Sermons

S. R. John 12:42-50                                                                                          

Intro: Jesus, the Way (John 14:6) – correspondence course – adv.

1. The religious world is filled with ideas and faiths.
   1. Different “holy books” offer differing standards by which people should live
      1. Some worship one god; others worship many deities.
      2. Multiplicities of religious beliefs are extremely confusing.
   2. Even in the “Christian faith” there are conflicting denominational ideas that often leave our heads spinning.
   3. How do we find our way out of this malaise and back on the path toward God.
2. The answer is found in Jesus’ life and teachings.
   1. In the first century, great religious divisions existed among Jewish people.
   2. Greek and Roman influences lay behind many of these differences.
      1. Alexander The Great had spread Hellenistic customs, practices, and religions over the world. (Parthenon)
      2. Later, reaction to Rome’s rule and its religions caused the Jews to splinter further in their unity of faith. (Pantheon)
   3. Many Jewish religious parties (sects) developed.
      1. Sadducees were willing to compromise some of God’s teachings to save the temple and keep their position. (John 11:47-48)
         1. They claimed to believe the scriptures but denied that a spiritual realm existed and, therefore, discounted the resurrection of the dead.(Mt. 22:23; Acts 23:8)
      2. Pharisees were opposed to spiritual compromise.
         1. Originally, they were determined to carefully keep God’s Word.
         2. This effort eventually turned into the exaltation of human ideas and traditions – exalting them even above God’s revealed will. (Mark 7:6-8)
         3. Jesus was hounded by Pharisees His entire adult life.
      3. Other groups such as the Zealots, and the Herodians had political agendas as well as religious disagreements.
      4. The Essenes avoided it all by withdrawing from society and formed smaller religious communities.
   4. Confusion reigned!
3. How did Jesus deal with all these differences?
   1. First, there are several things that He did not do.
      1. He did not throw up His hands and say, “I give up! There are so many contradictory concepts. Why should I try?”
      2. Secondly, He never implied that truth was not essential.
      3. He did not suggest that one idea is as good as another.
      4. Finally, though Jesus believed truths found in each of the groups we have mentioned, He refused to join any of them.
   2. Let us take note of what Jesus did.
      1. Jesus searched the Scriptures and meditated on God’s Word.
      2. At twelve year old Jesus discussed scripture with Jewish religious scholars. (Lk.2:45-47)
      3. Years later, He astounded formally trained Jews with His knowledge of God’s Law and His ability to properly use it.
         1. a. Jesus told them, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.” (Jn.7:15-16)
      4. While denouncing the hypocrisy of the scribes and the Pharisees, our Lord emphasized the necessity of listening to and obeying the Word of God that they taught. (Matt.23:2-3)
   3. Like Jesus, we can make our way through the numerous false and confusing ideas by holding to God’s Word, the Bible.
   4. Let’s observe three groups or individuals who found Jesus, the way out of confusion.
4. Acts 8:4-13 Samaritans
   1. Philip is preaching what?     “word”
   2. Who is He proclaiming? Christ – the anointed one, the king
   3. What confirmed that what he taught was from God? (Mk. 16:20; Heb 2:4, Acts 14:3)
   4. Who had formerly astonished the people?
   5. How did these Samaritans respond to the teaching regarding Jesus? (Acts 8:12)
   6. How did Simon respond? (Acts 8:13) believed, baptized
5.   Acts 8:25-40 Ethiopian
   1. What is the nationality and religious background of this “administrator”?
   2. What is he doing while sitting in the chariot?
   3. What is he reading and does he understand it?
   4. About whom did Philip tell him?
   5. What did the eunuch immediately seek to do after hearing about Jesus?
6. Acts 11:19-26 Gentiles
   1. To whom were the teachers “speaking the word”? (Acts 11:19-20)
   2. Regarding whom were they speaking?   “the Lord Jesus”
   3. Who was with them while conducting this teaching?
   4. The large number who believed turned to whom? (Acts 11:21)
   5. When people hear, believe and turn to the Lord, or what is that a demonstration? (Acts 11:23)
   6. Those who have turned to the Lord were encouraged to do what? (Acts 11:23)
   7. A considerable number of people were brought to whom? (Acts 11:24)
   8. When you think of these believers as a group, who have turned to the Lord and are remaining true to the Lord what were they called? (Acts 11:26)
   9. When you think of those who have been brought to the Lord individually what were they called?
7. Conclusion:
   1. What are you religiously?
   2. What descriptive terms were given to believers as they worked together as a group?
   3. If Christ died to have a people, by what name would they be recognized?