Jesus Is Always There for You

As the battle continues against the coronavirus, remember that Jesus is in control. He always has been and always will be in complete control. As Jesus said according to Hebrews 13:5b, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Verse 8 reminds us of yet another great truth: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." He never changes. He will protect and keep you through all things. Trust Him!

To continue ministering the Word of God to you throughout the month of April, I plan to preach to an empty church, record the message as always, then post it to my podcast. So going forward, there will be a new message posted to my podcast every Sunday afternoon. Beginning this Sunday, Palm Sunday, you can go online to my blog, click on the "Sermons" tab at the top of the page, and be taken to my podcast, where you can listen to that new message or any previous message you may have missed. You can also go straight to my podcast at pastorlaott.buzzsprout.com.

I would like to point out just a few things from the above mentioned verses in Hebrews 13. First of all, the words in verse 5b, "I will never leave you nor forsake you," point out that God is completely reliable. He never fails. He will always be there for you, watching over you, keeping you from all harm, doing battle for you against the satanic forces of evil: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12).

No matter what happens, in all circumstances of life, God's people are secure in Christ Jesus, because He is with them. Faith in Jesus makes you secure. Not money, not possessions, not position—only complete faith and trust in Jesus.

The writer of Hebrews expands on this truth by quoting from Psalm 118:6, "So we may boldly say: 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Heb. 13:6). The psalmist points out first that the Lord is our helper, you can count on Him. Second, the psalmist renounces fear. With the Lord Jesus at our side, there is no reason for fear. Third, there is the rhetorical queston, "What can man do to me?" Literally, this should read, "What will man do to me?" He is not thinking in theory of what might happen, but in reality of what will happen. When you trust in Jesus, nothing that man tries to do to you will succeed. Nothing.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (v. 8) isn't so much a reference to His preexistance or the Incarnation, but stands for the past as a whole. This statement brings past, present, and future together in an impressive declaration of Christ's unchanging nature. Past, present, or future makes no difference to the Savior. You need not fear that Jesus will somehow be different now or will be different in the future than He has been in the past.

"Forever" (v. 8) is literally "into the ages," or "to eternity." No matter what lies ahead, throughout all ages, Christ is always the same. He will never change. He will take care of you. Trust Him. Amen.

What Do You Love More than Jesus?

In John 21, as Jesus appears a "third time" to His disciples (v. 14), He confronts Peter directly concerning his love for Jesus: "So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?'" (v.15). This is the third question brought up by Jesus in this meeting, and it was designed specifically for Peter.

Note the context: "Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, 'Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.' Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken. Jesus said to them, 'Come and eat breakfast.' Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, 'Who are You?'—knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish" (vs. 9-13).

This is a "man breakfast." Aside from a few words of instruction, they said nothing. Yet without words, Jesus spoke volumes. When Jesus gave them the bread and the fish, Peter caught the vision—they all did! Their focus is all wrong. They are being "Someday Saints," when they should be living as "Borrowed-Time Believers."

Here we have the third implied question: What do you love more than Jesus? In verse 15, the question Jesus asked Peter was, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?" Who or what are the "these"? If "these" are the other six disciples standing there, Peter would sound a little arrogant to say he loved Jesus more than them.

I think it may well be that "these" (v. 15) refers to the fish. As Jesus asked Peter this question, those fish were flopping around in the background. When Jesus said to bring some of the fish to add to the frying pan (v. 10), Peter first took time to count them—one hundred and fifty-three (v. 11a). Peter had fish on the mind. So what Jesus wanted to know was whether Peter loved Him more than those fish.

Are you comfortable as a "Someday Saint"? Are you satisfied just fishing for fish? Are you satisfied with where you are? Or are you ready to step out in faith and become a "Borrowed-Time Believer"? Jesus would challenge us to have that passion and sense of urgency in our faith. He would challenge us to get out of our comfort zone and go fishing for men.

In his video, In My Seat: A Pilot’s Story from September 10th-11th, Steve Scheibner said, "Somebody died for me twice. One sat in my seat, the other hung on a cross in my place." The other pilot saved him for the moment on September 11, 2001. The Lord Jesus saved him for all eternity.

Jesus died in your place as well. He paid the price to buy your pardon. You too are on borrowed time. It is time to quit living as a "Someday Saint" and to start living as a "Borrowed-Time Believer." Amen.

What Are You Fishing For?

Be in prayer for this nation and the entire world as we seek to curtail the spread of the coronavirus. We here at Bethel Baptist Church in Stanzel have canceled all services and activities for the remainder of March in keeping with the declaration of Iowa's governor. When we will resume regular services depends on when it is deemed safe to do so.

In the meantime, my Sunday morning messages have been recorded and posted to my podcast at pastorlaott.buzzsprout.com, which can be reached by clicking on the "Sermons" tab above. There you can listen to any of my past messages here at Stanzel. You can catch any message you may have missed and you can get up to date on the current series I am preaching through in Genesis. The podcast will resume when our morning worship services resume.

I will try to be more diligent in posting new "Bible Insights" here on my blog. And now to today's Bible Insight:

You may recall from last week that Jesus, after His resurrection, appeared a third time to His disciples. He was on the shore at the Sea of Tiberias (John 21:1). Jesus picks up the conversation: "Have you any food?" (v. 5a). "No," they replied (v. 5b). "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some," said Jesus (v. 6a). So they did, and they did. It made no sense, but they cast the net as instructed and they hauled in a great catch (v. 6b).

Now they realized, "It is the Lord!" (v. 7a). So Peter, of course, dove in and swam to shore (v. 7b), while the others brought the boat (v. 8). Now catch the scene. Look at the moment. Jesus is already cooking fish and offered no explanation (v. 9). No one dared ask either, "knowing that it was the Lord" (v. 12b).

A second question is implied here: What are you fishing for? What is it you are trying to catch? Are you trying to catch fish or men? The "Someday Saint" is just fine where he is. He is fishing for fish, just as he always does. And the disciples were being "Someday Saints."

The "Borrowed-Time Believer" has that sense of urgency and passion, so he would be out fishing for men. He would not be in the boat, fishing for fish. He would be out in the world taking the gospel of Christ to all who will listen. He would be living on the edge for Jesus.

How about you? Where would you be if you were in their sandals? Would you be in the boat, comfortable where you are, fishing for fish? Or would you be out in the world, out of your comfort zone, fishing for men? Think about it. Amen.

What Are You Doing Here?

A few years back, Barb and I attended the Small Town Pastor's Conference in Morton, Illinois, where we met and sat under the teaching of a bi-vocational pastor by the name of Steve Scheibner. He was retired military, and his second profession was that of pilot for American Airlines. He tells his story in an award winning video by his son entitled: In My Seat: A Pilot’s Story from September 10th-11th.

The video tells how he was the pilot assigned a certain flight on September 11, 2001, but was, by protocal, bumped by a more senior pilot, so he remained home that fateful day. Of course, he soon learned how that very plane flew into one of the World Trade Center towers, killing the pilot and all aboard, along with thousands more. It was a flight he was supposed to be on that day, but he was spared as another took his place.

 Steve Scheibner began traveling all around the world telling his story, inspiring many to take a step of faith, move out of their comfort zone, and begin living their Christian lives as what he calls "Borrowed-Time Believers." Everywhere he went he was asked this question—Why did God spare your life? Steve rephrased that question in the video—Why does God take one servant and spare another?

A couple of very good questions? God spared my life in 1979, when on the boundary waters of northern Minnesota, I was struck by lightning. My answer has always been that God wasn't finished with me yet. He wasn't finished shaping my life into His image and He had a ministry for me to fulfill.

Steve gave a different answer as to why God spared his life—an answer that is as intriguing as it is challenging. He turned to John 21. There Jesus appeared a "third time" to His disciples "after He was raised from the dead" (v. 14). In those verses, Jesus asked three questions that we must answer. We will consider the first question today, picking up the other two questions over the nest couple of weeks.

Seven of Jesus' disciples were together (John 21:2), and Peter said, "I am going fishing" (v. 3a). So everyone chimed in, "We are going with you also" (v. 3b). So what did they do? "They went out and immediately got into the boat" (v. 3c). And guess what? "That night they caught nothing" (v. 3d).

Why was the fishing so poor that night? Let me suggest one reason—they were out of God's will. Note that it was on this occasion that "Jesus showed Himself again" to His disciples (v. 1). Look at verse 4: "But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus." Why didn't they recognize Him? They had already seen Him twice before (v. 14). Perhaps it was because they were out of God's will, living as "Someday Saints" (Steve's term).

What is a "Someday Saint"? It is a believer who each day says, "Someday I will get around to it"... "Someday I will live as I should and do what God wants me to do"... "Someday." This is the believer who is saved, but comfortable. They are used to the status quo and they are comfortable where they are. They talk about someday doing great things for Jesus, but not yet. That is for "someday."

Jesus wants us to quit living as "Someday Saints." What He wants is for us to start living as "Borrowed-Time Believers." A "Borrowed-Time Believer" is one who realizes that he is living on borrowed time. He is a believer who lives with a sense of urgency and passion. He is the one who God uses. He is the one who gets things done for Jesus.

Steve Scheibner was on borrowed time—God had spared his life. Likewise, you might say I am on borrowed time—God spared my life as well. The disciples were also on borrowed time, as God spared their lives. Peter denied the Lord three times because he feared he would be arrested and crucified along with Him. All of them could have died with Jesus right then and there, but they didn't. God had spared them as well.

If you think about it, you are also on borrowed time. You deserve death because of your sin. You deserve to spend eternity in hellfire, separated from God, but you won't. Not if you have trusted in Jesus by faith. Jesus died in your place, sparing your life. So we are all living on borrowed time.

In verse 4, a question is implied: What are you doing here? Is this really where you ought to be? Think about it. Where are Jesus' disciples? Out in a boat fishing. Where should they be? Out in the world spreading the Good News about the Lord Jesus. They are "Someday Saints," comfortable where they are, when they should be "Borrowed-Time Believers," passionate about their faith, with a sense of urgency.

How about you? Are you a "Someday Saint" or a "Borrowed-Time Believer"? Go and tell others about Jesus. Amen.