![\"True](\"http:\/\/www.all-creatures.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/lambleft.jpg\")
<\/a>A Sermon Delivered to
\nThe Compassion Internet Church<\/p>\n
26 January 2014<\/p>\n
Frank L. Hoffman, Pastor<\/p>\n
Scripture References:<\/p>\n
Psalm 27:1-9
\nIsaiah 9:1-4
\nMatthew 4:12-25<\/p>\n
True Christians need to live as peacemakers, or as the peacemaking children of God that Jesus called us to be, who help free creation from its present corruption.<\/p>\n
As we talked about last week, we hear from people all the time who are upset and depressed because of all the cruelty they see in the world around them, particularly when it involves animals who cannot speak for themselves.<\/p>\n
These depressing feelings are magnified even more when this cruelty comes from people who claim to be Christian.<\/p>\n
And since most proclaiming Christians are also totally indifferent to the suffering of animals, other than their \u201cpets\u201d, it makes matters even worse, and many of the people we hear from are on the verge of leaving the church, if they haven\u2019t done so already, or of losing their faith because of the hardness of heart they see in their fellow Christians.<\/p>\n
They see this cruelty and indifference to the suffering of animals as being totally against the heavenly will of God, which should be part of all Christians\u2019 lifestyle here on earth.<\/p>\n
In their minds they feel that if this is the way Christians are, they don\u2019t want any part of Christianity.<\/p>\n
True Christians would not cause physical pain and suffering to any other living being, or emotional stress as they do to people like the ones who write to us, or to us; true Christians seek to bring true peace to the whole of creation.<\/p>\n
Through our ministry, and showing them the compassionate side of Christianity, we have helped many of these people hold on to their faith<\/p>\n
With these things in mind, let\u2019s look at Psalm 27:1-9, and apply its message in today\u2019s world.<\/p>\n
1. The LORD is my light and my salvation;
\nWhom shall I fear?
\nThe LORD is the defense of my life;
\nWhom shall I dread?<\/p>\n
Since we know these things about God to be true, or at least we should know, then why do we allow fear and dread to enter our lives?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s most likely because all the evil in the world around us can get overpowering at times.<\/p>\n
And this is exactly what David addresses next.<\/p>\n
2. When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
\nMy adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.<\/p>\n
3. Though a host encamp against me,
\nMy heart will not fear;
\nThough war arise against me,
\nIn spite of this I shall be confident.<\/p>\n
We believe that the people who abuse and mistreat animals, and kill and eat over 100 billion of them a year, including those people who are indifferent to the animals\u2019 suffering and pain, are in fact making war against the animals and the people who care about them, in the same way that David writes about.<\/p>\n
And the people we are ministering to are in mourning because of it, just as we are.<\/p>\n
However, David is living in the assurance that God is with him all the time, just as we should be.<\/p>\n
4. \u00a0One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek:
\nThat I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
\nTo behold the beauty of the LORD,
\nAnd to meditate in His temple.<\/p>\n
The temple that David refers to no longer exists, but since God created everything, we can commune with God and meditate on the wonders of His creation in the great outdoors.<\/p>\n
We can also meditate upon Isaiah\u2019s prophecy of the peaceable kingdom (Isaiah 11:6-9), and change our focus from the horrors of this corrupted world and instead focus on God\u2019s heavenly will for our lives today and in the future.<\/p>\n
And in the process, we allow the Holy Spirit to help us chase away the demonic forces that cause so much pain and suffering to millions of our fellow human beings and billions of animals every year.<\/p>\n
5. For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
\nIn the secret place of His tent He will hide me;
\nHe will lift me up on a rock.<\/p>\n
6. And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me;
\nAnd I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
\nI will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.<\/p>\n
Do you remember that in last week\u2019s sermon, we saw that David wrote that God does not desire animal sacrifices?<\/p>\n
Therefore, the sacrifices he mentions here must not be animal sacrifices, but the letting go of all of the troubles and worries of this world (which we seem to hold on to as valuable possessions that control our lives), and instead, taking upon ourselves Jesus Christ and His peace.<\/p>\n
7. Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice,
\nAnd be gracious to me and answer me.<\/p>\n
8. When Thou didst say, “Seek My face,” my heart said to Thee,
\n“Thy face, O LORD, I shall seek.”<\/p>\n
9. Do not hide Thy face from me,
\nDo not turn Thy servant away in anger;
\nThou hast been my help;
\nDo not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation!
\nNASB<\/p>\n
David knows that he had done things that are against God\u2019s heavenly will, but in his repentance he acknowledges who God is, and wants to make sure that he is not forsaken by God\u2019s anger.<\/p>\n
However, from everything we\u2019ve learned, God doesn\u2019t operate that way. He is faithful to forgive a truly repentant person, and help them to walk with Him on His pathway.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s now take a look at Isaiah\u2019s prophecy to Israel in Isaiah 9:1-4.<\/p>\n
1. But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.<\/p>\n
Zebulun, one of the tribes of Israel, was established to the west of the Sea of Galilee, and their brother tribe, Naphtali lay to the north of the Sea, but because they rebelled against God and had no repentance, they were carried away into exile by the Assyrians.<\/p>\n
Now God is telling them and us, through Isaiah, that glorious times await them, and as we will see, He is referring to Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
2. The people who walk in darkness
\nWill see a great light;
\nThose who live in a dark land,
\nThe light will shine on them.<\/p>\n
This great light comes through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, and chases away the spiritual darkness that surrounds us in this corrupted world.<\/p>\n
Cruelty, pain, suffering, bloodshed, and death are all part of this spiritual darkness, and they are things that true Christians would never participate in.<\/p>\n
With the Holy Spirit this spiritual light of God shines forth within us and all around us bringing peace and joy.<\/p>\n
This is what true Christians seek, and they live in the light.<\/p>\n
3. Thou shalt multiply the nation,
\nThou shalt increase their gladness;
\nThey will be glad in Thy presence
\nAs with the gladness of harvest,
\nAs men rejoice when they divide the spoil.<\/p>\n
4. For Thou shalt break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
\nThe rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
\nNASB<\/p>\n
True Christians seek for this gladness and peace all the time, and they pray and work for it to happen in the here and now.<\/p>\n
Now, as we look at Matthew 4:12-25, we see Jesus fulfilling Isaiah\u2019s prophecy.<\/p>\n
12. Now when He [Jesus] heard that John [the Baptist] had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee;<\/p>\n
13. and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.<\/p>\n
14. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,<\/p>\n
15. “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
\nBy the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles \u2014<\/p>\n
16. “The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light,
\nAnd to those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,
\nUpon them a light dawned.”<\/p>\n
Then Jesus\u2019 ministry upon this earth begins in earnest.<\/p>\n
17. From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”<\/p>\n
This is also what each and every one of us should be doing.<\/p>\n
We need to be calling people not only to repent, but to live in the heavenly will of God here on earth as it is in heaven, where there is no pain, or mourning, or death.<\/p>\n
And, we need to set the example of what it means to live as the peacemaking children of God who work to help free creation from its present corruption, beginning with what we eat and wear.<\/p>\n
We need to set the example of what it means to be true Christians.<\/p>\n
18. And walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.<\/p>\n
19. And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”<\/p>\n
In other words, Jesus is calling them away from being killers of fish, which is living in the darkness of this world, to be His disciples and share the light of the Lord with the world around them.<\/p>\n
20. And they immediately left the nets, and followed Him.<\/p>\n
We will also find that the more we live as true Christians before the world around us, the more we will find that we are also gathering disciples.<\/p>\n
21. And going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.<\/p>\n
22. And they immediately left the boat and their father, and followed Him.<\/p>\n
23. And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.<\/p>\n
We may not be able to heal every kind of disease that plagues the world today, but we sure can show the people how God\u2019s original plant food diet can prevent most of these diseases.<\/p>\n
And we may not be able to free the earth from its present corruption by ourselves, but we sure can show the world around us how to begin the process as true Christians.<\/p>\n
24. And the news about Him went out into all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, taken with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.<\/p>\n
25. And great multitudes followed Him from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.
\nNASB<\/p>\n
And the news about us will also go out into the world around us, and people will start to think about and question the corrupt ways of this world.<\/p>\n
This is how we bring about the continuing of the peacemaking process.<\/p>\n
We all need to be witnesses of God\u2019s heavenly will to the people around us.<\/p>\n
We all need the Holy Spirit in our lives.<\/p>\n
We all need to be true Christians.<\/p>\n
We all need to be peacemaking children of God.<\/p>\n
We all need to help free this earth from its present corruption.<\/p>\n
Amen.<\/p>\n
Please take a look at our complete list of sermons:
\nhttp:\/\/www.all-creatures.org\/sermons.html<\/a><\/p>\n
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