Reading Is Fundamental!

Dr. Mike Murphy

April 22, 2023

As he looked out from the pulpit and began to speak, he prayed his message would not only be heard, but felt.  For two weeks he had been promoting this sermon, building up to the word he had been led to give.  As he looked over the congregation, it appeared the excitement had worked.  He saw faces that he rarely saw, and new faces that he had not before seen.  He could see the anticipation in the eyes of those looking back at him.  And this was an anticipation he planned to make the most of.

“Today, I want us to take a hard look at the wisdom of God.  In order to do this, I want each of you to not just hear about His wisdom as I speak, but to see His wisdom.  So to prepare for today, I have placed several extra Bibles in each pew, so that everyone here can follow the verses we are looking at firsthand.  So everyone grab your own Bible, or one of those in the pews and raise them up, so we can see when everyone has one.”

He watched as every pew scrambled to grab a Bible.  Then, one by one, he watched as every person, of every age, raised their Bible into the air.  When every hand was raised, he proceeded with his sermon.

“There is one verse that I think describes for us the wisdom of God far greater than any other.  So today I want us to take a hard look at that verse, and for each of us to read it over and over.  Everyone open your Bibles, and turn to Hezekiah chapter three, verse six.”

He paused and looked out at the congregation as they began to turn through the pages. He watched the faces intently, and watched as everyone reacted differently.  He saw many freeze, not knowing where to begin to turn in their Bibles.  He watched others, as they glanced at those beside them, hoping to see where they were turning.  He watched others still, turning through the pages from front to back.  As they got to the back cover without finding the verse, you could see them turn back to the front and begin to slowly thumb through the pages again.  And he looked into the eyes of others, the puzzled look on their faces as they wondered what was going on.  And elderly woman, who sat near the front, looked up at him and smiled.  He quickly winked at her, letting her know that everything was alright.  For minutes he watched this continue, until finally he heard a man whisper to his wife, “I know I have read this before, but I just cannot seem to find it!”

Finally the pastor asked, “Is everyone ready to begin reading the verse?” He heard the mumbles, and saw the confusion, and finally one man spoke and said he needed help to find the verse.  The pastor mercifully brought an end to his ruse, and told everyone that there was no such book of the Bible as Hezekiah.  In doing so, he watched as relief set in to many of the faces he saw. But as soon as the relief hit, the confusion again soon followed. He could see many begin to wonder, why had he done this in the first place?

“I know many may wonder why I did this, why I would ask you to turn to a verse that does not exist?  The answer is very simple, and one that helps us to recognize the wisdom of God.  Simply put, we cannot know God, the wisdom He longs to share with us, and all He desires for our lives, if we do not first spend time in and know His Word!.  With this in mind, I want us to actually turn to a few real verses, and see why it is so important that we spend time in God’s Word.”

Ask yourself, if you had been sitting in the pew that Sunday, how many of you would have spent time turning through the pages of your Bible looking for that verse in Hezekiah? How many that read this today, are familiar with God’s Word, and knows what it has to say?

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”  2 Timothy 3:16-17.  The Greek word for inspired used in this verse actually means “breathed out”.  God gave life to every word we read in our Bible.  He created it with a purpose and an intent in mind.  The answers to the questions that have found their way to the tip of man’s tongue for years, can be found in each of the pages of the Bible that the Lord has so lovingly given to us.  Where did man come from?  What is evil?  What does the future hold?  Is there life after our death?  All questions that man has asked over and over, and all answers that God breathed into each word of His Scripture.  

And God’s wisdom and His Word does not stop there.  The questions and issues we face in our personal life, the Lord also passionately addresses.  How can I change my life? How can I be a good spouse and a good parent?  How can I get the most out of my life? What in this life is most important?  All question the Lord knew we would ask, and all answers He desired to give us as He breathed each word into the Bible.

With each syllable of God’s Word, we see the depth of each answer, and we see the inerrant and infallible truth in all that He has to say to us.  The Lord does not just give us His Word and say, “Trust Me”.   With each word of Scripture, God shows us why we can trust Him! The Bible is the only holy book that gives us the details and the definitions so we can go out and test the historical, the scientific, and the prophetic accuracy of every word.  Only one word has ever been able to hold up to that standard, and that is God’s Word!  God has purposefully shown us that if we can have complete trust in all He has to say in each of these areas, then we can also trust everything He tells us about the spiritual world that we cannot so often see.

“It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”, Matthew 4:4.  Just as we take the time each day to feed our bodies, giving it the nutrition we need to face the day, we also need to give our spirit, soul. and mind the nutrition it requires each day also.  So often we hear people make the excuse, “I just do not have time to read my Bible everyday!”.  These words were once said to the famous evangelist D.L. Moody. At hearing this, Moody calmly looked over to the man and said, “My friend, if you are too busy to read the Bible every day you are busier than Almighty God ever intended any human being should be.”  When we set aside time for the Lord each day, we often do not realize what those short few minutes can do for our own life. The Lord desires nothing more than for us to have a personal relationship with Him.  A “love affair” that grows each day, and fulfills our lives in ways we could only hope for.  Just like any relationship, the more time we spend with that person we love, the more our lives are changed by that person. We hear their thoughts, we learn their tendencies, and we become accustomed to their likes and their dislikes.  We soon become one, not knowing where their life ends and our life begins.  We begin to realize that we cannot imagine our life without them in it, and we find that each day, we look for ways to please them before we even begin to think of ourselves.  The same is with the Lord!  And each minute we spend with Him, we find ourselves deeper in a “love affair” that will never end!   

With each word we read of God’s Word, we see how our relationship with the Lord grows.  With each prayer, and with each quiet moment we find ourselves studying His Word, we realize the difference that He is making in our life.  He teaches us the commitment, the focus, the obedience, and the wisdom that enriches our lives each day, and it is reflected in us as we go into the world around us.  We show the world that God is not distant, but close at hand, alive and well in each of us.  Those around us see a God that is more than just a simple story in a popular book, more than just a fairytale that has often been told. We help bring the Lord to life, and the breathe He breathed into the Scripture is heard and felt in each of us.  With each word we read of Scripture, we are led to show the world, “With the Lord on our side, absolutely nothing is impossible!” And with each moment we spend in God’s Word, we realize just how powerful that statement is, and how much truth is found in each word of that statement!

Each day as we pick up our Bibles, and begin to read His Word, we realize we do not do this out of habit, but out of desire.  The desire to know our Lord a little better today than we knew Him yesterday.  And as we read today, we know tomorrow holds the promise that we will even know Him better.  This desire of which I speak, leads us to read the Scripture with a passion.  An eagerness to understand Him more each day, an anticipation the wisdom of His Word will bring us, and a willingness of knowing that with each word we read, we find ourselves further enclosed in the security of His arms.  

Every time we read God’s Word, we need to take that passion and bring a purpose to it.  As we sit down to read, we need to first seek the Lord in prayer. Ask the Lord for the wisdom to understand the verse or passages you are reading, so that His Word may be your word.  As you read His Word, study His Word.  So many today will tell you to read a chapter a day.  I would suggest to you something a little different!  If you read a chapter and God gives you a full understanding of that chapter, great!  But if you only read one verse, and feel the Lord leading you to better understand that verse, read no farther! Take the time to fully understand that verse before you proceed.  God may have you stop at that verse or two for a reason, there may be things in those few words that the Lord desperately needs you to see.  You need to look no farther than the story of Philip(Acts 8:26-40)  to see the perfect example of this.

Philip was preaching in Samaria with great success(Acts 8:5-8).  But when he heard the voice of the Lord call him to the desert road that led to Gaza, he found himself on the road without hesitation.  As Philip is travelling the road, he sees an Ethiopian man sitting in his chariot and reading from the Book of Isaiah.  This was no ordinary man, he was the head of the Treasury for the queen, and had come to Jerusalem to worship.  Philip approached the man, and asked him one simple question, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The man told Philip he did not, and asked Philip to join him and help explain what the words in Isaiah proclaimed.

He was reading Isaiah 53:7-8.  “Like a lamb that is lead to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth.  By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgressions of my people, to whom the stroke was due?”  Philip began by explaining to the man these two verses, then used other verses to bring the man to Christ.  From these two verses, these few words, God would change the world!  And look at the impact that reading and understanding these few words had on the world in our example.  A powerful Ethiopian man, who would bring the message of Christ to a part of the world that had yet to hear the Good News!  The world forever changed because one man read no further, but stopped and sought to understand the words that the Lord had placed in front of him!  

With just a few words, God’s Word can speak to us in incredible ways.  It informs us, it guides us, it motivate us. it commands us, and above all, it changes us.  With each verse, with each word that we read, God speaks to us.  He tells us of His ways, and the beauty of the path that those ways will show us.  And with each word, He also shows us our own ways, and the dangers that lie ahead if we follow those ways.  With each verse we read, we understand the Lord a little more.  And with each verse that we place in front of our eyes, we understand more the purpose and plan He has for our life.  We see the love that went into making us, and willful passion that went into Him giving His life so that He could save us. With each verse we read, the Word comes to life, and draws us to take the words off the pages of our Bible, and to share the beauty of those words with the world around us.

So many today look at the Bible, read God’s Word, and tell us it is nothing more than another story.  Just a fairytale given from above to inspire us.  Each time I open the cover of my Bible, I feel for these people, and I pray for each of them.  How they read the glory of each verse, and cannot see that the Lord has brought this”fairytale” to life, is beyond my simple comprehension.  He has reached down and pulled the words off the pages, and made each of us a part of this incredible story.  He came Himself to fill the lead role in this amazing story, and He offered each of us a supporting role on the stage beside Him.  Every minute of every day shows us how this so-called “fairytale” is being performed live around us, playing out in each of our lives just as the words He gave us said it would.  How they cannot see that the Script of this miraculous play has been written, and the cast is being set, is beyond me.  If only they would just read the Script, and not try to edit the Script with their own words, seeking their own desired ending, they would come to see the reality and beauty that this Script holds.  If only they could see the allure in willfully following the Script, opening their eyes to the delicacy, the love, and the grace that the Lord has poured into every word.  If only they could feel and hear the breath the Lord placed into each syllable of this amazing Script.  If only they would seek the wisdom of the Author of this Script, the knowing and understanding He longs for each of us to see in every word He has written.  If only they would pick up the Script anew, and read it aloud with Him, they would see the perfection in the fundamentals of the Script, and begin to understand just how this Script must be played out.  Their eyes would be open to see, reading is fundamental!

Praying the fundamentals of your life can be found in the words of the Script.

I AM.

 Dr. Mike Murphy

April 16, 2023

“I thought these eyes had seen everything.  That these ears had heard all they could ever hear.  I heard the words He spoke at the pool of Bethesda, and I watched in amazement as a man who could not walk for thirty-eight years got on his feet.  On a hillside near Capernaum, I listened as the words He spoke took away the pride and deception of so many hearts.  And as I looked in the eyes of the crowd that day, I watched in amazement as those same hearts were filled with a loving faith.  I watched as a man wrecked with leprosy fell at His feet, and I heard his words of praise as he walked away without one sore.  I watched as a Roman officer bowed to my King, and I heard a faith from that officer that was greater than that of any man.  I watched as the tears of a widow in Nain filled the ground for her only son who had just died.  And I heard the shouts of joy as that young boy sat up and talked to his mom again.  I watched as the sea began to rise and as the waves began to pound the boat we found ourselves in.  I saw the fears of those around me, and I heard the desperation in their voice.  I then watched as He calmly stood, and I listened to the storm calm as soon as He spoke.”

“I watched as He fed thousands with nothing more than a small boy would have to eat.  And I listened to the fullness of that crowd as they ate until they could eat no more.  I watched as His feet stood where no man could stand, and I heard as His voice called to me, bringing me out of the boat to join Him.  I watched as He drove out demons, and I heard their screams at the sound of His voice.  I watched as the blind were made to see, and I heard as the hardest of hearts were made to believe.  I have seen and heard it all, or so I thought.  But with just two words, He proved me wrong.  I watched Him speak those two words, and with all I heard, I knew this world would never be the same.”

As Christ taught in the temple courts that day, my mind will only allow me to begin to imagine what the disciples must of heard and seen.  The emotions that filled them and the reality that must have overwhelmed them.  It was a day unlike any other they had been a part of.  As Jesus was teaching that morning, they watched as religious leaders tried to set a trap for Him.  They brought a woman who had been caught in adultery to Jesus, looking to trick Him into saying something they could use against Him.  They brought the woman to His feet, but did not bring the man who was caught in the adultery with her.  And as they threw the woman in front of Him, they knew they had violated the Law of Moses by not bringing forward two innocent witnesses to the adultery, as the law required.  The disciples watched as the religious leaders brought forward the woman to simply gather ammunition they could use against Jesus.  If Jesus refused to condemn the woman to be stoned, they would say He was ignoring the Law.  And if He said to stone the woman, they knew He would be violating Roman law, which did not permit the Jews to carry out their own executions. But as the disciples watched, they heard Jesus turn the tables on the religious leaders, telling them that only He who was innocent of sin could judge sin.  They watched as each dropped his stone, and walked away.  They heard Jesus turn to the woman and asked her where those that condemned her now were.  And as He spoke to her, they listened as His words did not end there, telling her to go and sin no more.  They saw One with the authority to forgive sin, and listened as the only One with the power to judge her, told her to turn from her sin and from the destruction sin was bringing to her life.

They then watched as He turned to the crowd, telling everyone who would listen that He was the Light of the world.  The disciples looked into the eyes of many in that crowd, and saw those who thought Jesus was either a lunatic or a liar.  But as their eyes came back to Christ, they heard Him give the crowd a third alternative, that He was telling the truth.  They then watched that day as the hardened hearts of many melted away.

Later that day, they heard Jesus tell the crowd that those who followed Him would know the truth, and the truth would set them free.  He went on to say, those that followed Him would have everlasting life, never would death hold a price over them.  As many heard these words, they called Jesus a devil, possessed by a demon.  The disciples could hear the yells from the crowd, proclaiming that every man would die, even Abraham and the prophets had faced death.  They watched many in the crowd look at Jesus, and mockingly ask Him just who He thought He was.  Christ’ reply left no doubt.  It required no further questions, as it provided the answer to every question they could ever ask.  The disciples watched as Jesus looked to the crowd and proclaimed, “Truly, truly, before Abraham was, I AM.”(John 8:58).  The disciples watched as many in the crowd picked up the same stones they had sought to kill the adulterous woman with earlier that day.  They heard the cries for His death, and they knew that as Christ spoke those two words, their lives would never be the same. 

With just two words, Christ changed the lives of each of the disciples. With just two words, Christ would write every page of history.  With just two words, Christ would forever change this world.  With just two words, Christ demanded an answer from everyone in the crowd that day.  And with just two words, Christ would ask each of us the same question today.  Is Christ who He proclaimed He was?

“Prin Abraam genesthai ego eimi”.  These words in Greek literally say, “Before Abraham was existing, I AM”.  The power of these words could never be duplicated, and they are words that could never be mistaken.  These words do not say “I have been”, or “I was”, but carry the power that can only be found in the two words “I AM”.  By using the words “I AM”, Jesus not only stated His timeless existence prior to Abraham, but spoke to His very nature.  As Christ spoke these words, everyone that heard His voice that day knew exactly what He was saying, and they knew exactly what He was proclaiming.

To fully understand just what the crowd heard that day, we need to go back to a day that every Israelite studied and cherished.  A day at the time of the Exodus, when Moses was speaking to God. In Exodus 3:13-15, Moses asked God what name he should tell the Jewish people had sent him to speak to them, basically asking God His name. God responds by saying, “I AM that I AM”.  He told Moses to tell the people, “I AM has sent me to you”.   God then goes on to explain further about His name, by telling Moses, “The Lord,the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is my memorial from generation to generation”. In this God is not only proclaiming Himself as “I AM”, but also as “HE IS”.  

It is from these verses that we get the name Yahweh(YHVH), the sacred, unspoken, and eternal name of the Lord.  A name that not only proclaims His existence, but announces His presence. In Hebrew, a name carried meaning, and communicated something about the character of the one who had the name. In Yahweh, God proclaimed His infinite wisdom and sovereignty by revealing to mankind so much about Himself.  The Lord tells us in His name that He has always been there, that He is with us now, and He will be present forever.

When the Israelites asked Jesus who He was that day, they had no doubt who He was proclaiming to be.  He told them He was Yahweh, the One who was there when the world was formed, the One who stood in their presence that day, and the One who would still be here when this world would end.  They knew that the One who stood in front of them, called Himself by a name no man was allowed to use, no man could ever proclaim.  He claimed to be the Lord, standing among the crowd that day, right in their very presence.  He was not a just a prophet, nor was he simply a healer.  He was God!  And when they looked into His eyes, they looked on the face of their Creator!

This was a defining statement, one that left no middle ground.  Either Jesus was exactly who He said He was, or He had committed a sin so great, His own death would be required.  In two words, Christ either brought a man to his knees, or He brought him to reach for the ground to find the nearest stone.  As many of the Jewish leaders looked upon their Savior that day, they reached for the ground instead of falling on their knees.  They looked into the eyes of the Lord, and did not recognize the characteristics of His face.  They knew so little of Him, they no longer remembered Him.  They had so little love for Him, they treated Him as a hated stranger, an enemy that had found His way into their midst.

John tells us just two chapters later, they would look on Him as a stranger again.  John 10:30-33 says, “The Father and I are one.  The Jewish leaders picked up rocks again to stone him to death.  Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good deeds  from the Father.  For which one of them are you going to stone me?  The Jewish leaders replied, “We are not going to stone you for a good deed but for blasphemy, because you, a man, are claiming to be God.”  Both times they choose to pick up stones, after Jesus proclaimed to be our Lord.  Both times they looked in the eyes of our Lord, and did not know Him.  Both times, “I AM” stood in front of them, and they did not know Him by His name. 

With every word He spoke, Jesus defined the words “I AM”.  Several other times He would use those words, and each time He showed us a little more of the characteristics that made up His name.  I AM the bread of life(John 6:35-51).  I AM the Light of the world(John 8:12).  I AM the door of the sheep(John 10:7-10). I AM the good shepherd(John 10:11-18). I AM the resurrection and the life(John 11:25-26).  I AM the way, the truth, and the life(John 14:6).  I AM the vine(John 15:1-11).  With each “I AM”, His name became a little clearer, His voice became a little louder, and His purpose and plan became a lot more obvious.  And as “I AM” walked among us, hope could be seen in His face, and hope could be felt in this world.

I AM.  No more profound statement has ever been spoken.  No more important words have ever been heard.  With two words, Christ erased all doubts. With two words, Christ placed one question into the heart of all who heard His voice that day.  The same question that fills each of our hearts to this very day. Was Christ who He said He was?  And with this question, we have the same two options today that crowd faced so many years ago.  Do we angrily reach to the ground to find the nearest stone?  Or do we fall to our knees as we look into the eyes of our Savior?   With each “I AM” the question is answered. With each “I AM” the lines in His face are defined a little more.  With each “I AM” we realize that we are staring into the eyes of our Lord.  I AM leaves us no doubt that HE IS!

Praying this day no stone is found in your hand.

We Will Rise!

Dr. Mike Murphy

March 26, 2023

They say we are down, that we no longer matter.  They tell us we are outdated, proclaiming ideas that went out with the past.  The world turns its’ face from us, and society mocks us with every chance.  They laugh at us, telling us that people no longer need us. They dig our grave, announcing our death.  But we will rise!

They laugh as they watch us bicker, seeing our numbers fall.  They listen to the sounds of those who claim to speak for us, those who seek to glorify their own name.  The world places them on a pedestal, as an example of what the world says we should be. Their meaningless words soothe them, and their false messages justify them.  They repeat their false words, claiming all others who speak are filled with hate.  Despite all they say about us, we will rise!

They persecute us.  They threaten us.  They hate us, and attempt to silence us. They claim we have no place in this society, and bite their tongues while many in this world seek to kill us.  But even after all they do to us, we will rise!

Tomorrow, the next day, the day after, or one day soon, the sky will be shaken with a shout.  And in the blink of an eye this world will forever change. On that day, the Lord will fill the heavens with a sound of His trumpet, and they will persecute us no more.  Our words will ring forever true, and our hearts will be forever filled with eternity’s joy.  For on that blessed day, we will rise! .

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.  These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”  Titus 2:11-15.

The Blessed Hope!   The promise that God’s mercy, grace, wisdom, and love is always there for us, and the assurance that Christ will one day return for us   No one can ever measure how great that blessing will be until the moment we hear His voice calling us up, and we see Him face to face(Romans 8:18). Hope is a word like no other.  It makes every trial we face today worth facing again tomorrow.  It brings tomorrow, one day closer to our Lord’s return.  Hope is a word the Lord speaks with more than expectation, a word He speaks with certainty.  A word that Christ spoke with more than just declaration, a word that carries the confidence of His return(John 14:3).

At any moment, we could see that hope fulfilled.  At any second, Christ could return for His church.  Christ not only gave us that promise, the angels reminded us of that promise(Acts 1:11).  Each day, the Apostles lived and preached for that promise, and each word they wrote in their Epistles proclaim and remind us of that promise.  From the moment the Holy Spirit fell on those at the day of Pentecost, until this very moment, we have all lived for and with that hope.  A moment we refer to as the Rapture.  A split second when the trumpet of the Lord will blow, and the bodies of those who have died for Christ will rise with those who live for Him on this earth. All being changed into their resurrected bodies in the blink of an eye.  Meeting Christ in the air, and forever taken to live in His presence(1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).  The instantaneous transformation of our earthly bodies into a body that will fit us for all eternity.

A glorious day we should all long for.  A day when sin will no longer look to control and influence us.  A day when sorrow and pain will be no more.  A day when the smile on our face will never again be removed, as we live with the Lord forever.  We watch today as many dismiss the Rapture, denying it or saying it is just to confusing to discuss or teach.  I have news for those who believe this, this was not what God intended when He told us about the Rapture!  He gave us this hope to encourage us, to ensure us(1 Thessalonians 4:18).

Many who are confused by the Rapture, mix the teaching of Christ returning for us with His Second Coming.  But the two events are far from being the same, and are described in two separate ways.  The teaching of the Rapture was never mentioned in the Old Testament, and for this reason it was a new teaching when Paul taught it to us.  It is for this reason he referred to it as a “mystery” that God was now revealing to us.  He told us in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed”.  He describes a moment when Christ will return for His church, a fulfillment of the promise that Christ had made.  He also described this event in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, and in verse 17 says, “Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”  The word used here for “caught up” is the Greek word “harpazo”.  This word has an incredible meaning.  It means, “to snatch out”, “taken away suddenly”, “to be claimed in an instant”.  What better way could we describe the Rapture than to say that Christ will claim His church in an instant?  It is from this Greek word that the Latin word “rapturo” came, and from it came our English word “rapture”.

As I mentioned earlier, many try to combine the Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ, but the two are completely different events.  As we have just seen, the Rapture is an event in which Christ will only appear in the clouds. Whereas at the Second Coming, Christ will descend to the earth, planting His feet on the Mount of Olives, causing a great earthquake that will rock this world. He will then defeat Satan and all the enemies of the Lord that are on this earth. After that day, Christ will establish His kingdom on this earth and will rule this world from Jerusalem(Zechariah 14:1-21).  Our hope is that Christ could return at any moment, on any day. God’s Word makes it clear as to the day of Christ’s Second Coming being at the end of the Tribulation,  A period of time the Bible tells us will last seven years(Daniel 9:24-27, Revelation 11:2-3, Revelation 13). Our hope includes us not having to go through those horrifying days, but living each of those days in the safety of the Lord’s presence in Heaven(1 Thessalonians 5:9). The Rapture fulfills God’s promise to keep us from the torment of those days, and the assurance to know that Christ will overcome the fright and dread the world will feel during those days.

Let us now look again at the words in Titus that Paul gave us, Titus 2:11-15.  “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.  These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”  Those who are filled with hope, will live each day for Christ, living every minute of those days “zealous for good deeds”. Jesus imminent return should not only bring us anticipation, it should motivate us, it should be a driving force in us. That hope should transform us, bringing into reality the importance of the time we have left.

Ask ten people around you what they have planned for today.  I can promise, you will get ten completely different answers.  Now ask those same ten people, if they knew that Christ was going to return tomorrow, what would they do today?  All of the ten who are Christians, will give you a similar answer.  They would use the day to tell all around them, their friends and family, about Christ. Making the most of that day to bring glory to the name of God.  If our hope lies in the fact that Christ could return for us any moment, then the greater questions becomes, why would we not be living each day “zealous for good deeds”, looking to glorify the name of Christ at every turn?

God gave us this hope, not only to encourage us, but to remind us, and to drive us. Through the trials of a troubling world, this hope not only brings us comfort and brings us joy, it drives us to action.  If we truly believe that Christ could return for us at any moment, then we are called to make the most of each of those moments.  To take advantage of every second we have left to bring as many as possible to Christ.  As I have often said, on the day that trumpet blows, we want the “ride up” to be as crowded as possible, overflowing with passengers!

We live in troublesome times.  This world may mock us, it may curse us, and it may persecute us.  But this world cannot take our hope from us!  A hope that encourages us, drives us, and calls us!  Each day we need to take a moment to look at the sky.  And as we look into that sky, a smile should come to our face. For we know all that sky will hold one day very soon. But in the midst of that smile, we need to roll up our sleeves.  We have a lot of work to do, and only a short time to get it done.  Because one day soon, WE WILL RISE!

Praying each of you make the most of your hope!

A Story Of Grace

Dr. Mike Murphy

March 12, 2023

Purim is usually a holiday that comes and goes.  A time for music, food, gifts, and celebration.  Over the years the religious foundations of Purim have been lost in the hearts of the Jewish people. But in recent years, Purim has began to again hold special meaning in many of the homes throughout Israel, and in the hearts of many throughout the world.  

As events had unfolded throughout the Middle East over these past years, many people have began to wonder just what the future holds. We watch as the world again focuses its’ attention to the nation of Israel.  We see images on our newscast, filled with the powers of this world pressuring Israel to compromise in ways that will bring its’ certain destruction. We listen as politicians and social leaders speak words of anti-Semitism, often times without us hearing their words condemned by the media, and those throughout this world. Will the groggers we see each Purim, now be needed by those in Israel to drown out the noise they hear from this world? Just as Haman did so many years ago, is the world now casting ‘lots’ for the fate of Israel, and the Jewish people?  As Esther and Mordecai were once lead to do, will the Jewish people once again need to call on the Lord for deliverance from their certain death?

To answer this question, I want to tell you the story of a young girl, and the events of her life years ago.  Our history books are filled with the horrors of the Holocaust. What the Jewish people were forced to survive was unthinkable, and many stories of devastation and survival have come from those horrendous years.  One of the most famous of these stories came from a book called the Diary of a Young Girl, the story of Anne Frank.  Today, I want to tell you about the life of another young girl who attended the same school Anne Frank did in Amsterdam at the time of the Nazi occupation. A friend of Anne Frank by the name of Elly.
By 1942, eleven year old Elly had seen two years of the Nazi occupation in Holland. By 1943 round-ups, arrests, and mass deportations of the Jews had become commonplace throughout Holland and much of Europe, and all had become aware of what was happening to those that were taken.  Elly’s grandfather came to the conclusion that he was going to put his family into hiding

For eleven months, Elly and her family shared a two room attic with another family. Because the attic was located above a business, these two families had to remain in complete silence from 8 am to 5 pm everyday, as not to be heard by passers-by and those that shopped at the business.   Only drips and dribbles of the outside world came their way, but the Dutch Underground did share with them the information they received.  They learned of other families they had lived with and grown up with been captured, and they would receive the occasional report of how the war was going.

One day, Elly’s father learned that the attic they lived in was about to be discovered. With the help of the Dutch Underground, he decided on a daring midnight escape to a new hiding place.  There was only one problem, only Elly and her brother would be able to get out.

They hid Elly and her brother in a hearse so they could be relocated in a small village in the Dutch countryside.  You may ask, why a hearse?  A hearse was one of the few vehicles the Nazis did not search.  They had no problem with seeing as many Jews as dead as possible, so the removal of dead Jews was always a welcome sight.  

As soon as they escaped , Elly and her brother had to be separated as not to draw suspicion.  Elly was sent to a Christian family in a small farm village. Few may know, but it was often Christian that risked their lives to help those facing the Nazi persecution.  Elly assumed a new identity, as a young Christian girl.  As to not be caught, she was taught of Christ, and taught the ways of her new Christian family.  Elly fell in love with her new family, and soon came to call the woman that was keeping and raising her as her “foster mother”.

Elly and her adopted family constantly found themselves at great risk. Many times the Nazi soldiers would show up unannounced in her village. Rewards were always offered to anyone who would turn in Jews, or those that were concealing them.  Living in perpetual fear and always facing starvation, these rewards were very tempting for many throughout the occupied lands that Germany controlled.  It was during one of these ‘tempting situations’ that Elly’s life and her faith would forever change.

Someone had turned in Elly’s village as housing Jews, and the village was raided without warning or notice.  Elly was home alone with her ‘foster mother’ that day.  She was completely caught off guard, with their village completely surrounded.  With nowhere to run and no place for them to hide, Elly’s ‘foster mother’ did the one thing she could still do.  She fell to her knees, pulled Elly into her arms, and began to pray.  She asked Christ to shield them from the enemy, and to protect them from a fate that would be far worse than death.

They heard the soldiers as they raided the houses of their neighbors, breaking down doors and ransacking the houses in search of the Jew they had been told this village was hiding.  As they waited for their own door to be forced open, Elly and her ‘foster mother’ continued to pray.  Her ‘foster mother’ prayed with force and in a strong voice, loud enough it could easily be heard by anyone close by.  But after a few minutes, the screams and destruction had grown quiet, the soldiers had left.  The village was turned upside down. That is, all but one house.  The house of Elly and her family was left unnoticed.  The house, where prayers could be heard above the screams, was the one house left untouched!  It was on that day, on the floor in the middle of that room, that Elly found the love and grace of her Savior!

Elly survived the horrors that the Nazis brought on the Jewish people and the world during those years.  Elly and her ‘foster mother’ continued to face incredible dangers during the war.  She once, out of fear of being found, took Elly to an attic in a city in a different part of Holland.  She stayed in that attic with Elly for over six weeks unwilling to leave her until they could return home.  Elly later became reunited with her brother, who also survived. But they did soon learn that their parents and their grandfather had not, they had been captured and gassed in Auschwitz.  Even after the war was over, Elly’s “foster mother” was still there for her. She became Elly’s legal guardian, and continued to raise Elly to the woman she would become   

And what type of woman would Elly become?  She married a Jewish man. A Messianic Jewish man!  And together, they served as missionaries to witness to Jewish people inside the United States.  Her husband later became the pastor of a Messianic Jewish church, where the two spent the rest of their lives telling anyone who would hear of the love that only Christ could offer.  They taught anyone who would listen, that no matter where you are or what situation you may find yourself in, the grace that only Christ could offer was always there.

Elly’s “foster mother” died in 1964.  But in 1983, when the names for the Wall of the Rescuers was being collected, Elly submitted the name of her “foster mother” to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum committee as one of the righteous gentiles who protected European Jews during World War II.  She explained her story, and told them that she was submitting the name of the woman who demonstrated the best God-given traits of human nature.  Her own granddaughter would later be named after her ‘foster mother’, so every time they looked into her eyes they were reminded of the miracle that gave Elly life.

In case you may be wondering the name of Elly’s “foster mother”? The name of the woman whose prayers and faith had shown Elly the love and power of Christ in a time when evil had surrounded her.  Her name, Grietje. But no one who knew her would have known or called her by that name. She was called by her nickname, and what other name could it possibly be, but Grace!!
No sermon is needed. No word I could possibly give you could say more than the story already has. I just pray, that the nation of Israel, and all of us who follow Christ, will remember the story of Elly.  That we will realize, no matter what horrors this world may throw at us, or what evil may bring our way, we are always surrounded by God’s Grace!

Praying that in God’s Grace you will always see hope!

Judged!

Dr. Mike Murphy

March 5, 2023

If I ask you to quote me the words of John 3:16, most could without delay. This, like many Bible verses, we know like the back of our hand and can quote in our sleep   But what if I asked you to quote Matthew 7:1, could you?  In a recent survey, this verse was stated as one of the most quoted Bible verses today.  A verse many have heard and know well, but a verse many could not tell you where to find in the Scriptures.

“Do not judge so that you will not be judged.”, Matthew 7:1.  One of the most quoted verses in the Bible, is also one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible.  A verse far more often used by those who still have the plastic wrap on their Bibles, than those who find the pages of their Bible well worn.  A verse that is usually accompanied by the words, “Who are you to tell me what I am doing is wrong?”, or “Everyone sins, so you have no right to judge me.” 

This verse has become a hammer in the secular world’s hands, in order to beat the Church into submission.  The problem is, we are allowing the world to beat us to death with our own hammer!  A verse that actually serves as our greatest defense, not our most trying obstacle. With this in mind, let us take a close look at the words of this verse.

Many see this verse and tell us that we cannot look at someone’s situation and determine if the behavior we observe is sinful, as we have no right to judge. What they choose not to understand, this verse is not telling us we cannot judge, but that we cannot serve as the Judge. The true Judge has already made His ruling, the case has already been decided.  The case titled “The People vs. Sin”, has already been heard in His court.  The arguments have already been made, and His decision and ruling has already been recorded.  Each time we open our Bible, we read that ruling.  The Lord has found sin guilty, and has proclaimed for all exactly how sin will be sentenced.  The problem we face today, much of the world is trying to appeal His ruling!

To best understand this verse, we simply need to read the words of Christ. And in doing so, we need to read no further than the next verse.  “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”, Matthew 7:2..  Twenty times Jesus used the term “hypocrite” or ”hypocrisy”, and referred to the act several more.  This verse serves as one of those referrals.  The Greek word for “hypocrite” means, “an actor, one who tries to deceive or pretend”. Jesus was speaking against hypocrisy, telling each of us to judge righteously.  That in order for anyone to judge, we must be first willing to judge ourselves. To recognize sin, not only in the lives of others, but in our own lives.  Jesus was telling us to not judge hypocritically, to judge with discernment(John 7:24).  Christ teaches us to judge with compassion and understanding(2 Timothy 2:4),  also with the goal of showing the world the solution to their sins.  A solution that can only be found in Christ.  In this verse Christ is telling us not to be pretenders, but righteous defenders of His Word!

When we look at this verse logically, and we look at the actions of those who use this verse to defend their own objectives, we can quickly find two major flaws.  First, if I cannot judge wrongful behavior, then I cannot judge righteous behavior.  Therefore, without judgment you cannot have praise.  Unless we first have judgment, we cannot experience forgiveness.  Forgiveness requires us to have first received a negative judgment, one that caused each of us to turn to God.  Without judgment, you have no need for mercy.  Without judgment, there would be no temptation.  And without judgment, there would be no way to identify sin.  There would have been no need for Christ to have given His life on the Cross so our sins would be forgiven from the judgment that will one day come in each of our lives.  We so easily forget, when we choose Christ, we make a judgment.

Second, those that would tell you, “Who are you to judge me?”, condemn themselves.  Their own statement is just that, a judgment!  They are judging others, by telling them they have no right to judge.  They try to use Jesus’ own words to set a standard that they cannot live by.  They tell you it is wrong to do what they then turn around and do.  Their own words make them the hypocrite that Christ was addressing in this verse.  The very statement, “Who are you to judge me?”, is actually the very statement that condemns their own actions.  They are using their own faults and flaws as a standard to then judge you by.  They cannot see the log in their own eye, because they are focused on trying to create a speck in the eyes of others.

The truth of the matter, the use of this verse by many today has little to do with God, but a lot to do with self.  They use this and other similar verses to justify their own actions, redefining sin as not to condemn their own chosen paths. Right and wrong are no longer being seen as a standard set by God, but by an evolving view accepted and determined by man.  In the worlds eyes, judgment and sin are out, tolerance and acceptance are in.  The problem the Church now faces, we have allowed tolerance to be redefined without the presence of God found within the word.  The world has now told us, that in order to be tolerant, all views must be seen as equal to God’s views.

We have watched as the world has redefined tolerance from acknowledgement to acceptance and support.  As Christians, we are called to be tolerant, as tolerance was originally defined.  God’s Word tells us that we see and define tolerance when we acknowledge the world around us.  When we recognize the flaws we see in man, and we determine man’s need for God. Tolerance is recognizing that need, but realizing all may not come to accept that need.  We see the example of this teaching in the words of Jesus.  Christ tells each of us we are to be a light for all to see(Matthew 5:14-15).  It is in the darkest of situations that a light shines the brightest.  So in order for our light to shine, we must acknowledge the world around us, the world we find ourselves in.  But we defeat this calling if our light is to become a spotlight, shining support upon sins the world has often placed on pedestals.  At this point tolerance becomes endorsement, tolerance becomes sin.

Christians can acknowledge the right of others to have different beliefs, but we cannot allow those beliefs to go unchallenged if it leads others away from the Cross. We can accept the inevitability that the world will see us as intolerant under today’s logic.  What we cannot accept is when our fear of being seen as intolerant turns us from the Truth of God’s Word.  We must not only know what we believe, we must be willing and able to teach the world around us why we believe.  We must not forget God’s Truth, and we also cannot forget why we are called to tell others that Truth.  The words we speak can still boil in Hell, and Christ did not spend time there so His Word would serve as a path to lead others to its’ gate.  We must remember those words, and tell the world around us why they must not just hear those words, but why they must follow those words.  The world must know, God does not tolerate sin, He only tolerates the sinner.  God may love us the way we are, but that love is too strong to see us remain the way we are.

We must reteach this world that love and tolerance are not the same.  The world may say that in order to love someone you must be willing to tolerate all the behaviors of that person.  We must again show the world that love is not defined by tolerance, but through repentance.  We must use the words of Christ as our example.  When looking in the face of a sinner, Jesus found love and compassion. But this love led Christ to speak the words, “Go and sin no more”(John 8:11).  The righteous judgment of these words should serve as our perfect example.  Christ did not tolerate sin, so as a Christian, I should not tolerate sin.  The love Christ has for each of us is unconditional, but His tolerance of sin is just as equally unconditional.  Jesus already put into action the words that Paul would later speak.  “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”(1 Corinthians 13:6).  The love Christ taught cannot be found where sin is endorsed and accepted.  True love can only be found in truth.

The world would tell us today that judgment and tolerance reject the existence of objective truth.  But in this statement, the world now finds itself judging the Word of God.  The Bible clearly teaches us that truth does exist.  It proves to us that God is truth.  And it shows us the reality of why we should follow that truth.  It is only in truth that tolerance can be found, and it is only in truth that righteous judgment can be given and received.

Sadly, we have watched as the Church has found it easier to appease the world than to stand with God.  Today’s sinful Church has willfully forgotten the words Christ spoke to the woman who found herself  immersed in sin.  “Go and sin no more.”  In these words we find true love and compassion, and in these words we also find the importance of righteous judgment. Every word that makes up the Bible gives us the understanding and the wisdom to make righteous judgments when we see the behavior this world has come to embrace. In order to make sure these judgments are righteous, and reflect the love that Christ shows us, we simply need to read and follow the words on each page, instead of just glances at the verses that fit our own agenda.  Before it is too late, it is time the Church again found itself reading every page of God’s Word, and proclaiming to the world the Truth that is found in each of the words we read.  If not, then we need to prepare to be judged!

Praying the Church will again remember the words spoken to Hosea(Hosea 4:6).