Genesis 28:10
John 1:40-51

Here in our department we are all familiar with ladders.  You have ladders that extend; you have ladders that you use for various types of things.
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If you were going to try to get on top of a tall building you would have to have an extension ladder.  A step ladder won’t do you any good.  You have to have the right ladder for the job. We know there are fiberglass ladders, aluminum ladders…. there are all types of ladders.  But today we won’t be talking about a physical ladder as we know it. 

As we see in the word of God here is Jacob, tired on his travels, and he lays down, taking some stones for a pillow.  As he lays there he goes to sleep and then as he is sleeping Jacob has a dream.  In this dream Jacob sees a ladder that’s extending from earth to heaven. 

Right there that lets you know it was no ordinary ladder.  That was not a ladder as we might see today. This passage tells us of angels on this ladder who were going from earth to glory and from glory to earth. 
Jacob saw this ladder in the book of Genesis the first book of the bible.  One other place in the bible that we see angels ascending and descending from heaven is in the book of John. 

In John Chapter 1 Jesus is calling disciples.  He’s calling Andrew, Peter, and others. Here Philip makes this declaration:  “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.  And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.”

As we read and study the bible we know that Nazareth was not a Hollywood - it was not a New York City.   It wasn’t a flashy place.  It was a place where a lot of poor people lived.  That’s why Nathaniel said “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”  But what did Phillip tell him?  “Come and see”; he told him to “come and see”.

In this passage Jesus tells Nathanael that He saw him under the fig tree.  In other words He sees us regardless of where we are.  I mean He wasn’t just looking across the street.   I’m saying that Nathanael was in another part of the village.   He was under the fig tree, probably like us, maybe eating figs; maybe it was hot, maybe he was cooling off.  But miraculously Jesus saw him under the fig tree.  Nathanael answered and said to him “Rabbi, thou art the son of God…”

Nathanael was one of the first of the disciples called by Him to acknowledge Him as Rabbi.  He was the first to acknowledge Him as the Son of God; the first to acknowledge Him as the King of Israel.  In response, Jesus said to him: “…thou shalt see greater things than these.  And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”

This goes right back to my subject: “He saw the ladder”.   In Genesis we saw Jacob as he saw the ladder extending from earth to glory, as he saw angels ascending and descending upon it.  Now, in this passage from the Gospel of John Jesus tells Nathanael that he will “see heaven open” and see “angels ascending and descending upon the Son of man”.

My brothers, what Jacob saw in the book of Genesis is the same as what Jesus is talking to Nathanael about. He says “hereafter” - in other words after this life.  After everything is over you are going to see the Son of man and you’re going to see angels ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

So Jacob saw Jesus - he saw a figure of Jesus.  The ladder is a figure or symbol of Jesus.

The word of God teaches us in the 14th chapter of the book of John that Jesus is the only Way.  Jesus says “I am the way, the truth, and the life no man can come unto the Father but by me”.

In other words if you want to get up there you’re going to have to go by Jesus.   You’re going to have to go by the ladder.  Like I said earlier, if you want to get on top of this building you can’t use a step ladder, you’re going to have to have an extension ladder.  You’re going to have to have something that is able to reach up, something that can get you there.  

You know what, everyone that is expecting to go to heaven is going to have to go by that ladder. They’re going to have to go by Jesus, because as He told us no one goes to the Father except by Him. We gotta go by Him. Some folks might try to go by another way - they might try to go by Mohammed, Buddha, or whoever, but we know Jesus is the way. He is that ladder, my brothers, that Jacob saw and He is the ladder, as he told Phillip and Nathanael, where we will see angels ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

We thank God for you all and we thank God for this opportunity.   We thank God that He has made a way for us to get to Him, we thank God for the Ladder, Jesus Christ.
~J. T.

John 14:1-16
Revelation 21:2 – 6

The word “prepare” means to make ready.  To be prepared means to be subjected to a special process.
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Each one of us got up this morning and we prepared ourselves to come to work. We didn’t just jump out of bed and jump in our cars or trucks.  We didn’t just come on to work with our PJ’s or whatever.  We had to prepare ourselves by getting dressed and doing other things getting ready to get here.

In this passage of scripture Jesus is saying things to comfort the hearts of his disciples.  Jesus says “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.”

Jesus said I’m going to prepare a place for you.  Jesus was making this statement to settle the emotions of the disciples.   You know when somebody is talking about leaving you – maybe your wife is leaving you (I hope that would never happen) or maybe even your child gets ready to go off to school.  Sometimes those things sort of trouble and sadden your heart because you hate to see them go.  

But Jesus is comforting the hearts of the disciples by letting them know He is preparing a place for them.  This place he’s talking about is not just an ordinary tent, it’s not a condo.  Although you do have some high rise condos where you might think you’re in heaven - you’re overlooking New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles.  With all the lavish things you think you’re in heaven.  But it’s nothing compared to the place that Jesus is talking about. 

Jesus said I’m going to make this place ready and then He told them when I go and prepare this place for you I’m going to come again and receive you unto myself.  Jesus promised to be with His people.  It’s not so much about the dwelling place. The most important thing is being with the Savior.  Jesus says he is preparing a place for you that “where I am there you may be also”.  He says he is going to be “in the midst” -  he’s going to be there with you.  You’re going to be able to see him face to face.

If He prepares this place and He’s not there that’s like having a church without God.  We could build a building and call it a church. But if the Spirit of God is not there, we are missing the most important thing, His Spirit.  That’s what we want - that’s what we truly need - we want His Spirit to be there.  

A Prepared Place for A Prepared People – we have to make sure that we are prepared to get in. 

If you want to get into the kingdom of God you have to prepare yourself.  You prepare yourself by confessing your sin, acknowledging Jesus as Lord and inviting Him into your heart.  We have to be willing and ready and share with others that they need to surrender their hearts to Jesus. There are people sitting right now in our congregations that are not prepared.  Although the place is prepared, there are many people that are not prepared. 

The question is - if the Lord were to come right now, where would you spend eternity?  Eternity is where He is and we don’t want to be any place without the Lord.

In one instance the disciples said to Jesus “Lord, we’ll follow you wherever you go”, and Jesus said “the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head”.  In other words Jesus was saying He didn’t have an earthly dwelling place.  He’s not talking here about a place made with mortar and bricks and steel.  He’s talking about that heavenly home as we will see in the Book of Revelation.  He’s talking about that New Jerusalem that’s coming down from God.

In Revelation 21:2 we see John saying: “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband”.  That’s the place that Jesus was talking about.  He’s talking about the New Jerusalem that John saw, coming down from heaven as a bride, prepared and adorned for the groom. 

We’ve been to weddings and we’ve seen it - the door opens and the bride comes in.  She is stunning - she has her veil on in some cases and maybe a long train, I mean she’s beautiful!  That is how this holy city is coming down out of heaven. We’re talking about a beautiful city, prepared by Jesus for His prepared people.

Are you one of the prepared people? That’s my question to the world: are you one of those prepared people?

We have to think about it like this: if you died right now, would you go to heaven? I had a guy to tell me one time, “I don’t know, I hope so”.  The thing about it is you need to know so.  You should have that hope and faith in you that if you died right now, you would go into the presence of God.  We need that hope in us; not doubting and not wavering.  I told my family that if I leave and don’t come back - I know it’s going to hurt, but don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I’m fine because the bible says being absent from the body means to be present with the Lord, when we die in the Lord.  When we die in the Lord we don’t have to worry about it.  We are secure in the Lord.

A prepared place for a prepared people.  Are you one of those prepared people?
~J. T.

John 4:6-30
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Something happens when a person meets Jesus.  A person who really truly meets Jesus - he or she is no longer the same.
 
When we meet Jesus there is a transformation starting from within the heart, mind, body, even the soul.   When we meet Jesus our lives change.   I know for a fact that when I met Him my life changed. Thank God for the change!  As we will see there was this woman, she had an opportunity to meet Jesus and her life was changed.
 
As our passage starts in verse 6, Jesus here is talking with this woman of Samaria.  At that time the Jews and the Samaritans didn’t have any dealings with each other.  The Samaritans were a mixed race of people and the Jews didn’t have anything to do with them.
 
But at this time Jesus “being weary in His journey”, as we read in the scriptures, said to this woman “Give me to drink”.   The woman said, to paraphrase, Hey, you are a Jew and you are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for something to drink?
 
And Jesus, basically He says if you knew who I was you would ask of me and I would give you this living water. The woman goes on to say “Sir you have nothing to draw with”.   You see this woman was talking physically but Jesus was talking spiritually.  She said the well is deep and you don’t even have a bucket, you don’t even have a jug to let down into the well to draw the water.  How are you going to give me this living water? 
 
This woman is still thinking physically, she doesn’t realize that Jesus is not talking about water from this well.  She tells Jesus “Give me this water…”.  Jesus goes on to tell her in the 16th verse “Go call thy husband…”
 
In a sense Jesus says:  Woman, now if you really want this living water - if you really want it - you go and call your husband and bring him.
 
What a curious exchange.  When the woman says “I have no husband”, Jesus points out to her: You’re right, you have had five husbands and the one that you have now is not yours.   The woman goes on to say to Him “Sir I perceive that you are a prophet”.  Why did she say He was a prophet?  Because He told the truth.
 
After their exchange the woman left her water pot and went back into the city.  She dropped her water pots and left.  I look at it that when she dropped her water pots she became an evangelist.
 
She became a missionary.   She goes back into the city and she tells the men “Come see a man.”  Come see a man that has told me all things.    This woman (some might even look at her as a prostitute) goes back into the city and tells these men, and the men they come out to hear.
 
Jesus’ disciples came and they asked Hey, what are you doing talking with that woman? She’s a Samaritan!   In the previous chapter Jesus had said, “I must … go through Samaria” because He knew there was a need. 
 
See a lot of times - when you are talking about reaching across barriers, reaching people on the other side of the tracks, on the other side of the fence, or down in the alley - a lot of times we don’t want to go.  We don’t want to go down there because the boys down there are wearing their britches down.  The girls are wearing short skirts and toting babies on their hips.   We don’t want to go down there around the gang bangers and down in the hood and where those folks are that have no hope.   
 
But we see here Jesus is reaching across the barriers – reaching this woman that the other Jews didn’t want anything to do with.  Even the people there in the city, the other women didn’t have anything to do with her.  When she came to draw water she came in the middle of the day and she was by herself.
 
During that time when the women came to the well they came in the afternoon in a group.   But she was like an outcast - she was someone they didn’t have anything to do with, because of her reputation.  But we see Jesus reaching across, breaking down that barrier.
 
Jesus is winning souls.  If we are going to win souls we are going to have to reach across racial and denominational barriers.  We are going to have to reach over there because that’s what Jesus did and that’s what he’s calling the church to do right now, today.
 
The topic is “When She Met Jesus”.  There are people this morning brothers that are on the other side of the tracks, living that life, that need to know Jesus.   I’ve seen it on my way to church.   On our way to church you see families sitting on the porch - you see children playing in the yard.   They need Jesus too.  Folks in Metro Jail, they need Jesus.  People across the tracks, they need Jesus.  People like this woman - this woman needed salvation.  Jesus knew she was coming, that’s why He was at the well.  He was waiting on her.  He’s sitting on the well this morning, waiting on somebody to come.  Jesus is waiting. Have you met Jesus?
~ J. T.

​Genesis 22
Hebrews 11:8
 
When we look at Genesis 22 we learn about Abraham, a man who bible scholars will tell you is often referred to as the “Father of Faith”.  We know that Abraham was the father of the Hebrew nation and we know that Abraham had a relationship with God.   If we go a little further back we know that God called Abraham to leave his native land and kindred.  Abraham was called by God and told to step out on faith.  He told him to “get from under your kindred” and “go into the land that I’m going to show you”.   Because he obeyed God and literally walked out into the unknown, Abraham is known as the Father of Faith. 
 
One question does come to mind: what is faith? Hebrews 11:1 says “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen”. 
 
We can learn some things about faith from Abraham.  In Genesis 22 God is speaking with Abraham, telling him take your son - your only son.  Abraham take the son, that you really love, up to Mount Moriah.  God says to Abraham I want you to offer him up as a sacrifice unto me.
 
Now we’re talking about his son, his only son.  Just think, you’ve got a son and God calls you to offer that only son up for an offering.   In other words, God is basically telling Abraham “take your son and kill your son for me”.  Wow.
 
We know that when they got to Mt. Moriah Abraham told the young men that were with them - ya’ll stay right here with the donkey.  Me and the lad are going to worship and we will come back.  Then we see Abraham and Isaac going up the mountain and Isaac asks his father a question.  He said, Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the sacrifice; where is the lamb?
 
Can you imagine?  Now Isaac wasn’t a little boy. He was a young man.  Yet still we read that his father bound his hands and his feet and laid him upon the altar.  After he built the altar it says he laid the wood in order and laid Isaac upon it.  And we know that Abraham was going to kill him.
 
Abraham had faith, enough faith to believe that if he took that knife and took the life of his son he believed that God was able to raise his son up.  He had that kind of faith.  Abraham held the knife up, ready to slay his son, and the angel of the Lord spoke and said “Abraham, Abraham….. touch not the lad”.   As I read the part where Abraham laid the wood upon him it made me think about the cross that was laid upon Jesus.  The scriptures say Abraham laid the wood upon Isaac; Abraham had the knife and he had the fire.  That was a symbol of the cross; I look at it as a symbol of the cross.
 
We know that Abraham was going to offer up Isaac and we know that God not only offered up His Son, He allowed Jesus to go to the cross.  He allowed His Son to carry that cross, and not only that He allowed Him to be crucified for us.  Our faith hinges on that, the fact that Jesus Christ died for us.
 
Abraham believed the promise of God.  You see Abraham was saved through grace and through faith.  It was not because of the circumcision, it was not because of keeping the law, nor was it because he worshiped in the temple. It was because Abraham believed in God’s promise. That’s why Abraham was saved - he believed God.  It was this belief in the promises of God, this faith in God that saved him.  Abraham had faith - that’s why they call Abraham the Father of Faith.
 
See one thing about it brother, when it is all said and done the question is - where is our faith?  Are we men of faith?  Do we really truly believe what we hear, what we teach, what we read -  do we really believe what God says?  Do we believe that God really truly exists? Do we believe that God called Abraham to do this? Do we really believe this bible that we read? Do we believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the dead?
 
I mean Abraham had faith. He was like us, we haven’t seen Christ risen.  That’s why the bible teaches us that we walk by faith, not by sight. We have not seen and yet, we believe.  We’re talking about being a man of faith and Abraham was a man of faith; truly indeed he was a man of faith.
 
There are a lot of men of faith in the bible - we look at Noah, he built the ark.  We look at Moses going down before Pharaoh.  We’re talking about men of faith, willing to obey God.  God has called us to be obedient – to obey Him.  God has called each one of us.  It might not be to the point that we are going to offer up a son but we are called to be men that believe and obey God.
 
As I said Abraham believed God and believed the promise that God had given him. Hebrews 11 tells us that Abraham received the promise and offered up his only son.  Even if he were to kill his son he believed that God was able to raise him up, he had that faith.  I thank God for faith - Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to please God.
 
We’re saved through faith - faith is what saves us, and our faith is what delivers us.
 
Father, thank you for faith, and for strength to believe and obey you.
~ J.T.

Psalm 51
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In Psalm 51 David has experienced a Dark Time and a Dark Night (See previous post).

Here in verse 10, David is crying out to God.  He says “Create in me a clean heart”.  David knew his heart wasn’t right because he had taken a man’s wife.  Not only had he taken a man’s wife, he had his military leader Joab to put the man on the front lines and had him killed.  I mean he did that, but here we see him asking God to create within him a clean heart.  Then he asks God to “renew the right spirit within me”.  That’s what we have to do; we have to pray and ask God as it says in Psalm 139:23 “Search me O God and know my heart”.  That’s what each of us should do from time to time, if not every day.

David knew he had messed up and he is crying out to God: Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

You see God is not concerned with our intellect.  He’s not concerned with our physical stature.  He’s not concerned with these other things that we may possess.  He’s concerned with our heart.

David asks God to restore the things that sin had taken away:
David asks God to cleanse his heart.
David asks God to renew his spirit.
David asks God not to cast him from the presence of God.
David asks God not to take His Holy Spirit from him.
David asks God to restore unto him joy.

Sin costs, sin takes away, but God can restore.

I pray regularly for God to search my heart and ask forgiveness for anything in my heart that I have not asked forgiveness for.  There were times when I was praying and God brought up things that happened thirty years ago.  God will bring up that thing and I’ll ask Him to forgive me for it.  Some people say well that was back then; that was back when you were in the world.  He was sustaining me back then, so I can confess this now.  I know better now.  Now I know right from wrong, as David knew.

In the 13th verse David says I will teach transgressors your way.  He tells God I’m going to teach and tell others what is right.  

In other words I’m going to become a witness for you Lord.  If you forgive me, if you restore me, if you cleanse me, I’m going to become a witness for you.  I’m going to tell others Your Way.

When you look at the life of David and the sin that he committed, a great sin, people say well, David did those things and God forgave David, so He’ll forgive me.  Let me tell you something - I say, why do you think those things were put there in the scriptures?  They were put there so we would not do them!  The bible, even David himself, warns us not to do those things. 

Praise God, He does forgive, and He does restore.

If you are in the midst of your dark time remember this, as David said, joy comes in the morning.  Weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning (Psalm 30:5).

I can only imagine when David got that relief. I can only imagine him shouting when he was able to sense and feel God’s presence again. I would rather be in the presence of God than anywhere in this world.
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When darkness surrounds us, if we have sinned, we can ask forgiveness. And no matter what, we can ask God to restore our joy.  God will hear us, and we can thank Him for giving us His marvelous Light.
~J. T.

Psalm 51
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Sometimes we may lie in bed, surrounded by darkness.  A lot of times we can’t sleep so we may just lay there; just lay there and ponder things.  We know physically it is dark, but think for a moment about being in spiritual darkness. 
 
Looking at our passage, I would say that David was going through a time of spiritual darkness.
 
Spiritual darkness is basically when you are disconnected from God or feel that you are disconnected from God.
 
This was during the time David was a king.  David was an awesome king – going from a shepherd to slaying lions and then Goliath.  Not only that but being anointed king and then all the things he had to deal with - King Saul and all these other things he had to deal with. 
 
In the Psalms we can see him crying out to God.  In this psalm right here David is crying out to God because David had committed a great sin with Bathsheba.  Nathan the prophet had come to David and told David about his sin. 
 
When we talk about a dark time and a dark night, I can imagine that at this was a dark time in David’s life.  He was in a situation where he had experienced fellowship with God, but now he seems to be disconnected from God.
 
Even in our own lives sometimes we can go through those dark times and those dark nights.   We turn around and we wonder – God, where are you?
 
There was a young lady that I used to go to church with; she is a good friend to my wife and I.  At one time she and her then husband were going through some things.  They hadn’t been married that long and he was one of those abusers.  There was this time when he grabbed her and was fighting and choking her - the only way that she could keep him off of her was to get a knife to make him back off of her.  She didn’t cut him but she had this knife.  The police came and as we know most times in domestic dispute somebody goes to jail.  Since she had the knife, they took her.  She later told me that she can remember lying in the back of the police car.   They were getting ready to take her to county jail and she was crying out: “Lord God, I haven’t done anything!  Where are you?” She was crying out to God.
 
At that exact same time I was by myself driving that truck.  I was in the rec center parking lot  - this was about 4:30 or 5 in the morning - and the spirit of God began to press upon me.  He said Pray for Porsha!   I mean I had never in my life experienced this: He said “Pray for Porsha! Pray for Porsha!”  I mean it was just pressing upon me, so I stopped the truck and turned the truck off.   I began to pray for her and later on I found out that at the exact same time that the Lord told me to pray for her, she was in the back of the police car saying “Lord where are you?  Where are you Lord?”  And the Lord had me praying for her.  
 
Sometimes we have those dark times and those dark nights.
 
When we feel that God is nowhere near; that he’s no where around us.
 
David says: “ Have mercy upon me, O God according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.  Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
 
Here, David is crying out.  David was in that dark place.  He’s crying out to Almighty God and in the seventh verse he tells the Lord “Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean…”  David is in a dark place and He is crying out to God, asking God to purge him, to cleanse him.
 
You know sometimes, you might be going through a situation - maybe not a situation like David, but maybe you are going through a thing and you are crying out to God.  That’s one thing David had a knack for doing.  David would go back and if he messed up he would cry out to God.   He would go and fall on his face before God and cry out.
 
And that’s what God wants us to do.    You know, we are going to experience difficulties; we are going to experience trials in this life.  It can be a dark night, and it can be a dark time. If we are caught in a situation where we feel that God is nowhere near us, He wants us to call out to Him.
 
Even when you look at the life of Jesus, who was the Son of God - the one who came into this world and bore our sins and griefs -  He had those dark days and dark nights. I think about when He was in the garden and He was praying.  After He got through praying the angels came and ministered to Him. If He had those dark days and dark nights and dark times, what do you think we are going to experience?
 
We’re going to experience those darkness on this road to heaven.
 
If you are in the midst of your dark time remember that David also said that joy comes in the morning.
 
“Weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning” (Psalm 30:5)
 
If you are in the middle of a dark time or a dark night, remember morning is on the way.  Cry out to God, our Bright and Morning Star.

I John 2:1-2
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When we talk about “Walking with Him”, of course the “Him” that we refer to is our Lord, Our Savior, Jesus Christ.  In thinking about Walking with Him, it reminds me of a story you all have probably read or heard: “Footprints”.  As the story goes one day this man was walking along the beach and he was communing with the Lord.  He looked back and he saw two sets of footprints as he walked along the way.  Later he looked back and he saw only one set of footprints. That’s when he questioned the Lord saying Lord where did you go?  Where were you?  As the story goes the Lord told him “Well, I was carrying you - that one set of footprints was mine.”
 
God Himself has made it possible for us to walk with Him.  He gave us His word to show us the way, and He gave His Son, who literally paid our way.
 
In I John 2, John says: My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. 
 
As John writes this he’s not talking to us as little children, literally; he’s not talking about little boys and little girls.  What he’s talking about is spiritual children.  He’s talking to men and women like you and I.  He is giving them (and us) the assurance that if anyone sins they have an advocate with the Father.
 
What is sin? And when he says “that you sin not” - why shouldn’t we sin? We know that sin separates us from God.  But, if we do sin, “we have an advocate...”
 
What is an advocate? An advocate is one that stands to represent you.  An advocate is like an attorney.  The advocate is the comforter.  That advocate is the Holy Spirit.
 
The bible tells us that “Jesus the Righteous is seated at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us”.  As John tells us, He (Jesus) is that advocate for us.  He lets us know that if we do sin we have somebody that has taken those sins upon Himself.  We have somebody who stands before the Father as an attorney in representation for us.
 
And there is one thing that we have to do: we have to acknowledge that we have sinned.
 
Now you may have some people that act as if they are “holier than thou”.  They may even have a tendency to look down on people that have fallen short.  But the bible says we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
 
The point is we have to look within ourselves.  We need to look in the mirror; that’s what needs to happen.  When we know that we have sinned we can acknowledge that sin and He will forgive us of that sin.  And John lets us know that we have an advocate, we have a representative on our behalf.  These words from John should be words of encouragement for us.  We should be encouraged knowing that we have Jesus pleading our case.
 
And He is the propitiation of our sin. The word “propitiation” refers to the fact that something had to be done to make up for our wrong doing.   Jesus is that propitiation, that atonement.  He is the only one that could have been the atonement.  He is the only one that could pay that ransom.  He is the only one that could be that sin offering for us.
 
The goats couldn’t do it.
 
The bullocks couldn’t do it.
 
The pigeons couldn’t do it.
 
So what did God do? He sent us the sacrifice that was required.  He sent us a lamb without spot, blemish, or anything; a perfect lamb. Jesus was that lamb, and with His blood He made the sacrifice.   When he died in our place he paid the penalty.
 
Now, in right standing with God, no longer separated from God, we can walk with Him.
 
I pray that each and every brother here has a relationship with Him, so that you can walk with Him. Not only walk with Him, but talk with Him, and be obedient to Him.
~J. T.

Isaiah 40:28-31
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When we talk about waiting on the Lord, you’ve got to have patience.  One thing you must have is patience.  It’s like that saying “He might not come when you want Him but He’s always on time”.
 
There are people right now that don’t have what we’re talking about - people that have no patience; that don’t believe in waiting.  Makes me think about the prodigal son - he couldn’t wait on his inheritance from his father.  He told his father – “Father give me my portion that falleth to me now”.  He couldn’t wait for a will or wait for his father to pass, he wanted his stuff now.
 
This made me think also about Abraham and Sarah, who also couldn’t wait on God.  God had promised them a son, but they wouldn’t wait on God. They wanted to get ahead of God and got Ishmael by Hagar.
 
This land and country is filled with people who don’t believe in waiting.  You got young people that don’t believe in taking the time out to go to school or go to college.   They want instant gratification - they want what they want right now.
 
Still Isaiah has a message for us about waiting in the word of God.
 
Isaiah describes a God that is so awesome.  We’re talking about the everlasting God, the LORD,  the creator of the ends of the earth.  Isaiah says “He fainteth not nor is He weary”.  In other words He doesn’t get tired nor does He get weak.  The bible also tells us He doesn’t sleep nor does He slumber.
 
We’re talking about a God that you can call on any time of day or night .  You don’t have to wait until He wakes up to call him or email him or text or whatever.  By this word we know that He’s always awake.  It also tells us that He gives power to those that are faint and strength to them that have none. God is a supplier - He will supply you with whatever your need may be. 
 
When we look closer we see that He’s contrasting between the youth and them that wait.  As I said earlier we’ve got to have patience if we’re going to wait on the Lord.
 
“But they that wait upon the lord SHALL renew their strength” - it said shall, it didn’t say might – renew their strength.  In other words you will get that second wind, as some may say.  We are talking about a God that is able to supply us with strength so that we can mount up with wings like an eagle. 
 
An eagle is an awesome bird.  As you watch him on television you see how he swoops down on the lake and he catches a huge trout and he soars with it.  Eagles have also been known to take small animals – there is great strength in an eagle’s wings.
 
And that’s what God is willing to give to us.  He is willing to give us the strength and the ability to endure.  Sometimes we might get weak on this journey; we might get weary.  But if we trust in the Lord with all of our heart and lean not unto our own understanding He will be that supplier to our every need.  God is a supplier; not only is He a supplier He is a sustainer.
 
Regardless as to what you are going through, regardless what you are experiencing; our God is able to meet your needs.  We can look at this as a race - you see people out there running and they will get a second wind.  When you get that second wind you can go a little bit further.
 
Wait on God
 
So many times we can be praying about a thing and it seems like God is not answering us.  I know I have been praying about a thing and it didn’t seem like God was going to answer.  It may have seemed like God wasn’t going to answer but I didn’t quit praying.  I kept seeking the Lord.  A lot of times the answer might not come just like we’re praying for it to come, but it will come.
 
We might be praying for a friend, we might be praying for a family member to come to Christ. It could be that we have been sharing the word of God with them.  But they might not come to our church –they might go over there to a little camp meeting.  They might go to a revival and somebody over there might be preaching that same word.  That word will prick their heart and they’ll give their life to the Lord; they might give their heart to Christ.  It may not come like we think, but it will come.  Wait on God.
 
So many times things have happened like that.  We have to continue to pray that God will draw our family members.  I’ve got family members that are not saved and then we’ll talk to them and they’re like yeah, yeah, yeah.  But I’m praying that God will put people in their path to fertilize or water that word that we are sowing in their hearts.   We know the word of God is not going to return void.  It’s going to go out and do what it is sent out to do. 
 
In verse 31 the word “shall” is mentioned 4 times.  Four in that one verse: shall – shall – shall – shall.  I want to let you know: just wait on Him.  It might not seem like He’s coming, but He is coming.
 
We have to make a conscious decision to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  Let me tell you something – when I get to heaven, I’m praying to God that I see all of you there. 
 
My main thing as a Man of God is to encourage you that if you have not accepted Jesus Christ - Accept Him.   It’s easy.  The bible says that “if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
 
It’s simple. A person can easily come to Christ.  We don’t have to go all across the hills and mountains.  Years ago as I explained salvation to my son I told him: God is not looking for you to climb a mountain and come back with an eagle’s feather.  Nor is He looking for you to dive into the ocean and come up with a fish in your mouth.  He is not looking for you to be thrown into a jungle to fight some vicious animal.  As I told him, we are saved through faith.  That day I had a chance to lead my son to Christ.
 
And God is not asking any of us to do those things.  He is just asking us to accept his Son Jesus Christ into our heart and live for HIM.
 
The curtain is going to close one day.  The bottom line is we need to know where we’re going to end up and the decision that we make now will determine where we spend eternity.
~J. T.

Matthew 8:1- 13

There have been many who needed healing, who wanted healing from Jesus.  Jesus never forced His healing upon anybody.  In most cases when He healed people of diseases, leprosy or anything else, they asked Him for healing.  If you need healing, if you want God to do something for you, you’re not going to just sit on the bed and just ponder it.  You’re going to pray.  You’re going talk to Him about your condition.  You’re going to talk to Him about what you’re going through.  In this passage we see how these men asked, and Jesus gave them healing.

In our passage here we see Jesus coming down from the mountain. He sees this man with leprosy come and worship Him.  The man said “Lord if thou will thou can make me clean”.  This man had leprosy.  In that time a person with leprosy couldn’t mingle with the rest of the people. They would put him outside of the city.  They had camps where the only people there were people with those diseases.  They couldn’t go see their families or their wives or anything.  They were put out there so they could be able to just live, because nobody else wanted to get close to them; nobody wanted to be infected.

Today people have this disease called HIV/AIDS.  If you know somebody that has HIV/AIDS a lot of times we are skeptical about even embracing them.  We know you can’t get it by shaking somebody’s hand or embracing them - we have learned that.  But there are people that are still afraid to even come in contact with somebody if they know that they are actually HIV positive.

This man had this disease and he cried out to Jesus: “Lord if thou will thou can make me clean”.  Jesus reached out with His hand and Jesus touched this man. Now just think, here it is, this man has leprosy.  If I touch him, I’m going to be infected just like him.  But we see in this passage that Jesus puts forth His hand and touches this man. 

The bible says: “And immediately he was cleansed”.  All the sores and boils he had – now his skin became just as smooth as ours.  I would say it probably got as smooth as a little baby.  He now has baby smooth skin that cleared up just because Jesus touched him.   And right now we know that there is somebody that is sitting on their bedside looking and waiting for a touch. 

There will come a time when we won’t need healing.  My mother and father they are both gone on. My father had heart problems.  My mother had diabetes, she had heart problems and high blood pressure, and she’s gone.  But one thing I know for a fact, my Mama and Daddy were saved.  I know that where they are now, on the other side, they don’t have to get medicine.  They don’t to go to the drug store; they don’t have to go to the doctor on the other side.  They don’t have these problems.  Right now we might have ailments and aches and pains; we might take medicine.  But when we get to the other side, when we get to where Jesus is, we’re not going to have these problems.  That’s a blessing right there in itself! We’re not going to have the problems that we now face in this life.

Jesus touched this man and he was healed.  Like I said, we know that there is somebody this morning waiting on a touch.  But we know just like the Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace, we know that even if He doesn’t heal us - we know He can.

Everybody is not going to be healed.  Even when Jesus went to His home country, to His home city of Nazareth, the bible says that He healed a few sick folks and then He left.  Everybody in the city didn’t get healed. Everybody today is not going to be healed.   God may not heal me of my aches and my pain.   I pray about them.  But even if He doesn’t heal me now, I know one day I’m not going to have those aches and pains.

This man was healed, and there was another man.  Verse 5 tells us about a centurion’s servant who had the palsy.  He was grievously tormented; this man was in pain.  The centurion was a military man.  He was a soldier and he was in charge of a bunch of people.

This centurion said:  Lord, I’m not worthy - I’m not fit for you to come under my roof.   I just need you to speak the word.  I need you to speak the words and my servant shall be healed.  This man had such faith that Jesus said I’m going to go and heal him.  The centurion said: Wait, wait, no, no, I’m not worthy.  Don’t come to my house, I’m not worthy.  This man had the faith in the Lord, in God, that if the Lord would just speak the word the servant would be healed.  We know that Jesus touched the first man and he was healed. But this centurion is telling Jesus just speak the words.  In other words I’ve got faith that if you speak the word that he can be healed.

Even now we think about our co-workers, our brother in UAB’s ICU and another brother at home, maybe we  even have people in our family that are sick.  And I believe that we can pray today, this morning, and this same Jesus - this same God - is able to touch and heal. We have faith because we know what the Word of God teaches us. The book of Hebrews says “without faith it is impossible to please God”.  We have to have faith.  Jesus said “I haven’t found anybody in Israel with this type of faith”.  This man had faith that his servant could be healed if Jesus just spoke the word.

So in verse 13 Jesus tells him to “Go, as thou has believed, so be it done unto thee”.  In other words if you really truly believe that I can speak the words and your servant be healed, go then.  And it says “and his servant was healed in the selfsame hour” - not the next day but that same hour.  We’re talking about a right now God.  I’m talking about right now! I’m serious!  Even as I stand here I believe that if we pray and pray together and pray earnestly, I believe God will do anything through His Son Jesus Christ.
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If He did it back then, He’ll do it right now.  If you’ve got the faith that this man had, He can do it now.  We believe that.  But will He do it? We pray that He will. As I said earlier, everybody is not going to be healed.  We know that.  Everyone will not be healed on this side, but as believers we will all be healed on the other side.  He has shown us that He can cleanse, and He can heal.  May His Word strengthen our faith.
~J. T.