Apologia Church Utah

John 11:38-46 Jesus is outraged in the innermost part of His being as He looks upon death. The wages of sin have taken a toll on the world He created so long ago and now is the time to reverse the curse. Jesus approaches the cave that Lazarus has been “sleeping” in and commands for the stone covering it to be removed. Although Martha previously expressed faith that Jesus is the Christ, she still doesn’t see fully what He can do. The stench of death seems more powerful than the Messiah. Jesus reminds her that if she believes she will see the glory of God. For humans, we often need to see the results of others’ promises. But for God, His word alone ought to be enough for us. Upon removing the stone from the cave, Jesus prayed to the Father and thanked Him in such a way as if Jesus had already privately communed with the Father to raise Lazarus. This is a Trinitarian act and many will believe because of it. Jesus shouts with His universe-making voice, the voice that calms the seas, and the voice that commands demons to flee their hosts. His yelling was coupled with His righteous indignation against sin and death. And in all that power, Lazarus came forth. Had Jesus not directed the order to him all of the dead on the earth would rise. The dead man was alive and was unbound from the graveclothes of death. This is just a foretaste of what Jesus will do for Himself and all humanity at His second coming. We too have been raised to new life by the death and resurrection of Christ, right here and now. And we too, will be raised to glorified lives and bodies by the Resurrection and the Life at the sound of the trumpet blast. The question is, as Jesus said, “Do you believe this?”

You do not want to miss this extraordinary conversation, where Ryan McMartin and Jacob Reynolds speak with two LDS men who just got home from their Mormon Mission to France. If you want to learn how to speak with Mormon Missionaries you need to watch Incredible: How to Speak with Return Mormon Missionaries for examples on how to speak with them.

John 11:17-37 After a purposeful delay Jesus finally arrives to Bethany, the village of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, His close friends. Lazarus had been dead for four days already. Martha had come out to Jesus, hearing He was near, and demonstrated desperation and grief but also faith. How many times do we do as she did? “God if only you did things differently, this hard circumstance would not have happened.” But then she also showed a confidence in Jesus. He is able. He can do all things. Jesus says Lazarus will rise again and Martha thinks He’s speaking of the final day. Jesus, however, makes a powerful statement that He is the I AM, the Resurrection and the Life, thereby calling her to transfer her hope from an impersonal theory to the personal Son of God. There is no hope for resurrection and eternal life outside of Jesus Christ. And this eternal life is such a sure thing for those who believe that it’s as if that reality were for them now. As if they will never die. They will have salvific life, life in the kingdom of God, life that is everlasting. Martha believes this and therefore anything else pales in comparison to the power of the Christ. Martha then left to bring her sister, Mary, back to Jesus for a private meeting but the mourners in the house followed her out to Him. When Mary saw Jesus, when her eyes met with her Lord, desperation and grief caused her to collapse; she fell at His feet. She said the same thing as Martha but with far more emotion. And so when Jesus saw her and the Jews weeping something happened to Him. He was outraged in His spirit and stirred Himself up. And the reason He was like this was because He had come face to face with His greatest foe: death. What Satan and sin did to desecrate His creation, the effects of the fall; all these things caused Jesus to look upon the grief of those He made in His image and likeness and be enraged. Which then at the same time led our Lord to experience one of the most powerful emotions in history. Grief came upon Him and Jesus wept. He didn’t cry for Lazarus specifically; He knew He was about to raise Him. He wept for His people and what sin did to this world. Only the fulfillment of His mission could fix this. And what He was about to do next was on the trajectory of that. The I AM would experience all that was necessary for the salvation of His people.

Watch this video as Wade, a Pastor Challenges Sister Missionary's Faith with Unyielding Truth. This video showcases the differences between the LDS and Evangelical Christian all the while not sacrificing the Gospel. Please pray for this young lady!

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 Through the conquering work of Christ, we live in a world that is in the process of being renewed by the power of the Gospel through the Work of the Holy Spirit. In this world, we also live a life that is being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. In this life, by God’s decree, we experience suffering but our Salvation is held secure and seated with Christ; at the right hand of the Father, who is the God of all comfort. In the Christian walk, we may suffer alone but we are never alone, meaning that God is with us, and we are with the Body of Christ and the Holy Spirit dwells within each one of us. Personal Affliction, Suffering, and Trauma are never without a Community of Comfort (the Trinitarian God), Grace, Mercy, and Salvation, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit and Body of Christ. We have the God of all Comfort and Mercy who made it known to us through the success of Christ’s resurrection that even in trials our salvation is held secure by the Holy Spirit who uses all things to conform us to the Image of Christ and to build up the Body of Christ through the Sharing in Christ’s comfort to all who believe. We have the fulfillment of Suffering in the life of Christ, who historically displayed the Heavenly Reality in which we live. In that, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit which allows us to be comforted in ALL afflictions and also comfort others in any affliction. It is this that I want you to hold onto throughout this sermon. The suffering of the Believer does not produce damnation - it sanctifies and through the power of the Holy Spirit, it unifies the Church to bring about the Kingdom of God through the work of the Holy Spirit by the Power of Christ and the Mercy of the Father. Christ is King over our Afflictions, and in that, we have Victory and Resurrection through a Hope that cannot be taken away from us.

John 10:30-42 The Jewish leaders have encircled Jesus in the temple courtyard to get Him to admit His claim of messiahship and He responds with a far more intense statement than what was expected. “I and the Father are one.” The will of the Father, the will of Christ, the mission of God, the mission of Christ, the plans and decrees of the Father and those of the Son, they are eternally intertwined. That in reality, ontologically they are one. The Old Testament speaks to this same truth: that God is Triune. For the third time the Jews seek to kill Jesus but He asks His opponents a question. They say they follow the Father but He has performed good works that belong to the Father, of which one will they stone Him? Again, we see their oneness. However, they can only see His humanity despite all His works and power. The charge is blasphemy. Jesus will now exegete Psalm 82 in defense of His statements. Some have speculated the “gods” that will die like mere men in Psalm 82 are angels with authority over the nations; others think they are the people of Israel receiving the law at Sinai; but the true interpretation here is that these so-called “gods” were judges of Israel who failed to perform justice for the weak, needy, fatherless, and widows. They will lose the special honor and title of being called “gods”. They are not fit to be called so. This fits the context because these Jewish leaders in Jesus’s day failed as shepherds, leaders, priests, and judges. Only Jesus is worthy to be Judge. He is the righteous Judge to do what the judges of Psalm 82 and now the Jewish leaders of the first century could not do. He will serve with equity, grace, and goodness. And therefore Psalm 82:8 is fulfilled in this very moment with Jesus before the Jewish leaders. It says “Arise, O God, judge the earth! For it is You who possesses all the nations.” Men couldn’t do it right. God has to come down into His creation and He will do it. And it will touch every nation because He owns them all. If mere mortals were given such titles of “gods” and “sons of the Most Hight”, how much more does Jesus deserve to be called the Son of God? The Monogenes Theos.

John 10:22-29 Some time has gone by since Jesus revealed He is the Good Shepherd and it is now winter during the Feast of Dedication. While families and synagogues were lighting menorahs to commemorate the rededication of the temple after its glorious recapture from the Seleucids, the Light of the World, Jesus, God in the flesh, walks among His people. It then says the Jews encircled Him hoping for a clearer confession if Jesus thinks He is the Christ. It’s not that Jesus has not spoken clearly to who He is; it’s that that they refuse to believe it. His mouth, their ears, they both function fine; it’s their unbelief. Christ then demonstrates the sovereignty of God over their unbelief, they are not of His sheep. They have no capacity to believe. He reminds us of the characteristics of true and sheep: they hear His voice, He knows them, and they follow Him. Jesus then describes the most glorious benefits of being of His sheep. They have eternal life. They will never perish. They will never be snatched out of His hand. While kingdoms and cities decay, and new ones rise our spiritual existences will only flourish. Perishing was our original conclusion but now, no matter how much it may look like we are close to perishing, Jesus says we never will. Jesus never lets us go. We are in His hands and He has all power. Nothing and one can overcome Him. We are in the safest place we can be, in His hands. And while in His hand we are sent out as arrows; given to others as fragrant flowers; applied to others as balm and medicine; messages and tablets to the world; and as beautiful ornaments that glorify the heavenly Bridegroom. We are preserved in His hands. Both the Father and the Son stand behind this powerful preservation of the sheep. This is ultimate security because Jesus is the ultimate Savior and Shepherd.

Pastor Wade Orsini and Jacob Reynolds of Apologia Church Utah get into a very interesting conversation with a man in downtown Provo, Utah. From the man stating that There is No God, to talking about Aliens this conversation was definitely one to remember!