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Happy birthday to. W. SUN
Thu, Jun 1 at 9:52 AM
The Little Book
SUNDAY SERMON
Sept 24, 2023
John Hogan Memorial 2
Introduction: These verses are from the Bible of John Hogan our founder. They came from what John considered to be important and the Scriptures that he valued. So, when we focus on these Scriptures, we are seeing what John honored and the value that HE thought was important. So, we need to also honor these verses. To understand the Lord, we must know that the one who will SAVE us is Christ Alone!
Focus Scripture Jn 6:70- 71 70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.
one is a devil- This is what John repeatedly said about Judas Iscariot. He pointed out that Judas was called a devil and yet he was one of the 12. It is important to note that the 12 had someone who was deceived by Satan. Satan can reach anyone even if they go to church and have the best Pastor and best leader. Then man tried to replace Judas with a vote but God had someone else in mine. The 11 chose Mathias but God chose Paul. So, think of the ministry Judas might have had if he did not fall!
Baptism of Jesus Mt 3:14-17 14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he uffered him.16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This, is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
This was the start of Jesus ministry and he was just as much the Son of God before this event as he was after. Jesus never stopped being the Son of God but he could not start the ministry he had until he received the Holy Ghost. So, you need the Holy Ghost as well. God is saying to us that we need the Holy Ghost and that God is also saying that He is well pleased with us, just as he says in Heb 13. You are a beloved child of the Most -High God!
Son of God and His Word – Jesus is the Son of God and also is called the Word of God! The Book of Malachi tells us that Jesus will come as the SUN with healing in his wings. He will be brighter than the SUN but is always the SON of God and we should not confuse the two. There are some teachings that he gave here about the SUN. HE told us about the Word of God and the importance of sharing that Word to others. We need to accept the Word and when we share it that is our responsibility but whether they believe or not that is not up to us. Just Share it!
Stealing the Word Mk 4:14-20 14 The sower soweth the word.15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
The Sower sows the Word – 4 things that the Devil uses to take the Word out. What are those 4 things? Stony ground, thorns, offense, and lusts of other things. IT is not enough to receive the Word but we must stay in an attitude of receptiveness and do what we can to constantly receive the Word or we will not be good ground. The good ground that Jesus talks about is the ground that is able to receive and become fruitful. Some lose I it Immediately. Some are stony ground. The effect is that with stony ground there is some reception and it looks fruitful but there is no root to go down deep. For they are upset because of persecution and have offense. Some have thorns so the ground is good but the thorns prevent growth. What kind of ground are you?
Unbelief Mt 17:20 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
A mustard seed is a small seed but it produces a great harvest. You do not need a lot of faith just that you need strong faith. You need to know that you can do it and when you try you will produce a harvest. Unbelief is intentional for you are knowing to do something and refuse to do it. Doubt says I know you Lord but I am not confident in you. How can you not trust in the God who created all things? Once God said you can do it then you can! Nothing is impossible to you!
None Effect of Tradition Mk 7:13 13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
There are so many things we have in Christianity that are based on tradition. So many things we have in our Christian life that we celebrate that are not in the Bible.) We celebrate and honor things today that take away from the Word. We need to not do things that take away from the Word. We need to ask ourselves does this honor the Word or take away from it? Do not allow the Word of God to be diminished in your life! Put God first in your life no matter what the cost and trust that God will confirm the Word with signs following no matter what the cost!
Accept Him – one of the most important things in our life is that we accepted him into our life. Did we accept him and honor him as our most important friend. Do we accept him in our daily life or just on Sunday? Is He a FB friend or an acquaintance or a BFF? Is he a Savior and Lord or just a Bible Character? Who is Jesus to you. HOW do we accept him in our life? The HOW matters to us for when we define the HOW then we can more easily accept the Why and the other questions about Him?
Hear Him Lk 8:18 18 Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.
The context is that this verse is talking about how you hear the Lord and is part of the parable of the candle. All things will be revealed at some point. Listen to Him and receive Him and then you will have a greater reward on Judgment Day. John instilled in us the desire he had for a reward day. Even on his last day he wanted to go to the house on the hill. His heavenly home. His focus was on Heaven. The modern- day expression for seem to have means you think you have it but you really don’t. People think you have things but they are not real. That is why we have fantasy leagues today!
Our Master Lk 6:40 40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.
IF you could be like Jesus! Can you imagine walking on water or calming a storm? Can you imagine being able to raise the dead and heal sickness with a word or touch? For some that is a pipe dream! You were given his name and authority so you can do the same things! Peter did raise the dead in the book of Acts and healed the sick. You can do that for others did in the Bible that were not Jesus! You were given his power for Jesus is the way, truth and the life. Jesus is the master but we are the disciples. So, learn from Him and be as he was. Demonstrate the Gospel to others in your words, prayer and deeds!
Woe Lk 11:46 46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.
John liked to talk about this. The Pharisees were religious leaders who would make tradition a burden and cause them to go from 10 to over 600 commands. The tradition has blossomed through the centuries and it has burdened men for thousands of years. IT puts men under instead of allowing them to overcome! I do what I can for church on Sunday and then I relax in part for that is how I was raised! Help others and give them honor and do what is right on Sunday! Do not burden men with things that do not honor the Lord! Honor the Lord first. That is why Church attendance should be so important to you for it honors the Lord, I believe if John were still here, we would all be wanting to still hear John and still be blessed by Him for he was a great communicator!
Value of Christ in You - One of the great teachings of John is that we learned to value who we were in Christ and who Christ is in us. We learned how to value ourselves because of the rights we have in Christ and because of the inheritance we have in Him. The Value that we have is because of the SON. We could not have the understanding we do know because of Calvary! We came to learn the great benefits because of the cross of the Christ. The Bible came alive to us!
Speak your Faith Mt 21:21 21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
Of course, this teaching was part of what we learned from the Word of Faith understanding. We had this instilled in us because we learned faith and grace. Faith causes us to be able to see the outcome by speaking the faith of God into the situation. To speak the faith of God we must speak like Jesus does! We were taught that faith and doubt were not same thing and we can have faith and still have some doubt! The doubt cannot be in our heart. Speak and expect a miracle.
Old and New Mt 13:52 52 Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
You can have treasure from both the Old and New Testaments. You need to bring out treasure from the old and new but the greatest truth is in the New for Christ has come and fulfilled the Old. The answer is in Christ. John wanted us to focus on what we have in the New and the fulfillment of the Old. The word householder meant the master of the house. You are like a master who rules for we rule in Christ. John would let us know how we rule in Christ and that we have authority in Him!
New Heart Focus - Mt 5:27-28 27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
I underlined v28 because that was the verse that was in John’s Bible. He often would speak on v28 to let us know that what lust meant. The heart issue is what matters. We were told about we need to see the things in the heart for the heart is what matters. Do not focus on the flesh but focus on the heart. The commands talked about adultery but the real focus of adultery is a heart issue. We were made to understand that the heart is what matters. Proverbs bring this out!
Eternal Life in Him The true life we must have is the eternal life that we have in Him. You cannot have life without having eternal life in Christ. Those that SAW Christ while he lived on the earth. God wants us to live in Him! We, cannot share the life we have really have without knowing that we have this life in Him! Can you say I SAW the living Christ In my life for I SAW Him when he came into my heart. This is one of the most important teachings we can have for it helps us to see Christ as God presents Him in the NT!
Speak in Tongues Jn 7:38-39 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
This verse speaks about the Holy Spirit and the ability to speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues was important to John and John felt we needed to speak in tongues to be able to live the Christian life with power. You cannot live in power without speaking in tongues. The passage needs the context of v38 to understand v39 so I put in v38. John wanted us to speak in tongues so we can grow in the gifts of the Spirit and also to have the Holy Spirit teach us how to grow in grace for the Holy Spirit is our teacher. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter and we cannot grow like we should without the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues!
Abide in Him Jn 15:4-5 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
To understand the gifts and fruit we must abide in the vine. John wanted the fruit to abide in us and constantly would tell us how we can produce fruit in our life. Telling us that when we are born again, we have fruit in our lives for we have the fruit of being born again. You need the fruit of being again before you can have fruit produced in your life! If you are a dead branch, you cannot produce live fruit! Live fruits need live branches! So, we need Jesus to produce more fruit in our life! Lean on Him so that you can have more fruit! Share the life of God with others and become a disciple of Christ!
Witness of Moses Jn 5:45-47 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me.47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
This was a very interesting verse to me that John taught me. V45 was in the Bible but 46 was not. It was really part of the passage. Moses speaks about Christ and we need to understand Moses for Moses spoke about Christ. The Jewish people think highly of Moses but do not know Christ as the Messiah. Moses since he, spoke of Christ, then in order to believe in Christ you must that believe that Moses wrote of Me. I am who I say I am! The Law accuses you for you are under the law and not under grace. When you believe in Christ then you will be under grace and not under the law!
Conclusion – The point is that life will be changed when we live in the eternal kingdom. Life will not be as we know it now. Life will be radically different then it is now! We expect life to be like it is now because others tell us it must be that day! Sickness and disease overwhelm us so instead of listening to the ministers of God we listen to what the pain says. We expect the problems to continue so we do not believe that God can change it since we have had it so long! So, we learn to doubt God! Stop doubting God and expect the life you have to change for the better!
Application- Start expecting joy to change your life! Start expecting your life to change in your life! Expect miracles in your life and walk in the beginning of faith! Tell yourself your life with change. Let the Word change you instead of trying to change the Word! See the end and expect your life to change what is true then will be true in your life now. I want you well now and to see people healed now. That is why we pray for healing and salvation every service! We expect miracles in your life. Learn that you can expect miracles as well!
Prayer for healing- (pray in faith believing) Expect a miracle and see yourself as being healed. Find a Scripture for your healing and speak that forth. Heavenly Father I pray for healing. I thank you for manifesting healing in my body today! You took all my sickness, disease, pain, sorrow for you paid for it on the cross of Calvary. I speak healing into my body and command ______________ to leave my body! No weapon can defeat me! I call myself healed because of the blood of Jesus Christ. Devil take your hands off of me for I am the child of the living God! Now thank the Lord for healing you!
Prayer for Salvation- I pray that all of you will come to know Jesus. Pray with me: Heavenly Father I recognize my need for you for without Jesus, I cannot make it in this life. I need you! I know I am a sinner and I need your SON. I recognize that Jesus died for my sin when Jesus died for me on Calvary. I believe that he rose again so that I can go to heaven and live with you there. Thank you for paying for my sin and bringing me into your forever family. So, Jesus come into my heart and live in me today! I am now a Christian!
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