Lone Wolf United Methodist Church

Sunday, March 21, 2021 Sermon WAKE UP! As we begin our fifth week of the season of Lent, we are discovering significant passages of Scriptures to help us on o...ur journey of not being conformed but by being transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we would learn the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God for our lives. Not one of us have had an easy journey in our faith walk, it wasn’t meant to be easy. It was meant to be a struggle, so that when we finally believe with our whole heart, we will be able to defend that belief with all our strength. We will be able to stand when doubt and confusion or persecution comes; and when we have done all to stand then we will be able to stand firm. Jesus knew Who He was and He knew Whose He was and it was because of this belief, He was able to endure the suffering of the cross. The disciples were able to stand firm in their belief after Pentecost when they were filled with the Holy Spirit and endued with power from on High. The strength to be able to withstand the fiery darts of the wicked one was given to them just as it is given to us today. The Apostle Paul told Timothy to fan the flame, do not let it turn to embers but keep the fire inside of him going full-blast (paraphrased). Jesus warns us in several parables and teachings the importance of staying alert and watching and to wake up, if we start to fall away being lulled by an easy sense of complacency. Our passage today is based on Jesus’ friends, Martha, Mary and Lazarus that lived in a small village called Bethany a few short miles from Jerusalem. Jesus and some of His disciples had journeyed to another place, east of the Jordan River where He taught and healed many people. He received a message that His dear friend Lazarus was sick and dying and that He should come immediately, but Jesus stayed another two days where He had been ministering. Then Jesus told the disciples that were there with Him, that Lazarus had fallen asleep and He was going to go wake him up! The disciples of course did not understand that Lazarus had actually died until Jesus explained to them. Then they were worried that if they returned to Judea Jesus could be arrested. This was near the time it was coming upon the Passover festivals when the Jews would celebrate the feasts in Jerusalem. Jesus and His disciples journeyed to Bethany to the village of His dear friends. Martha ran out to greet Him and told Him that Lazarus had died, but he wouldn’t have if Jesus had been there when they sent for Him. Jesus asked for Mary and her sister went and told her that Jesus was here. The younger sister Mary went to Jesus and fell at His feet weeping and saying to Him that Lazarus wouldn’t have died if He had only been there. Jesus wept with them because of their sorrow and grief and asked them to take Him to his grave. He told them that their brother would rise. He said, I AM the Resurrection and I AM the Life do you believe this? Our text is the continuation of the story I have just related to you. Let’s read: John 11:38-48 --NIV Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 Take away the stone, he said. But, Lord, said Martha, the sister of the dead man, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days. 40 Then Jesus said, Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God? 41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me. 43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, Lazarus, come out! 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, Take off the grave clothes and let him go. 45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.What are we accomplishing? they asked. Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation. THE WORD OF GOD FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD. THANKS BE TO GOD. Not only did Jesus wake up Lazarus, but also many of the Jews that had come out to the tomb and witnessed this amazing miracle. Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days! When Jesus called Lazarus back from the dead, He gave the crowds HOPE! He gave the crowds PROOF that He was the Messiah! No one had ever been raised to life after being dead four days! Jesus had raised some people from the dead, a young girl (Jaris’ daughter) and a young man in Naim during the funeral procession are two examples, but in both of these cases they had not been dead long because they prepared them for burial immediately because of the hot sun decaying bodies too fast. Now He comes to Lazarus’ tomb, He missed the funeral procession and Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. Jesus tells them to roll away the stone so nothing would hinder him from coming out of the tomb. Jesus again told Martha that He was the Resurrection and the Life, and she would see God’s glory revealed. When Jesus knelt and prayed to His Father, He spoke aloud for all to hear so that they would know that it was God Who answered the prayer. When He spoke Lazarus’s name, it was so only this specific person would rise out of the grave. Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life and when He returns for His Bride (the believers) it will be with the sound of a trumpet calling first those out of the graves to rise and then He will call those believers who are alive and remain to join them all in the clouds to be with Him forever. Can you imagine the eager anticipation filling the air? They did not know what to expect and then they saw Lazarus bound in grave clothes coming out of the tomb. The news spread like wildfire! It spread to the religious authorities who began to plan diligently for Jesus’ death and also Lazarus, because it was that he was alive again that many Jews believed in Jesus. It was Jesus of Nazareth that brought Lazarus out of the tomb. They were awake! The crowds finally believed that Jesus is Who He says He is, the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus’ message to the crowds was wake up and know that I AM the Messiah. His message to His church or His bride is to wake up and know that I AM your Bridegroom. To be awake is to be conscious and aware of your surroundings. When you are not awake, you are asleep! So, wake up we have been lulled into taking it easy with this pandemic, but Jesus says to work while it is day, while we can, because no one can see in the dark. We need the Light to show us the Way; we need the Holy Spirit to teach us and guide us along the way. Church will never go back to the way it was, we as believers have received a wake up call it is time to wake up and do the mission that Jesus has called us to. Pray, Study, Search the Scriptures, and listen to His voice, we are the flames of revival that need to spread to all we meet. Fan the flames, stir up the gift you have been given. We have only been given a short time on this earth to live, so let’s live for Jesus, fully conscious and aware of our surroundings. Let us be a church without walls going out to those who are in need; loving each other; supporting each other; encouraging each other, worshipping with each other and lifting up Jesus so all people may draw near! Wake up and come out of death to life through Jesus Christ, Who died for our sins. May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; May the Lord turn His face toward you, and give you peace. Amen .

Sunday, March 14, 2021 Sermon The Narrow Way As we begin our fourth week of Lent, as we examine our lives, our thoughts, our motives of our heart, the directi...on that our lives are going, are we following the narrow path that leads to eternal salvation? This is part of our Lenten journey that we have embarked on throughout this Christian season of Lent. Our journey begins with remembering our baptism, then deep introspection of our hearts and motives then continues as we draw near to God. We should enter this season the same as a caterpillar entering a cocoon that begins its wonderful transformation from the inside to emerge as a beautiful butterfly. We also should emerge from this season of prayer, sacrifice, study and re-evaluation to become transformed by the renewing of our minds and our hearts to have a deeper faith and commitment to our Lord and Savior. The Body of Christ is a living organism that needs proper teaching and nurturing in order to grow. You farmers understand that unless a grain or seed is planted in the ground and it is given the proper nutrients, fertilizer, sunshine and rain in order to grow, the crop will not produce abundantly. It is like that with the Body of Christ also, unless there is prayer, study, faith, and surrender, the Body as a whole and individually can not grow and mature. Jesus’ teachings are about living our lives in holiness, following the examples that He set before us and journeying with Him. He has promised that He will be with us until the end of the age. The disciples journeyed with Jesus for three and a half years while He was on this earth and experienced many things with Him, but it wasn’t until after His resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit, that they understood. So, it is with us today, we can read and hear about the journey that He took on this earth and can experience many things through the words of Scripture, but until we humble ourselves, repent, and receive by faith, the pardon that was given to us, we will not understand. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit when we are born again, that we are given true understanding and it is this same power that lives in us through our faith in Jesus Christ. This is why during the season of Lent we take time to re-examine our lives and our walk in our Christian faith to make sure we are still on the narrow path. Our Scripture passage that we are studying this week is from the Gospel of Luke. Jesus and His disciples are on their way back to Jerusalem. Luke 13:22-30 ESV 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, Lord, will those who are saved be few? And he said to them, 24 Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. THE WORD OF GOD FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD. THANKS BE TO GOD. Matthew 7: 13-14: Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it! How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it. Jesus is not talking about a special door or gate that you have to find somewhere in the world hidden from view; He is talking about entering heaven through Him. The Gospel of John records Jesus’ I AM statements. John 6:35 I AM the Bread of Life. In John 8:12 I AM the Light of the World. In John 10:7 I AM the Door of the Sheep. In John 10: 9 I AM the Door. Also, in John 10: 11 I AM the Good Shepherd. John 11:25 I AM the Resurrection and the Life. And finally, in John 14:6 I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Jesus tells His disciples this last statement the night He was arrested, so they would receive comfort that they had not followed Him in vain. The narrow way is the way to salvation, not the easy way, not the popular way, maybe not even the most practical way but still, the only way is Jesus Christ who paid the penalty for all our sins, and took our place. We have to strive or persevere in our faith walk because our strength comes from the Lord, and He is faithful and just. We may think that we have all the time in the world, untilthe door shuts, then where will we be? Safe in the arms of Jesus or cast out into outer darkness? I cannot express to you the urgency I feel in my spirit of how important it is to know Jesus but more importantly for Him to know you. This only happens through surrender, spending time in prayer and study with Him, listening for His voice. Going to church somewhere every week without a real, genuine commitment to Christ and putting Him above all else, will not get you through the narrow door. It is only when we are truly honest with Him that He can transform our hearts and minds, and live completely in a renewed fellowship with Him. Jesus’ final warning in this passage is Behold! Some who are last shall be first and the first shall be last! And many will not enter the Kingdom at all! Our hearts should be weeping for those who are lost, our prayers should be for the Lord to put us or someone in their paths to share the love of Jesus. For God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. This precious love that we have received from Christ is the power to live a victorious life; free from condemnation; growing in maturity as we grow deeper in our walk of faith in Jesus. Where are you on your journey? Are you seeking the narrow door (only door to salvation) or are you on the wide path that leads away from Christ? The choice is yours but so are the consequences of rejecting the gift of God, freely offered. Blessings on your journey! May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; May the Lord turn His face toward you, and give you peace. Amen.

Sunday, March 7, 2021 Sermon Reconciled to God As we begin our third week of Lent, as we examine our lives, our thoughts, our motives of our heart, have we se...riously considered the miracle of our salvation? The eternal salvation that we have been offered is no small thing, when you consider what the consequences of our sins would be without the Cross. There is room at the Cross is a true statement, because God is not willing that any should perish, but all should come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit has been pursuing us since before our birth to draw us near to God so that we could enjoy the fellowship of God. When God created Adam and Eve, He fellowshipped with them, He walked with them in the Garden of Eden, in the cool of the day. Sin separated us from God, spiritually, and we became as people walking in darkness. God sent His Son to not only bring light to our darkness but to bring us into the Kingdom of Light. We are created in His image to be worshippers and to bring glory to Him through the reconciliation of the Blood of the New Covenant, the perfect sacrifice of the Lamb of God. We are reconciled to a Holy God, humbly by receiving His gift which is Jesus Christ, His Son. We turn to our Scripture text for this week. II Corinthians 5:16-21 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[a] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling[b] the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. THIS IS THE WORD OF GOD FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD. THANKS BE TO GOD. This passage is about reconciliation which took place at the Cross where Jesus died for the world in our place. He died for us to give us the freedom from our debt to sin, to pay the price so that we would not have to. God has reached out to us to draw us into a close intimate relationship which could only be done through the perfect sacrifice, of the Blood of the Lamb. Understanding this sacrificial importance is sometimes foreign to our culture because we have not been raised to perform sacrifices each year, several times a year, to bring forgiveness to them temporarily. We know that Jesus became the one-time sacrifice almost two thousand years ago for all people for all sins for all time. He went to the Cross, so all that would believe and receive the wonderful gift of reconciliation, would become the sons and daughters of God, by faith in God’s unconditional, everlasting love for us. When we take Jesus into our hearts we are reconciled to the Father, through the Son, and the Holy Spirit empowers us to draw near to Him. The word reconciled means to change completely, to re-establish a close relationship that had been severed. God wanted this reconciliationit was His plannot ours. Because we have become new creations through Christ Jesus, we are not to regard anyone by their past lives or actions. When we are reconciled with God, we have become new creations and the old things of our past are passed away and God will do a new thing in our lives. God not only reconciled us to Himself, but also made us ambassadors for Christ. He has given us the ministry of reconciliation which is reaching out to the lost in a loving, merciful way, being a representative of the grace and mercy that we ourselves received when Jesus forgave us for our sins. We are called to offer that same Hope of Glory that we have because of the gift of salvation that we received when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Because we have been reconciled through our faith in Jesus, our sins are no longer counted against us and we are called to share the good news, that nothing can separate us from God, through the righteousness of Christ, not of ourselves, but through Him only. When Jesus was on the Cross God laid all of the horrendous sins of all mankind on Jesus and nailed them to the cross. God is repulsed by sin and so turned away from Jesus because He can not look upon sin and He made Jesus to become sin that had known no sin for our sake so that we would be covered in the righteousness of Christ. This is truly a great miracle that should not be taken lightly or taken for granted because of the great price that was paid for us. The last Passover meal where Jesus met with His disciples in the upper room as they came together for the ancient celebration of Passover. This Festival had been celebrated each year since the days of Moses when God delivered the Israelites from the bondage of the Egyptians. This was a significant time in the life of a Jew, where thousands of pilgrims came to the Temple to sacrifice a lamb for the Passover meal. The blood of the lamb was painted on the doorposts to deliver the Israelites from the angel of death. Jesus sat with His disciples and all those who were gathered with them, when He declared that there was among them one who would betray Him. They were all distressed and asked Jesus who it was and as each one asked they examined themselves. Jesus took the bread, blessed it and broke it, gave it to the disciples and said, Take and eat it; this is My Body which is broken for you. Then when the supper was over Jesus took a cup, and after giving thanks, He gave it to them and said, Drink from it, all of you. For this is My Blood that establishes the New Covenant; it is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus commanded them to do this and keep on doing it, in remembrance of what He did for them and for us. We continue to proclaim the birth, life, death and resurrection and His return every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Jesus has prepared the table, and He invites all who love Him and earnestly repents of their sins to come and take of the bread and the drink not as a ritual but as we glorify Christ and we do this in remembrance of the Work of the Cross, where Jesus laid down His life willingly to cleanse us of our sins. For the Bible says, We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We all need a Savior, Who, is the perfect sacrifice, acceptable to a Holy God Who through His death on the Cross, reconciles us to Himself. When we accept the free gift of salvation from faith in Jesus Christ, we are reconciled to God, our Father, and have become the sons and daughters of God. May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; May the Lord turn His face toward you, and give you peace. Amen.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 SERMON We are now in the second Sunday of the Lenten season, which you know begins with Ash Wednes-day and continues for forty days e...xcept Sundays. This is a time for reflection and searching your heart humbly and with pure motives understanding our own relationship with the Risen Savior. Jesus was baptized, filled with the Holy Spirit and driven immediately into the wilderness for forty days and forty nights. This wilderness experience taught Him complete dependance on God, the Father, and instilled in Him the urgency of the mission and purpose of the mission. He was strengthened through this experience and when the devil thought Jesus was worn down after fast-ing for forty days and nights, he came to tempt Him and test Him. Jesus prevailed and drove the devil away using the Words of God to empower Himself, giving Him the victory. Then the angels came and ministered to Him before He journeyed out of the wilderness. This is a powerful lesson to us, especially when we feel like we are alone and no one cares; the Word of God is powerful and breaks down strongholds to strengthen you against the enemy. This season of Lent is differ-ent for each individual but if you are sincere about letting God transform your life into the life that He created you for, then you will seek a deeper, closer relationship with Him. No matter what tri-als or persecution that comes, you will be strengthened through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and comforted by His presence. The Apostle John writes these letters or epistles to encourage believers to be faithful to the teach-ing of the Gospel of Jesus and they were written as circular letters to be read at many different churches at many different times. I copied a picture of a map (at the bottom of the sermon) with several of the churches that letters are written to or about or even from to give you an idea about why the format of the circular letter was written to all believers in these new churches to instruct them, encourage them, guide them, and most of all to let them know they are loved and not alone. There were many people being deceived and falling away from the church following after heresy and false teaching. John talks about the antichrist spirit that is deceiving many new to the faith. The word antichrist is made up of two Greek words, antiwhich means against or in place of and Christoswhich is Christ so when John is talking about antichrists, we can under-stand that it is not just one person but anyone who is against Christ or puts themselves in the place of Christ like the early Agnostics. These letters were probably written between 85-95 AD. The Gospel according to John was most likely written first about 85 AD, then the epistles 1,2,3 John about 90 AD and the Book of Revelation about 95 AD. John was the last of the beginning group of disciples that traveled with and knew Jesus personally. He was a verifiable witness to the Truth that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, the Messiah, the Lamb of God, and the Savior of the world. John himself was there witnessing the miracles of healing, of walking on water, feeding the thou-sands, bringing deliverance to many people suffering from demonic oppression, listening to His teachings and watching Jesus die on the cross with Mary the mother of Jesus who he took into his own household. John was also at the tomb when Jesus rose again and appeared to the disciples behind locked doors and saw Him ascend to heaven. John knew Jesus and knew He was exactly Who He claimed to be. The text this week comes from: 1 John 2:18-29 ESV 18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many anti-christs have come. Therefore, we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the anti-christ, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Who-ever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that He made to useternal life. 26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no liejust as it has taught you, abide in him. 28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. THIS IS THE WORD OF GOD FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD. THANKS BE TO GOD. These letters are generally thought to have been written at Ephesus after returning there when he was released from exile on the Island of Patmos. John was an old man by now but he had a mission to accomplish and the urgency of the last hour (which this word is only used in this place in the New Testament). Was he aware that these words that were written here to encourage believers to be faithful, would still be encouraging believers to not stray from the faith nearly two thousand years later? In these days of confusion and chaos we can be sure of these words written for us to take into our hearts and to know the Truth which is Jesus Christ. Notice how John is writing to those who know the Truth to abide in Christ and remain in Christ throughout the daily tasks of their lives. The ones that departed made it plain that they did not believe and spread lies to deceive any who would listen. There may come a time in your life, when you are not able to attend a regular church service or be in fellowship with other believers but you can rest in the knowledge that the anointing of the Holy Spirit will bring all things to your remembrance and will teach you all things. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead (Trinity) and just as Jesus is seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven interceding on our behalf, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter lives in our hearts and teaches us, guides us along the paths of righteousness. The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit of the Truth, The anointing and the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to all believers is to encourage and build up the Body of Christ or the Body of Believers to be thoroughly equipped for the mission of sharing the Light of Christ with those who are willing to hear the good news; to be able to proclaim to others about the love and mercy of God. To share with others how Jesus went willingly to the cross to suffer a cruel death knowing that He would complete the sacrifice that God required for sin. It was His perfect sacrifice that brings forgiveness of sins and pays the debt, for the wages of sin is death. Jesus went in our place, to pay the debt that we could never pay, and to establish with those who believe by faith in Him a New Covenant forever. You have heard these things from the beginning so continue in faithfulness, growing ever so closer in your relationship with Him that you will not be deceived and will not be ashamed at His coming. You shall know the Truth and the Truth will set you free. May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; May the Lord turn His face toward you, and give you peace. Amen.