December 2, 2020
To the beloved saints of Grace Baptist Church,
May the Joy of Christ fill your hearts in the name of Jesus!
We have entered the Advent Season and now Christmas Carols are beginning to fill the airways. At Grace Baptist we had occasion to decorate for Christmas—putting up a tree and putting out wreaths and other decorations. It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas. Monte and Vickie last Sunday lit the first Advent Candle, which reminded us about the Prophecy of Christ. They read from the Prophet Isaiah…
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
On those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned…
For to us a child is born,
To us a Son is given,
And the government will be on his shoulders.
And He will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isa. 9:2 & 6)
Reflecting on that—people are still walking in darkness, but the difference now is that the Son has been born and we have seen His light. Praise the Lord.
On another note, I would like to report some good news. Our brother LaVoy is being transferred to Dallas Retirement Village for some rehab after falling and breaking his hip. The hip is healing up, but following his surgery he has been experiencing some internal bleeding. He is now over that and on his way to rehab. Please keep praying for LaVoy.
Our brother Don Goyer is still in Salem Transitional Care. It seems his heart slows way down whenever he tries to exercise. He passes out when they take him for rehab, and that isn’t good. He has been wearing a heart monitor and doctors are trying to get to the bottom of the problem. Don would like to go home—so please be in prayer for him. Thank you.
We are entering a new Message Series based on the Gospel of Luke. I think that in this season we need to focus on Jesus the “Pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” Each week I would like you to be looking for Jesus and what He is doing in your daily lives. He did say that “He would be with us always, even to the end of the age.” I believe him, but sometimes I’m not always looking for Him? My friend, Herm Boes shared an illustration about the current church in America. He said, “It’s like a lot of sail boats out on a lake. But what he noticed is that all of the passengers in those boats were rowing like crazy. The wind was blowing—but none of their sails were up?! They were working hard at rowing but no one was taking advantage of the wind which represented the Holy Spirit. People are reading their Bibles, praying, doing all kinds of things, but simply are not walking in the Spirit.” I would agree with him. It seems we try hard to live a supernatural life by relying on the flesh? We need a filling of the Spirit which Jesus provides. And we need that filling every day. My friends, let us look unto Jesus intently, and all the more as we see His great day approaching. Be watching and waiting for Him!
When we consider the Gospel, know that it didn’t simply show up at the last minute as God formulated a plan to save His people. No, God had a plan from the very beginning—and Jesus was God’s plan. Jesus is the Gospel of God. Without Him, we would have no hope, and we would not know who God is—or of His great love for us. We see God’s plan of salvation declared in the opening chapters of the Bible. You see, God intended to have right relationship with us; a people created in His image. In Genesis 1 and 2 we see this reiterated and modeled for us. God plus Adam and Eve living in a God-designed garden, where everything was “very good,” Genesis 1:31.
But something happened in Chapter 3 that blotted out the “very good,” that had existed. Adam and Eve disbelieved and disobeyed the Lord God and rebelled against Him. They fell from grace. Their sin condemned the entire human race. Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.” We all sin because we are sinners; and we are all sinners because we all sin. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” says Romans 3:23. Now that didn’t surprise God, and right at the point where human kind fell from grace… God announced His great plan of redemption:
“8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:8-15
Let’s set the stage for this interchange. Adam and Eve hear God in verse 8 and they hide. That’s new! Sin does that: it brings guilt and fear. Sin brought about an awareness that something was wrong and that they should hide from God. How odd? Adam and Eve knew what God was like, and I think that they should have run to Him for cleansing. But this was new. Sin brings confusion as well. Then, when God asked them where they were—He wasn’t looking for information from them—it’s not like God lost them! Rather, He wanted them to be aware that something significant had happened. They weren’t right with God anymore. And God knew what happened. When God asked them in verse 11 whether they had eaten from the tree that He commanded them not to—God already knew the answer. I believe He was trying to help them understand the consequences of their disobedience. They needed to realize that sin brought about a division between themselves and God. And when God asked them specifically about it—they both tried to pass the blame to someone else. As if it wasn’t their fault—they were victims of someone else? Victimology is nothing new! It has been around since the beginning of time. And as long as we claim to be a victim, we will never come to the place where we can receive God’s forgiveness. Our sin is not someone else’s fault—it is always ours by choice. That’s why when Jesus came and preached the gospel He declared that people should “Repent, and believe the good news.” See Mark 1:15.
So once the Lord dealt with all the “blame-casting” from the man and the woman in verses 12 and 13, God gets down to the root of the problem. Satan! You see, God didn’t create sin, nor is He the author of sin; but God is going to deal with sin. We see by God’s response that sin has consequences in verse 14. Satan is the instigator of sin and division in the world. God says, “Because you [Satan] have done this, something is going to happen. There are consequences that cannot be avoided. God says in Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” Based on this verse, I would say that this holds true in the spiritual realm as well. Satan is going to reap what he sows. And instead of becoming exalted, Satan is going to be humbled. God says to him, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.” It’s true, of all the livestock—you can’t get any lower than a snake. It has no leg to stand on and so it must crawl on its belly. Satan wanted glory—but he was humbled. And that’s not all. In verse 15 we have another consequence of sin. Sin brings enmity and death.
First, there is going to be enmity between the woman’s offspring and Satan’s offspring. This is a result of sin. So, don’t expect them to get along, because it is not going to happen. Jesus said “If they persecute me — they will persecute you,” see John 15:20. In Jesus’ parable of the weeds, (Matt 13:24-30, 36-43) Jesus states clearly that Satan has “children,” people who profess to be true believers but who are actually counterfeits. The parable reveals that wherever God “plants” a true child of the kingdom, Satan comes along and plants a counterfeit. The two grow together and won’t be separated until the harvest at the end of the age. These are people who reject Jesus Christ, while depending on their own self-righteousness to get them into heaven. Jesus says these are the sort who are of their father, the devil in John 8:44. Those who trust in Jesus have been born again into a new family, the family of God. It’s like trying to mix oil and water—it doesn’t work.
But we are also given a preview of who will win out in this ultimate struggle. God says that the offspring of the woman will crush Satan’s head, but that Satan will strike the promised Savior’s heel. Jesus will win the ultimate victory, but be hurt in the process. That happened at Calvary when Jesus was “bruised for our transgressions.” Christ’s resurrection was Satan’s complete undoing. He crushed Satan’s head. He is a defeated foe and will one day be cast into the lake of burning sulfur as described in Revelation 20:10. This is the picture of ultimate death and destruction—complete separation from God. The Revelation goes on to say that death and Hades will be thrown into that same lake; which is the ultimate vindication of God’s righteousness and salvation. (vs. 14) In so doing, Jesus completely conquers sin and its consequence of death. He is God’s provision for sinners—for all who would call on His name. Don’t take my word for it—listen to Jesus’ word:
“Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me,” John 5:25-30.
God’s good news was declared at the moment of need, at the fall of human kind itself. And as promised, God’s provision, Jesus, came at the right time as well. Galatians 4:4-7 says: “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” so you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. Merry Christmas!
“Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus,” by Charles Wesley
Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.
Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit, raise us to thy glorious throne.
Benediction:
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14 (NIV2011)
Pastor Russ Hilsinger
Grace Baptist Church of Dallas, OR
P.S. I’m having surgery on my left wrist Dec. 2 and would appreciate your prayers. I will need surgery on my right wrist following that. Thank you. And keep praying for all the saints! Prayer is the most important thing you can do today.