self. Let Christ live his life in us.
(3)
The Way To Get Is To Give
Jesus tells us of another thing that is hard to be understood, and that is to give and then it shall be given unto you in Luke 6:38, "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."
The Bible tells of this hard to understand in the ministry of the apostle Paul to the Philippians in
Philippians 4:15-18, "Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God."
The Biblical principal of getting is by giving. Any other way will not work in God’s plan of return. To be selfish is to lose what you have, but to be a cheerful giver is to be a cheerful receiver from the Lord.
Most today think just the opposite on giving and receiving. They think that when they get something that they must save it and not give. This is contrary to spiritual principals. If you want to get, then you must give. This is true in receiving salvation too. If you want to get salvation, then you must give yourself to God. You must give your all to the Lord Jesus Christ. Will you?
If you would like to be saved, please receive Christ today.
Pray: Lord Jesus I receive eternal life from you. I confess with my mouth that you are Lord, and I believe in my heart that God hath raised you from the dead to save me from my sins. I repent of my sins, and trust you as my Saviour and Lord. In Christ name. Amen!
Huckaby’s Evangelism
P.O.Box 1011
Pine mountain, Ga.31822
glhuck@earthlink.net
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