Month: June 2025

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Nobleton Community Church
29084 Sentinel Street PO Box 224
Nobleton, Florida 34661

Rev. Paul V. Lehmann, Pastor
813-389-8683
Nobletoncommunitychurch.org
info@nobletoncommunitychurch.org

OUR VISION IS:
To experience SPIRIT-FILLED WORSHIP AND PRAYER
To be involved in EVANGELISM, DISCIPLINING AND TRAINING PEOPLE
To use our SPIRITUAL GIFTS
To SERVE AND REACH PEOPLE FOR CHRIST, BOTH
“ACROSS THE STREET AND ACROSS THE WORLD”

Nobleton Community Church
Date June 29, 2025
Pastor Paul Lehmann

Listen to live audio here

Mat 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Mat 10:7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

Luke 10:8-9 Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

Luke 9:59-60 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”
But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”

Acts 28:30-31 Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.

1 cor 4:20 For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.

Rom 14:17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

col 1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,

John 3:3-6 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Acts 2:37-39 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

Luke 17:20-21 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Eph 4:23-24 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

(THE GREATEST HINDERANCE TO SPIRITUALGROWTH)

Scroll down past Sermon for more info

Nobleton Community Church
29084 Sentinel Street PO Box 224
Nobleton, Florida 34661

Rev. Paul V. Lehmann, Pastor
813-389-8683
Nobletoncommunitychurch.org
info@nobletoncommunitychurch.org

OUR VISION IS:
To experience SPIRIT-FILLED WORSHIP AND PRAYER
To be involved in EVANGELISM, DISCIPLINING AND TRAINING PEOPLE
To use our SPIRITUAL GIFTS
To SERVE AND REACH PEOPLE FOR CHRIST, BOTH
“ACROSS THE STREET AND ACROSS THE WORLD”

Nobleton Community Church
Date June 22, 2025
Text Colossians 3:12-14; Romans 12: 17-21; Matt. 22:37-39
Pastor Paul Lehmann

Listen to live audio here

There are many things which hinder spiritual growth We have talked about many different things that keep us from growing spiritually. It is difficult to narrow it down and say that there is one single factor which is greater than all the others. The most obvious thing which comes to mind of course is sin, but we are talking this morning about the dedicated Christian, born of the Spirit of God and trying to walk in the light of His Word. This is the person who really wants to get close to the Lord, obey Him and walk in the Spirit. This kind of Christian doesn’t have any problem with his relationship with the Lord because of open sin in his life. There is nothing between him or her and their Lord. But there may be plenty between this person and other people. This person’s problem is relational with people, not with God.

Do not take revenge, but leave room for God’s wrath.”

You see, God is to take revenge, not you. “I will repay, says the Lord.” On the contrary, Paul says in Romans 12:17-21: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Now sometimes we may wonder just what that verse is all about. Bishop K.C. Pillai from India, writes about this in his book: “Light Through an Eastern Window.” He says; “ I believe that Westerners think that this is some form of revenge. The saying originated, however, from the way in which the coals of fire are carried from one household to another in the Eastern villages. One woman who has the flint, rises first and builds the fire, and a boy then takes the burning coals on a piece of pottery, balanced on top of his head, to the other households. This is really a pleasant task for the boy because when the morning is cold, he becomes warmed by the coals as he goes about his rounds. The verse is an extension of the admonition, “Bless them who curse you; pray for them that despitefully use you,” since if you heap coals of fire on his head you may warm him up and change his mind and heart, and persuade him to put away his evil ways.

Now WHAT IS THE NATURE OF RESENTMENT?

There are four things.

1. The first thing about it is that it is usually only subjective and nobody knows it but you and God. You let that build up inside of you and eat away at you. What you should have done before this resentment built up in you, was to ask for forgiveness for anything that you have done to cause a problem in this relationship.

There are wrong ways to ask for forgiveness however.

You might say in an angry tone;

“I’m sorry” and this forces the other person to snap back—“well I’m sorry too”

Or it could be reversed and they say it first, and you are the one who responds in an unkind way.

Then too, you might say: “ I apologize! What you might be thinking and even might add; “I’m sorry about that, but it wasn’t all my fault. In other words, you aren’t accepting much responsibility for what happened.

Especially if you say; “I was wrong, but you were too!”

PRIDE enters into the situation if you say:

If I’ve been wrong, please forgive me.

What you are saying is; “If my personality (for which I’m not responsible for), has offended you, there must be something wrong with your ability to get along with others. But I’ll be big-hearted about this and assume that maybe it’s my fault, (which I’m not fully convinced that it is,) and ask you to forgive me. –that is—if you still think I’m wrong.

Don’t say this either; “ I’m sorry about the way I talked to you, or worse about the way I lied to you. –Please forgive me. Here is pride again. It is hard to say—I was wrong.

WHAT WE SHOULD SAY IS VERY SIMPLE—

I was wrong. Will you forgive me?

Sometimes even unknowingly, you maybe don’t realize the resentment you have inside of you.

When you do realize it,

it turns into the second thing in the nature of this resentment—

2. A personal “pity-party.” You begin to pity yourself –
3. Then it lodges in you as a grudge.
4. Now you have a “debtor” or a “trespasser”—Words used in the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:12. —And you don’t want to forgive your debtor. Sin is pictured in the prayer as a debt. Sin incurs a debt which must be discharged. If then someone owes us such a debt , and we fail to release him by forgiving him, our own debts before our Heavenly Father will not be forgiven by Him, and we will not be released.

You may wonder why you have so much bondage in your spiritual life. You have no freedom, and can’t really go on with the Lord, to another level. You experience no blessing in your life. The fact that you refuse to forgive someone who has offended you may be the cause.

Our problem remember is relational—with other people. The acts of our sinful nature are obvious Paul says in Galatians 5:20. Look at this list. In the middle there are 8 things.

1. Hatred—the opposite of love. It speaks of hostility in whatever form manifested.
2. Discord—Contention, strife, and even fighting. (Paul says; “you bite and devour one another)
3. Jealousy—unfriendly feeling excited by another’s possession of goods—You aren’t happy about the honors or blessings you see others receiving.
4. Fits of rage (anger) bad temper and hostile feelings.
5. Selfish ambition—self-seeking
6. Dissention and division
7. Factions—joining “clicks” and self-willed opinions that separate you from others.
8. Envy—you are pained at what someone else has. (this is like jealousy) This is defined as; “ the eager desire for possession created by the spectacle of another’s possessions. —Someone’s new car, or house, or anything that you wish you had.

Our relationship with God was warm and wonderful and we want to go on with Him. We want to walk in the Spirit. —-It’s like you are walking around saying; “ Don’t bother me, I am walking in the Spirit!—but your nose is in the air and inside your heart is resentment. It might be against the pastor, or former pastor, your father, or your mother, your EX, your kids, your brothers or sisters, or others in you family, your doctor, or neighbors etc. Maybe even people in this church

How do we get this all straightened out?

Who wants to bother? Who needs it? YOU NEED IT, AND YOU KNOW IT. You know there is a problem. It is relational –that’s the problem. You have blamed everyone else for the problem.

God wants to show you that the problem is YOU, and your relationship with other people. OK—There is nothing wrong with your relationship with God—but with people—-and unfortunately with other Christians. The problem is that our relationship with God is also affected.

Now—HOW DO WE GET RELEASED FROM RESENTMENT?

There are four things again—

1. You have to understand what God means by a testing. Don’t you wish God would put up a sign that says; “ This is a test”

Like someone puts a dent in your car door on your car that you just bought—obviously they opened their door in a parking lot and did it. Or maybe you get cut off on the road—“this is a test” Or your spouse or someone in your family, says something to you that is hard to take—“this is a test” –You get the idea. The problem is He doesn’t always make it clear, until after we have blown in by our reaction. Then we must ask Him for forgiveness, and probably someone else that we have yelled at, or worse.

2. We need to understand the sovereignty of God.

We must learn to say—God I don’t understand it, but I accept it. Nothing can come into your life unless it passes by Him first. Even things that Satan causes, Satan has to pass it by God first. (Remember Job)

3. Then acceptance with joy. When we do this, good things will happen. (Naaman’s going to get healed) eg. You remember that story in II Kings 5:1-27? He was the commander of the King of Aram’s army. He had leprosy. Elisha heard about it and called for him to come and be healed. He told him to go and dip himself in the Jordan river seven times, and he will be healed. Naaman’s pride got in the way, and he didn’t want to do it. His servants said to him, if the prophet had asked you to do some great thing, you would have done it wouldn’t you. So they convinced him to do what he said, and he was healed of his leprosy.
4. You need to know about the spiritual prison God puts us in. When we store up hidden resentments in our innermost being, God shuts us up in a prison so to speak, and withholds his blessing from us. We must ask God to release us and then cleansing must begin. You will experience freedom of the Spirit and you can go on with God.

You can pray: “ Dear Lord, I release my resentment, forgive me for the hidden resentments that I have held against him, (or her). This has to be your prayer, and then go to the person if they are still living, and if it is possible. It might be that you also have to ask forgiveness for resentment that you have held against God, for something that happened, that you didn’t understand. —You can pray—“ I release my resentment just now—forgive my feeling towards you, and/or —and you name the person. I forgive them in Jesus’ name. Then don’t beat yourself up over it—you must forgive yourself—and allow the healing balm of the Holy Spirit to flow over you and bring the forgiveness and release that you long for.

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Nobleton Community Church
29084 Sentinel Street PO Box 224
Nobleton, Florida 34661

Rev. Paul V. Lehmann, Pastor
813-389-8683
Nobletoncommunitychurch.org
info@nobletoncommunitychurch.org

OUR VISION IS:
To experience SPIRIT-FILLED WORSHIP AND PRAYER
To be involved in EVANGELISM, DISCIPLINING AND TRAINING PEOPLE
To use our SPIRITUAL GIFTS
To SERVE AND REACH PEOPLE FOR CHRIST, BOTH
“ACROSS THE STREET AND ACROSS THE WORLD”

Nobleton Community Church
Date June 8, 2025
Text Colossians 1:1-14
Pastor Paul Lehmann

Listen to live audio here

When we use Xs and Os there are three things they are used for. The first and probably the oldest is: for the game tick tack toe, where you have to put Xs or Os in a line. If both of you pay attention, it will usually end in a tie depending on who goes first. The second way that I use them and still do when I am coaching, is to diagram a play. It is used in both football and basketball. The more recent use is using the old way of closing a letter to show love, in text messages and e-mails. One of our granddaughters puts these at the end of her thank you notes to us.

Although hugs and kisses have become a standard part of e-mail and text messages,

WE HAVE DELETED THE CENTRALITY OF LOVE

IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH

In Paul and Timothy’s letter to the Christians in Colossae, they show “love” to them even though they don’t actually use Xs and Os. This church in the first century, was in a town in Asia Minor. Paul says in verse 4: “ We thank God for you, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints.” They rejoiced that their mutual friend Epaphras “has made know to us your love in the Spirit” (verses 7-8). Love for all the saints. Love in the Spirit. A letter of love.

If Paul and Timothy were writing today, you might see a farewell using Xs and Os. Although we used to add below our signatures a few Xs and Os, it was usually for someone very close to us. But today, one never knows for sure. In recent years it is used so much, even in professional communication that it seems it has taken on a life of its own.

Paul, Timothy and the Colossians were probably better equipped to handle these public displays of affection than we are. According to his letters:

Paul is not afraid of the words “love” and “beloved,” using them over 130 times. He speaks of God’s love, the love of Christ, the love of the Spirit, beloved fellow servants. God’s beloved Son, and the need both to love one another and be united in love. Paul emphasizes love a lot except in one specific case. He warns his colleague Timothy that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (I Timothy 6:10). Xs and Os, like it or not, is here to stay.

So in a world of hugs and kisses, what does it mean for us to have love “for all the saints” In what ways can we express “love in the Spirit.” And live as disciples of God’s “beloved Son?” Love is an essential quality of life in the church, and we need to understand it and practice it. Christian love is more than a hug and a kiss at the end of an e-mail, or text message, or even when we say hello and good-bye and hug each other.

We can begin with a redefinition. The use of X as a symbol for affection goes back at least the year 1763, when the Oxford English dictionary first defined X as “kiss.” But let’s go back even farther, to the Greek alphabet that was used in the New Testament. There, we find the letter chi, which looks like an X and is the first letter of the Greek word Chrstos.

We are who God says we are.

In the letter to the Colossians, love is never allowed to drift very far from faith in Jesus Christ. Paul and Timothy say, “we always thank God…for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints.” (verses 3-4)

The Colossians are showing faith in Jesus, the one who lived a life of love and then lovingly offered himself as a perfect sacrifice to bring forgiveness and new life. They have seen a perfectly clear picture of love in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and are now trusting him to lead them as they attempt to love one another.

X does not point to a romantic kind of love. It is a mark of sacrificial love—one that feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, heals the sick, welcomes strangers, and even lays down one’s life for a friend. When the Colossians put their faith in Jesus Christ, they begin to love one another with this Christlike love—Jesus asked Peter three times; “Do you love me?” (John 21: 15-17) The first two times–he said feed my lambs, then take care of my sheep, and he used a different word for LOVE—Agape love—which is a self-sacrificing true love. Then the last one he used the word -Philio which is a brotherly love, close friendship or affectionate attachment, and said feed my sheep. This word is kind of like he is asking Peter; “ are you even my friend.”

That is why Paul and Timothy say that they are thankful for “the love that you have for all the saints” (verse 4). The saints in Colossae are not perfect people—they are as flawed as any of us—but they have been made holy by the powerful love of God in Christ. They don’t have to be declared a saint by the church. They are recognized as saints, because they knew and loved the Lord Jesus Christ. They are able to love one another because Jesus first loved them. The same for us. We are saints because we have been forgiven, loved and freed by our gracious Lord.

A group of Christian leaders was asked by The Christian Century magazine (September 5, 2012) to define the good news of Jesus in seven words or fewer. That’s right: Condense the Christian gospel into a handful of words. One of them, a Lutheran pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber, answered this question by saying. “We are who God says we are.” My seven words would be: “We are forgiven sinners saved by grace.”

That’s good news. “In the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Christ we see that God is so for us and with us that we can no longer be defined according to death,” Weber explains. “We are who God says we are: the forgiven, broken and blessed children of God, the ones to whom God draws near.

X marks the spot where we are who God says we are. The problem is that:

The transformation from a sinner that needs forgiveness, to a person who is reconciled to God is not automatic with no response on our part.

A few years ago Jeannene and I attended a Lutheran Church with her brother and sister-in-law before she died. It is a Missouri Synod church which is known as the evangelical branch of the Lutheran Church. It was so, in the preaching of the Word. The gospel was clear and only the Word of God was used. And yet in that church and in many other denominations where God’s word is believed and preached, not everyone “gets it.” I have thought about that a lot and I have shared with you many times some things about that. Too often people think like our sister-in-law did , when her daughter Linda came home one day from attending another evangelical church, and told her that she had received Christ into her heart and life, her mother responded with; “but you have always been a Christian Linda.” Seriously? We are born a Christian, or at least after our infant baptism? No—You see what was missing for Linda, was the realization of a time in her life when she confessed her sins, asked for forgiveness, and for Jesus Christ to come into her life.

There needs to be a time when we personally receive Him. Not just say things in church about Him.

The Colossians are also becoming known for their “love in the Spirit” (vs.8) Here, love is singled out as an important fruit of the Holy spirit, and we know from First Corinthians that Paul considers it to be the foundation of the spiritual gifts—-“now these three remain, faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is “love” (13:13)

We should never underestimate the power of Christ-shaped love. “Love your neighbor as yourself” Jesus tells us quoting what we read in Leviticus 19:18.

The importance of loving our neighbors is; “Loving mainly ourselves—which is the definition of the high consumer society we inhabit. But when we are just looking out for ourselves it means creating a world that stinks, where selfishness is our way of life, while so much of the world lives in poverty, both physically and spiritually. Jesus tells us;” it only works when we’re in it together.” When we realize that we are our brother’s keeper. When we realize that we have a calling to take the Good News of the Gospel to the whole world. A wholistic approach that doesn’t ignore the physical needs of people too.

The world only works when you love your neighbor as yourself. When you, as is said to the Colossians, “lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work” (vs. 10). That means fruitful productive living that benefits ourselves and our neighbors, as well as the planet entrusted to our care.

Paul and Timothy go on to remind the Colossians that God “has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (vs 13-14). If there was any doubt about the raw power of God’s love, this line should eliminate it.

Far from being a set of Os and Xs, hugs and kisses, God’s love creates an entirely new reality for those who become disciples of his Son. Through our faith in Christ, we are now rescued from the power of darkness, transferred into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son, redeemed from death and offered forgiveness of our sins. That’s the power of X—That’s the power of CHRIST, the world-changing power of the love of God.

So don’t forget that:

X means that you are who God says you are; A forgiven, broken and blessed child of God, saved by grace

. X means that you want to love your neighbor as yourself, knowing that our world works best when we are in it together with him.

X means that you are moving a little closer to the kingdom of God’s beloved Son, and that you want your loved ones to join you there. X and O is a nice message of hugs and kisses. But a single X (CHRIST) is what love is all about.

The first mention in literature of XXX for kisses at the bottom of a letter was in 1901, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The X itself is very old. The custom goes back to the early Christian era, when a cross mark or X was the same as a sworn oath. Even as little as a hundred and fifty years ago, not many people could read or write. The X at the bottom of a document took the place of a signature. They would kiss the X as a crucifix or Bible was kissed to emphasize the importance of the mark, it was this practice that led to the X representing a kiss. O is an American thing and represents the arms wrapping around someone with a hug.

The late Tony Campolo ( a pastor, professor and speaker from PA) tells about growing up in his neighborhood. One friend was Jewish. He comments on how wonderful Jewish mothers are. They believe their children are geniuses. If their child gets a bad grade they conclude that the teacher just can’t relate to a genius. Campolo says in his good Italian family when he left home for school mom always asked, “Tony, do you have your lunch?” In his friend’s family as he was leaving home his mom always asked, “Sydney, do you have your books?” It was a difference in perspective. The one was looking at a lifetime of learning the other was looking at lunchtime.

We need to be more like Jewish mothers in our relationship to each other. We need to see the genius, the beauty, the potential in those around us. We need to remember that each person is created in the image of God. Each one has been made for a particular purpose. Learning to love means learning to spotlight potential and strengths rather than problems. Love demands we learn to build up, rather than tear down. As we relate to people we must see them as God sees them. As God loves them, and communicate that love, and what the Lord wants to do in their life if they will just let Him.

The Bible doesn’t spend too much time explaining how to love or how to be kind. We are asked to love God, to love our neighbors, to be kind one to another. There’s something hard-wired in us that is able to translate intuitively just what that means, when we have Christ in our lives, and have been filled by the Holy spirit. It is His Spirit that will let us know, and guide us.

Paul says that God has transferred the Christian into His Kingdom from the place in which they used to live.

A transference from darkness to light—

From slavery to freedom —-

From condemnation to forgiveness——-

From the power of Satin to the power of God

Scroll down past Sermon for more info

Nobleton Community Church
29084 Sentinel Street PO Box 224
Nobleton, Florida 34661

Rev. Paul V. Lehmann, Pastor
813-389-8683
Nobletoncommunitychurch.org
info@nobletoncommunitychurch.org

OUR VISION IS:
To experience SPIRIT-FILLED WORSHIP AND PRAYER
To be involved in EVANGELISM, DISCIPLINING AND TRAINING PEOPLE
To use our SPIRITUAL GIFTS
To SERVE AND REACH PEOPLE FOR CHRIST, BOTH
“ACROSS THE STREET AND ACROSS THE WORLD”

Nobleton Community Church
Date June 1, 2025
Text Hebrews 9:10-28
Pastor Paul Lehmann

Listen to live audio here

In our text this morning in chapter 9 verse 12 of Hebrews we see clearly that: It is not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, that he entered once and for all into the Holy Place, because he had secured for“ us an eternal redemption. Then in verses 20 and 22, we see that “this is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you to keep…

in fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.” You might ask; ‘why is that?” In Leviticus 17:14 we read that;

“THE LIFE OF ANY CREATURE IS ITS BLOOD.

To drink blood, was a pagan practice, to gain the characteristics of the slain animal’s strength or speed, etc. Israel was to be separated to discourage pagan practices. God’s people were to rely on him, not on ingested blood for strength.

Jesus’ power enters into us, not by the drinking of blood (the cup –the wine). He enters into us by his Holy Spirit. That’s why we believe that Communion is symbolic, not the actual blood and body of Christ.

In the Old Testament, to preserve that symbolism of the sacrifice, it symbolized the life of the animal, as well as life itself.

To protect: many deadly diseases are transmitted by the blood.

He asks us to identify with him completely. He wants us to take his life into us, and he wants to participate in our lives.

This imagery comes from the Day of Atonement rituals described in Leviticus 16. Redemption refers to the process of paying the price or ransom to free a slave.

THROUGH HIS OWN DEATH, CHRIST FREED US FROM THE SLAVERY OF SIN FOREVER, Even though you know Christ, you may believe that you have to work hard to make yourself good enough for God. This is what all false religions teach. It is a doctrine of works. But rules and rituals have never cleansed people’s hearts. By Jesus’ blood alone we have our consciences cleansed. We are freed from death’s sting and can live to serve God. We are freed from sin’s power. We sing about these truths, usually just before Easter when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ or sometimes before or during communion services. But if you are carrying a load of guilt because you are finding that you can’t be good enough to take away your sin, you need Jesus to take it away.

The sin of the world, as John said)– and take our place and die for us. This is the basic meaning of the New Covenant, that Jesus brought, that we should have access to God.. To put it another way, we should have fellowship with God. The writer of Hebrews is talking about even those who were under the Old Covenant, now can come “boldly” before the throne of God., (that is, with confidence, we can come directly to God.) The veil (the curtain) that was a barrier to the Holy of Holies, where only the priests could go and offer sacrifices, has been torn in two. (Matthew 27:37).

In John 19:30 we read; “Jesus said, “IT IS FINISHED” and with that, he bowed his head and gave up his Spirit.” Until this time, a complicated system of sacrifices had atoned for sins. Sin separated the people from God, and only through the sacrifice of an animal, a substitute, could they be forgiven and become clean before God. But people continually sin, so frequent sacrifices were required. Jesus however, became the final and ultimate sacrifice for sin. The word finished used in John 19:30 in Greek is a commercial term. Tetelios, meaning “paid in full.” Jesus came to finish God’s work of salvation, to pay the full penalty for our sins. With his death, the complex sacrificial system ended because Jesus took all sin upon himself. Now we can freely have the forgiveness provided by God through the sacrifice of Jesus. We can say, as the Gather song goes; “It is finished, the battle is over. It is finished and Jesus is Lord.”

The writer of Hebrews states that the first covenant was primarily about rules and regulations for worship, but wasn’t effective in cleansing one’s conscience from sin. He says in verse…10 For that, the old system dealt only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies — physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established. The old system was about ceremonial purity. When one broke a dietary law or ceremonial law, the old system could offer ceremonial cleansing. The new system, he explains, is about spiritual purity. It deals with the real problem of the human race: the sin that separates us from God and from one another. The ancient tabernacle, he explains, is designed to illustrate that free access is impossible under the old system. But under the new covenant, he explains, free access is possible, and it belongs to every believer in Jesus Christ. He goes on to state that we have access to God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His death pays the price for our sins and opens the door to our relationship with God.

THE QUESTION OF SACRIFICE

Let’s address an obstacle that many find in this text: the talk of sacrifice.

The Old Testament system of animal sacrifices wasn’t the perfect system, because it was based on a limited and incomplete concept of the nature of God. But it did point the way to the perfect system; it gave the ancient people of God an understanding of what was to come.

If you were to say that the idea that killing an animal could somehow cleanse you of your sins is completely wrong, the writer of Hebrews would agree with you. He says…It is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. (Hebrews 10:4)He says something similar to this in chapter nine verse 9

“For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them. For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies — physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established.”

When we first came to Florida 18 years ago, Wesley Chapel hardly had any subdivisions. Route 54 had lots of road construction and cones along the roads. These temporary roads were, at best, ineffective. They consisted of one lane with barriers on both sides, (much like the Brooksville-Spring Hill section of Route 50 (Cortez Blvd.) that goes past Wall-Mart.used to be. . They were constantly congested, and took a long to travel. We’ve all had to deal with this kind of road construction, but it was temporary. It was just in place until a more perfect system could be established. Today, however, if you were to come to Wesley Chapel Route 54 east of 75 is a divided highway, The difference with this illustration though is that Wesley Chapel, and now San Antonio is constantly changing, and there are housing developments and commercial buildings everywhere. This illustrates, to a limited extent, what we see in the first covenant. It acknowledges the fact that there exists a chasm between humankind and God, that our actions — sinful and self-serving as they are — separate us from him. And it hints at the idea that God will provide a way for this chasm to be crossed, for this debt to be paid. God’s New Covenant does not change. Man’s old way, is constantly changing, hopefully for better traffic patterns, but they are constantly trying to make it better. Much like man trying to do good works to save themselves and make life better.

THE PROBLEM OF MORAL DEBT

The writer of Hebrews says…

Verse 13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Let’s stop right there for a moment.

Why should God require a sacrifice for sins? Why can’t he just wave them off and forgive us of his own volition? Why does he need the blood of his Son to forgive me?” Many people ask this question. So, why did God require the death of his Son to forgive our sins? He did it because we needed it, not because he needed it. He did it because it was the only way for us to understand the significance of sin and the extent of his mercy.

WE HAVE A DEBT TO PAY

Let’s say you get a credit card offer in the mail with a ten-thousand-dollar limit. You’re already approved and good to go. Being the good American that you are, you are willing to do your share in stimulating the economy by immediately going out and purchasing $10,000 worth of goods and services. This is what a lot of people, (especially students) have done. When the bill comes in, you have three ways of dealing with it. The first and most obvious is to write a check and put yourself at zero balance. It’s a happy ending for all involved. But let’s say you don’t have the money to pay the bill, not even the minimum payment. Then what can you do? You can completely ignore the bill and refuse to pay it. If that happens, eventually the credit card company will write it off as a bad debt and they’ll put a negative mark on your credit report so that (theoretically) you can’t obtain further credit. This way, you’re not really paying the debt, the books don’t really balance, and even though you’re punished for it (with a bad credit score) the debt remains outstanding.

The third option is to have someone pay it for you. There are phone calls where if you have $10,000 or more debt, they will negotiate it down for you “You’ve incurred a debt you cannot pay, so they will pay it for you. And you don’t have to pay it back, because you can’t. In this scenario, the debt is paid and you’re free to continue your life.

The one option that doesn’t exist, especially in our world in which credits must always equal debits, is for the credit card company to say, “You can’t pay? No problem. Let’s pretend like it never happened. We’ll give a zero balance and reactivate your card and you can go out and do it again.”

I would venture to say that even if this were to happen — if your bad spending habits were just waved off and ignored — you wouldn’t become better at managing money, you’d become worse. You wouldn’t be able to grasp that your bad spending habits create hardship on others, or that your bad habits would ultimately lead to economic destruction.

Somehow, someway, a debt must be accounted for. As I said, this is only an illustration, but maybe it can give you insight into the human condition and our relationship with God. Sin is not just breaking an arbitrary rule that God established — such as: it’s wrong to wear white after Labor Day. (except maybe in Florida it’s okay)- or women shouldn’t wear pantsuits or slacks— to think that our sins are just our business, and they don’t hurt anyone else. That’s not true. The things that God defines as sin are actions and attitudes that only serve to widen the gap that exists between him and you.

Sin also widens the gap between you and the people you love. Sin is selfish, destructive behavior. It is ugly and it causes pain. The reality is that you and me and the rest of the world are sinners. We’ve hurt the people we love. We’ve stood in defiance of God. We’ve said on more than one occasion, “I don’t care what’s best for anyone else, I don’t care what is the right thing to do, I will do exactly what I want to do.”

Some may say that more often than others, but all of us have certainly said it, at least by our actions. When we know we should be generous, we’re sometimes selfish. When we know we should be patient, we’re sometimes irritable. When we know we should speak words of love and encouragement, we sometimes speak words of anger and resentment. When we know the right thing to do, we sometimes do the wrong thing.

We do this with one another and we do it with God. And the gap between us grows wider and wider.

We cannot fool ourselves into thinking that this gap doesn’t exist. And God cannot, or will not, pretend it doesn’t exist either.

If he were to dismiss our sins with a wave of his hand, he would be saying, in effect, “The damage that you have caused with your selfish and sinful behavior isn’t really that bad. The people you hurt with your selfish and sinful behavior really weren’t that hurt. Let’s just pretend that when you take advantage of someone financially, you’re not robbing them of what is rightfully theirs. Let’s pretend that when you treat someone like a sexual object you’re not destroying their dignity. Let’s pretend that when you explode in anger at your wife or children you’re not sabotaging their self-esteem. Let’s pretend when you engage in gossip to ruin someone’s reputation, that you’re not crippling their future. Let’s pretend that none of this stuff really matters.”

No, a thousand times NO! that’s not what God says, because he knows the damage that sin can cause. We need to understand it, too. It can’t be dismissed and ignored.

When we confront our sin and become honest with ourselves about what we have done and why we have done it, we realize that we’ve done damage that can’t be undone, that we owe a debt we cannot pay.

If, at this point, you’re inclined to say, “But I’m not really such a bad person,” I would say that you’re not yet being fully honest with yourself about your actions and your attitudes and the consequences they yield.

But when we do become aware of our sins, we realize, “I can never make this right on my own.” We need a sacrifice. We need to know that the debt has been paid, and that it won’t always be hanging over us.

Isaiah says…All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. (Isaiah 53:6) Hebrews 13 says…For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.

It’s as if God is saying: “The damage caused by your sins is something you can never undo, but it’s something I will undo. The debt won’t go unpaid. Instead, it will be paid in full by someone who loves you very much. Any pain or punishment that you rightfully deserve, he will bear. He will be pierced for your transgressions and crushed for your iniquities, and by his wounds, you will be healed. This is because I love you, and I don’t want there to be anything — not even your worst sins — to stand between us.”

1. Once and for all, Jesus Christ paid the price for your sins
2. He did this so that you could be free to experience the fullness of God.

3.. You never have to fear God’s judgment.

RETURN—REFLECT– RENEW

ARE THE ROAD TO REVIVAL

Scroll down past Sermon for more info

Nobleton Community Church
29084 Sentinel Street PO Box 224
Nobleton, Florida 34661

Rev. Paul V. Lehmann, Pastor
813-389-8683
Nobletoncommunitychurch.org
info@nobletoncommunitychurch.org

OUR VISION IS:
To experience SPIRIT-FILLED WORSHIP AND PRAYER
To be involved in EVANGELISM, DISCIPLINING AND TRAINING PEOPLE
To use our SPIRITUAL GIFTS
To SERVE AND REACH PEOPLE FOR CHRIST, BOTH
“ACROSS THE STREET AND ACROSS THE WORLD”

Nobleton Community Church
Date May 25, 2025
Text Nehemiah 9:1-3; 30-31
Pastor Paul Lehmann

Listen to live audio here

This is Memorial Day weekend. What is Memorial Day for? What exactly are we supposed to be remembering? What are we “memorializing?” Originally the day was called Decoration Day, and people were to remember the soldiers that died in war. They decorated the graves of family members who lost their lives in war, dying for their country. Statistics for the Revolutionary War and the Civil War are hard to come by for various reasons, vut the first major war that most Americans remember is the First World War where 4,734,000 men served and 116,516 died—in World War II 16 million served and 407, 000 died—the Korean War 5,720,000 served and 36,568 died—the Vietnam War 8,744,000 served and 58,000 died—int eh Gulf War there were 378 deaths and in the War in Iraq approximately 4,419 died from 2003-2011. In Afghanistan, there were 2,420, and about 159 soldiers from Britain and other countries that participated in the coalition. This doesn’t count the thousands of Iraquis soldiers which have been estimated at about 40-50,000 and the thousands of civilians.

Memorial Day is to honor American soldiers who have been killed in combat. Since 9/11 and perhaps before, we have included those who have lost their lives in service to their fellowman, like our police officers, and firemen (First Responders) since Congress made the holiday officially the last Monday of May (instead of the traditional 30th ) in order to ensure a 3 day weekend, much of the importance of this day has fallen away. There are very few communities that still have Memorial Day Parades honoring our fallen veterans of war. It is just a holiday to go boating or swimming if the weather is nice, to have picnics and family gatherings, all of which are good things to do, but the meaning too often is forgotten.

In our text, the Israelites have more or less finished celebrating, and it has been called to their attention, that they are to remember some things. They are not told specifically to remember those who died in their struggle to rebuild the wall, in fact, we don’t have any mention of anybody being killed, despite the threats from their enemies. They are more specifically to remember the things that God has done in the past for them. After their seven-day celebration, they are again assembled together (verse 18 of chapter 8).

THEY ARE REPENTING AND RETURNING TO GOD

As we begin to look at chapter 9, we see that they are fasting, and putting sackcloth and dust or ashes on their heads which was a sign of repentance. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the wickedness of their fathers. This kind of confession is necessary in order to see revival. There are some principles of revival seen here that are applicable to the church today.

We need to distinguish revival from evangelism. In the past, some of you perhaps remember the church in general has referred to “Revival Meetings” and they were “evangelistic meetings.” The idea was to have an evangelist come in for a week (or sometimes two) and we were to bring unsaved people to the meetings. This rarely happened, but there were always some young people who had never given their lives to the Lord who got saved. Some of you trace your salvation experience to this kind of meeting. It is true that when Christians, are revived by the Spirit of God, they should witness with power, evangelism takes place, and people are brought into the Kingdom of God. But just to make sure we see the difference between revival and evangelism, let’s say that Evangelism is winning the unsaved, Revival has to do with the Christian. Evangelism is the permanent duty of the church; revival is a gracious outpouring of the Spirit of God.

It is possible to have some success in evangelism without ever having revival, but if revival breaks out in the church, this will lead to a mighty blessing in evangelism inevitably. The problem is that the church prays for revival, and pleads with God to send revival, but we are not willing to do anything for it to happen.

There are three principles of revival that I want to mention this morning, and we need to ask ourselves if we are willing to have them applied to our own lives and to our hurch.

THE FIRST IS : A RETURN TO BROKENHEARTEDNESS

Look at verse 2, which we have already mentioned. The people are confronted with their sin. They are so saddened by what is read to them, of how their ancestors continually turned their back on god, that they are ready to repent, to turn their lives around, and make sure that they don’t fall into the same pattern of crying out to God for forgiveness, and then falling right back into sin, or flat out refusing like in verse 17, “they refused to listen and failed to REMEMBER the miracles you performed among them.”

God will never plant the seed of His life upon the soil of a hard, unbroken spirit. He will only plant that see where the conviction of His Spirit has brought brokenness, where the soil has been watered with the tears of repentance as well as the tears of joy.

When His Holy Spirit brings brokenness, there is:

A RECOGNITION OF OUR SINFULNESS.

THERE IS A CONFESSION OF SIN, THAT IS;

AGREEING WITH GOD ABOUT OUR SIN.

Days of great joy in the Lord are always accompanied by days of great humiliation in ourselves. How often the discovery of something new in the loveliness of the Lord Jesus has brought with it the discovery of some new corruption in our own hearts.

Christian people have too often relegated experience like that to the early days of conversion. Oh, for that tenderness of heart that was ours when first we knew the Lord! How easily possible it is, in the pressure of life and business and Christian activity, for the grace of repentance to be just a memory! Oh, that god would give to us a renewal of brokenness to His will, and brokenness in our fellowship with others, in which there is a yieldedness to Him and to other Christians so that God can truly bless us!

We need to ask ourselves, some self-examination questions. This is not comfortable, and it is not easy, this recognition of sin. Alan Redpath, (the former pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, preached a sermon about this, and here is his list of questions to ask ourselves. I have changed the wording on some of them, to make them more relevant for us today.

WHAT ABOUT MY RELATIONSHIP WITH PEOPLE?

· Am I consciously or unconsciously crating the impression that I am a better person than I really am?

· Is there the least suspicion of hypocrisy in my life?

· Am I honest in all my words and acts?

· Do I exaggerate?

· Am I reliable?

Now I know as I go through this list, that the first thing that will go through your mind is: How it applies to someone else you know! Let’s not do that! Think about yourself. Can any of these apply to YOU at any time.?—Let’s continue—-

· Can I be trusted? (do others feel I can’t be trusted—why? )

· Do I confidentially pass on what was told to me in confidence? (I’m just giving this to you as a prayer request.)

· Do I grumble and complain in the church, about what others do or don’t do?

· Am I jealous, impure, irritable, touchy, distrustful?

· Am I self-conscious, (afraid to talk to people). self-pitying, (I have it worse than most people) self-justifying? (making excuses for things I do, or don’t do.)

· Am I proud? Do I thank God I am not like other people? (Just like the Pharisee)

· Is there anyone I fear, or dislike, or criticize, or resent? If so, what am I doing about it?

WHAT ABOUT MY DEVOTION TO GOD?

· Does the Bible live in me? Or do I just have a lot of knowledge stored up in my brain, about the Bible?

· Do I give it time to speak to me?

· Do I go to bed in time and do I get up in time?

· Am I enjoying my prayer life today? Or is it just something I do out of duty, if at all.

· When there is a problem in my life so I pray about it, or do I use my tongue and talk about it?

· Am I disobeying do in anything, or not doing something about which my conscience is very uneasy?

· When did I last speak to someone else with the object of tying to win them to Christ/

· Am I a slave to books, cards, movies, TV, video games, music, food, dress, friends, work, or even family? (Not that any of these things are wrong, but the key is BALANCE. )

· How do I spend my spare time?

Without a doubt, there is something in this list that will convict every one of us here this morning. These are very heart-searching questions. Have you thought about recognizing sinfulness lately? Or is that something that you think is only for the unsaved to do? That they are the ones that have to get themselves straightened out with the Lord? This is the price of revival. Every one of us must want to get ourselves “straightened out” with the Lord.

If you want revival, let me remind you, that God only plants the seed of His life in a soil which has been broken up by repentance, and a willingness to turn from sin. The Israelites recognized (in verse 33) that their ancestors had sinned. We read in their prayer, that “in all that has happened to us, you (that is God) have been just, you have acted faithfully, WHILE WE DID WRONG. (— we have done “wickedly” the K.J.V. says)

Agreeing with God is saying: “Lord you are right—I have done wrong.:” This is hard enough to say to another person, whether it is our spouse, or someone in the church, or in our family, let alone to God. But that is what has to happen if we want forgiveness, if we are really willing to repent, to not continue doing what we are doing, or going in the same direction spiritually that we are going.

The second principle of revival In this chapter is:

REFLECTION UPON GOD’S GOODNESS

Practically the whole chapter is devoted to the prayer that the people offered. Some of you have been like the Israelites. You have cried out to God, prayed, and have been forgiven, but then have fallen right back into sin. Prayed again and fell back, and the cycle has been unbroken for many years. You have experienced an up-and-down Christian life, ever since you first prayed to receive Christ into your life.

What an utterance of praise there is here, and what a confession of sin and failure! There is praise for what God is, for His covenant with them through Abraham for His deliverance from Egyptian bondage, for His tender guidance all during their history, In spite of all that—– there had been repeated sin and failure. And again and again, that failure was matched by a new outpouring of the grace of God.

In spite of all His goodness, note in verse 16: But they, our forefathers, became arrogant and stiff-necked, (that means stubborn, obstinate, and Webster’s book of synonyms even says; pig-headed or bull-headed) and they did not obey your commands. Again I want to mention: THEY REFUSED TO LISTEN AND FAILED TO REMEMBER THE MIRACLES you performed among them: But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger! And abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them…you did not abandon them…you gave your …Spirit to instruct them.

Have you remembered to REFLECT ON GOD’S GOODNESS.

THE FINALLY THE THIRD PRINCIPLE IS:

THE RENEWAL OF OUR OBEDIENCE

The Israelites in verse 38 made a binding agreement —a covenant—in writing. The obedience of God’s people touched every part of their lives;

Their home life, Their social life, and Their church life.

      The Israelites always misunderstood this separation between friendship with the pagan world and with God. They were to develop relationships with their pagan neighbors to reveal to them the One True God, but they were not to marry those who didn’t acknowledge Yahweh. In New Testament terms, they were not to be “unequally yoked together” this means in marriage, but also in business partnerships. How many businesses have gone bankrupt because this principle was violated.

It affects church life. At the end of chapter 10 verse 39 we read: “We will not How can we have revival? Charles Finney, (that great revivalist preacher) said: “revival comes by the right use of clearly defined means.”

God’s clearly defined means are just these things:

Our BROKENESS neglect the house of our God.”

Nehemiah has emphasized faithfulness in corporate worship. They were all to be present when the word was read and they stood in prayer to God.

(a tenderness of heart) which leads to

REPENTANCE. , A RECOGNITION OF SIN , in which God’s Holy Spirit

can plant a seed that will grow.

A REFLECTION ON GOD’S GOODNESS (a taking of time for meditation A and RENEWAL OF OUR OBEDIENCE (that puts revival into action.)