Grosey's Messages

1 Corinthians 8  Dealing With Differences

1 Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." This "knowledge" puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.  

 4 Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that "an idol has no real existence," and that "there is no God but one." 5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

 7 However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9 But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating  in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged,  if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

Butchers and Restaurants

The Apostle Paul had neither an email address nor could he send a "text message" to the Corinthians. He relied solely on hand-written communication, as did the rest of the ancient world. Men were employed as "runners" in that day to take important messages. Most of the time, however, mail was sent via friends or acquaintances who were going in the direction the letter was intended. Paul had received a letter from his friends in Corinth (7:1). 1 Corinthians constituted an answer to their letter. The Corinthians dealt with many problems, problems that threatened their very existence as a church. And, as we will learn today, the Christians in Corinth even had questions concerning questionable behaviour! In other words, they were struggling with issues the Bible clearly condemned (5:1ff), as well as with issues not directly addressed in Scripture. What God's Word condemns we have no right to debate. But what of those things not clearly stated in Scripture?  No single issue is more relevant for the church of Jesus Christ today.

The eighth chapter of 1 Corinthians deals with the second question these Corinthians had asked the apostle Paul in the letter they wrote to him. It has to do with a problem common in Christian lives today: "How much should I let other people's views control my actions?" That is, "Must I limit my liberty by the narrower, more restricted views of other Christians?"

The question was put to Paul in terms of a problem they faced in Corinth whether one ought to eat meat offered to idols. Have you struggled with that lately?

Well if you go to Chinese restaurants you must see that problem in front of you. Have you noticed a Buddha in the corner with some offerings on it? Ancestral worship?

Have you been to a neighbour's house for dinner where another god is worshipped?

Have you ever been given anything that has some spiritual significance other than Christian?

Has an Indian person cooked something for you in their time of feasting?

The best place to buy a good steak in Corinth was right next to the idol temple. In these pagan temples they did as the Jews did in Old Testament days--they offered living animals as sacrifice. And, like the Jews, they reserved some of the meat for the benefit of the priests and some for public sale. Everyone in town knew that if you ate this meat you were eating meat which had been offered to an idol. So the question arose among the Christians: "If a Christian eats meat offered to an idol is he not participating in some way in the worship of that idol?"

There was a group within the Corinthian church that said, "Yes, that is exactly what he is doing. When these pagans here in the city see a known Christian sitting down in the public restaurant next to the temple, and enjoying a steak that had been offered to the idol, they will think that that person is going along with the pagan worship of the idol. He is participating with pagans in idol worship!

And so, by participating, he is causing weak Christians, who might easily be led back into the worship of an idol, to stumble.

But there was another party who said, "No, this is not true. There is nothing to an idol--it is just a piece of wood or stone. How can you worship something that really does not exist? How can we deliver these pagans from their idolatrous ways if we act as though there is something to this? It is better that we simply proceed according to that knowledge of reality that God has brought to us in Christ. Let us enjoy our freedom and eat this meat without any question. It is perfectly good meat, and it would be wrong not to use it." Some were saying, "They might think it is offered to an idol, but I know better! I know idols are nothing, so why can't I eat the steak anyway?"

Differences That Provoke Controversy

There are other differences that sometimes provoke controversy.

There are Christians who will not have a Christmas tree in their homes because that custom originated with the pagans of Northern Germany who decorated a tree at the winter solstice. There are others who will not use Easter eggs because they originated in pagan spring festivals when the egg, the symbol of fertility, was offered to a pagan goddess. Clearly, the problem of Corinth is still with us.

Reopening of Church buildings. Some believe that they know better than others on this issue. Which way? Either way.  And so they demand to have their way.  The problem is not with the position whichever way they may face on this position, the problem is their attitude, that they must have it their way in spite of what others may think on this matter. Of course it's a provocative issue. But do you have to be provocative in how you handle the issue?

Oh Christians can fight over anything. More often than not it is not about the issue at hand, but rather a question of personal pride.. Did you notice:

The Deficiencies That Promote Controversy

Pride. This is the first Problem.

Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." This "knowledge" puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.  

There is that Phusiioo word again.. knowledge puffs up.. makes us blow up like a balloon in pride. Makes us feel we know something (but Paul says…He don't really know nothing!!).

We note that there is first a distinct admission of the Corinthians' intelligence, though there is probably a tinge of irony in the language' We know that we all have knowledge.' 'You Corinthians are fully aware that you are very superior people. Whatever else you know, you know that, and I fully recognise it.'

The admission is followed by a sudden, sharp comment, to which the Corinthians' knowledge that they knew laid them open. Swift as the thrust of a spear comes flashing' Knowledge puffeth up.' Puffed-up things are swollen by wind only, and the more they are inflated the hollower and emptier they are; and such a sharp point as Paul's saying shrivels them.

It is a strange, sad result of superior intelligence or acquirements, that it so often leads to conceit, to a false estimate of the worth and power of knowing, to a ridiculous over-valuing of certain acquirements, and to an insolent contempt and cruel disregard of those who have them not.

'Love builds up,' or 'edifies.' Probably the main direction in which that building -up is conceived of as taking effect, is in aiding the progress of our neighbours, especially in seeing them come to Christ.

Very significantly, too, does Paul vary his conclusion in verse 3 by saying that the man who loves God 'is known of Him,' instead of, as we might have expected, 'knows Him.'  If you love others you are known by God.

That is a whole lot better than anything you might think you know. Wouldn't you rather have the Lord directing your way than you having a road map?

The fundamental truth of Christianity, that there is one God, who is revealed and works through Jesus Christ, was accepted by all the Corinthians.  But Paul wanted the real deal. To be known by God and to know God and to love others and to build up others. Building up others is how you see if someone really knows God and really is known, blessed by God.

The Decisions That Prohibit Controversy

The apostle here sets forth three distinct advantages of love over mere knowledge alone.

1 Corinthians 8—10, Paul enunciated four basic principles that would guide believers in making personal decisions about those "questionable" areas of the Christian life. The four principles are as follows:

Knowledge must be balanced by love (1 Cor. 8)

Authority must be balanced by discipline (1 Cor. 9)

Experience must be balanced by caution (1 Cor. 10:1–22)

Freedom must be balanced by responsibility (1 Cor. 10:23–33)

Some Christians have weak consciences because they have been saved only a short time and have not had opportunity to grow. Like little babes in the home, they must be guarded carefully. Other saints have weak consciences because they will not grow. They ignore their Bibles and Christian fellowship and remain in a state of infancy (1 Cor. 3:1–4; Heb. 5:11–14). But some believers remain weak because they are afraid of freedom. They are like a child old enough to go to school, who is afraid to leave home and must be taken to school each day.

The conscience of a weak Christian is easily defiled (1 Cor. 8:7), wounded (1 Cor. 8:12), and offended (1Cor. 8:13).

It is important to note that the stronger believer defers to the weaker believer in love only that he might help him to mature. He does not "pamper" him; he seeks to edify him, to help him grow. Otherwise, both will become weak.

We are free in Christ, but we must take care that our spiritual knowledge is tempered by love, and that we do not tempt the weaker Christian to run ahead of his conscience. Where knowledge is balanced by love, the strong Christian will have a ministry to the weak Christian, and the weak Christian will grow and become strong.

Love Builds up the individual

Love Evaluates the Individual (8-12)

Love is Self sacrificial for the individual

10, "For if any one sees you, a man of knowledge, at table in an idol's temple, might he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols?"

So the third thing he says is, "Therefore, if food is a cause of my brother's falling, I will never eat meat, lest I cause my brother to fall." Love gladly exercises self-control in these areas.

Paul gladly gives in to the weakness of others. He says, "When it is a case of actually offending someone ('one of these little ones who believe in me,' as Jesus said), rather than do that I would freely give up my right." Paul is perhaps thinking of those very words from Luke 17 where Jesus said, "Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung round his neck and he were cast into the sea." That is, it would be better for him to be murdered rather than to hurt one of these little ones who believe in Christ.

Dr. H. A. Ironside spoke of an incident that illustrates this. On one occasion he was at a picnic with other Christians and a man who had been converted from Mohammedanism was there. A girl brought a basket of sandwiches up to this man and asked if he would like some. He said, "What kind do you have?" "Oh," she said, "I'm afraid all we have left are ham or pork." He said, "Don't you have any beef or lamb?" She replied, "No, they are all gone." "Well," he said, "then I won't have any." Knowing that he was a Christian, she said to him, "Well, Sir, I am really surprised. Don't you know that as a Christian you are freed from all these food restrictions and that you can eat pork or ham if you like?" He said, "Yes, I know that. I know I am free to eat pork, but I am also free not to eat it. I'm still involved with my family in the Near East, and I know that when I go home once a year, the first question my father will ask me is, 'Have those infidels taught you to eat the filthy hog meat yet?' If I have to say to him, 'Yes, father,' I will be banished from that home and have no further witness in it. But if I can say, as I have always been able to say, 'No, father, no pork has ever passed my lips,' then I have continued admittance to the family circle and I am free to tell them of the joy I have found in Jesus Christ." So we are free to eat, or free not to eat, as the case may be.

That story sets this whole problem in proper perspective. We do not have to have our rights. We are free to give them up any time the situation warrants it. Though we have the rights, we also have the right not to exercise them, for the sake of love.

Make Sure No One Stumbles Over Your Life

A guest star on a TV show once said, "Two things I've had in life, and both ample—good advice and bad example." This has been the experience of most people.  Most of us are careless or just too thoughtless about our influence. Every person's life is a profession of faith. Every person's conduct is an unspoken sermon that he is forever preaching to others. Someone said years ago, "Every man is some boy's ideal."  Oftentimes our influence is unconscious, but it is real nonetheless. God holds us accountable for our influence. Jesus said that it would be better for us to have a millstone hung about our neck and our body cast into the sea than that we should cause someone else to stumble and sin. This makes our influence mighty important.

I have often thought of the old story of the blind man who always carried a lighted lantern. Someone asked him why he did this. He replied, "To keep other people from stumbling over me." It wasn't a bad idea. Now he wouldn't stumble over anyone else, or at least if he did it would not be intentional. But he didn't want anyone to stumble over him, so he carried a lighted lamp.

We need to see to it that, under God, nobody stumbles because of our lives

Make sure no one stumbles because of your words.

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in baskets of silver." Proverbs 25: 11

This described an expression of kindness in the day Solomon penned it. At a banquet hosted by a king a silver filigree basket was often placed on the table filled with small golden apples. As a gesture of grace, at given point during the feast the king would have the basket passed and each guest invited to take a golden apple. The apple embodied thoughtfulness, kindness, and generosity. It typified the value of words well spoken.

Today is yet another day for passing out golden apples. Keep in mind, an insightful and/or encouraging word is of great worth to the one to whom it is spoken.

"Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble."

"Gentle words bring life and health; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit."Proverbs 15:4

 "Kind words are like honey–sweet to the soul and healthy for the body." Proverbs 16:24

  "A person's words can be life-giving water; words of true wisdom are as refreshing as a bubbling brook." Proverbs 18:4

The most powerful of words is the Word of God.

"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." The word of God is so powerful it will change your life.

Check up on yourself, keep a total of the golden apples you give away today.

Now go give away some golden apples.

Luke 12:35-59   Longing, Looking and Living For His Coming.

35  "Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37  Blessed are those servants  whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39  But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he  would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

 41 Peter said, "Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?" 42 And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43  Blessed is that servant  whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47  And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48  But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

49  "I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50  I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! 51  Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

54 He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, 'A shower is coming.' And so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat,' and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

57 "And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58  As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny."

This is a serious call for us to prepare for eternity. Jesus said,

"Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at which hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."

Not all Christians agree on the sequence of the events of the Second Coming. The next thing I believe that will happen on God's prophetic calendar will be the rapture of the church. Jesus will come back in the clouds and in the twinkling of an eye, all Christians will disappear to be with Christ. Those who are not saved will be left behind. To judgement. Some think that judgement will be immediate. Some think there will be time for an antichrist to arise, a time of tribulation or judgment on those remaining on the earth culminating in the Battle of Armageddon, where the Lord Jesus Christ will defeat the Antichrist and his forces. A Great White Throne of Judgement is described in Revelation 20.

Don't get hung up on the details. Our main job is to be ready for His return. But people have always been more interested in trying to figure out when Jesus is going to return than being ready. In the 1980s NASA engineer Edgar Wisenhut used his mathematical skills to determine that Jesus would return in 1988. He wrote a book entitled, "88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Take Place in 1988." He was so certain the rapture would happen on September 10, 1988. He wrote another book the following year 89 reasons why the rapture will happen in '89.  Another American, Harold Camping wrote a book entitled "1994" in which he predicted Jesus would return in 1994.

Who can forget the whole Y2K mania? Wrong again.

Can you guess who made these statements?

(1) "The last days are upon us. Weigh carefully the times." (Ignatius, 110 A.D.)

(2) "There is no doubt that the Antichrist has already been born. Firmly established in his early years, he will, after reaching maturity, achieve supreme power." (Martin, 375 A.D.)

(3) "We have reached the time of the white horse of the Apocalypse. This world will not last any longer … than another hundred years." (Martin Luther, 1538)

So the fascination of setting dates is nothing new. But Jesus said in Matthew 24:36 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

Anytime you hear someone start setting a date, you know immediately that they are off track. As I've said before, when it comes to the Second Coming, I'm not on the planning committee, I'm on the welcoming committee! In our passage today, Jesus teaches us the importance of being ready for His return. You should:

LONG FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD

35  "Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37  Blessed are those servants  whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39  But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he  would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

In Bible times, Jewish weddings were wonderful celebrations. After a period of betrothal, the groom would sneak into the bride's house and try to slip away with her without anyone seeing him. Then he would take her back to his father's house for a celebration. The wedding would include a great feast, much music, dancing and laughter. Our weddings are really somber and sad compared to a Jewish wedding. A New Testament picture of the church is as the Bride of Christ. Jesus is coming to sneak away with us and take us to His Father's house. He said He was going to prepare a place for us, and that He would return to take us to be with him. John 14: Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God;  believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. In this parable however, we play the role of servants, so as you think about it, ask yourself a couple of questions:

1. Are you excited about Jesus' return?

In this parable, the bridegroom has slipped away to get his bride, and we must wait for him to return to the house. We don't know when he's coming back, so we must stay dressed up and keep our lamps burning so we can welcome him when he appears. For sure, the servants of the bridegroom would have been anxiously waiting and watching. They would be filled with joyous anticipation. Is that the way you feel about the Second Coming? Are you excited about it, or is it something that makes you afraid to think about? There really is going to be a wedding feast in heaven–and it will be an experience of joy and celebration. John saw a glimpse of this future wedding celebration when he wrote in Revelation 19:7, 9: Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready ... (remember, the church is the bride) Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!"

It will be a time of rejoicing. It's worth getting excited about.

Do you know what the last recorded words of Jesus are? Take a second and turn to the very last page of your Bible. That's the book of revelation, not the book of concordance or the index, by the way. In Revelation 22:20 we read the last recorded words of Jesus: "Yes, I am coming soon."

Then notice how the Apostle John responded. He said, "Amen! Come, Lord Jesus." Is that your attitude? Are you as excited as a servant at a wedding celebration as you await the return of your master, your friend?  Maranatha was a Christian way of ending a speech or letter. 1Corinthians 16 says  21 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. 22 If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!  Maranatha!!

Are you longing for His coming? Are you excited about it?

1 It may be at morn, when the day is awaking, When sunlight through darkness and shadow is breaking, That Jesus will come in the fullness of glory, To receive from the world His own.

Refrain:
O Lord Jesus, how long, how long Ere we shout the glad song,
Christ returneth!  Hallelujah! hallelujah!  Amen, Hallelujah! Amen.

2 It may be at midday, it may be at twilight, It may be, perchance, that the blackness of midnight
Will burst into light in the blaze of His glory, When Jesus receives His own. [Refrain]

3 While hosts cry Hosanna, from heaven descending, With glorified saints and the angels attending,
With grace on His brow, like a halo of glory, Will Jesus receive His own. [Refrain]

4 O joy! O delight! should we go without dying, No sickness, no sadness, no dread and no crying,
Caught up through the clouds with our Lord into glory, When Jesus receives His own. [Refrain]

2. Are you ready for Jesus to return?

If you aren't very excited about the Second Coming, it may be you aren't ready for Him to return. You may think you are ready, but are you really?

Here's the question: Are you ready for the Lord's return?

I admit: I'm not very good at waiting. I am glad for mobile phones to fiddle with in restaurants while we wait for our food. It used to be I would find things to do. "The Leaning Tower of Salt Shakers," "Catapult Peanuts," or comment to my wife how we ordered before the people at that other table but theirs is there first, or read the words on the paintings around the room, or play knuckles, or I think restaurant people are relieved when I leave, without breaking something.  "Fast food" is never fast enough.  Yet, in verse 38 Jesus said we need to keep on watching and waiting even if the return of the master doesn't occur until the third or fourth watch of the night. The Romans divided the night into four watches of three hours each. The third watch ran from midnight to 3 a.m. and the fourth watch was 3-6 a.m. That's the time most people are sleeping, when they are least expecting something to happen...and that's when Jesus will return. So the message is that we must wait patiently even if it seems like His return has been delayed.

Titus 2: 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

In verse 39 Jesus changes images. In the first image, Jesus is a loving master who returns and rewards His faithful servants. In the second, He is a dreaded thief who comes and takes away what the homeowner treasures. Why this drastic difference? To some, the return of Jesus will be a blessed event that is to be joyously anticipated. To others, the return of Christ will be a terrible, tragic event–like being burgled. Do you have a personal relationship with God? If so, you won't fear His return, you'll look forward to it with joy. In Revelation 16:15 Jesus said, "Behold I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed." In Revelation, garments are used a symbol of righteousness. When we trust Christ, we put on His robe of righteousness and it's the only thing that can cover up the shameful appearance of our sinful nature.

Once a farmer was lying in bed and he listened and counted as his old grandfather clock began to chime the hours at midnight. Due to a malfunction, the clock struck thirteen times. He jumped to his feet and woke up his entire family saying, "Wake up! It's later than it's ever been before!"

It's later than it's ever been before! 

LIVE FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD

41 Peter said, "Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?" 42 And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43  Blessed is that servant  whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47  And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48  But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

In this parable, Jesus speaks about the servants being dressed for service. As a servant, we don't work to earn our salvation, we work because we love our master.

Are you actively serving the Lord?

When Jesus returns will He find you hard at work? We need to clean up our Christian vocabulary. We have created a whole category of incorrect lingo about Christians. We tend to think the only "ministers" are the paid staff. In the New Testament, the word "minister" means "servant" and every Christian is to be a servant. So, every member of our church should be a minister. Are you a ministering for the Lord?

Jesus says in verse 43: "It will be GOOD for that servant whom the Master finds doing so when He returns." (Luke 12:43) What will be so good about it? Jesus says in verse 37 that He will dress as a servant and serve them! I believe He's speaking of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb we read about in Revelation 19. It's exactly what Jesus did at the Last Supper. On the night before He was crucified, He took off his robe and took a servant's towel and went around washing the disciple's feet. Can you imagine the King of the Universe serving you? But that's what Jesus said.

The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:3, 8: Scoffers will come in the last days saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? ... all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation."

45 But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful.

Are you telling others about Jesus?

Are you a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus or have you begun serving yourself? 

We need to be doing what He wants us to o and not revert to our old worldly ways.

If I knew there was a time bomb set in this room and I didn't know when it would detonate, it would be my sacred duty to warn you about it and to tell you to take action immediately. If I knew about it and refused to warn you then I would be guilty of your causing your death. The same principle applies to warning others about the judgement to come.

Let me read to you from Ezekiel 33. "I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them a warning. When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to warn him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself." (Ezekiel 33:7-9) Jesus IS going to return, and it's our sacred duty to warn them to prepare for it. Ask yourself:

Could I face the Lord with confidence if He returned TODAY?

Now, you may think all you need to do is to be saved to be ready for the return of Jesus–and that's the most important thing to do. So, if you are here today and you don't know for sure that you have eternal life, don't leave this place today before you talk to someone about your salvation.

But, most of you are Christians and if Jesus returned today could you face Him with confidence? In speaking to Christians about the return of Christ, John wrote: "And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming." (1 John 2:28)  John wouldn't write this admonition unless the possibility existed Jesus could return and find some Christians ashamed. You'd be ashamed if you were hooked on some impure habit when

Jesus returned. If you are abusing your body with nicotine, alcohol, or drugs ... how would you react if Jesus returned at that very moment. There may be a relationship with someone that needs fixing or sorting out. Maybe the Lord has led you to serve Him, or to speak to someone about Christ, and you keep putting it off. How would you react if Jesus returned before you had a chance to do finish the job He gave you? If you knew for certain Jesus was returning at noon tomorrow, what would you do differently between now and then? What sins would you immediately confess and stop doing? Who you need to go to and ask their forgiveness so that you could be reconciled with them? What people would you seek out and tell them about Jesus. That's the point of what Jesus is teaching here. Don't wait. Do it today. Live today as if it was your last day!

Jesus also said He came to bring fire on the earth? Read it for yourself in Luke 12:49-50. Jesus said, "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!"

The word "bring fire" is a word that means to "cast fire" or to "throw fire."

Fire - Fire, here, is the emblem of discord and contention, and consequently of calamities. Thus it is used in Psa 66:12.  The very passion in Christ's heart would set his friends on fire and his foes in opposition as we have just seen. It is like the saying of Jesus that he came to bring not peace, but a sword, to bring cleavage among men.

LOVE THE COMING OF THE LORD

DEVOTION TO JESUS MAY ALIENATE YOU FROM OTHERS!

Jesus is the Prince of Peace and when the angels announced His birth they said, "Peace on earth, goodwill to men." So, you may be surprised by these words of Jesus. In Matthew's account, Jesus says, "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." The truth about Jesus divides humanity, into those who Love Him and those who do not.  Jesus divides humanity into just two groups. When He spoke of a family of five being divided, they weren't divided into three groups, or four groups, or as five separate individuals, but into two groups. Jesus said it would be, "two against three, or three against two" or He could have said "four against one." The point is that Jesus divides the entire world's population into two groups. Jesus is not intentionally dividing them, but people choose themselves which of the two groups they will join. Remember Jesus said, "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters."

LOOK FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD

"When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, 'It's going to rain,' and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, 'It's going to be hot,' and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time? The Jews missed the signs of Christ's First Coming And You Could Miss Being ready for His Second Coming. There were over 300 Old Testament Scriptures predicting the first coming of Jesus. There are over 1,000 scriptures predicting the events of the Second Coming of Christ. The Bible isn't hard to understand once you have the key. The key is all the Bible is about Jesus. The Old Testament says: Someone is coming. The gospels say: Someone has come, and His name is Jesus. The Epistles and Revelation tell us: Someone is coming again–get ready!

If You Are Looking for His coming you keep short accounts.  It's what you do with mastercard debt. You can pay late and pay 23% interest per month.. or you can keep short accounts and pay up each month and pay no interest each month. The Lord is saying keep short accounts… Many years ago a fellow said to me he was convinced the return of the Lord was close so he bought a brand new car entirely on credit and a boat and a new tv and .. I said, you can't afford that.. He said I won't have to pay for it when th Lord returns next month.. He paid for it. With much interest.  But the Lord is speaking to you about relationships. There are debts we owe in relationships that we need to get sorted out early.  "Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right? As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you in prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny." In this context, Jesus isn't talking about lawsuits with one another; He is using a parable to communicate the importance of being reconciled with God. Don't wait until you are before the Judge to plead your case–settle it out of court. Each of us stands accused and guilty The Bible says we are sinners by nature and by choice. If you want to relate to God on the basis of your own goodness you would have to be absolutely perfect and sinless because God is Holy and sinless. So each of us stands accused and guilty–we are going to have to face the Heavenly Judge–your case is already on the docket. Hebrews 9:27 says: "It is appointed unto man once to die, and after that–the judgement." That's the bad news. But the good news is that God has given you an opportunity to settle your salvation case before you lose it in court. Make sure that you are reconciled before your case comes before the Judge. Here's the wonderful offer:

The Judge offers you a perfect lawyer and a pardon. In other words, the only way to avoid standing before the Eternal Judge will demand absolute perfection of us is to settle our case out of court. He offers to pay the penalty for us.  He has already paid it!  What are you going to do with His perfect payment for your sin?

Are you looking for Him? Are you longing for Him? Are you  living for him,  Learning of His Coming, Looking for His Coming, watching, are you working, are you warning? Like John can you say, "Amen, even so, come Lord Jesus!"

PSALM 65    Calm In times Of Rioting:  God's Common Grace

¹ Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed.

² O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.

³ When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions.

⁴ Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!

⁵ By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas;

⁶ the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might;

⁷ who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples,

⁸ so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.

⁹ You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it.

¹⁰ You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.

¹¹ You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.

¹² The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy,

¹³ the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.

This is a very relevant passage.

Have you considered verse 7? ⁷ who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples,

Over the last three weeks we have witnessed the tumults of the people.

It is one thing to control the storm. It is another to calm stormy people.

We have seen the tumult of the Black Lives Matters Marches. Did you know that those pushing the Black Lives Matters marches issuing  in rioting and hundreds of deaths around the world were just fulfilling the mandates of communism? The person organizing the rally here stated that he was the head of the communist party here in Sydney.  The person organizing the Black Lives Matters race riots in the USA said that "they were trained Marxists."

It is no surprise that Marxists want Policing defunded. It enables their goal of violent revolution to destroy opposition.
Marxism can never gain ultimate power in Australia due to our Westminster system of having opposition (whichever it is) controlling the Upper House of Parliament effectively neutralising, negating or ameliorating economic policies of the government in power. In other words if Labor gets in 8 years later the country democratically elects the Liberal party to government to fix up the economy. Thus Marxism can never achieve ultimate power here.

But removing Police powers allows faster revolutionary change requiring elimination of all opposition.

Marx and Engels rejected achieving socialism by democratic and reformist methods. Why the insistence upon violent revolution?

Here's Marx in an 1848 newspaper article:

"There is only one way in which the murderous death agonies of the old society and the bloody birth throes of the new society can be shortened, simplified and concentrated, and that way is revolutionary terror."

When differently-conditioned individuals meet, the conflict can be resolved only by force. Socialists cannot argue capitalists into socialism. They cannot objectively present reasons or appeal to reason. They can only take over by violence and remove their social enemies. As Engels put it longingly in 1849: "The next world war will result in the disappearance from the face of the earth not only of reactionary classes and dynasties, but also of entire reactionary peoples. And that, too, is a step forward."

(Source: "The Magyar Struggle").

This is the first of four psalms (65—68) that focus on praising the Lord for His manifold blessings in nature and for His gracious dealings with His people. He is the God of creation and the God of the covenant. The psalm acknowledges our total dependence on the Lord to provide both our spiritual and material needs.

The phrase "crown the year" (v. 11) suggests a harvest festival in October, the first month of Israel's civil year. (The religious calendar opened with Passover; Ex. 12:2.) Perhaps verse 3 suggests the annual Day of Atonement that ushered in the Feast of Tabernacles, a harvest festival (Lev. 17; 23:26–44). The early rains usually began in late October, softening the hard soil and enabling the farmers to plow the ground and sow their seed (vv. 9–13). Perhaps God had disciplined His people by sending drought and famine (Lev. 26:3–6; Deut. 11:8–17) and allowing other nations to threaten Israel (v. 7).

But, how does this relate to the problem of the "tumults of the people"?

Common Grace is a theological term that refers to how the Lord acts in our world to preserve and promote His church through the hands of ungodly people.

God used Joseph in exile to preserve the people of God in Egypt.

God used a hard-hearted Pharoah to move the people of Israel out of Egypt in the Exodus.

God used Esther and the King to preserve the people of Israel from the hatred of Haman who wanted genocide for the Jews.

God has used government to preserve His church in many and various trials and tribulations.

Common Grace is God's gracious hand on nations for the sake of His church.

How does God soften governments towards preserving God's people?

God displays His grace to His people by calling some pagans out of darkness into His wonderful light.

God displays His Greatness making even the hardest of hearts to stand in awe of His power so that the hardness and hatred of their hearts is changed.

God displays His goodness by the general provision of abundance of food and rain in  order  to make people reverent of His name and nature, even among the pagan nations.

You and I can assist people to admire the Grace and Greatness and Goodness of God. Displaying these truths often points people to the Lord who alone is the Saviour of the world.

Praise God for His Grace

³ When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions.

⁴ Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!

1 Great God of wonders! all thy ways are matchless, godlike and divine;
but the fair glories of thy grace more godlike and unrivaled shine, more godlike and unrivaled shine.

Refrain:
Who is a pard'ning God like thee? Or who has grace so rich and free? Or who has grace so rich and free?

2 In wonder lost, with trembling joy we take the pardon of our God; pardon for crimes of deepest dye,
a pardon bought with Jesus' blood, a pardon bought with Jesus' blood. [Refrain]

3 O may this strange, this matchless grace, this God-like miracle of love, fill the whole earth with grateful praise,
and all th'angelic choirs above, and all th'angelic choirs above.

Believers today are "a kingdom of priests" (1 Peter 2:9–10; Rev. 1:5–6), chosen by the Lord, offering Him their praise and worship. What the Jewish worshippers had in their sanctuary, believers today have in Jesus Christ, and we find our complete satisfaction in Him. We have all these blessings only because of the grace of God, for He chose us (John 15:16).

God's grace is seen in the atonement. Ephesians 1:7

³ When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us  for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known  to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

God's grace is seen in His choosing. Ephesians 1:3-5

⁴ Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts!

God's grace is seen in His drawing of people to Himself

³ When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions.

⁴ Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts!

Ephesians 2:1-10

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But  God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

God's grace is seen in the contentment and satisfaction that Christian's experience.

We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!

This has a pacifying effect on believers and a pacifying effect on others. Have you noticed that anger begets anger. One person stirred up stirs up others. One person with a  deep calm and peace to their lives also calms and brings peace to others too.

2. Praise God for His Greatness

⁵ By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas;

⁶ the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might;

⁷ who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples,

⁸ so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.

God is Great to Create

He chose Israel to be a light to the Gentiles (Isa. 42:6; 49:6), and this was ultimately fulfilled in the coming of Christ to the world (Luke 2:32; Acts 13:47). Day and night, God's creation witnesses to the nations, and they are without excuse (19:1–6; Rom. 1:18–25; 10:14–18). Jesus Christ is the only hope of the world.

God is Great to Control

The "roaring seas" are a symbol of the nations in tumult and confusion (v. 7; Isa. 17:12–13; 60:5; Dan. 7:2–3; Rev. 13:1; 17:15).

Did you know that half of Australians have had a spiritual experience of preservation that they believe only God could have done?

Believing in miracles is somewhat common. Holding these beliefs is not limited to certain age groups nor is it restricted to certain religious denominations or a religious affiliation. In 2007, a study surveyed almost 36,000 Americans, aged 18 to 70-plus-years-old, and found that 78 percent of people under the age of 30 believed in miracles versus 79 percent among those older than 30 (Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. (2010). Religion among the Millennials. Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C. Retrieved from http://www.pewforum.org/files/2010/02/millennials-report.pdf).

. With respect to religious affiliation, 83 percent of those who were affiliated believed in miracles in contrast to 55 percent of respondents who were unaffiliated. Although people from all religions believe in miracles, over 80 percent of those with Protestant and Catholic affiliations endorsed this belief.

Even physicians believe in miracles. In a national poll of 1,100 physicians from different religious faiths, the physicians were asked whether they believed in miracles. Seventy-four percent believed miracles occurred in the past and 73 percent held the belief that miracles occur today (Poll: Doctors Believe in Miracles, 2004). Moreover, 72 percent of the physicians believed that religion is a "reliable and necessary guide to life."  Poll: Doctors believe in miracles. (2004, December 23). Retrieved from http://www.wnd.com/2004/12/28152/

All humanity can see this. To the ends of the world.

From the east to the west (sunrise to sunset), His name will be reverenced.  How do you persuade the militant Marxist that militancy only brings dictatorships of abusive power?

Show them the greatness of God!  He is Sovereign over all. He intends to show His greatness to the ends of the world.  The most pagan of nations can see the greatness of God.  The most atheistic God-hating people can see the greatness of God.  Napoleon once overheard an officer spruking his atheism. Gently he lead him outside waved his hands at the stars and asked gently "but who made these?"

Praise God for His Goodness

Matthew 5: 43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Provision

God providentially blesses the world of nature to provide for the needs of His people. (v. 9-13)

"You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, for so You have prepared it. You water the ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth."

John Piper: Water will have to be carried from the Mediterranean Sea over several hundred miles, and then be poured out on the fields from the sky. Carried? How much does it weigh? Well, if one inch of rain falls on one square mile of farm land during the night, that would be 2,323,200 cubic feet of water which is 17,377,536 gallons, which is 144,735,360 pounds of water. .

That's heavy. So how does it get up into the sky and stay there if it's so heavy? Well, it gets up there by evaporation. Really? That's a nice word. What does it mean? It means that the water stops being water for a while so it can go up and not down. I see. Then how dos it get down? Well, condensation happens. What's that? The water starts  becoming water again by gathering around little dust particles between. .00001 and .0001 centimeters wide. That's small.

What about the salt? Yes, the Mediterranean Sea is saltwater. That would kill the crops. What about the salt? Well, the salt has to be taken out. Oh. So the sky picks up millions of pounds of water from the sea, takes out the salt, carries the water or whatever it is, when it is not water) for three hundred miles, and then dumps it (now turned into water again) on the farm?

Well, it doesn't dump it. If it dumped millions of pounds of water on the farm, the crops would be crushed. So the sky dribbles the millions of pounds of water down in little drops. And they have to be big enough to fall for one mile or so without evaporating, and small enough to keep from crushing the wheat stalk.

How does these microscopic specks of water that weigh millions of pounds get heavy enough to fall (if that's the way to ask the question?) Well, it's called coalescence. What's that? It means the specks of water start bumping into each other and join up and get bigger and when they are big enough, they fall. Just like that? Well, not exactly, because they would not bounce off each other instead of

joining up if there were no electric field present. What? Take my word for it..  John Piper, Taste and See, p. 25

Abundance

The Creator of the universe provides the sunshine and rain in their times and seasons so that people can plow the earth, plant seeds, and eventually harvest food.  Gen.8:20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. 22 " While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.

Genesis 9: 1 So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. 4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man's brother I will require the life of man. 6 " Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man. 7 And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it." 8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: 9 "And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. 11 Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."

12 And God said: "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 15 and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." 17 And God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth."

The emphasis is on God's goodness and generosity to His people. The rains come in abundance; the rivers and streams overflow; the harvest is plenteous; the grain wagons are full; and the grain spills into the wagon ruts. Why? Because God covenanted to care for the land of Israel and visit it with His blessing, if His people honored and obeyed Him (Deut. 11:8–15; Lev. 26:3–5).

This blessing was promised all during the year and year after year, even during the Sabbatical years when the people didn't cultivate the land (Lev. 25:1–22). According to verses 12–13, the "pastures of the wilderness" (uncultivated land) would produce vegetation and the hills would be clothed with beauty. The meadows would feed the flocks and herds, and the valleys would produce the grain. All of them would unite as one voiceless choir shouting for joy to the God of the universe, the Creator of every good and perfect gift. We can't read these verses without expressing appreciation and adoration to our God for His goodness and vowing not to waste the precious land and resources He has given us. One day God will destroy them that destroy the earth (Rev. 11:18), who fail to see that we are stewards of His precious gifts.

How then do you stop the violent attacks of Marxism?

1. Make People Aware of God's Converting Process.

God has provided an atonement for people.  Your sins can be forgiven. Even the violence and murder of Marxist ideologists can receive pardon and forgiveness.  Look at the apostle Paul. He called himself "the chief of sinners" because of his murder of Christians before he became a Christian. He would drag women and children off to be killed for being Christians. Listen to what Paul says: "12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." (1Timothy 1:12-17).

God Chooses and Calls Sinners to Himself.

It is always sinners Jesus calls to Himself.  Consider Zacchaeus.  "1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." 9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:1-10)

Trust God to call some of these to Himself through your witness.  4 "I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.¹  Yes, I tell you, fear him! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?²  And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Acknowledge Christ Before Men

 8 "And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, 9 but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11  And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, 12  for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say." (Luke 12:4-12).

Present God as Creator to People.

One of the amazing experiences I had doing my Doctor of Philosophy studies under my Professor and Mentor Professor Ron Laura, a leading Philosopher worldwide, was when I arrived early for a lecture at his home. I have always been a bookish type person. I like  intellectual things. But I had not given myself time to move outside my head.  He took me out to his garden and made me look carefully and admiringly at all of his garden.  Each tree and flower. He made me realize again how special and beautiful each plant was in God's purposes.  God has made us to admire the beauty of His creation and to appreciate how wonderfully special each piece is. How it works into a miraculous harmony. And that is one of the wonderful ways we can influence others. Help them to smell the flowers. Yu don't have to argue adversarily with your opponent. Kindly and gently help them admire what God has given to them so wonderfully in His creation. Then they will admire the Creator. When they admire the Creator, His Laws contained in the ten commandments become so much more accessible.

Romans 1 speaks of this innate knowledge of God revealed in the Creation.  "18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,⁷  in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." (Romans 1:18-23). 

You can help revive this knowledge in your friends.  It soon spreads.

And it touches the conscience.  "14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus." (Romans 2:14-16).

Remind them of the Grace of God.  Remind them of the Greatness of God. Remind them of the Goodness of God.

In spite of the troubles of drought, fire and sometimes dire emergencies of earthquake flood and famine, most of the time on earth people see the goodness of God in the abundance of His provision.

We see the seasons; springtime and harvest. We see the abundant provision of food in all nations; rice field, maize, wheat and corn in abundance.  Famine is often the problem of powerful people controlling food stocks for their own malignant and selfish purposes.

Remind them that God provides rain at the right times.

James reminds us that in God's good provision to the world, and mankind's selfish corruption that the good God will bring justice on the unjust.

"1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

 7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand." (James 5:1-8).

Napoleon responded to a general who professed himself an atheist:

"I know men; and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires, and the gods of other religions. That resemblance does not exist. There is between Christianity and whatever other religions the distance of infinity.

"We can say to the authors of every other religion, You are neither gods, nor the agents of the Deity. You are but missionaries of falsehood, moulded from the same clay with the rest of mortals. You are made with all the passions and vices inseparable from them. Your temples and your priests proclaim your origin.' Such will be the judgment, the cry of conscience, of whoever examines the gods and the temples of paganism.

"Paganism was never accepted as truth by the wise men of Greece; neither by Socrates, Pythagoras, Plato, Anaxagoras, or Pericles. On the other side, the loftiest intellects, since the advent of Christianity, have had faith, a living faith, a practical faith, in the mysteries and the doctrines of the gospel; not only Bossuet and Fenelon, who were preachers, but Descartes and Newton, Leibnitz and Pascal, Corneille and Racine, Charlemagne and Louis XIV.

"Paganism is the work of man. One can here read but our imbecility. What do these gods, so boastful, know more than other mortals; these legislators, Greek or Roman; this Numa; this Lycurgus; these priests of India or of Memphis; this Confucius; this Mohammed'?-absolutely nothing. They have made a perfect chaos of mortals. There is not one among them all who has said any thing new in reference to our future destiny, to the soul, to the essence of God, to the creation. Enter the sanctuaries of paganism: you there find perfect chaos, a thousand contradictions, war between the gods, the immobility of sculpture, the division and the rending of unity, the parceling out of the divine attributes mutilated or denied in their essence, the sophisms of ignorance and presumption, polluted fêtes, impurity and abomination adored, all sorts of corruption festering in the thick shades, with the rotten wood, the idol, and the priest. Does this honor God, or does it dishonor him? Are these religions and these gods to be compared with Christianity?

"As for me, I say, No. I summon entire Olympus to my tribunal. I judge the gods, but am far from prostrating myself before their vain images. The gods, the legislators of India and of China, of Rome and of Athens, have nothing which can overawe me. Not that I am unjust to them. No: I appreciate them, because I know their value. Undeniably, princes, whose existence is fixed in the memory as an image of order and of power, as the ideal of force and beauty: such princes were no ordinary men.

"I see, in Lycurgus, Numa, and Mohammed, only legislators, who have the first rank in the State; have sought the best solution of the social problem: but I see nothing there which reveals Divinity. They themselves have never raised their pretensions so high. As for me, I recognize the gods, and these great men, as beings like myself. They have performed a lofty part in their times, as I have done. Nothing announces them divine. On the contrary, there are numerous resemblances between them and myself, -- foibles and errors which ally them to me and to humanity.

"It is not so with Christ. Every thing in him astonishes me. His spirit overawes me, and his will confounds me. Between him and whoever else in the world there is no possible term of comparison. He is truly a being by himself. His ideas and his sentiments, the truths which he announces, his manner of convincing, are not explained either by human organization or by the nature of things.

"His birth, and the history of his life; the profundity of his doctrine, which grapples the mightiest difficulties, and which is of those difficulties the most admirable solution; his gospel, his apparition, his empire, his march across the ages and the realms, -- every thing is for me a prodigy, a mystery insoluble, which plunges me into reveries which I can not escape; a mystery which is there before my eyes; a mystery which I can neither deny nor explain. Here I see nothing human.

"The nearer I approach, the more carefully I examine, every thing is above me; every thing remains grand, -- of a grandeur which overpowers. His religion is a revelation from an intelligence which certainly is not that of man. There is there a profound originality which has created a series of words and of maxims before unknown. Jesus borrowed nothing from our science. One can absolutely find nowhere, but in him alone, the imitation or the example of his life. He is not a philosopher, since he advances by miracles; and, from the commencement, his disciples worshiped him. He persuaded them far more by an appeal to the heart than by any display of method and of logic. Neither did he impose upon them any preliminary studies, or any knowledge of letters. All his religion consists in believing.

"In fact, the sciences and philosophy avail nothing for salvation; and Jesus came into the world to reveal the mysteries of heaven and the laws of the spirit. Also he has nothing to do but with the soul; and to that alone he brings his gospel. The soul is sufficient for him, as he is sufficient for the soul. Before him, the soul was nothing. Matter and time were the masters of the world. At his voice, every thing returns to order. Science and philosophy become secondary. The soul has reconquered its sovereignty. All the scholastic scaffolding falls, as an edifice ruined, before one single word, -- faith.

"What a master, and what a word, which can effect such a revolution! With what authority does he teach men to pray! He imposes his belief; and no one, thus far, has been able to contradict him: first, because the gospel contains the purest morality; and also because the doctrine which it contains of obscurity is only the proclamation and the truth of that which exists where no eye can see, and no reason can penetrate. Who is the insensate who will say No' to the intrepid voyager who recounts the marvels of the icy peaks which he alone has had the boldness to visit? Christ is that bold voyager. One can, doubtless, remain incredulous; but no one can venture to say, It is not so.'

"Moreover, consult the philosophers upon those mysterious questions which relate to the essence of man and the essence of religion. What is their response? Where is the man of good sense who has never learned any thing from the system of metaphysics; ancient or modern, which is not truly a vain and pompous ideology, without any connection with our domestic life, with our passions? Unquestionably, with skill in thinking, one can seize the key of the philosophy of Socrates and Plato. But, to do this, it is necessary to be a metaphysician; and moreover, with years of study, one must possess special aptitude. But good sense alone, the heart, an honest spirit, are sufficient to comprehend Christianity. The Christian religion is neither ideology nor metaphysics, but a practical rule which directs the actions of man, corrects him, counsels him, and assists him in all his conduct. The Bible contains a complete series of facts and of historical men, to explain time and eternity, such as no other religion has to offer. If it is not the true religion, one is very excusable in being deceived; for every thing in it is grand, and worthy of God. I search in vain in history to find the similar to Jesus Christ, or any thing which can approach the gospel. Neither history, nor humanity, nor the ages, nor nature, offer me any thing with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here every thing is extraordinary. The more I consider the gospel, the more I am assured that there is nothing there which is not beyond the march of events, and above the human mind. Even the impious themselves have never dared to deny the sublimity of the gospel, which inspires them with a sort of compulsory veneration. What happiness that book procures for those who believe it I What marvels those admire there who reflect upon it!

"All the words there are embedded, and joined one upon another, like the stones of an edifice. The spirit which binds these words together is a divine cement, which now reveals the sense, and again vails it from the mind. Each phrase has a sense complete, which traces the perfection of unity, and the profundity of the whole. Book unique! where the mind finds a moral beauty before unknown; and an idea of the Supreme, superior even to that which creation suggests. Who but God could produce that type, that idea of perfection, equally exclusive and original?

"Christ, having but a few weak disciples, was condemned to death. He died the object of the wrath of the Jewish priests, and of the contempt of the nation, and abandoned and denied by his own disciples.

"They are about to take me, and to crucify me,' said he. I shall be abandoned of all the world. My chief disciples will deny me at the commencement of my punishment. I shall be left to the wicked. But then, divine justice being satisfied, original sin being expiated by my sufferings, the bond of man to God will be renewed, and my death will be the life of my disciples. Then they will be more strong without me than with me; for they shall see me rise again. I shall ascend to the skies, and I shall send to them from heaven a Spirit who will instruct them. The Spirit of the Cross will enable them to understand my gospel. In fine, they will believe it; they will preach it; and they will convert the world.'

"And this strange promise, so aptly called by Paul 'the foolishness of the cross,' this prediction of one miserably crucified, is literally accomplished; and the mode of the accomplishment is perhaps more prodigious than the promise.

"It is not a day, nor a battle, which has decided it. Is it the lifetime of a man? No: it is a war, a long combat, of three hundred years, commenced by the apostles, and continued by their successors and by succeeding generations of Christians. In this conflict, all the kings and all the forces of the earth were arrayed on one side. Upon the other, I see no army but a mysterious energy, individuals scattered here and there, in all parts of the globe, having no other rallying sign than a common faith in the mysteries of the cross.

"What a mysterious symbol, the instrument of the punishment of the Man-God! His disciples were armed with it. The Christ,' they said, God, has died for the salvation of men.' What a strife, what a tempest, these simple words have raised around the humble standard of the punishment of the Man-God! On the one side, we see rage and all the furies of hatred and violence; on the other, there are gentleness, moral courage, infinite resignation. For three hundred years, spirit struggled against the brutality of sense, conscience against despotism, the soul against the body, virtue against all the vices. The blood of Christians flowed in torrents. They died kissing the hand which slew them. The soul alone protested, while the body surrendered itself to all tortures. Everywhere Christians fell, and everywhere they triumphed.

"You speak of Cæsar, of Alexander, of their conquests, and of the enthusiasm which they enkindled in the hearts of their soldiers; but can you conceive of a dead man making conquests, with an army faithful, and entirely devoted to his memory. My armies have forgotten me even while living, as the Carthaginian army forgot Hannibal. Such is our power! A single battle lost crushes us, and adversity scatters our friends.

"Can you conceive of Cæsar as the eternal emperor of the Roman senate, and, from the depth of his mausoleum, governing the empire, watching over the destinies of Rome? Such is the history of the invasion and conquest of the world by Christianity; such is the power of the God of the Christians; and such is the perpetual miracle of the progress of the faith, and of the government of his Church. Nations pass away, thrones crumble; but the Church remains. What is, then, the power which has protected this Church, thus assailed by the furious billows of rage and the hostility of ages? Whose is the arm, which, for eighteen hundred years, has protected the Church from so many storms which have threatened to ingulf it?

"Alexander, Cæsar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ alone founded his empire upon love; and, at this hour, millions of men would die for him.

"In every other existence but that of Christ, how many imperfections! Where is the character which has not yielded, vanquished by obstacles? Where is the individual who has never been governed by circumstances or places; who has never succumbed to the influences of the times; who has never compounded with any customs or passions? From the first day to the last, he is the same, always the same; majestic and simple; infinitely firm, and infinitely gentle.

"Truth should embrace the universe. Such is Christianity, -- the only religion which destroys sectional prejudices; the only one which proclaims the unity and the absolute brotherhood of the whole human family; the only one which is purely spiritual; in fine, the only one which assigns to all, without distinction, for a true country, the bosom of the Creator, God. Christ proved that he was the Son of the Eternal by his disregard of time. All his doctrines signify one only and the same thing, -- eternity.

"It is true that Christ proposes to our faith a series of mysteries. He commands with authority, that we should believe them, -- giving no other reason than those tremendous words, I am God.' He declares it. What an abyss he creates by that declaration between himself' and all the fabricators of religion! What audacity, what sacrilege, what blasphemy, if it were not true! I say more: The universal triumph of an affirmation of that kind, if the triumph were not really that of God himself, would be a plausible excuse, and the proof of atheism.

"Moreover, in propounding mysteries, Christ is harmonious with Nature, which is profoundly mysterious. From whence do I come? whither do I go? who am I? Human life is a mystery in its origin, its organization, and its end. In man and out of man, in Nature, every thing is mysterious. And can one wish that religion should not be mysterious? The creation and the destiny of the world are an unfathomable abyss, as also are the creation and destiny of each individual. Christianity at least does not evade these great questions; it meets them boldly: and our doctrines are a solution of them for every one who believes.

"The gospel possesses a secret virtue, a mysterious efficacy, a warmth which penetrates and soothes the heart. One finds, in meditating upon it, that which one experiences in contemplating the heavens. The gospel is not a book: it is a living being, with an action, a power, which invades every thing that opposes its extension. Behold! it is upon this table: this book, surpassing all others [here the emperor deferentially placed his hand upon it], I never omit to read it, and every day with the same pleasure.

"Nowhere is to be found such a series of beautiful ideas; admirable moral maxims, which pass before us like the battalions of a celestial army, and which produce in our soul the same emotions which one experiences in contemplating the infinite expanse of the skies, resplendent in a summer's night with all the brilliance of the stars. Not only is our mind absorbed; it is controlled: and the soul can never go astray with this book for its guide. Once master of our spirit, the faithful gospel loves us. God even is our friend, our father, and truly our God. The mother has no greater care for the infant whom she nurses.

"What a proof of the Divinity of Christ! With an empire so absolute, he has but one single end, -- the spiritual melioration of individuals, the purity of the conscience, the union to that which is true, the holiness of the soul.

"Christ speaks, and at once generations become his by stricter, closer ties than those of blood, -- by the most sacred, the most indissoluble, of unions. He lights up the flames of a love which prevails over every other love. The founders of other religions never conceived of this mystical love, which is the essence of Christianity, and is beautifully called charity. In every attempt to affect this thing, viz. to make himself beloved, man deeply feels his own impotence. So that Christ's greatest miracle undoubtedly is the reign of charity.

"I have so inspired multitudes, that they would die for me. God forbid that I should form any comparison between the enthusiasm of the soldier and Christian charity, which are as unlike as their cause!

"But, after all, my presence was necessary: the lightning of my eye, my voice, a word from me, then the sacred fire was kindled in their hearts. I do, indeed, possess the secret of this magical power which lifts the soul; but I could never impart it to any one. None of my generals ever learned it from me. Nor have I the means of perpetuating my name and love for me in the hearts of men, and to effect these things without physical means.

"Now that I am at St. Helena, now that I am alone, chained upon this rock, who fights and wins empires for me? who are the courtiers of my misfortune? who thinks of me? who makes effort for me in Europe? Where are my friends? Yes: two or three, whom your fidelity immortalizes, you share, you console, my exile."

Here the emperor's voice trembled with emotion, and for a moment he was silent. He then continued: --

"Yes: our life once shone with all the brilliance of the diadem and the throne; and yours, Bertrand, reflected that splendor, as the dome of the Invalides, gilt by us, reflects the rays of the sun. But disaster came: the gold gradually became dim. The rain of misfortune and outrage, with which I am daily deluged, has effaced all the brightness. We are mere lead now, General Bertrand; and soon I shall be in my grave.

"Such is the fate of great men! So it was with Cæsar and Alexander. And I, too, am forgotten; and the name of a conqueror and an emperor is a college theme! Our exploits are tasks given to pupils by their tutors, who sit in judgment upon us, awarding censure or praise. And mark what is soon to become of me: assassinated by the English oligarchy, I die before my time; and my dead body, too, must return to the earth, to become food for worms. Behold the destiny, near at hand, of him whom the world called the great Napoleon! What an abyss between my deep misery and the eternal reign of Christ, which is proclaimed, loved, adored, and which is extending over all the earth! Is this to die? is it not rather to live? The death of Christ -- it is the death of God!"

For a moment the emperor was silent. As General Bertrand made no reply, he solemnly added, "If you do not perceive that Jesus Christ is God, very well: then I did wrong to make you a general."