Month: May 2026

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

Pastor Nick Everett Hand
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 10th 2026
Text
Pastor Nick Everette Hand

Listen to live audio here

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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 May 3, 2026
Text I John 3:1-7;
Pastor Paul Lehmann

Listen to live audio here

II Chron. 20:7 tells us that Abraham was a “friend of God;

Prov. 18:24 tells us that God is a “friend” who is closer than a brother; then Jesus is accused of being a “friend to sinners” Matt. 11:19; Luke 7:24

It is important to recognize that God loves us, He is our friend, and Jesus is our friend, even when we haven’t received his friendship.

How many friends do you have? Some people think you can never have enough. Usually, we qualify our friends. “Old friends”—not just in age, I know, we are all old! But those we have been friends with for a long time, even though we hardly ever get to see them anymore. Best friends, just friends, and then lots of acquaintances.——– These are the people that when we are asked if we “know” them, we might respond, yeah, I know him, or I know her. Actually, we might not really know them at all. What we mean is that we met them, or “heard” of them, or we know who they are. This is especially true if you have a large number of acquaintances. Those who are on one of the social networks, like Facebook, usually have quite a few “friends.” There are some though that have thousands, and they can’t possibly be real friends. They have just responded to a request to be your friend, and you click yes. You can also unfriend someone by just clicking that. Apparently, there’s a Facebook page entitled, “Raise the maximum number of Facebook friends allowed.” You see, you are “allowed” to have 5,000 friends, and some are not satisfied with this “paltry number” that Facebook has deemed to be enough. More friends are necessary, the writer on this “Facebook page” claims, but not for in-depth conversations or a soul-searching exchange of ideas about the meaning of life. No, he (it’s got to be a “he”) needs more friends because that will make games like Mafia Wars and Farmville (whatever they are) more fun. If there are more people, more friends to play with, the games will have more variations and last longer. More friends meant better play time. (It sounds like a bunch of kids.) Now I personally think all of that is ridiculous, but many seem to respond to this. At first, it was only college students and other young people, but with the introduction of other social networks, Facebook is now used mostly by middle-aged and older people who want to share photos and chat with family.

Robin Dunbar, a professor of evolutionary anthropology at the University of Oxford, says, “the ideal limit on friends is actually 150. More than that, we limited humans, simply can’t keep track. It doesn’t matter if the 150 are all in your neighborhood and you see them every day, or if you have connections with friends, neighbors, and relatives across the globe. If the number exceeds 150, relationships will start to suffer, and meaningful contact will become more sporadic. Gradually, the connection will fade away, and that person will no longer be counted among our “friends.” This will happen over and over until we naturally whittle our true friend list to —guess what? 150 people or fewer. Humans seem to be hard-wired to maintain a certain number of meaningful relationships at one time. Dunbar has researched this so thoroughly that the phrase “Dunbar number’ refers to these 150 people who make the inner circle of meaningful friends.

Dunbar based this research in part on the experiences of Bill Gore, the founder of GORE-TEX, a company that makes wetsuits, hiking boots and ponchos. The company was started in 1958, born out of Gore’s passion for outdoor pursuits. The humble beginning was in his backyard, where he pursued his interest in producing quality products for outdoor enthusiasts. The company created dependable and useful tools and clothing. Word spread, and the company grew. What started as a small startup with a few employees who enjoyed an intimate, family-like work environment evolved into a large manufacturing company with close to 200 people laboring in an intense, impersonal atmosphere. To Gore’s dismay, he experienced the disconnect that occurs when too many people are working in one place. He walked around the now large factory and discovered that there were many people he did not know by name. He felt out of touch and cut off from his dream of creating a different kind of work environment.

Gore came up with a unique solution. Instead of enlarging the workplace to allow for more employees, he capped the number of workers who could be hired in any one place. When demand grew, and expansion was necessary, he built another factory; the limit of workers in any one place?—150. He discovered that this allowed the workers to work together better and maintain a close atmosphere. He discovered that the bigger a company got, the less likely people working for the company were less likely to work hard and help each other out. Everything ran more smoothly when people knew each other, from the top manager down to the lady behind the counter in the cafeteria, or the janitor, who could address each other by name. The employees felt as though they had a personal stake in what happened at the factory. They knew who that person was, and maybe even spent time with them outside of work. It wasn’t just business; it was personal.

Now we can know more than 150 people of course. In fact, it has been estimated that humans can recognize and remember up to 1,500 people. They just can’t maintain a relationship with that many. (I might add that we can’t always remember names either. Certainly not the names of 1,500 people, unless maybe you have learned to use Jerry Lucas’ memory system. When Jeannene and I were missionaries, our mailing list got up to 1000. These were people who signed up to receive our prayer letter after I spoke in their church. The vast majority, I don’t think I would have recognized, let alone would have known their name if I had seen them, four years later, when we came home on furlough. In fact, some people would see us at our General Counsel meetings and say, “Don’t you remember me? I go to such and such church in –wherever.” I would have to politely say, “I’m sorry. Thee are so many people that I meet.”

The point is, we don’t have the time, the memory or the resources to engage on a deep level with more than a limited number of people at one time. The answer is not to have an ever-increasing number of friends on Facebook. Less may indeed be more when it comes to quality, deep understanding, and in-depth relationships.

The good news is: God’s number is not Dunbar’s number.

There is no limit to God’s love, and Jesus is a “friend to all sinners as well as his disciples. The apostle John says in I John chapter 1, “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God.” Verse 1. Then he goes on to say something to the effect of, “Yet that is precisely what we are—children of God!” The astonishing thing is that God receives us—just as we are—and wants to restore us to fellowship with him. God loves us, even when we are far from him. God does not place a cap on how many people can be saved and come into His presence. He does not want anyone to be lost for eternity, we are told in 2 Peter 3:9. It reads, “The Lord is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN GOD LOVE?

God loves the world. He loves everyone. But he doesn’t have an intimate relationship with everyone. We read in John 1:12 …To as many as receive him and believe on his name, he gives the right to become children of God.”

GORE-TEX caps at 150. Facebook caps at 5,000. God doesn’t set a cap on the number of people that he loves and wants to have a relationship with. We may stumble, choose a broad path that is more crooked than straight and narrow, or at times be deeply disappointing to God. But when we search for God and call on God for forgiveness and new life. God’s door is open. There’s always a welcome waiting. Jesus emphasized this when he said, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28)

God loves us and wants a relationship with us. He does not love Christians more than those who have rejected Him, because he shows his love and mercy to everyone. We all deserve death and punishment, but he withholds that punishment from those who reject him, always waiting for them to repent and receive his forgiveness. There are some who believe that God only loves Christians, or that God only loves “good” people. Who is good? Just because some have integrity, or they have decent character and a pleasing personality, or they help a lot of people ir they do good deeds, or give a lot of money to the poor, or contribute to charity; those things do not make them “good.”

In Mark 10:17-22, a young man came to Jesus and said, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother, he declared. Teacher, all these I have kept since I was a boy. “Jesus looked at him and loved him. One thing you lack, he said. “Go sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this, the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

Does this passage teach that in order to have eternal life, we must sell all of our earthly possessions, in order to be a disciple of Christ and have assurance of Eternal Life? No, not at all! This man said that he hadn’t broken any of the commandments that Jesus mentioned, and maybe that was true. Maybe he had even kept the Pharisees’ loophole-filled version of them. But Jesus lovingly broke through the young man’s PRIDE with a challenge that brought out his true motives; “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor.” This challenge exposed the barrier that could keep this young man out of the kingdom: his love of money. Money represented his pride of accomplishment and self-effort. Ironically, his attitude made him unable to keep the first commandment to let nothing be more important than God. He could not meet the one requirement Jesus gave- to turn his whole heart and life over to God. The man came to Jesus, wondering what he could do; he left seeing WHAT HE WAS UNABLE TO DO. What barriers are keeping you from turning your life completely over to Him?

When Jesus asked this question, he was saying, “Do you really know the One to whom you are talking? Because only God is truly good, the man was calling Jesus God, whether or not he realized it. Jesus wanted this man to sell everything, but this does not mean that all believers should sell all their possessions. Most of his followers did not sell everything, or if they did, the money was used for Jesus’ itinerant ministry. Also, they used their possessions to serve others. This account does show us, though, that we must not allow anything we have or desire to keep us from following Jesus. We must remove all barriers to serving him fully.

We must realize that it is not what we do that makes us somehow worthy of God’s love. Romans 5:8 says that, “God demonstrated his love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” It is important to note that God’s love is a love that initiates; it is never a response. That is precisely what makes it unconditional. If God’s love were conditional, then we would have to do something to earn or merit it. We would have to somehow appease His wrath and cleanse ourselves of our sin before God would be able to love us. But that is not the Biblical message. The Biblical message—The gospel—is that God, motivated by love, moved unconditionally to save His people from their sin. Even though His love is unconditional, there is just one conditional part—we must accept or receive this gift of salvation, and put our faith and trust in Him alone. Nothing else.

GOD’S LOVE IS LARGE ENOUGH TO MAINTAIN A RELATIONSHIP WITH ALL OF US. IT IS NOT LIMITED.

Bill Gore at Gore-Tex cannot do that with his 9,500 employees. The 150 associates at each of his factories can maybe somewhat know everyone who works at any given location. But Facebook people cannot possibly maintain a viable relationship with 5,000 “friends.” —BUT GOD CAN.

GOD’S LOVE IS BIG ENOUGH TO COVER US WHEN WE DO WRONG.

Verses five and six tell us that…” he appeared so that he might take away our sins, and in him is no sin. (I John 1:9, once again—tells us that we have forgiveness if we confess our sins.) No one who lives in him, though, keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Confession without repentance (that is, turning from our sin), does no good. We are encouraged to pursue purity. The notion of being pure in oneself because He is pure is familiar. We read that in Leviticus 11:44—“Consecrate yourselves, and be holy, because I am holy.” Peter repeats this in I Peter 1:14-16:As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written, “Be holy because I am holy.”

The Apostle Paul says, “Be filled with the Holy Spirit”—(Keep on being vfilled) Keep on being holy. This happens when—

We “consecrate ourselves” completely to the CONTROL of the Holy Spirit. That’s the only way we can be pure.

God has provided a remedy for when life goes wrong,— when we go wrong; and that’s good news.

God is of course, capable of everything. Since the Scriptures say that GOD LOVES WITHOUT LIMITS, then we need to take that blessing on faith. The challenge of unconditional love, therefore, lies not with God but with our imperfect ability to conceive and then believe such a possibility. The notion that we are both loved and lovable is perhaps the most challenging one that God places before us; this idea dares us not only to accept ourselves as a beloved child of God, but also to view every person that we encounter as another potential brother or sister in Christ. I know that we encounter many people who are hard to love, and we can’t imagine them as someone God can love, but he does. He wants us to love them too. Love them into the Kingdom. “They will know we are Christians by our love” for each other in the body of Christ, and also the way we relate to those outside the Church. We may not like them, but we must respect them, and God’s love in us can be shown to them. We don’t get to declare limits either. We can’t turn to God and say, “I’ve done my part; I’ve cared for all the people that I can care about today. I have reached my limit. There is no “Dunbar number” to caring. What God asks of us is to receive this love so that we can share it as Jesus does. When we say that we are members of the Body of Christ, we are saying that we want to follow Jesus, to serve Jesus, and to live as He did. What Jesus did was to offer love. We are asked to love as freely as Jesus did. It is truly amazing what he did for us when he died for us. When he died for the world.

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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 April 26, 2026
Text Acts 8:4-8; 26-39;
Pastor Paul Lehmann

We sometimes think that we as individuals have no power, not only in the spiritual realm, but in the natural. Who are we anyway? We are always told that there is power in numbers. Sometimes that is true, but we need to recognize that it is usually only one person who starts something, and sometimes that something is spectacular and supernatural.

In our everyday sports world, we have often seen how one person dominates the game. In the NBA years ago, it was Wilt Chamberlain, the 7’ 2’ center, who scored 100 points himself in a game. Then, later, Michael Jordan was known worldwide for his spectacular ability, especially to make clutch shots at the end of games. More recently, it was Lebron James who carried the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first NBA championship. Then, when he left Cleveland for the LA Lakers, he hasn’t been able to do so well. What is it that has to happen for one person who is strong or skilled to be successful? Well, the answer is, usually, there has to be cooperation from others. In the Spiritual realm, we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit.

You will remember that the early church in Jerusalem suffered great persecution after the first martyr, Stephen, was stoned. The people scattered everywhere, preaching the gospel. These were ordinary people like you and me, doing the ministry that they were taught to do by the apostles, who stayed in Jerusalem.

In our scripture reading today, we see how Phillip had a tremendous healing and deliverance ministry in Samaria, where multitudes were coming to Christ. So let’s look at three significant events in our text.

FIRST, THE JERUSALEM CONGREGATION WAS SCATTERED THROUGHOUT JUDEA AND SAMARIA (verse 1)

Sometimes God has to use force to get us to do what is in His perfect plan. I don’t mean he will force you to do something you don’t want to do, but he uses other people and circumstances to threaten our position of resistance when we are reluctant to move into action. When the church is persecuted, the church always becomes stronger.

He wants us to go out where the people are. Where the unbelievers are. We must get out of our Jerusalem; that is, out of the four walls of our church. Out of our comfort zone, and out of the status quo. When we go, Jesus said, (or as you are going, it is the more accurate rendering of the Greek in Matt. 28:18,19), we are told to make disciples. This presupposes that there is witnessing going on, now that we have the Holy Spirit to give us that power. (Act 1:8). —“After the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power, and you will be my witnesses. In Jerusalem in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” Verse 4 says, “…those who were scattered preached the word wherever they went.” Now I know that what we so often think is that we don’t know what to say to people. Do you suppose that these new converts in that early church were Bible School or seminary-trained people? No, of course not. They were just like you. They had heard the word, responded to Jesus, were born again, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to tell others what had happened to them, because they believed. They simply “preached” what they had heard and what they had experienced.

THE SECOND THING IN OUR TEXT THAT IS SIGNIFICANT IS THAT; SOME ARE CALLED TO “SAMARIA.”

Our Samaria will always be a “stretch” for us. It was for these Jewish disciples, too. These followers of Jesus Christ obeyed and went wherever God told them to go, and God told Phillip to go to the area of Samaria and proclaim Christ there. It was only one person, Phillip, who started the revival that took place there.

It was hard for him because the Samaritans were despised by Orthodox Jews for centuries. When the Israelites from the Northern Kingdom were defeated centuries before by a foreign power, they didn’t hold fast to the One true God. They intermarried with the incoming foreigners, and they lost their racial purity, but worse, they lost much of their zeal for the One true God, and they lost the right to be called Jews at all.

In the course of time, a like invasion and a like defeat happened to the Southern Kingdom whose capital was Jerusalem. Its inhabitants also were carried off to Babylon, but they did not lose their identity; they remained stubbornly and unalterably Jewish. In time, there came the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, and the exiles returned to Jerusalem by the grace of the Persian King. Their Immediate task was to repair and rebuild the shattered temple. The Samaritans came and offered their help in this sacred task. They were contemptuously told that their help was not wanted. They had lost their Jewish heritage, and they had no right to share in the rebuilding of the house of God or the wall that surrounded it. Because of this, they turned bitterly against the Jews of Jerusalem. It was about 450 B.C. when that quarrel took place, and it was as bitter as ever in the days of Jesus. So this was still the situation at the time of this persecution. So going to Samaria was really a cross-cultural effort. They were certainly different, even though they spoke the same language. Have we reacted contemptuously against those of another religion or ethnic group? Thinking they have rejected Christ, so they aren’t interested? —-Who are your Samaritans today?

Our Samaritan ministry may be just someone we are not normally drawn to. Or it may be someone that the (majority) other people despise. It may be someone who is a different nationality or race, but it may be a category like the “homeless” or someone who speaks a different language than you do. Or you don’t know anything about their religion, or they are part of a sect, and that is intimidating.

Philip was aware of what Jesus’ attitude was towards the Samaritans. He was aware of how Jesus talked to the woman at the well. So he didn’t hesitate to hold an evangelistic campaign in a town in Samaria. When the crowds heard Phillip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said.

What were the things they SAW? With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. Wow! Would you have been afraid or criticized Phillip for what he was doing? What was the result? There was great joy in that city! We would like to see a revival, but on our terms. We don’t want to be uncomfortable or see anything weird happen. This “great joy” is mentioned in verse 14; when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria (of all places), had accepted the Word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. They preached the gospel in many Samaritan villages.

THE THIRD SIGNIFICANT EVENT WAS THAT; PHILLIP IS CALLED BY AN ANGEL TO LEAVE A SUCCESSFUL MINISTRY AND GO TO THE DESERT. “GO SOUTH TAKE THE DESERT ROAD TO GAZA,

This is where we see the importance of “The Power of One” person. Don’t think in terms of a mass crusade (like Billy Graham used to have), but rather think about what god is asking you to do, as one person. You can make a difference. The key is obeying the Lord when he shows you what he wants you to do.

What is the first thing that Phillip does? He started out! —He obeyed and went where he was called to go. Verse 20 tells us that, “the Spirit told Phillip to go to that chariot and stay near it.” He had a Divine Appointment. Who did he find? An Ethiopian who maybe was a Jew, but most likely was either a proselyte, or at the very least what they called a “God-Fearer”, one who was searching to know God, and was willing to go to synagogue or to the temple in Jerusalem to worship, but they couldn’t become a proselyte until they were willing to be circumcised and tot take the law completely on themselves and follow everything about Judaism. It isn’t clear who he was, but he certainly was searching the scriptures having to do with the Messiah, and he is reading out loud. Phillip, who was led to “stay near” the chariot, heard him. The word here means literally “be glued” to the chariot so here is Phillip hanging on to the chariot as he runs beside it, close by, and then he is invited to sit with this high-ranking officer of Queen Candice of Ethiopia. Candice was a general term used of many Ethiopian Queens, like the term Pharaoh was used of the Egyptian leaders. It doesn’t seem that Phillip is intimidated; he just goes and sits with him.

The Eunuch accepts the Messiah Jesus and wants to be baptized (verse 36).

Sometimes the Lord wants us to just go to one person whom he has prepared. In the book Power Evangelism, by the late John Wimber (who used to play the guitar with “The Righteous Brothers before he became a Christian and was called to preach the gospel), there is an account which powerfully illustrates the spiritual gift called the “Word of Knowledge.”

A man he calls Kerry Jennings (not his real name), tells how he had just had a long day at the office, full of deadlines and meetings that leave editors eager for only one thing; getting home and relaxing with their families As he navigated across the freeway system towards his suburban home, he began to pray, a habit he had developed to redeem the hours spent in traffic jams. He interceded for his family, co-workers, and friends. He prayed about an article that he was writing. Then he began to ask god to provide opportunities for personal evangelism. Suddenly, strange thoughts entered his mind; the accompanying peace indicated the Lord was responding to his prayers. He had acted on these kinds of thoughts before, almost always seeing God work through him.

God had told Kerry to stop at a familiar restaurant, look for a certain waitress, and tell her that “God had something for her.” Further. God said that what he had for the waitress would be revealed when Kerry talked with her. Though apprehensive, Kerry responded to the inkling, steering his car off the exit towards the restaurant. He did so because he sensed that god had arranged a divine appointment, and appointed time in which God reveals himself to an individual or group through spiritual gifts or other supernatural phenomena. God arranges these encounters. They are meeting, He has ordained to demonstrate His power in developing His Kingdom (Eph. 2:10)

After being seated in the waitress’s section, Kerry began to ponder all the reasons for not delivering the message. While caught up in anxious thoughts, she approached. Before he could say anything, she cheerfully said, “You have something for me, don’t you?” In response (his resistance now gone_, he told her that God had sent him specifically with something, and then two insights regarding her job and a relationship, both areas of trouble for her, were supernaturally revealed to him. Asking God for courage, he told her. She was stunned. She knew that she was encountering god because the only way Kerry could know the things he told her was through supernatural means. (In scripture, this is called a Word of Knowledge)

I Cor. 12:8. At the end of the conversation, they prayed. She cried. Later, Kerry learned that she was the daughter of a pastor now decreased and that she had turned away from God. Soon after the divine appointment, she gave her heart to the Lord.

Divine appointments are an integral part of “power evangelism” (especially one-person evangelism). People who would otherwise resist hearing the gospel are instantly opened to God’s word. Sometimes even the most hostile individuals turn to God when a significant need is met.

We must obey the Lord who says go to all ethic groups (that’s the great commission), and make disciples. Sometimes he forces us (by persecution), or other circumstances. When he says go, we should go, not rationalize or analyze the situation.

Miracles follow those who believe, and then people accept Christ. He demands faithful witnessing and preaching. Sometimes He wants us just to go to one person whom He has prepared. “Go to that chariot and stay near it” (go to a certain restaurant, for instance). Speak to that certain neighbor or friend at the community center.

Perhaps you are more like the Ethiopian this morning? Are you still searching and asking questions about God or Jesus Christ? He wants you to ask, just like he did, in order that you might find out who Jesus really is, and that he truly wants to be your Savior and change your life.

Are you like Philip, willing to obey and follow God’s greater plan for you, even though it might not seem as good? Phillip left a mass evangelism campaign for just one personal encounter. He made a difference in this Ethiopians life, and tradition has it that he went back to the palace and witnessed to who Jesus was, and the church was established there.

THE POWER OF ONE PERSON. Yes, you can make a difference. If each of us just leads one person to Christ, and they do the same, it is astronomical how many can be won to Christ in just one year. How wonderful to see people’s lives changed and they experience life in all its fullness, just as Jesus promised we could have.

D.L Moody said, “We have yet to see what God can do through one person who is totally submitted to Him.”

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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 April 12, 2026
Text Colossians 1:15-27
Pastor Paul Lehmann

Listen to live audio here

Captain Reginald Wallis from Great Britain, whose evangelistic crusades and convention ministry blessed thousands of young and old on both sides of the Atlantic, used to define the word “Christian” as follows: He would say, “spell out the word CHRISTIAN. Then take the letter (a) from near the end of the word and put it at the beginning. Now what do you read?

“A CHRIST IN” So a Christian IS A PERSON WHO HAS CHRIST LIVING IN THEM.

The Bible teaches that people by nature, according to Ephesians 2:1 “ are dead in their transgressions and sins.” In other words, a person doesn’t have that divine element which makes him or her alive to God. This fact can be true of anyone, regardless of educational, cultural, or religious background or training. God’s answer to this basic deficiency of being “dead in our sins” is life as it is in Christ.

We need to understand some things about this life in Christ. First of all, in chapter one and verse 15 of our text, we see;

THE MAJESTY OF THIS LIFE IN CHRIST

Verse 15 –Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Some (like the Jehovah’s Witnesses) teach that Jesus was a created being, just like the angels, but he was created first. But in verses 16-18, we see that Paul is talking about “presidency,” meaning Christ was the first to come from the dead in true resurrection life. Not that He was created first. It is a title that refers to His exalted position, but the timing of his physical birth. Among the Jews, the firstborn son was especially favored by his parents. But it also means “supremacy in rank.” Both meanings apply to Jesus. Christ is before all creation in time, and he is also over it in rank and dignity. The major stress, however, is on the idea of supremacy. There was a heresy being taught in Colossae, and we don’t know exactly what it was, but because Paul puts so much emphasis on who Christ is and was, and the sufficiency of Jesus Christ alone, it probably had to do with presenting Christ as insufficient in himself. The same thing is still happening today. People are led to believe that we still have to do SOMETHING in order to be saved. In order to have eternal life. We are too often taught that what Jesus did for us isn’t enough. We have to keep trying to earn our salvation. This is what all of the world’s false religions and pagan religions teach. Christianity, as taught in scripture, presents Christ as the all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. He is “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” We must put our full trust in him alone as our Savior.

Then there is the statement which declares that all that God represents is embodied in what Jesus Christ is. He is the image of the invisible God; he is the radiance of the glory of God and is seen in HIS CREATIVE LIFE.

Paul depicts Jesus as the mediator, agent, and Goal of all things. This includes declaring His authority above all negative cosmic powers, which are also subjects of His creation who fell from their first estate. The word designates both the act of creating and the product of a created act.

By Him all things are created…and in Him all things are held together. As John tells us in his gospel, all things were made by Him (Christ), and without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:3). The countless constellations of our universe were brought into being by the creative act of the Son of God. What is more, they are held together by the same outgoing of divine power. Only in recent years have scientists realized that everything that holds together must have an integrating point. And they are absolutely correct in their assumption, because centuries ago, Paul declared that by Christ all things “hang together” (verse 17). What a glorious concept this is of the majesty of the creative life of Christ.

Scientists who are not Christians like to refer to this creative power that created the universe as “the Big Bang Theory,” however, it is far more logical that we recognize that there was “intelligent design” involved in creation and not just “chance.”

An American cutlery manufacturer wrote years ago, “it takes a girl in our factory two days to learn to put the 17 parts of a meat chopper together. It may be that these millions of worlds, all balanced so wonderfully in space, just happened; it may be that, by a million years of tumbling about, they finally arranged themselves. I don’t know. I am merely a businessman, a plain manufacturer of cutlery. But this I do know: that you can shake the 17 parts of a meat chopper around in a washtub for the next 17 million years, and you’ll never make a meat chopper.” Pretty profound!! Only God could have created the Universe and everything in it, including us.

Not only do we see his majesty in his creative life, but, secondly, we see his:

MAJESTY IN HIS REDEMPTIVE LIFE

This is made clear by the witness of Paul to Agrippa when he told him of the calling that God had given him. (Acts 26:18) His task and our task is: “to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in God.”

The Jews were always God’s chosen people, but now the door has been opened to the Gentiles (that’s us), and to all people everywhere, to all nations.

The second idea is that God has translated us into the kingdom of God.

This is a transfer from the kingdom of darkness and of this world into the realm of God. It means a transference from darkness to light.

It means a transference from slavery to freedom. It is redemption, and that is the word used for the emancipation of a slave, and for the buying back of something which was in the power of someone else.

In Washington D.C., there was an “Emancipation Day Parade” , and they celebrated all weekend. I doubt if one word was spoken about the redemption that we have because of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It means a transference from condemnation to forgiveness. We don’t deserve anything but condemnation, but through the work of Jesus Christ, we discover the love of God and the forgiveness of God; and we can know that we are no longer condemned like a criminal at God’s judgement seat, but a forgiven sinner, and now the way home is open.

Because now it means a transference from the power of Satan to the power of God. Through Jesus Christ we are liberated from the grip of Satan and we are able to become a citizen of the Kingdom of God. Just as an earthly conqueror transferred the citizens of the land he had conquered into a new kingdom and a new land, so God in his triumphant love transfers us from the realm of sin and darkness into the realm of holiness and light and love.

Verses 18, 20 And he is the head of the body, the Church…making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” This is the story of the gospel. —The Good News. The only way to be reconciled to God. Ever since we were separated from God because of sin, there had to be sacrifices of animals where there blood was shed. Now in Jesus he is the supreme sacrifice. We read in John 1:29 where John the Baptist sees Jesus and says:. “Look here comes the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

Christ is all and in all in the life of His people. For, in the first place, our life all begins by receiving Him. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him” Colossians 2:6. It is not receiving a sacrament, a creed, a system of theology, a set of moral precepts, but a living, personal Savior. That is salvation. “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away” John 6:37. Then in that verse 6 we are also told to continue to live in him. . The continuance and progress of our “Christin” life is just as simple and as personal. It is a life of dependence and communion, step by step, receiving him afresh as our all-sufficiency, our wisdom, strength and holiness. Be holy, because I am holy. God says. But we can’t do that in the flesh. Only as the Holy Spirit empowers us—He makes it possible.

We are taught in verse 10 of chapter 2, that we are complete in him. That is to say, He fills up every possible need of our life and being. For the deeper life os sanctification is simply Christ within. This is the mystery, Paul says in our passage; verse 26, and verse 27; “that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY.

This is so plain and simple. It is not a process of teaching, or even the formation of a character. It is acquaintance with a Person, and intimate union and fellowship with Him so that He actually comes into our being and becomes the Source and Strength of our very life, reliving His own life in us; and we falling with perfect naturalness into His will, His plan, His steps and all His perfect life. So deep and intimate is this union that a great variety of figures are introduced to express and illustrate its fuller meaning. In the following 2 chapters of Colossians we read; 2:7 We are built up in him, verse 12 we are buried with him When we were dead in our sins verse 13 we were raised with Christ 3:1. Our life is hidden with Christ in God. 3:3. He Himself is our very life verse 4.

And then when it comes to the question of conduct, our actions are to be determined by our relation to Him. It is because we are in Him that we are to act like Him. And so we read, “whatever you do, whether in word or deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” 3:17.

To act in the name of Jesus is to act as if you were Jesus, to sustain His character, His dignity and the life that would be expected from Him if He himself were here. But it is our relation to Him that inspires our conduct. We need the powerful motive of his life and love, yes, and the actual force of his indwelling Spirit to enable us to live out His life in our daily conduct and conversation.

We have a high calling as children of God. The consciousness of our high calling and our union with such a Master and Lord, must lift us above the world and all its ways.

It is said that the Dauphin of France, the poor orphan child of the murdered Louis XVI and his queen, was committed by his enemies to the care of a very brutal and wicked man who was to teach him only that which was evil. The poor boy had to look and listen to nothing but that which was degrading and wrong, but often he would say when tempted to stoop to the level of his companions, “I cannot say, I cannot do such things. I was born to be a king!”

Yes, there was an impulse and a memory of higher things, and it kept him above the low and the base. The love of Christ, the life of Christ, the higher spiritual consciousness which His presence give must lift us to the place of holiness and lead us to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called. IT IS CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY. It is because of his amazing love and grace that you can be lifted up beyond a mediocre life, spiritually speaking, —allowing His life to be lived through you here and now, so that the hope of one day living with him in glory will become a reality.

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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 Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026
Text Matthew 28:6-7
Pastor Paul Lehmann

Listen to live audio here

In these uncertain days, people need to make some kind of divine connection. If they don’t know Jesus Christ and have him in their lives, there is always something missing, and this becomes more and more evident in a time of crisis like we have experienced the past month. We are spiritual beings, so we have an innate desire for spiritual things. Unfortunately, this doesn’t automatically mean a person has a desire to know Jesus. Sometimes they don’t even know that he is the one who is missing in their life.

Of all the top-grossing films, the majority have a supernatural or faith-based theme of some kind. Also, most of the literature’s great epic stories deal with the human quest for God.

In their hit song, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” the rock band U2 expressed the search for answers in their lyrics. “I have climbed the highest mountains…But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” Then at the end they sing, “I believe in the kingdom come. Then all the colors will blend into one.—Well, yes, I’m still running, you broke the bonds and you, loosed the chains, carried the cross, and my shame, all my shame. You know I believe it—but I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”

Maybe that’s you. You say I believe in Jesus. I believe he died for my sins. I believe he rose again from the grave, but I still haven’t found what I am looking for. Perhaps there is that elusive peace that you hear Christians talk about. The problem is that perhaps you only have “intellectual faith.” Your belief isn’t any different than believing something about someone else in literature. Like George Washington was our first president, and you believe the facts surrounding the Revolutionary War.

Perhaps there is that little shred of doubt about life after death. The question is in the back of your mind: Will I really go to heaven after I die? Will I live into eternity with Jesus? You lack assurance of salvation.

In every corner of today’s popular culture, people are asking questions about the hereafter. During the coronavirus pandemic, some were asking if this was the beginning of the end times. Will we ever recover from what went on worldwide? Here in Nobleton, as perhaps where you live, it wasn’t as bad as, say, in New York City; nevertheless, we have never seen such a widespread pandemic in our time.

When it comes to God, if they believe at all, he is a God who is out of touch with us. He has nothing to do with this world, or he wouldn’t allow something like this to happen. It may not even be the COVID-19 virus for you, but something else in your life. If he is powerful, he is maybe too powerful, and we can’t have anything to do with him personally. This thinking has kept us from knowing God and having the relationship with us that he longs for. When we try to be “spiritual,” we look in all the wrong places for answers. Who would ever think you could find any answers in a Cemetery, but the title of my message is;

GOOD NEWS FROM A CEMETERY!

The message of Christianity is just that: “Good News from a cemetery.”

Graveyards have always been melancholy places because they are associated with grief, sadness, and separation from our loved ones. The cemetery is the last place from which one would expect to receive good news.

When Jeannene and I lived in Paris, our great niece came to visit us. She wanted to see the grave of Jim Morrison, the singer who died in Paris on July 7, 1971. We had never heard of him, since we were in the Congo at that time, but we agreed to take her to the cemetery. He is buried in the largest cemetery in Paris. All of the tombstones are huge. Some are cement structures that are locked, but it is possible to go into them. His tombstone is quite large and very elaborate. Morrison is an American who apparently was in France for a concert. His girlfriend was addicted to heroin, but Jim didn’t like heroin because it made him sick. He tried to make her quit taking it too. He preferred cocaine. His girl knew that, so when he came home and saw a pile of white powder on the table, she told him it was cocaine. He then put some up his nose. This caused him to die almost immediately. It’s astonishing to me that his grave is the fourth-largest tourist attraction in Paris. Young people still come to his grave, and while we were there, some youth were smoking pot and taking drugs while they sat on his tombstone. There certainly was no good news there, but there are people who are looking for something and trying somehow to identify with this guy Jim Morrison. It is really rather pathetic, no matter how great a poet and singer he was. People are looking for answers on how to live, and to have the assurance that life isn’t in vain, that there is life after death.

From the beginning of time, people have raised the question which was posed by Job; “If a man dies, will he live again?” (Job 14:14). Century after century the small and the great, the wise and the foolish, the rich and the poor, the young and the old marched into the silent, clammy chambers of death. Men stood in fear of death and the tomb. Job had faith, but It remained for Jesus Christ, the God/man, to come with an authentic answer to Job’s painful, perplexing question. After listening to all the babbling of his so-called “friends,” Job declares in faith in 19:25: “I know that my redeemer lives and that in the end he will stand on the earth.”

It would be a long time before this actually came to pass. The basic truth of Christianity, and the central core of the Gospel, is the resurrection of Christ. This is announced by the angels in Luke 24:6. The explanation was, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? A very logical question, but they hadn’t realized that he was living. They saw him dead, so they went to the cemetery.

Many people today are in that category of belief. They know the facts of orthodox Christianity are that he rose from the dead, but they wear crucifixes to remind them of the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross. Now, there is nothing wrong with wearing a cross, but when we live like he was buried in that tomb, and that he is still dead (even though his body was never found), then we are missing out on what the meaning of his resurrection is. Victory over sin, death, and the grave.

It is my understanding that when there is a homicide investigation, if there is no body, there is no case, except maybe under rare circumstances. How people think they have a case against the resurrection is hard for me to understand. ( See, “A Case for Christ” written by a former atheist Lee Strobel.) He was a lawyer and a legal journalist for the Chicago Tribune when he wrote that book. He did research to determine that the resurrection never happened. He ended up declaring that, “there is more evidence for the resurrection than all the homicide cases that he had seen.” It is astonishing that intelligent people can so harden their hearts against the idea of a living Savior that they invent explanations that do not make sense and that they themselves would never accept if it were applied to any other research. There is more evidence for the resurrection than for any other historical event in recorded history.

When the women arrived at the tomb, the angel said, “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.” Basically, he was saying, “Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee, ‘the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again?” They probably thought, yeah, we remember, but we didn’t think he really meant that; we never really did understand what he was talking about. The scripture says only that, “Then they remembered his words.”

In our text, Matthew 28:6-7, we read, “Go quickly and tell his disciples; He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him. Now I have told you.” This is the truth of Christianity. The only explanation why millions of people since that time have risked their lives, and have been willing to die for this truth. You cannot convince people of this truth through arguing. The Easter message is not an argument. It is a divine proclamation! The angels declared that Jesus Christ had conquered death and had risen to life. The apostles experienced his living presence to the extent that they died martyrs’ deaths rather than surrender or recant their faith and deny their relationship with him.

Would we be willing to die for our faith? For some, I don’t think so. If you have only agreed to accept a creed, or doctrinal statement of what you believe, but have never experienced the life-changing power of the resurrection in your life, then it would not be any big deal to change your mind, or be convinced that it would be in your best interests to deny Christ. You might be in the same category as Peter was when he said he never knew Jesus, because he was afraid of what the Romans might do to him if they knew he was a follower of Jesus. You must understand, though, that his denial was before the cross, before the resurrection, before Jesus breathed into his disciples the Holy Spirit, that is before he was born again by the Spirit of God. It is the Holy Spirit that empowers people with Holy boldness, the kind that made it possible for Peter and the other disciples to preach with power after the Holy Spirit had come upon them on the Day of Pentecost. The boldness that gave Peter and the others no concern about what people thought of them, or what they might do to them.

The Scriptures record at least eleven appearances of the living Christ to the disciples. The empty tomb spoke with a shout to declare that he was no longer dead. The present-day strength of Christianity and the Church is a dramatic testimony to the presence of the living Christ who has walked through the corridors of time in the lives of people who have had their lives completely changed.

There are two declarations found in the Good News of the resurrection.

The first is: THE DECLARATION OF THE EMPTY TOMB

During the last six months of our Lord’s earthly ministry, he sought repeatedly to instruct his disciples concerning the necessity and nature of his forthcoming death upon the cross. They found these teachings impossible to understand and they sought by every means at their command to prevent Christ from going to the cross. Jesus told them in parables that this had to happen. In John 2:19, he told the Pharisees, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” The Jews thought he was talking about the temple building, which took 46 years to build. In John 12:23-24, he explained that unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed, but if it dies, it produces many seeds. Then he spoke directly in John 10:17-18: “I lay down my life only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have the authority to lay it down and the authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” This was the boldest of his claims. It was this truth that authenticated his teaching and declared him once and for all to be both God and man. He was the eternal God with a human body. It is just this part that some people have trouble with.

1. The empty tomb declared to their minds and hearts that Jesus Christ was really the divine Son of God (Rom. 1:4) who, through the Spirit of holiness, was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead; Jesus Christ our Lord.
2. The empty tomb declares that his death upon the cross made atonement for our sins (Rom. 3:25); God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—and in-(Rom. 4:25) he was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
3. The empty tomb was for the apostles and for us, a promise of victory over death and the grave. (John 14:19) “Because I live, you also will live.” This was Good News. It is Good News to all of us who are his disciples now living, who will one day find ourselves in a cemetery, as our Lord delays his return.

Many people think that the gospel is good advice. Let us never forget, as someone has said that: “the gospel is not good advice but good news. It does not just tell us what we ought to do for God, it tells us what God has done for us. It does not only offer us “lessons from the life of Christ, it offers us life by the death of Christ.”

Imagine a battlefield with troops advancing under heavy fire. They flatten themselves to the ground and hold their prone position until the enemy artillery is silenced. Imagine further that all of the soldiers are either dead or alive and unwounded. He who gets up and walks has life. Does that mean that life is given to the soldiers who get up and walk, or that the soldiers who possess life manifest it by getting up and walking? Obviously, the latter is true. This meaning is illustrated in John 5:24, where hearing and believing are the marks of the existence of the new life of God implanted in the individual. Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”

Then this leads us to proclaim, a second declaration:

THE DECLARATION OF A LIVING SAVIOR

Christianity must be defined in terms of a relationship to a living Lord. His living presence is a fact more solid than the mountains, more firmly established than the stars. Jesus was the only leader/teacher of a religion that rose from the dead. Confucius is dead, Buda is dead, Mohamed is dead. Jesus is alive. This truth should revitalize our worship, for we come together, not in memory of a dead Christ but in fellowship with a living Lord who desires a relationship with us.

The fact that He is alive makes prayer more meaningful. For when we pray in his name, we requisition the needed resources from the bank of heaven (so to speak), for the carrying on of his Kingdom’s work.

The fact that he is alive makes sacrificial service more meaningful and worthwhile because the resurrection proves that God will bring every good work to fruition. (I Cor. 15:58)

By his living presence, he gives us a full life. (John 10:10); “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”(NIV) The KJV says, “abundant life” or life in all of its fullness. It is a life with purpose, a life that gives us the assurance of Christ’s intervention in our lives, his protection, his healing power, his comfort, his compassion, his help in so many different ways. Because he is alive and is with us, and is in us, we should be encouraged to abstain from that which is evil. We should be bolder in attempting that which is difficult. We can receive comfort from him in times of sorrow through the Holy Spirit. Because he said he would never leave us comfortless.

So we see that he offers us life in all of its fullness, and eternal life after death. We have the assurance of Great News and something to praise him for.

There was a storm that passed through a rural area, and the hail had beaten the garden and truck patch into the ground. The house was partially unroofed, the henhouse had blown away, and dead chickens were scattered about. Destruction and devastation were everywhere. The farmer, while standing dazed, evaluating the mess and wondering about the future, heard a stirring in the lumber pile that was the remains of the henhouse. A rooster was climbing up through the debris, and he didn’t stop climbing until he had mounted the highest board in the pile. That old rooster was dripping wet, and most of his feathers were blown away. But as the sun came over the eastern horizon, he flapped his bony wings and proudly crowed. That old wet bare rooster could still crow when he saw the morning sun. And like that rooster, our world may be falling apart, we may have lost something or someone, but if we trust in God, we’ll be able to see the light of God’s goodness, pick ourselves out of the rubble, and sing the Lord’s praise for what he has given us.

Make sure that you know him personally today. Put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation. He will forgive your sins. Not just “the sins of the world” —but you personally, he is waiting for you to experience this Good news from a graveyard. HE IS RISEN INDEED. If you know Christ as your savior, then make him known, especially in these uncertain days, when so many don’t have any hope, or they are trying to trust in the government and health workers, rather than putting their HOPE IN JESUS.

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 March 29, 2026
Text Matthew 21:1-17
Pastor Paul Lehmann

Listen to live audio here

There are two events in this passage that I want to call to your attention this morning. The first is: “The Triumphal Entry” into Jerusalem, and the second is what we sometimes call, “The Cleansing of the Temple.”

Jesus had often taught in Jerusalem, and people were also healed by his ministry there. There were always those who were curious, had heard about him, and wanted to see for themselves. But the people who were with him during this entrance to Jerusalem were probably mostly those who had been following him, perhaps even from Galilee. They had seen his miracles, listened to his teaching, and realized that “no one has ever taught like him.” He came into the city on his own terms, different than usual. Normally, he didn’t want to make a big splashy entrance. He didn’t even proclaim his Messiahship. When he healed people, he told them not to tell anyone. You would think that he would want everyone to know and be drawn to him, but in the early days of his ministry, it wasn’t the right time. Now it was, because it was the last week of his earthly life before he was crucified.

Usually, we have talked about how —- The Jews who were expecting the Messiah wanted a “King” who would lead them into battle against the Roman Government. Jesus always rejected this notion, and did everything the opposite of all the other, self-proclaimed Messiahs had done. Those were the “Zealots” who usually got themselves arrested.

Jesus didn’t ride into the city on a steed, a war horse, which would have indicated this kind of leader. He made preparations for a mild-mannered entry into Jerusalem. This was to fulfill the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9.

“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion, Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See your king come to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” This is showing Jesus’ meekness and an Anointed One of Peace. “In chapters 9-11 the prophet proclaims a king who is rejected.

Jesus sent his disciples to Bethphage, just a couple of miles up the road southeast of Jerusalem. Jesus demonstrated “a Word of Knowledge” about the location of the donkeys, and what the people would say when they saw them unhitching them. “Why are you doing this?” When the disciples told them “the Lord needs it,” it wasn’t just because of a past relationship, but rather, indicating his universal authority. His “Chief Proprietorship of all things,” as G. Campbell Morgan puts it. Some commentators have always said that he knew about this because he had probably made arrangements ahead of time with the people who lived there, or he knew simply because he was God, who is All Knowing. Now, neither of these explanations makes sense. When would Jesus have had a chance to arrange this ahead of time? He was always with his disciples and followers. He didn’t know because he was God, but because the Holy Spirit who was in him, revealed a “Word of Knowledge” which later on, after Pentecost, the gifts of the Spirit were made available to all believers. Otherwise, Jesus could have never said to his disciples that they would be able to do the things that he had done. They weren’t God.

So the disciples came back with the donkey and the colt of the donkey, and Matthew tells us that Jesus mounted both of them. Maybe, or maybe he mounted the colt, which wasn’t that small; it is just that he “had never been ridden.” Therefore, they brought the mother with them. Luke simply has him mounting a colt after the crowd threw their garments on it as well as on the path. Also, branches from the trees, and shouted: “Hosanna to the Son of David. BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD! Hosanna in the highest!”

This is nothing less than a declaration of his Messiahship. The Anointed One of God. This verse is one of the few places where the Gospels record that Jesus’ glory is recognized on earth. Jesus boldly declared himself as King, and the crowd gladly joined him. Most commentators say things like: “these same people would bow to political pressure and desert him in just a few days.” I personally believe that isn’t the case. These people were probably mostly Galileans and had been following him. They had seen his miracles and listened to his teaching, and now he is presenting himself as a king would, and they are delighted. When Jesus stands before Pilate, we read in Matthew 27:20 when he was trying to decide what to do with Jesus;…” the chief priests and elders PERSUADED the crowd to ask for Barabbas, and to have Jesus executed.” They shouted CRUCIFY HIM! It was a small vocal minority that stirred up the crowd. Maybe some did change their mind about Jesus, but I believe that if there were people who were praising him a few days before were weeping and saddened by what was happening. Some day, we may be faced with the same kind of influence against Jesus. Will you be influenced by people who are against him and have rejected him? Don’t be like the people who have been destroying our cities and trying to influence others to join them. We are seeing some things happen these days that are preparing us for the end times.

Now, before this entry to Jerusalem, Jesus often referred to himself as “The Son of Man.”

The title “the Son of Man” refers to Jesus and highlights the fact that He was a human being. This was vital in order that He could be a sacrifice in our place. It refers to the fact that Jesus was a perfect human. He, as God, came down and lived among us as the perfect human being. By doing this, He fulfilled the Law of Moses and did what no other human being was able to do. By using this title, He is identifying with the people He had come to save.

Jesus uses the term “the Son of Man” in reference to Himself 80 times in the gospels: 32 times in Matthew, 14 times in Mark, 26 times in Luke, and 10 times in John. Each gospel highlights different aspects of who Jesus is.

Matthew presents Jesus as the Messiah
Mark as the suffering servant
Luke as the Son of Man
John as the Son of God
So, in answering this question of “why is Jesus called the Son of Man”, the gospel of Luke is a good place to start.

Jesus is indeed the Messiah that the Jewish nation had been waiting for ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, and then God’s promise to Abraham. The Messiah is the Son of God, equal with God, and God sent Him into the world in order to open up the way of Salvation for mankind. Jesus was 100% God, but in order for Him to be able to die as a sacrifice so that human beings could be saved, He also needed to be 100% human.

“The Son of Man” in the Old Testament

The “Son of Man” is mentioned 107 times in the Old Testament; 93 of those mentions are in Ezekiel. Probably the most significant of these mentions is in the book of Daniel, chapter 7. This is a prophecy of the end of time when God is seated on His throne. Verses 13 – 14 are a mention of the “Son of Man”, Jesus, taking His rightful place, and His kingdom is established forever. “He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).

It Is A Messianic Designation

The title “Son of Man” was a designation for the Messiah. The Book of Daniel predicted that the Son of Man would inherit God’s everlasting kingdom. We read

And behold, one like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. Then to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7:13,14).

Jesus is the Son of Man

Jesus most frequently refers to Himself as the Son of Man, but if challenged, He acknowledges that He is also the Son of God. So, both of these two titles can rightly be used of Jesus, and both reveal to us different aspects of who Jesus is. In calling Himself the Son of Man, though, Jesus identifies with us, in our humanity, and is our representative before God. Hebrews 4:15 says: “For we do not have a high priest (representative) who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.” And because of this, the next verse says we can “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16

Though the Bible does not define its exact meaning, the title “Son of Man”

It Is Connected With His Earthly Life

The title is connected with the earthly life of Jesus.

But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins – he said to the paralytic (Mark 2:10).

Jesus said: So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28).

Jesus also said And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head (Matthew 8:20)

Jesus gave the reason for His coming to earth.

For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).

It Is Connected With His Sufferings

“Son of Man” is also connected with the sufferings of Jesus on behalf of humanity.

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again (Mark 8:31).

This Speaks Of His Exaltation And Rule

The title “Son of Man” also has to do with his exaltation and rule over humanity.

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory (Matthew 25:31).

Jesus said.

The Son of Man indeed does just as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born (Matthew 26:24
As Jesus proceeds into the city, he goes to the Temple. On his way, he must have seen many things that were out of harmony with the Kingdom of Heaven and contrary to the will of God. If Jesus came into one of our cities today, He would also see many things that are outside of his will.

He passed all of these things, not because he didn’t care, but because he went to the temple because he knew that it was the best way to touch them. “Judgement must begin at the House of God.” As long as the Temple was wrong, the whole city was bound to be wrong.

When Jesus comes back again and sets up the “New Jerusalem,” and there is a ‘new heaven and a new earth,” we read in the book of Revelation that there will no longer be a need for a temple, because the whole city is like a temple. There will be no need for any other light, for “The Lord God” will provide it.

Now, when Jesus entered the Temple on this day more than 2000 years ago, he showed that he is more than “meek and mild.” He “drove out” those who were buying and selling. and “overthrew” the tables of the money changers, and also where they were selling doves. They had set up these tables in the court of the Gentiles. Quite legitimate, to provide offerings for those coming from far off, and also to change their currency into the Temple currency. It provided a service to Gentiles who had become proselytes to Judaism and had come to the Temple to worship God. The problem was that they did not respect the exchange rate, and overcharged these visitors to Jerusalem in the currency exchange and the price for their offerings. Jesus declared that: This temple is: ‘A House of Prayer”, but you have made it a “den of robbers” or (thieves). (Isaiah 56:7)

We may not buy and sell and cheat people, but sometimes we too don’t think of our worship in the right way. May the Holy Spirit guide us and help us to understand what he expects of us. He wants us to PRAISE AND WORSHIP HIM, and then to also SERVE HIM.

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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 March 22, 2026
Text Romans 4:13-25
Pastor Paul Lehmann

.There were many times when I was a child that my dad would make certain promises to me, and he always tried to keep them. Sometimes something beyond his control would make it impossible for him to keep his promise to me. I just couldn’t understand, and I would be shattered. Fortunately, he would always make it up to me, and I would forget about the broken promise. As I became older, I understood more about the promises. It depended on my behavior for one, but also, circumstances would make it impossible for him to do exactly what he had promised. His favorite answer to me was, “We’ll see! Now, any kid knows that that is not a good response. I remember my senior year in high school, I had a date for our Jr-Sr. banquet. I went to a small town public school in a country that had a lot of Mennonites and other conservative Christians. Therefore, we didn’t have a “prom” like most schools. Those who wanted to dance rented a dance hall and band, etc., somewhere in another city. The Christians went to a Christian campground where we played board games or watched a Christian film until midnight or later. Anyway, this was an important date for me, with the sister of my best friend from church, I needed the car, and my dad was in business for himself, and had an egg and produce route in nearby Akron, Ohio, and he told me he would be home by 6:00 pm. When it was 6:30, and he wasn’t home yet, I began to panic, because I had to pick up my date 15 min. away, and drive back to the school, all before 7:30 pm. He finally came about 10 min before 7:00, apologizing profusely. I was able to get to the banquet just a couple of minutes before 7:30 pm. Everyone was already seated, but they got to see me and my beautiful date walk in. It wasn’t until I was 22 years old and I ran a bread route, the year before Jeannene and I got married, that I realized how hard it was to finish your route when you thought you could. There was always something that kept you from getting home when you thought you could. I came to realize that Daddy didn’t ever deliberately lie to me, but sometimes his promises could not be kept.

Promises on the human level are sometimes broken. The Bible is a book filled with the promises of God to His people. Someone has calculated that there are at least 30 thousand promises in the Word of God. While this figure may appear to be extravagant, it must be recognized that there are thousands of promises made to us which we have failed to recognize and to claim. The most wonderful thing about God’s promises is that they are never broken, but they, too, are conditional; however, once we have done our part, the promise is ours, never to be broken.

Chapter 4 of the book of Romans tells us that the secret of Abraham’s spiritual achievement is to be found in his recognizing and clinging to the promises of God. In other words—his FAITH. He did not stagger back because of the mystery or miracle of the divine plan for his life. He was fully convinced that God was both able and willing to accomplish all that he had promised. May God grant us the insight to discover His promises and the faith to claim them.

Charles Spurgeon, the famous preacher of the last century, wrote a book which is still in print, entitled “Faith’s Checkbook.” This book is a series of daily devotionals for us to use throughout the year. Each devotional is based on one of the exceeding great and precious promises of God. Concerning the promises of God, Spurgeon has said, “A promise from God may very instructively be compared to a check payable to order. It is given to the believer with the view of bestowing upon him some good thing. It is not meant that he should read it ever comfortably, and then have done with it. No, he is to treat the promise as a reality, as a man treats a check.”

So you see, a check is no good until it is cashed. How many of the promises of God have you discovered and claimed—cashed so to speak”?

We want to look at three categories of promises to understand all that God has for us in His Word.

1. FIRST WE HAVE PROMISES FOR THE PRESENT.

Many of the promises that God made in times past are for those who live in the present. In verses 23-24, Paul says that when God declared Abraham righteous (because of his faith), it wasn’t just for his benefit, but for us too, “if we believe in our heart that God brought Jesus Christ our Lord, back from the dead. He was handed over to die for our sins, and he was raised from the dead to make us right with God.” If we just recognize God’s promises and claim them by faith, God will do what He says He will do.

There are very few promises God made to his people in the past that have no relevant application for the present. God doesn’t change with the passing of time. What he was yesterday, He is today, and will be tomorrow and forever. What he did for his people yesterday, he will do for us today. When we study the Word of God we should place ourselves in the middle of the action and identify with Biblical characters when such is appropriate. When God promises to forgive and cleanse from sin in the past, we can be safe in assuming that we can claim his promise of doing that in the present upon the condition that we sincerely repent. As God promised to guide in the past, so he promises to guide us in the present. If we are not sensitive to listen and willing to respond, and meet his conditions, either by something we must do or else simply applying faith, then and only then, does He not fulfill his promise.

An illustration of this kind of faith would be if I asked one of you how much cash you have, and you would say $5.00. Then If I gave you as a gift of $5.00 and someone asked you how much you have, you could say, “I have $10.00. But then I ask for $5.00 back, and you are asked how much you have, you would probably say $5.00. What you should say, If you believed me, —-that I said I was giving you a gift of $5.00, is: I have $10.00, but $5.00 is in his pocket (pointing at me). [ That’s like the old offering joke that pastor Wayne used to say, about the $30,000 we need to build a basketball court here in Nobleton. He said we have the $30,000, but it is still in your pockets.}

In verses 19-23, we see that Abraham’s faith never wavered. God had promised him a son, and the world would be blessed by him and his descendants. Even though he was about 100 and Sarah was 90, he believed what God said. His faith got even stronger when he was asked to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice.. He was ready to obey God, knowing that the promise would still be fulfilled, even if God would raise Isaac from the dead. When God makes a statement in His Word, no matter how hopeless circumstances seem to us, we must believe Him and claim his promises. Maybe God hasn’t fulfilled a promise to you yet, but God will not fail if we put our faith and trust in Him and His Word.

Then we not only have promises for the present,

2. WE HAVE PROMISES FOR THE FUTURE.

The only thing certain about the future, as far as we are concerned, is the fact of change. Nothing will be exactly the same tomorrow. You know how it is when you go back to your hometown after a number of years. (My hometown of Dalton and New York City from the 60s to the 90s ). Change is all around us, and the future will be filled with change in every era of our lives. The period from 1910 to 1960 was perhaps the greatest change in the world in any other 50-year period of history. ( Then, the almost 50 years it took to change Roe vs. Wade and save babies’ lives in the future). My home state of Ohio didn’t waste any time in declaring that, after the 6th week, when a baby’s heart is detected, abortions are illegal. Other states have also made rulings already. The changes that have taken place in this century are maybe not as visible as the first part of the 20th century. Like cars replacing horses, which were the main means of transportation for thousands of years. But those of you who have smartphones, it has been said that the technology that put a man on the moon was not as advanced as you have in your smartphone today. In a world that moves so fast and we have unlimited destructive power, it is easy to understand why many should be fearful as they face the future. We live in such a complex society in which the consumer and the producer are frequently so far removed that it is difficult for many to have a sense of significance and belonging. On all sides, there is a constant increase in anxiety and insecurity.

As children of God, we can be assured that in a changing world worship a God who does not change. (Mal. 3:16 we read, “I am the Lord, and I do not change….”) The promise to us of eternal life is real, even though the fulfillment of this promise is almost incomprehensible to us, but we have assurance of the reality of this because His Word says so, I John 5:11-12 says that “these things are written so that we might know that we have eternal life.” and because the Holy Spirit bears witness to our spirit that we are His. (and Romans 8:16). God saves us, fills us, and calls us to serve him, in ways that we can’t imagine. There are those in my home church who thought,- “What good thing could come out of Nazareth—uh Dalton–or Orrville,”-surprised that I was a missionary. Wherever you are from, or whatever the circumstances were when you were growing up, we know that in God’s divine providence, He doesn’t make mistakes. Sometimes we need to recognize the category of :

3. PROMISES FOR GOD’S CHILDREN

God has revealed his desire to impart to us a blessing and to enrich our lives. The divine promises were not given to deceive or to encourage false expectations. The heart of the loving Heavenly Father moves toward his children constantly with purposes of grace. His every intention toward us is good. A study of the Bible and of Christian history will reveal that those who have endured trials and difficulties of life and who persisted and went forward to real achievement were those who had studied the word of God and discovered God’s promises. These promises were claimed, and men and women moved forward depending upon God to do as he had promised.

It is reported that the margin of the Bible used by D.L. Moody contained the letters T and P on almost every page. When he was asked about this, he said that the passage contained a promise from God to his children. The T indicated that he had tried the promise, and the P indicated that he had proven the promise to be true in his own experience.

How many times would those letters appear in your Bible?

The writer of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 10:23-25, “Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope that we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially since the day of his coming back again is getting closer. “

There was a woman in the south of France, years ago, who was very poor. She hardly had enough food to feed her children, and their clothes were in rags. She was so discouraged, but at that time she cried out to the Lord for help. She prayed Lord, what promise do you have for me. Something to encourage me. There was a little promise box of cards that sat on the top of the icebox. As she reached for it, blinded by her tears, she knocked it over. The promises showered down around her, on her lap, on the floor; not one was left in the box. She knew a moment of supreme joy in the Lord as the Holy Spirit flooded her soul with divine power and light. She realized that all of the promises were indeed for her in the very hour of her greatest need.

So it can be for you today. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God. (Matt. 4:4).

There are 12 promises of God that I want to leave with you.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Once you experience the love of Jesus poured into your heart, you will know that :

Nothing can separate you from his love. and forgiveness

WE HAVE THE PROMISE OF ETERNAL LIFE

He promises us: provision, protection, strength, empowerment, and guidance

He will never leave us or forsake us.

Paul tells us in I Cor 15:58 to be strong and courageous (steadfast) and faithful, let nothing move you from doing the work of the Lord, because you know that

Your labor is not in vain.

We must accept that the promises of God are personal to us and we must claim them by faith. We must put our confidence in the faithfulness of God.

He gives us peace

He is the God of all comfort

We must put the endorsement of our faith upon the divine promise and present it at the throne of grace just as we would present a check to the cashier of a bank.

The promises of God are conditional, but once we have fulfilled the condition of placing our faith in Him, we will see that He is not a liar; we can count on him.

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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 March 8, 2026
Text Matthew 23:1-39
Pastor Paul Lehmann

Listen to live audio here

The evidence of holiness is not in how you dress or how you look; the evidence of holiness is in how you treat others. This principle is repeated throughout the gospel of Matthew: every time you interact with another person, you have the opportunity to practice holiness.

A holy person reads the Bible, a holy person prays, a holy person goes to church —We all know that these things actually almost go without saying, but there’s much, much more to it than that. What we learn from the life and teachings of Jesus is that a holy person, first and foremost, loves.

A person’s holiness is best seen in the way he or she treats other people.

That’s why Jesus was so sharp in his rebuke of the Pharisees. The Pharisees were a religious group of people who kept all the religious laws to unbelievable extremes — but they did not have love.

WE MUST BE CAREFUL NOT TO HAVE A PHARISAIC SPIRIT OR ATTITUDE

In Matthew 23 Jesus spoke the harshest words of his entire ministry, and they were directed at the Pharisees. Listen to what William Barclay said (slightly edited)…

“If a man or woman is characteristically irritable and given to uncontrolled outbursts, his anger is neither effective nor impressive. Nobody pays attention to the anger of a bad-tempered man. But when a person who is characteristically gentle and loving suddenly erupts into blazing wrath, even the most thoughtless person is shocked into taking thought.” [The Gospel of Matthew Volume 2, William Barclay, page 281]

We need to let the words of Jesus in Matthew 23 shock us into taking thought…into taking stock of our lives and our actions and our attitudes so that we can avoid making the same disastrous mistakes that the Pharisees made. Jesus didn’t speak his harshest words to prostitutes or prisoners or demon-possessed people; he spoke his harshest words to the religious people of his day because they had made a mockery of the spiritual life. They had squeezed out all of the joy that comes from a relationship with God and had reduced religion to a long list of impossible rules and regulations. What they had created in the name of religion was light-years away from the life of love that God had originally intended for his people to exemplify.

THE RELIGION OF THE PHARISEES WAS:

STRICT, STERN, AND JOYLESS.

The sad thing is that today, more than 2000 years later, there are some who take the liberating message of the gospel and try their best to squeeze the life out of it, as well. If Jesus were here with us today as he was then, I’m sure his message would be the same: Woe to you, hypocrites.

I’m sure we would all agree that we don’t want that message to be directed at us. We don’t want to fall into the same trap that the Pharisees fell into. We don’t want to be religious hypocrites. So how do we avoid it?

SIGNS OF PHARISAIC ATTITUDES

Today, we’ll look at three things we can do to help us move away from HYPOCRISY toward a life of HOLINESS. If you want to have holiness without hypocrisy, the first thing you need to do is…

1. Let go of your ego.

If the primary function that your “religion” performs in your life is to reinforce the notion that you’re better than other people, then you are missing the point. That’s not what a relationship with God is about. However, it’s what the Pharisees had made their religion into. The apostle Paul said: “…Consider others, better than yourselves.” The Pharisees’ version of Judaism was nothing short of showmanship, and their main objective was, seemingly, to impress other people. Listen to what Jesus said about them…

Verse 5 “Everything they do is done for men to see. They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on the garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.'”

Phylacteries and tassels were religious ornaments. Jesus is not condemning them specifically; he’s condemning the way the Pharisees used them to further their holier-than-thou image. Jesus didn’t condemn them for being devout; he condemned them for using the “devoutness” in a condescending, contemptuous way.

There’s a principle that Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:17-26) that we need to remember:

Contempt is a sin. Condescension is a sin. Thinking you’re better than someone else is a sin. Posturing as if you’re better than someone else is a sin. Elitism is a sin. Class snobbery is a sin. Exalting yourself is a sin. (For those of you who say I don’t preach against sin enough, here are more than half-a-dozen to chew on.)

Today, no one wears phylacteries and tassels, but let’s talk about a couple of ways we let our ego get in the way of our holiness.

Dropping Names. Have you ever met anyone who does this…anyone who tries to impress you by casually mentioning the important people they’re “good friends” with? It’s a subtle way of exalting yourself, a subtle way of saying, “I’m somebody.”

Another way we let our ego get in the way of our holiness is…

An Attachment to Titles. Jesus refers to the Pharisees who love to be called “Rabbi.” We have the same tendency. Some ministers insist on being called “Dr.” or “Reverend.” Sometimes, this is just a subtle way of saying, “I’m a step higher on the ladder than you are.” When interviewing job applicants, some will ask, “What will my responsibilities be?” and others will ask, “What will my title be?” Guess which group tends to be better employees?

We have to be wary of pretentiousness. We have to be wary of those little habits and attitudes we sometimes adopt that are designed to exalt ourselves and/or put down others. Don’t try to impress people. Don’t let your ego get in the way of your holiness; it opens the door to hypocrisy in your life.

Striving for holiness without hypocrisy also means that we…

2. Focus on what really matters.

Last week, we read in Matthew 22 where Jesus said that our top priorities are to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind, and to love others as we love ourselves. He said these are the most important commandments in the law. In today’s text, he said to the Pharisees…

23 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices — mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law — justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

Jesus is saying that while tithing is good, there are more important aspects of the law that we should tend to — specifically: justice, mercy and faithfulness.

The Old Testament teaches that the concept of tithing. This includes income as well as produce from your crops.

A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. (Leviticus 27:30)

The Pharisees were meticulous about tithing. Jesus mentions that they tithe “mint, dill and cummin.” These weren’t income producing crops, they were the kinds of plants a family would grow in their kitchen garden, so the crops would be quite small. Yet, the Pharisees insisted that even this small amount — even if it was just one plant — must be tithed to the Lord.

That’s not the bad part. The bad part is that they were meticulous about tithing, but completely careless about the more important matters of the law. Jesus said…

24 You strain out a gnat, but swallow a camel.

He’s referring to the Pharisees’ custom of pouring wine through a strainer to prevent accidentally swallowing a gnat. Their motive for doing this was different than ours would be. We would want to strain out gnats because we think that swallowing insects is repulsive. Their motive wasn’t sanitation as much as it was religious. Gnats are “unclean” according to the Old Testament dietary laws, and they didn’t want to accidentally eat anything that is Biblically unclean. Camels are also unclean animals, and the point Jesus is making is that while you go to great lengths to be faithful in little areas, you’re completely missing the mark in the big areas.

Jesus said we should focus on justice, mercy and faithfulness. Usually when we talk about justice, we’re talking about bad people getting what they’ve got coming to them.

The New Testament use of the word is more about the idea that innocent people shouldn’t be mistreated, and helpless people shouldn’t be taken advantage of. The New Testament concept of justice can be seen in the book of James.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…(James 1:27)

Tithing is good — it’s part of living a holy life — but justice, mercy and faithfulness are more important. Tithing is fairly easy; it’s simply a matter of mathematics. 10% is 10%, but Paul encourages us not to give begrudgingly.

But also, Justice, mercy, and faithfulness, however, are heart issues. They’re driven by love for others. You can’t go through the motions in these matters; you can’t fake compassion.

This is the crucial distinction: justice, mercy and faithfulness are actions motivated by love for others — much more so than tithing. Jesus is saying to the Pharisees: if you really want to be holy, then start loving other people. He’s saying the same thing to us today: Do you want to be holy? Then focus on what’s really important. Love people. Treat them with justice, mercy and faithfulness.

Thirdly, if you want to be holy and not hypocritical, you need to…

3. Start with your heart.

25 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside, they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First, clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside will be clean.

Jesus is referring to the ceremonial cleansing of dishes before using them. He’s not condemning the custom; he’s saying that it is pointless to perform religious rituals when your heart is far from God. It’s pointless to perform religious rituals when your life is filled with greed and self-indulgence.

Greed and self-indulgence. What do these have in common? Me. Me. Me. I want more things so that I can have more pleasure. I want more money so that I can spend it on myself. I want more so that I can have more.

Who is absent from this picture? Other people. If you are consumed with greed and self-indulgence, you are not focusing on others, are you? Greed and self-indulgence are the antithesis of justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Greed and self-indulgence are all about “me”; justice, mercy, and faithfulness are all about “you”.

The difference between being self-focused or being others-focused is determined by who rules the kingdom of your heart. Who is the center of your universe?

If you want to be holy, you have to begin with your heart. You have to be cleansed from the inside out. That’s something you can’t do for yourself; it takes a miracle from God. The good news is that God performs miracles — especially this one. In Ezekiel, God says…

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. “(Ezekiel 36:26)

That’s what we need. That’s where holiness begins, and hypocrisy ends — with a new heart. We need to approach life with the understanding that the outer shell of life — the external appearances — is a secondary issue to God. The primary issue, as far as God is concerned, is what we are underneath the shell. What is the state of your heart? If we’re not willing to be given a new heart — a heart that is turned toward God — the rest of our religious activity is a waste of time.

Do you want to be holy and not hypocritical? Begin with your heart. Cry out to God — plead with him, beg him — to change you from the inside out.

What we’ve seen in today’s passage is what we see throughout the gospel of Matthew: Being spiritual, or being holy, is a matter of having a heart for God and a heart for others. The evidence of holiness is discovered in how you treat others.

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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 March 1, 2026
Text Matthew 16:13-27
Pastor Paul Lehmann

Listen to live audio here

The location of the discovery is Caesarea Philippi, where there were many pagan gods and statues, as well as some Jews, but very few. Syrian gods had their worship here. There was a great temple of white marble built to the godhead of Caesar. It had been built by Herod the Great. The place is called Panium, where there is the top of a mountain which is raised to an immense height, and at its side, beneath, or at its bottom, a dark cave opens itself; within which there is a horrible precipice that descends abruptly to a vast depth. The name was changed to Caesarea (Caesar’s town), and Herod’s son Philip added the name Philippi (of Philip). Anyone looking at this pile of glistening marble was reminded of the might and of the divinity of Rome.

It was here in the midst of pagan gods that Jesus asked the question, “Who do people say that I am? The disciples indicated to Jesus that some thought he was Elijah, and others identified him with Jeremiah. When they did this, they were, according to their understanding, paying him a great compliment and setting him in a high place, for Jeremiah and Elijah were none other than the expected forerunners of the Anointed One of God -The Messiah in Hebrews, and The Christ in Greek. When they arrived, the Kingdom would be very near indeed. Then the all-important question: “Who do you say I am? Then Peter made his great discovery and his great confession. Let’s look at three things about this vast passage that is packed full of all kinds of meaning.

First, we see:

PETER’S DECLARATION OR CONFESSION OF FAITH

He says, “ You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (He recognized Jesus as the Messiah).

Jesus knew that his work was safe because there was at least someone who understood. Peter’s declaration was definite, and yet he recognized the mystic element of Jesus being the Messiah, the promised anointed One of God. He recognized far more than others. He recognized something supernatural about this Teacher. He declared that he was more than John the forerunner, more than Elijah the foreteller, more than Jeremiah the watcher and the one who waited; Jesus was the one that they had been looking for.

With great relief and joy, Jesus pronounced a benediction on Peter. In fact, Peter is the only one to whom he said those words: “Blessed are you Simon, son of Jonah,” (verse 17). The blessing was not just because Peter gave the right answer, but because the Heavenly Father was able to use Peter as an agent for revealing the truth.

The blessing wasn’t because of his confession, but Jesus was rather describing the condition into which Peter had come by, the gain of this new knowledge, which he declared. Declaring that he was the Son of the Living God was the result of Divine illumination. It was out of the consciousness out of which the confession was born. How did the Father reveal that to Peter? Peter saw it in Jesus- that was what Jesus came to do- reveal to people the Father; however, others didn’t see it.

We do, however, misunderstand how the Holy Spirit worked in the Old Testament, and even here during the days that Jesus walked this earth before Calvary, before the resurrection, the ascension, and Pentecost.

( when it was finally possible for everyone to be filled with the Spirit), If we don’t understand that the anointing of the Holy Spirit was upon only certain individuals to accomplish what God had prepared for them to do.

Now, for Peter, at this point, it wasn’t something that he had to do yet, but something that he had to believe and understand. This great discovery, revealed to Peter by the Father, through the Holy Spirit, also led to a great declaration by Jesus in verses 18 and 19.

This great declaration was actually A GREAT PROMISE.

There are three main points to the promise Jesus gave to Peter.

1. First, that Peter is a “rock” Petros, ( and upon this “rock” Petra. Jesus would build his church.) Petros was a piece of rock, a fragment of the rock nature, but Petra was the essential rock substance. So he was saying that, “You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.

He is saying, ” You are of the rock nature, and you shall be built upon the rock foundation.” Remember, he was speaking to people who spoke Hebrew. If we trace the figurative use of this word through scripture, we find that it is never used symbolically of a person, but always of God. So here it shows that the church is not to be built upon Peter.

Jesus used a symbol of Deity and said;

“Upon God Himself I will build my church. My Kingdom shall consist of those who are built into God, partakers of the Divine nature.” Peter had discovered the foundation and had touched God, and by doing that, he had become PETROS. Some say it is on Peter’s faith that the church will be built. In a sense that is true, but more clearly it is the fact that later when Jesus breached the Holy Spirit into them, and said “receive the Holy Spirit” (—-incidentally I submit to you that it was at that time —before Pentecost— that the disciples were “born again,” because then it was after the crucifixion and the resurrection.” –after Pentecost they received the power.

So now Jesus will build his church (ecclesia) on Peter. He represents the first member of the church. Jesus’ earthly parents were the first to believe in him for who he was, but now Peter is the first to represent what God will do inside a person, and when there are more who believe, they form a church. This word, ecclesia, which is translated church was also used for the Synagogue, because it represented God’s people who were different. But Synagogue also meant the assembling of God’s people in worship. But Jesus didn’t say he would build his Synagogue, he said ecclesia—(church), which marked the Hebrews as his selected people. A Theocracy—a group of God-governed people, not governed by policy or by human kings. This is the kind of church that Jesus was talking about. Peter may not have understood everything about this when Jesus told him, but later on we read in the epistle he wrote; I Peter 2:4-8, that Jesus Christ is the living stone, the chief cornerstone or foundation that the church is built upon, and all of us as believers, are his chosen people also living stones that are being built into a spiritual house.

The second promise is when Jesus told Peter that:

2. “The gates of Hades shall not prevail against the church.”

This isn’t the strength of the church against attack. It might seem to mean that Hades will not be able to overcome the church, but an attacking force doesn’t come carrying its gates into battle to fight. It is not a figure of the defensive strength of the church. But it doesn’t mean that the church will be able to capture Hades. The Church has no desire to possess Hades.

We mustn’t miss the meaning being it is a figure of escape. It is a declaration of the fact that the Church will be able to make a way of escape from a beleaguered city, which is in harmony with t he perpetual outlook upon death in the life of the Christian. It is like we are able to tear down the gates of Hades because Jesus Christ destroyed death when he died on the cross and rose from the grave. We have this power over the gates of hell because of Jesus Christ His Church is the attacking force against Hades. The Church doesn’t try to possess Hell, but try to keep as many people as possible away from it. We have the power to do this, because, Jesus told his disciples that when the Holy Spirit comes upon them they will receive power to witness. Then the Holy Spirit draws those people to receive Jesus Christ into their lives and hearts.

If we sometimes feel defeated to fulfill the task of the Church of being an attacking force, it is because we have allowed Satan to disrupt our unity and to allow him to cause dissention in our body of believers. When we don’t fight against sin, Satan and our fleshly desires, we diminish the attacking power of the Church.

3. Then the third promise has to do with:

Keys and Peter’s place in the kingdom and the Church.

What are the keys and in what sense does Peter have authority over sin, and this whole idea of loosing and binding?

To the Jews, these words “the keys” were perfectly familiar to them. They were the insignia of the scribe, the teacher of the law. This was the sign, not of a priestly office, but the office of the scribe. The keys committed to Peter, were not the keys of the Church but the Keys of the Kingdom When Jesus spoke to Peter, he spoke to him as a scribe. In chapter 13, we have the parables of the kingdom, and at the end in verse 52, we have the words, “…every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

Anyone who understands God’s real purpose in the law as revealed in the Old Testament has a real treasure. The Old Testament points the way to Jesus, the Messiah. Jesus always upheld its authority and relevance. But there is a double benefit to those who understand Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of heaven. This was a new treasure that Jesus was revealing. Both the old and new teachings gave practical guidelines for faith and for living in the world. The religious leaders, however, were trapped in the old and blind to the new. They were looking for a future kingdom preceded by judgment. Jesus, however, taught that the kingdom was now and the judgment was future. The religious leaders were looking for a physical and temporal kingdom (by military rebellion and physical rule), but they were blind to the spiritual significance of the kingdom that Christ brought.

The keys of the kingdom were given to the illuminated, to those who understood the principles\ of the Kingdom, the laws of the Kingdom and the method of the Kingdom. When Jesus told Peter he was giving him the keys to the Kingdom, he was giving them to him as the first representative —the first one to gain the vision of illumination.

Today those keys belong to every one who proclaims that Kingdom. They do not signify a right for the priesthood, because each believer is a priest before God. That’s what we call the “priesthood of the believer”. They give a right for the “scribe” that is, one who the Holy Spirit has illuminated the word to, and instructed in the Kingdom and empowered to teach the meaning of the Word.

So that Christ said not merely; “My Church is to be an aggressive force, but My Church is to be a constructive force in the midst of our world, teaching the Kingdom, and holding the keys of the Kingdom, not to lock, or shut out or exclude but to teach and interpret, and give people the possibility to be empowered by Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit to witness and win others to be a part of His Kingdom.

The last part of what Jesus said about binding and loosing, had nothing to do with Peter arbitrarily making decisions about what was allowed or permitted, and what would be forbidden. The binding meant simply proclaiming with authority what God’s word says. Not what Peter would think or decide, but what the Holy Spirit led him to understand, and for us what the Holy Spirit leads us to understand in His Word.

Jesus tells us in Matt. 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. “

A yoke is a heavy wooden harness that fits over the shoulders of an ox or oxen. It is attached to a piece of equipment that the oxen are to pull. A person may be carrying heavy burdens of sin, excessive demands put on you, oppression or weariness in your search to know the Lord better and experience deliverance.

Let JESUS carry the burden you are carrying. It may be a sin in your life that needs to be forgiven, or it may be that you are burdened for someone else. Whatever it is, as a believer and a part of his Kingdom, the Church universal, you can find rest for your soul in Jesus.

Come to him and REMEMBER HIM and what he did for you.