Sermons - Cornerstone Christian Fellowship

No Common Ground - Part Five

Jul 23, 2023 by: John Herbert | Series: No Common Ground

Audio Study Notes PDF

Refresh
A Recap from the Sermon

Jn 14:30 "I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.

We will continue to look at the common ground our enemy has with us and what we must do to separate ourselves from it.

The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button.

Sunday July 23rd 2023
No Common Ground – Part 5

1). Jn 14:28 ¶ "You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.' If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I. 29 "And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. 30 "I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. 31 "But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

We have noted in our previous studies the scriptural reasons why the ruler of this world had not one thing, no common ground, no point of contact in Christ. We had seen that there can be no relationship between light and darkness, we had seen that Christ’s Kingdom is not of this age and as the promised Seed of the Woman He is completely apart from sin. So, let’s begin this week by adding a little more to what we already have Mt 27:11 ¶ Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" So Jesus said to him, "It is as you say." 12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. 13 Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?" 14 But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.

Our scripture begins with Jesus verifying that He is indeed a King.  This is the position to which He was born, the position to which He has been appointed and was declared at the beginning and the end of His earthly life – Mt 2:2 …… “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?

Jn 19:19 Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Heb 1:2……….His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds…[set in place the ages]

His position as Sovereign over the earth in the Seventh Day is assured – 
Ps 2:6 “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.”

Therefore, because of these things, while He was on the earth within this present world system under Satan, He had no need to defend Himself or justify Himself. There was nothing more that needed to be said. He was in the world but not of the world and therefore separate from the world’s mode of operation.
	a). At the time of His arrest, He had no need to prove His innocence nor demonstrate that He was being unfairly treated as He had placed His trust completely in the One to whom righteousness and justice belongs. He was not concerned with proving Himself in the eyes of men at that time, because He knew that God the Father would exalt Him in the eyes of men at a time yet future. He was completely secure in the outworking of God’s plans and purposes – Php 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

And as a consequence of His complete security in God’s purpose, according to our scripture, ‘He answered him [Pilate] not a word’ – 
1 Pe 2:23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously…

And let’s take note of who it was who had accused Him. It was the chief priests and elders, the religious leaders of the nation, those who led God’s chosen people. Those who had been redeemed by the blood of the Passover lambs.
	b). And if we follow the events of Matthew Chapter 27, they eventually lead us to the cross, where we find this - Lu 23:34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."

Not only did the Lord not defend Himself despite His innocence when He was accused, but He also forgave those who were spitefully using Him, an action that has enormous significance for national Israel in the future. 
	c). And we can compare Scripture with Scripture to find commentary on the verses that we read from Matthew Chapter 27, within a Christian context, in - Heb 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

According to this verse from Hebrews, where does our focus need to be? It needs to be looking away from this world, the present kingdom of Satan, to Jesus, and the purpose for which He is now sitting at the right hand of God. Not only to look to the One who has been raised to rule but also to look at what He willingly accepted in order that the joy set before Him, rulership in the Seventh Day with His co-heirs, should be realized –
Isa 53:7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.

We are to look from this world unto Jesus because what we see in the way Jesus conducted Himself is completely contrary to the way the world would handle the matter. The world, had it been in the Lord’s position, would have wanted to defend itself, even if it had been guilty, it would have proclaimed innocence, and the wisdom of the world would look for revenge and justification, not forgiveness. But the difference between the world’s view and the Lord’s view can be found in - Lu 22:42 saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done."

And here is a tremendous lesson for us, Jesus knew exactly what He had to face in going to the cross and asked His Father if ‘this cup’ might be taken from Him. However, the only thing that mattered here was the Father’s will for Him, which cannot be separated from the purpose for which He was sent, to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and the conclusion to which all moves, Christ in His Kingdom having redeemed and restored Israel and having brought many sons to glory - 1Pe 1:20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

What we might realize then, is that the way the Lord conducted Himself in this age, at His first Advent, was the pathway to accomplishing God’s purpose for the Seventh Day, the Age to come, that which is God’s focus throughout the Scripture.
d). And with respect to that coming Age, we have received a heavenly calling, a calling to be a coheir with Christ in the Seventh Day – 
Ro 8:17 and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Heb 2:6 But one testified in a certain place, saying: "What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him? 7 You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. 8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet." For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him.

I hope that we will realize from this that the joy that was set before Christ is the same joy that is set before us and is to be accomplished within the same timeframe – Mt 25:23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

It is the Father’s will that we should have dominion over the earth with His Son in the age to come. And if the realization of His will requires our death, which in a figurative sense it does, then we need to submit ourselves to the will of the Father, just as Christ did. And if this is to be our reality, then we will place our trust completely in the One to whom righteousness and justice belong. There will be no need to justify ourselves nor defend ourselves in this age because this age is not where our justification is to be found. Like our Lord, we are in the world but not of the world and consequently we do not seek to establish ourselves through the wisdom of the world – 1 Pe 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Now let’s consider this a moment.  That which was accomplished through Christ’s earthly ministry was brought about through the Lord’s interaction with His brother Israel in accordance with that which had been prophesied from the beginning, it did not take place in a vacuum – 
Lu 24:25 Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"

Ge 3:8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

Ex 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.

It was given into the hands of national Israel to kill the Passover Lamb and we may thank God that they did. The Lord’s death on the cross that precipitated His resurrection and exaltation, allowing for God’s purpose to be brought to its conclusion, was brought to pass at the hands of His brothers and sisters, His own chosen people.

2). Now this is not to say that we need to set out to crucify one another. Far from it. But the picture shows us that it will be through our interactions with one another that we will find opportunity to die to our self, to align ourselves with the Word of Truth, to fulfill the royal law. God’s plans and purposes for the body of Christ will of necessity be worked out within the body itself. Just as the Woman was built from the rib taken from Adam’s side, and it was that rib alone that God worked with, nothing extra was added to it. 
a). You see, we can never hope to relate scripturally to anyone else until we can relate scripturally to one another.
b). This is summed up for us in - 1Pe 2:19 For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. 21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth"; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously….

And this takes us to the heart of where we were in our last session. We will I hope, remember the ‘skandalon’, the bait stick of offense, that primes the trap of revenge and bitterness. And at the heart of taking offense is pride.  We think, and I stress think, that another person’s actions or words are a deliberate attempt to diminish who we see ourselves to be. Consequently, we feel hurt, and we may become angry or bitter or both – Ro 12:3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

We may have the mindset even now that if we have taken offense, then the person we hold responsible for it should come to us and acknowledge what they have done.  Again, this is pride. Because we perceive ourselves to be in the right, we expect our brother or sister to come and humble themselves before us allowing us in that moment to be exalted and triumphant over them, this is not what Jesus did - Pr 3:34 Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble.

1 Pe 5:5… for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."

Perhaps we have never seen before that we ‘take offence’, this is something we choose to take, it is not something given to us. And because it is offered to us to take it, our obligation is to refuse it. Keep in mind that it is a trap, a trap laid by the wiles of our enemy to cause us to stumble, so that we might not receive our inheritance in the coming Kingdom. Perhaps we might picture it this way, if someone says something about us which is true, how can we take offence over what has been truly stated? We might not like to hear it, but what is true remains true. But if that which someone says about us is not true, how can we take offence over that which is a lie? What is said has no bearing on us, therefore there is no need to respond to it. Isn’t this what Jesus did? It really is that simple to understand and it brings us to that point of choice, do we believe what God has said? Will we walk away from our father’s house or take the bait and give place to the devil?

3). Now, let’s look at something interesting in an event recorded in – 
2Sa 16:5 Now when King David came to Bahurim, there was a man from the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei the son of Gera, coming from there. He came out, cursing continuously as he came. 6 And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David. And all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. 7 Also Shimei said thus when he cursed: "Come out! Come out! You bloodthirsty man, you rogue! 8 "The LORD has brought upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the LORD has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil, because you are a bloodthirsty man!" 9 Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please, let me go over and take off his head!" 10 But the king said, "What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? So let him curse, because the LORD has said to him, 'Curse David.' Who then shall say, 'Why have you done so?'" 11 And David said to Abishai and all his servants, "See how my son who came from my own body seeks my life. How much more now may this Benjamite? Let him alone, and let him curse; for so the LORD has ordered him. 12 "It may be that the LORD will look on my affliction, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing this day."

Let’s ask the question, had Shimei’s actions and words provided David with the opportunity to take offense? Most certainly. Was David already having a bad day? Most certainly. And in Abishai we find the expected response from the offended, ‘take off his head’.
	a). David’s response however is – this may be from God. Let’s look at David’s final conclusion - 12 "It may be that the LORD will look on my affliction, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing this day."

We should allow for the possibility that what someone says to us that offers us the bait stick of offense may well provide us with an opportunity for self-examination for our own good. And if we take the bait, we will have, figuratively speaking, slain the messenger and despised an opportunity to embrace the child training of the Lord - Ro 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  29 ¶ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

All things work together for good, even the offering of the bait stick, if our response to it is correct.
	b). What does the scripture say? - 1Pe 3:8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; 9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For "He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.

What are we to do? Be of one mind. Be aligned with the Word of Truth and relate to one another, and engage with one another, according to the Scriptures. We are all in process and we should have compassion towards each other because of this. Because we don’t know the extent of the struggle our brother or sister is having. Our hearts should be tender toward each other, not hardened.
	c). On the one hand we are obligated not to judge one another and therefore bridle our tongue from speaking evil of our brother or sister. In fact, if we love them, then we shouldn’t even think anything evil of them. And on the other hand, if something evil is said about us, then we must NOT return evil for evil or reviling for reviling but blessing instead. And this, according to the Scripture, we have been called to, that we may inherit a blessing. These are issues then that directly affect our appearance at the Judgment Seat.
	d). And are we not once again back to the royal law? - Jas 2:8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well….

Php 2:3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

Living within a world system that encourages selfish ambition, we can see that this is a challenge, but what happens in the world is not to be the way the Church of God is to operate. Christ never functioned this way and as His body in the earth, nor should we. In the world everyone wants to exercise their rights but what do we find with respect to those who are the church, who are in the world but not of the world - 1Co 6:7 Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?

This is a challenging verse but remember those seen in it are members of the household of faith, not the world outside. Those pursuing the Kingdom and God’s righteousness together, should never resort to secular law to resolve a matter. According to the verse, it is better to accept the wrong that is not ours or be cheated rather than doing so. To find ourselves in the situation described at the beginning of v7 is an utter failure in living by the royal law. And inevitably, must lead to utter failure at the Judgment Seat. Would losing the Kingdom really be worth that?
	 
Ro 14:13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way.

Not only must we be working towards a level of spiritual maturity whereby we shall refuse to take offense when it is offered to us but also be spiritually mature enough to recognize how not to provide an opportunity for our brother or sister to take offense because of us – 
1Co 10:23 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. 24 Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's well -being.

4). There is another aspect to taking offense that we need to be aware of
Mt 15:7 "Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" 10 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand: 11 "Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." 12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"

To which we can add - Jn 6:53 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 "Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal [age lasting] life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 "For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 "This is the bread which came down from heaven--not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever." 59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. 60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?" 61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?........................66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"

What we see here is the Word made flesh, saying things that those around Him took offense over.  And not only were the Pharisees offended, who we might have expected, but also His disciples.
	a). And note many of His disciples were offended and many went back and walked with Him no more because of it, echoes of Orpah, and why? ‘This is a hard saying, who can understand it?’ The word translated understand is a word that means to hear, ‘Let him who has an ear hear….’
	b). Well, they didn’t have ears to hear, they didn’t want to hear what the Word said, being more focused on what seemed right in their own eyes.
	c). We see that Jesus made no apology, nor does He in any way compromise on what He had spoken. And it is clear from His question to the twelve in v67 that the twelve themselves were also offended.  But despite the offense, witness Peter’s words in response to the Lord’s question, do you also want to go away? - Jn 6:68 But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal [age lasting] life. 69 "Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

The twelve took offense at Jesus’ words just like the others, but they had the revelation brought forth from above of Jesus’ identity, an identity that declares rulership in the Seventh Day. And consequently, even though these were things they did not want to hear and did not understand, they knew these were words of life for the age to come. If they wanted that life in the age, then they had to receive the hard sayings and not reject them.
	d). And the Word of the Kingdom remains offensive to many even today. Now, we will understand that when this Word is first presented, most who hear it will have a negative reaction towards it that verges on violence. They are offended by it to such a degree that in their hearts and with their tongues they murder the messenger, one that Christ had died for and yet this is only how God said it would be.
	e). But what about us? There are those of our experience who once walked with us in the household of faith until they heard one thing from the Word of the Kingdom that they refused to hear. Took offense over it and walked away. Murdering with their tongues as they did so.
	f). So, again the question, ‘What about us?’ Have we heard something during the course of this study that we don’t want to hear? Have we been offended by it? Have we already determined; I know what the Word says but I’m not going to do that? Or have we realized that these are the words of life for the age to come? Have we realized that this is the choice to get out from our father’s house or go back to the bondage from which we have been delivered? What do you think?

5). 1Pe 2:4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." 7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, "The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone," 8 and "A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense." They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.

Christ is a living stone and has been set as the Chief Cornerstone within His Church. And we also as livings stones are being built on the foundation of the Chief Cornerstone. If, however, we choose to be disobedient to the Word of the Kingdom to which we have been appointed, the Rock that should be our foundation becomes a ‘stone of stumbling and a rock of offense’.  Our disobedience will cause us to stumble when confronted with the Word of the Kingdom and we will become offended by it, in fact we become offended with God, because He desires, for our own good, for us to do that which we have decided we do not want to do.
	a). Jesus has some very salutary things to say to the scribes and Pharisees, those who sat in Moses’ seat and should have prepared the Jewish people for the coming of their Messiah and His offer of the Kingdom. This comes at the conclusion of the parable of the vineyard – 
Mt 21:42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD'S doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes'? 43 "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. 44 "And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."

The Word of Kingdom here in this setting is seen as a rock on which we are to fall in order to be broken. This again speaks of the child training of the Lord, denying ourselves and taking up our cross, the renewing of our minds, the transformation from the old man to the new. But if we choose to be disobedient to the Word of the Kingdom, if we become offended by it, we will not allow it to ‘break’ us now.  However, in the near future, at Christ’s Judgment Seat, that same rock will fall on us and grind us to powder.
	b). If we are wise, we will understand that it will be much less painful to choose to be broken now than choose to remain whole now and be ground to powder in that Day.
c). The things that we have heard from the Word of the Kingdom over the course of our study may be ‘hard sayings’ at times, but let us have ears to hear as these are the words that lead to life in the age to come – 
Jn 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

Let us choose to be broken by them.  Let us choose to let God shape us and build us to the fulfillment of His purpose for us. What a glorious opportunity we have.

We will continue to the last part of this series next time, if we remain and the Lord is willing, and someone has prayed.

No Common Ground - Part Five

Refresh A Recap from the Sermon

No Common Ground - Part Five

Jul 23, 2023

Speaker: John Herbert

Series: No Common Ground

Category: Sunday Morning

Refresh
A Recap from the Sermon