Sermon Outlines
Jeremiah 6:8 Take warning, O Jerusalem, or I will turn away i from you and make your land desolate so no one can live in it.
6:10 To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen k to me? Their ears are closed 13 l so they cannot hear. m The word n of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it. 11 But I am full of the wrath o of the LORD, and I cannot hold it in. p
7:13 ‘Go now to the place in Shiloh p where I first made a dwelling q for my Name, r and see what I did s to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 While you were doing all these things, declares the LORD, I spoke t to you again and again, u but you did not listen; v I called w you, but you did not answer. x 14 Therefore, what I did to Shiloh y I will now do to the house that bears my Name, z the temple a you trust in, the place I gave to you and your fathers. 15 I will thrust you from my presence, b just as I did all your brothers, the people of Ephraim.’ c
7:16 “So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea d or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen e to you.
There is a concept in the minds of men, especially in our days, which reads: "God resides in all goodness. God is a loving and understanding parent. “So, will never harm any child of yours."
The history of mankind is divided into periods that show the maturity
and evolution of humankind. At one time the man had no knowledge of God ...
Later on he begins to acquire the knowledge and begins to see God as a
sovereign judge who decides the actions of man on earth and punishing those who
fail to meet your requirements ... Later came Jesus, Buddha and many others who
have shown a new face of God - a God who forgives, a God who loves you!
Today, the concepts of God that mankind have evolved even further. As
portrayed in the book "The Shack," God is a father who understands
the circumstances that lead us astray and who will do everything for everyone
to be saved. God would never condemn his child to eternal punishment. If God
would never condemn us, whatever our sin, so there is no hell ... Like
everything in God is absolute, his kindness and love are also absolute. That
is, the new philosophy, a new way of seeing God, and believes it is said that
God not only loves us, how that her love is unconditional.
But the Holy Bible contains the true revelation of the character, nature
and personality of God. About God, not just only what we think or the vision
one has of him. You must know who he is from the revelation that He makes of
himself.
WHO IS GOD BY BIBLICAL REVELATION?
I - HE IS THE GOD THAT CREATES ALL CIRCUMSTANCES THAT YOUR CHILDREN ARE BLESSED
1. God endows man of physical, intellectual, psychological and spiritual man
walk in his ways and be successful in this life;
2. God gives to man all the elements he needs to live a dignified life and
blessed, both in the material sense as in the spiritual sense;
3. No one can argue that God deprived of means to be a successful person. Not
even physical disabilities are barriers to prevent anyone win in life.
II - He is the God who forgives and redeems
1. God rescues, renovates, rebuilds, restores, retrained ...
2. What the father of the prodigal son shows, God is always waiting for that
which is lost in the illusions of this life, those who left him and lived as if
he did not exist. Not only is awaiting the return of the rebellious son, but as
the pastor of one hundred sheep, comes to the mounds and mountains in search of
that which was lost. The Grace of God takes to do things many of us can doubt!
3. The Lord understands our frailty and weakness, "he remembers we are dust",
so "not dealt with us after our sins." The pleasure of God is
restoring his child, no matter how unjust, ungrateful, who has been unfaithful.
III - HE IS THE GOD THAT TIRES AND THAT YOU QUIT IS WHAT HE DESPISES
1. There is one aspect of the nature of God revealed in Scripture; many of us prefer not to believe it exists. CS Lewis, Philip Yancey, Max Lucado, and many other modern preachers, cannot even imagine a God who is able to prohibit a prophet to pray for someone because he was tired of giving this person your grace and get back the contempt.
2. But this is what the Word tells us. "I'm bored of your solemn
gatherings," "When you lift up the hands for me to hide my
face," "Be thou, O Jerusalem that my soul does not depart from thee
..."
3. God's love is immense, is pure, it is indescribable, but is not
unconditional, nor blind. He who does not respond to the love of God will not
be benefited by him God does not require pre-requisite to love us, He first
loved us, but it requires a response so that we are saved by your love. If it
were not so, all mankind would be saved in Christ, yet even those who did not
believe in the Gospel. The same Jesus who told the parable of the prodigal son,
showing God's willingness to forgive, also made a revelation that dismantles
the whole argument of the unconditional love of God, when he said: "... he
that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and manifest
myself to him ... " - John 14:21. On another occasion, Jesus endorsed this
view when he said: "Not all those who say, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father in heaven."
- Matthew 7 : 21.
4. The objective of this message is to awaken us, since we have been
deluded with the message of forgiveness in advance, the love that no matter
what you are doing, the limitless God's willingness to forgive us. Today, we
talk so much in the "jaws of grace," of "sovereign grace",
the "desperate pursuit of grace," the "furious longing of
God" etc..
The philosopher and theologian Ariovaldo Ramos, when he speaks on the subject, says: "Everything in the Bible seems to say that God does not stop loving because there was no response to his love, however, it is nevertheless expected that this response will. And if he does not come, despite all the love that dispenses to his creatures, execute the judgment. "
5. "A fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God! ' -
Hebrews 10:31.
Psalm 19
Intro Communication. 50 years ago wee white wireless, bored very quickly, teenager got a tranny. Now plasma, blue ray, i-pod mega bites, sat nav, wee means something entirely different, hears see and do. This Psalm is about God communicating to mankind, the psalmist examines some of the means of this communication. Few have heard the audible voice of God and no one has seen God.
1. God speaks through nature. Vs. 1-6 The psalmist leads us outside and points to the Glory of God in creation. God speaks through nature and man need to listen, If we listen to nature what would we learn?
a. Glory of God. 1a. The heavens declare the Glory of God, just as a building is attributed to the architect, Olimpics such wonderful buildings (birds nest in the stadium) we are all impressed, the heavens, the universe honours its maker and architect.
b. Handiwork of God. 1b. The skies, seas and earth display God’s handiwork. Just as we are impressed with an artist when we look at his work (Savants 14 year old girl) so we are impressed with God when we look at the world around us.
c. Majesty of God. 2-4. Each day is a forceful witness to the majesty of God, the day impresses us with certain wonders and the night with others, (View mountain - moon and clouds) All throughout the world God’s majesty can be seen in sign language, a silent witness.
d. Supremacy of God. 4b.-5. Ancient world the sun was supreme and therefore worshipped. (Sun worshippers today has a different meaning, holidays in the sun) The psalmist called special attention to the sun, tent in heaven, like a bridegroom in radiance or an athlete in strength and endurance. God created the sun therefore He is supreme not the sun. (New age worships creation, science studies it looking for origins, Godly people see the hand of God in it all.)
2.
God speaks through His word. 7-11. The psalmist leaves the hills
for the
a. Aspects of the Law. we are given different terms, Law or torah is like an arrow shot at a target, we are the target. There are always targets in education and the law targets us for our spiritual education. Statutes are commandments particularly the ten. Precepts are general advice, Commands are more particular, ordinances are judicial requirements which do not change but are straight down the middle, they are the narrow road! These words describe various shades of the law.
b. Appreciation of the law. The psalmist uses adjectives to describe the quality of the law, perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true. These descriptions are used to create a profound appreciation within us for God’s word.
c. Appropriation of the law. When we appropriate or make use of God’s law wonderful things happen to us. The law can have glorious results in our lives. Souls are converted or renewed. Wisdom is acquired, hearts are rejoiced, eyes are enlightened, it endures forever and makes people righteous. Gold and honey, a high value. meat and milk in the NT
d. Accomplishments of the law. It warns against rebellion and produces a good life, rewards hear and now.
3.
God speaks in life’s experiences. The psalmist moves
to the inner being of a person, we are the
a. Prevalence of sin. After scrutinizing God’s law the psalmist looks at his own life and realises that he is a sinner. Errors committed by human weakness. Secret faults are sins committed unknowingly, Lev.5:2 and presumptuous sins committed in defiance of God.
b. Power of God. God make it clear that sin can not be conquered by human power Rom 7:24,25. We can’t even know sin without the law to show us. Only God can take care of our sin. God can cleanse from secret sins and restrain us from wilful sin. God is always available in our thoughts and words as a strength and redeemer. Rock strengthens, redeemer frees from tyranny.
Conclusion. If you
can not hear God’s communication then you are spiritually deaf and in seriously
trouble. Listen God is always speaking.
7th January 2024
How to Finish Well 2 Timothy 4:6-11For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.:9 Do your best to come to me quickly, 10 for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.
- Beginners there are many; it is those who finish that are rare.
- Not all who start well finish well.
- Paul’s life was being “poured out” and he was “packing up” for his “departure” and he did everything he could to motivate young Timothy not to quit before the finish line.
- Paul begins to reminisce about his own life and he shares the principles that enabled him to finish well.
I. In order to finish well, we need to fight for the faith.
- Paul was not bragging, he was simply emphasizing the nature of the Christian life is that of a fight. (We fight Satan, our flesh and the world that is always against us.)
- Paul is like a marathon runner he headed to the finish line, he perseveres to the end.
- “Kept the faith” (guarded as a sacred deposit) and passed it on to the next generation.
- Many want the product of spiritual maturity but not the process that produces it within us.
II. In order to finish well, we need to focus on the future.
- “Crown” does not refer to the emblem of a king, it is rather the emblem of a victor a winner.
- The laurel wreath was the most prized award in the ancient world.
- As the runner entered the stadium they could look up and see the crown before them at the finish line.
- Don’t get bogged down in the fight and the hassle of the race. The reward is at the end!
III. In order to finish well, we need the fellowship of friends.
- Paul maintained a fellowship of friends, and support of brothers around him.
- As he looked to the end he thought of them, the others along the way who had helped and ministered to him and with him.
- Paul wanted Timothy to “come quickly” to be with him in these final hours.
- The Christian life is not to be a solo endeavor, we need fellowship,, that is why this lockdown was hard for many, no felllowship.
- Paul invested in them and they invested in Paul. Just Like me David has invested many years in this fellowship growing
IV. In order to finish well, we need to forget the failures of others.
- In the second missionary journey Paul and Barnabas were split over taking John Mark.
- Now Paul has forgotten or at least forgiven him.
- We have a tendency to forget what we should remember and remember what we are told to forget.
- Forgiveness for past offenses prevents bitterness in the present and future.
- In life there are hurts and bumps that occur, learn to get up and keep going. Many have become accommodated assisting livestream on Sundays now is the time to get back in the race and Finish well!
Christmas sermon 2023
Title. The
Text John 1:14. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Introduction: The Christmas narrative is found in Matthew
and Luke, but now for our Church seasonal address we will look at John’s more
metaphysical, doctrinal, theological perspective of the embodiment of God into
our form. If there is a
The Transition. (The word became like us)
The Tabernacle. (The word based (dwelt) amongst us)
The Testimony. (The word beheld by us)
1. The Transition. (The word became like us) God became man to
dwell amongst men and reveal himself to mankind. Vincent became a Christian. I
will always be Vincent and always be a Christian. God became a man, he will
always be God and now will always be a man.
Two in one, all of God and all of man, for all time. Take our shoes off, bow down and worship The God Man.
A. The Word. The Word is Christ Jesus and He reveals the heart of God to us. John is
determined that his readers know that Jesus is God. In the beginning echoes
Moses but while Moses moves forward to reveal Christ in the nation and law,
John goes back before the world began to reveal His eternal quality. The Word
was with God and the Word was God. Jesus was with God and Jesus was God. Who
were you with yesterday? I was with Willum! By his side, in his proximity, next
to him with him but not him. The Word was with God, By his side, in his
proximity, next to him, yet at the same time, the word was God. Christ
was with God and was God and will be forever. Take our shoes off, bow
down and worship Father and Son, one God.
B. The Word became. You shall conceive a son, the holy seed planted by the Holy Spirit in a
chosen vessel, the virgin womb of a young girl. Conceived to grow, to form a
head, limbs, fingers, attached by an umbilical cord, receiving nurture from
human blood and all else that was His mother. God could have put a fully formed
child in the womb! But he became a man fully conceived as any other man. Take
our shoes off, bow down and worship. The Creator becomes the creature.
C. Flesh is a strong almost crude word to stress His manhood. Son of David
according to the flesh, Romans 1:3.
Sarx is the lowest, meanest part of man.
Flesh means weakness, he was crucified in weakness. 2 Cor. 13:4.
Flesh means mortal, he was put to death in the flesh 1 Pet. 3:18.
Flesh means sin, without sin he was made sin for us. 2 Cor.5:21.
The voice that introduced the gospel, said; all flesh is grass, Is.40:6.
Without his flesh there would have been no body to crucify, without his flesh there would have been no blood to sacrifice. Take our shoes off, bow down and worship. God in the limitation of flesh bringing unlimited glory to mankind.
11. The Tabernacle. (The word based (dwelt) amongst us)
Tabernacle was a rough outward course structure that contained within a number
of holy items. The Holy One born of Mary pitched His tent for a while amongst
us. A body of course flesh containing His perfect human sinless spirit.
A. Made his dwelling. Set up home here. Ph. 2 shows us what he was
thinking. Servant of God and man, humbled himself, made himself nothing, His
will nothing God’s will everything. Choice was His. If an
B. Dwelt. Pitched His tent as a soldier, he had long
ago declared war on Satan. Pitched His tent as a pilgrim no perpetual dwelling
here, only here until His work is done. Pitched His tent as a servant, Pitched
His tent as a loving friend ready to lay down his life.
C. Amongst us. A generation of vipers, He thought it nothing to give up his glory and
dwell with sinners. Worse than David in Meshes and Kedar, worse than Ezekiel
amongst scorpions, worse than the Church at Pergamus dwelling where Satan seal
is. He had to grow up amongst sinners, he was tempted in all way as we are yet
he was without sin Heb. 3:17. He never retaliated, never an unfair word, never
an adverse reaction, Satan could find no word, thought or deed to accuse him of.
His humanity was touched, forbid them not, Lazarus my friend come back, woman
great is your faith, o ye of little faith how long shall I endure you, take
this cup from me.
111. The Testimony. (The word beheld by us) John and his friend
saw the reality of Who Jesus really is. Through his miracles and teaching they
recognized Him to be God. This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at
Cana in
Include me amongst those who have seen, I have not handled as John did, but I am more blessed than Thomas, I see by faith. Others saw him and only saw a carpenter or teacher or Rabbi or a blasphemer or even Beelzebub.
A. Glory. When we see it, it filters to us and transform
us. The ministry of the law through Moses that condemns us came in Glory. His
face shone and
B. Grace. When he speaks his words are full of unmerited favour and kindness to
the guilty. He loves His enemies. He has two things that fallen mankind
desperately needs. Grace and truth, both found in Him in immeasurable quantities.
Full of grace and truth.
C. Truth. He himself is the final reality of all the shadows that precede Him.
All the OT pours into Him.
Conclusion. As John and his friends and everyone who
seeks God in spirit and truth scrutinize and behold the Glory of God in Christ
Jesus they penetrate the mystery, all the attributes of God shining through the
human nature of Christ. On Christmas morning does His Glory convince you?
Christ shows the way to God in everything he does, so that even in his
humiliation there is Glory. You need to do what he did as described in
Phi.2. Make yourself nothing, humble
yourself, die to yourself. Self out then Christ can come in and take over. J.B.
I must decrease, He must increase. Do this and you will see the greatness of
his grace and the triumph of his truth and His Glory will enter your life. Note: One
and Only, who came from the Father. This is about His sonship, and must be seen
in terms of his messianic sonship or Trinitarian sonship.
October 8th Luke 10:25.The Good Samaritan = Who is my neighbor.
Most people's lives are so full what with all that they have to do, it
appears that they are content with life as it is. However there are other
people who appear to lead lives so full of anxiety that it may seem unkind and
even useless to offer them any help or considerations that would appear to add
to their responsibilities. Then we have others that no matter what we do it is
never enough.
1 Peter 4:8 tells us to love others.
He says " Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a
multitude of Sins".
I read in a Church magazine that nobody cares how much you know until they first know how much you care. Have you ever noticed that when others are set in their ways, they're obstinate; but when you are, your just being firm. When they don’t like someone, they're prejudiced; when you don’t, its just good judgment. When they treat someone extra well, they're buttering them up; when you do, you're just being thoughtful. When they take time to do things well,, they're slow or lazy; but when you do, you're meticulous. When they find fault and pick flaws in things, they're critical, but when you do, you're perceptive. When they are gentle and mild mannered, they're weak; but when you are you're gracious. When they dress well, they're extravagant; when you do you're tasteful. When they say what they think, they're spiteful; when you do, you're just being honest. When they take risks, they're reckless; but when you do, you are just being brave. Today, when I read the words "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of Sins". I pray God help me to grow in that kind of love and to show it wherever I go.
President Roosevelt in his Inaugural address, said I would dedicate the Nation of the USA to the policy of the Good Samaritan. This parable had such a great effect on him and on his influence as President, it had impressed on him the value of loving your neighbor.
Regarding a good man of God, his biographer remarked concerning his philanthropies; This President never stopped to ask; who is my Neighbor, because, real love to God and man never does. Unmeasured service to all, is the outcome of true love, as is the order of the day to a real man or woman of God in simply following the example of the Good Samaritan, in our Lord Jesus Christ, and President Roosevelt was such a man who followed his Lord.
THE PARABLE AND ITS SETTING IS THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN JESUS AND A
LAWYER.
Here we have the lawyer, wanting to justify himself, saying to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" my question to you is "who is yours"?
Luke 10:25f On one occasion an
expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked,
"what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Law?" he
replied. "How do you read it?"
He answered: "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, `Love
your neighbor as yourself.'" You have answered correctly," Jesus
replied. "Do this and you will live."
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my
neighbor?" In reply Jesus said:
"A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the
hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away,
leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and
when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place
and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw
him, he took pity on him. He went to him
and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his
own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and
gave them to the innkeeper. `Look after him,' he said, `and when I return, I
will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' "Which of these three do you think was a
neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one
who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
Traditionally this story is about teaching us as Christians our
responsibility to our neighbor and to help us find out who is our neighbor.
How do we treat them - For example, do we treat them as:
Someone to exploit = What is yours is mine.
Someone to avoid = What is mine is mine.
Someone to serve = What is mine is yours.
In reality though we cannot separate worship from service.
Vs. 30 Other versions say "a certain man": which could
represent any sinner among us today!
The Rabbi of the day, taught that as Jews they were to " love their neighbor" IN THE LAW. And it is these three words In the Law, which makes all the difference in the World to the Jew.
The lawyer himself came to the law for refuge. .
Look at the question of the lawyer, it’s a very good question, "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Then we have the Lords challenging question. "What is written in the Law?" Jesus replied. "How do you read it?"
Vs 27 The lawyer answered: "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; {Deut. 6:5} and, `Love your neighbour as yourself.'" {Lev. 19:18}.
What can I say now"? Vs.29 The Lawyer seeks an escape. He wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
Then we have the Priest and teacher. Their attitude is - What is mine is mine.
The Priest and the Teacher came to their source of knowledge.
Here in reality though it shows us that religion in itself has no solution for sinners even today.
Religion is all about Fear and obeying, someone said once don’t give God a chance against you. I would say love and obey and give God every chance against you. Because He will Judge you fairly.
We see this in our world daily. Don’t give anyone a chance to get at you, attack first!
Look at the
Thieves. Their activity is to exploit = Their attitude is - What’s yours is
mine.
In Industry people are exploited daily - The ship yards, 1000s are laid
of at the will of management, the mines are all but closing, the steel works,
which was another thriving industry, is all but closed down here.
Why? Because people are interested only in their survival, people go about in searching for better things.
Gangs of the 60s why is gang warfare on the increase, because people want to survive to live and to work.
Love it seems is something to exploit, do you remember the expression,
which says, "give them a hand they take your arm". But misuse is not
an excuse for being of no use.
People are either things to use - or people to love.
God gave us this love for others, and for each other.
But again its exploited, even among Christian people and unfortunately in many churches there are more and more people loving the things of the world and using and abusing other Christian Brother and Sisters.
We should always remember that the Church is a hospital for sinners.
Bitter young girl in Brazil, she is really an assistant mother in the
family, she stays at home and does housework and cooking while her mother can
go out and work / study and also have fun. She is a built in baby sitter chief
cook and bottle washer for the rest of the family. She left home because she
had been exploited.
Priest and
Levite. They have an attitude of - A nuisance to avoid. What’s mine is mine
Their health – safety – hard-earned money were not to be squandered on this man. They defended their lack of concern.
How many times have we simply walked by?
The Priest said I have done my bit at the temple
The Levite said I do enough already – I can’t cope with any more.
The Priest says you should not have come this way. Remember he represents the Law, and all that the law can do for you is condemn.
The Levite on the other hand represents religious instructions and ceremony.
In other words: he did go over to the man, he looked and then passed by.
His religious instruction would likely have been:
I can tell you the route you should have taken.
I can tell you the route to take next time.
But again neither of these meets the needs of the poor naked half-dead traveler in his hour of need.
Let somebody else do it – The Priest thinks the Levite is coming let him do it, the Levite says the Priest did nothing neither will I.
James 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
The human heart is in need of more than exposition and instruction.
Lost people need Salvation. And Salvation is only found in and through the Love and Sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
The Samaritan
was a neighbor to serve. What’s mine is yours.
He came to where the man was. In the same way Jesus came to us.
In fact the Samaritan was the last person you would expect to help a Jew.
But today let the Good Samaritan represent the Saviour for Sinners.
The Samaritan himself was a rejected person. Isaiah 53:3
This Samaritan had a definite destination. He was going somewhere!
From Luke 19:10 we know that the Lord Jesus had a mission and a definite destination which was the Cross-and Glory.
Luke says. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
Philippians 2:5-8 says that Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!
Compassion: describes how God feels about us,
Compassion is about treating others as God treats us.
Compassion in that He bound up his wounds.
Compassion is getting right to the heart of the problem.
Compassion lead's to care. He poured on wine as a type of disinfectant. He poured on oil, a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
Compassion did not see the obstacle
Compassion only sees an opportunity.
Compassion to care led to the Samaritan interrupting his plans.
He shared his animal,
He stayed to nurse him,
He paid the bill.
Because believe it not but there is always a price to pay, especially when you live by compassion.
I noticed something here have you?
Look the injured mans care was paid for till the Samaritan returned to see him. He came back to see him, because he was concerned.
He went the other mile. Do we?
It cost Jesus Christ and it will cost us.
With the parable of "The
Good Samaritan", we are not only challenged to a higher standard of
love we are also challenged to a higher definition of "compassion".
This should not be surprising in light of what Jesus told His disciples
earlier: "For I say to you, that
unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." (Mat 5:20)
What is your righteousness like? That of the priest and Levite, or of the Samaritan?
Because only as we emulate the example of the Good Samaritan, can it be said that our righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees! Only then do we have the assurance of entering the kingdom of heaven!
Therefore let us heed the words of Jesus to the lawyer who tried to test Him: Jesus said "Go and do likewise."
What’s mine is yours said the Lord.
Let us share the Good News with others, and not give up or pass people
by on the other side.
August sermon 13th On
the
The requirements of people in covenant with God
· Confess your sins and believe in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, for the …
· Be baptized in water at conversion, giving public testimony of your faith. ( …
· Receive Communion regularly. ( 1 Corinthians 11:23–26)
Haggrister,
Moses
climbed
Moses
was viewing for
He had an intimacy and fellowship with God unknown to others.
He
was unequalled in the performance of signs and wonders in
He
was unequalled in the display of power in
He was God’s agent, spokesman.
Concentrated in him were the offices of Prophet. Ruler Judge and Priest.
The
Promise.
He
saw the physical extent and beauty of the land. He heard a repeat of the
promise made to Abraham by a covenant keeping God.
Gen.12:1-3 The LORD had said to Abram,
"Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the
land I will show you. "I will make you into a great nation and I will
bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will
bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples
on earth will be blessed through you."
He could see the Great nation of
He could see the
After 40 years of leading
The
Punishment.
' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will
not cross over into it."
Moses
was faulted for disobedience and lack of faith.
Deut.32:48-52
On that same day the LORD told Moses, "Go up into
the
The new generation murmured against him. All the old
problems left him frustrated and angry. He was told to speak to the rock but he
struck it. Punishment doesn’t seem to fit the crime.
Disobedience and unbelief are a two sided coin minted by the Devil.
Disobedience. God said speak, OK he was angry but his action did not sanctify God before the people.
Unbelief. A word was not enough; he needed some human effort and relied on himself and on the rod which had a tract record.
Spoiled the type. The rock was a type of Christ once smitten for our sin and the second strike was a misrepresentation.
Moses represented the law, which came by Moses. It is fitting that he can’t lead us into the promised land, he can take us to the threshold but another must take us in, another full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. Jesus the savior of mankind.
The
Postscript.
His sin was forgiven but God took vengeance on his intentions. Reap what you
sow, suffer where you sin. Moses prayer
in Deut.3:24 “Let me go over and see the good land beyond the
The Cord.
Introduction. Robert
the climber. Rope, expensive but never failed and had a red cord running
through it. Dig at Sumburgh excitement
100 BC now 1000 BC
Joshua
secretly sent out two spies with special assignment to study
Chose Rahab’s brothel as an inconspicuous place for two men!
Josephus records Rahab as an Innkeeper Archaeologist discovered hollow partitioned walls used commercially and for housing. She was a sinful woman living amongst a sinful people.
Two New Testament truths about
Rahab.
Heb.11:31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not
killed with those who were disobedient.
Faith saved her from destruction.
James 2:25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
Works made her righteous.
It’s not the truth that you know but what you do with it. Rahab believed and acted. This faith pleases God. God honours this quality of faith even in the worst sinner.
D.L. Moody commenting on Rahab Quoted Rev.1:5 “Unto Him who loved us and washed us from sin.” Saying, “ God loves us first then washes us.”
Mat.31:21 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the
truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the
The Fear of God.
Psalm 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who
follow his precepts have good understanding.
Heard all her life about
Feared God more than the king of
She sided with Gods agents and helped them
She pleaded for Kindness (the loving kindness of God, or covenant) and asked for a sign or token.
Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. She helped and then asked for help for herself and family.
The same cord she used to save the spies was the token she received.
Acting on the promise she immediately placed the cord on her window. A blood
coloured cord, which
Postscript.
She received a place
in the centre of
Mat.1:5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.
On the
Introduction. The crossing of the Jordan has
historically been used in two ways by the church. The waters of death as the
believer crosses from this wilderness of life into the promised heavenly land.
Swing low sweet chariot. The deeper sanctified life with a recognized crisis of
death to self will.
Narrative. Validate the leadership of Joshua.
Organised. Ark first. Speedy crossing. Memorial stones.
Joshua. God exalted him before the people 3:7, 4:14 because he knew that Joshua would not take the glory 4:24.
Ark. Follow the Ark. Suitable distance so that all could see it and be guided and encouraged. The written word and the unerring Spirit guides us today pointing to Christ. At the most difficult time with the Jordan in spate God is most evident.
Burden of leadership. The priests had to be first in and last out. They had to exercise faith. They could touch the poles but not the Ark. Proper reverence and respect for God.
The miracle. God made the wilderness comfortable
and the Jordan dry. Nature has knowledge of her master and gives way for His
people. Nature gives homage to her creator. God drive back the water and will
drive back Israel’s foes.
Memorial Stones. 12 from the west bank left in the
river as a picture of the death of the old life. 12 from the river set up on
the Promised Land as a picture of the new resurrected life. Can’t have Canaan
without the Jordan. “If one died for all then all died” 2 Corinthians 5:14
Lessons Obedience to God is the test of true
faith. Church never lacks proof of the divine presence. Cloud, ark, Temple are
Gone. Christ is in their place. Courage is needed in the Christian life.
Postscript. Romans 6:11 “In the same way count yourself
dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Our position in Christ is that we are redeemed and in the promised land, we have to make that a reality.
The Commander. Joshua 5:13-15 Joshua at Jericho,
Alone, Circumcision, Passover, Manna had stopped now the land must provide.
Burden of leadership, he was at his post. God helps those who help themselves. As
his burdens increase then his encouragement increases by proportion. Joshua
looked up. K. McD. Shoes.
Pre-incarnate Christ. Early appearances of God in bodily form should
be identified with Christ. Isaiah 55:4 Commander of his people. Hebrews 2:10 Captain
of hosts. Daniel 10:5 was paralysed, John fell at his feet as dead. Theses
manifestations were little cameos of the greatest manifestation, the
incarnation. Grace Num.11:25 the Spirit. Punishment Gen.11:5
Babel.
The Promise. Joshua 1:5. “As I was with Moses so I will be
with you.”
Moses was commissioned in Ex.3: 5 to tackle Pharaoh and her Joshua is commissioned to tackle godless nations of Canaan. He has a similar experience and like Moses Joshua has the experience to mach the promise.
The Purpose. God appeared to Abraham in his tent as a traveller. He appears to Joshua as a worrier with a drawn sword in front of the first real obstacle. God appears to his people at their time of need in the most fitting manner. God comes not just to help but to take control. Joshua thought of the conflict as two sides Israel and Canaan but behind every Canaanite idol were principalities and powers. It’s a spiritual battle and therefore its Gods battle. The ultimate responsibility is bore by God. The battle is not to the strong nor the race to the swift. Joshua must fight Gods battle.
We have the same responsibility. Behind every resistance to the church and the claims of the Gospel are the powers of darkness so we must fight Gods fight.
10
Sermons. On the
Joshua
5:13-15
Joshua
at
Pre-incarnate
Christ.
Early
appearances of God in bodily form should be identified with Christ. Isaiah 55:4
Commander of his people. Hebrews 2:10 Captain of hosts. Daniel 10:5 was
paralysed, John fell at his feet as dead. Theses manifestations were little
cameos of the greatest manifestation, the incarnation. Grace Num.11:25
the Spirit. Punishment Gen.11:5
The
Promise.
Joshua
1:5. “As I was with Moses so I will be with you.”
Moses
was commissioned in Ex.3: 5 to tackle Pharaoh and her Joshua is commissioned to
tackle godless nations of
He has a similar experience and like Moses Joshua has the experience to mach the promise.
The
Purpose.
God
appeared to Abraham in his tent as a traveller. He appears to Joshua as a
worrier with a drawn sword in front of the first real obstacle. God appears to
his people at their time of need in the most fitting manner. God comes not just
to help but to take control. Joshua thought of the conflict as two sides
We have the same responsibility. Behind every resistance to the church and the claims of the Gospel are the powers of darkness so we must fight Gods fight.
Postscript. These manifestations or Christophanies stopped with the incarnation of the Lord Jesus.
10
Sermons. On the
Holy
War? The problem for many is that this was God’s war. He ordered it, commanded
it and gave Moses the key to what it was really about.
Deuteronomy 9:5-6. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the LORD your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.
Flood, Tower,
The wickedness of the Canaanites was terrible. Sex and
idolatry, which were
Text. Hebrews 11:30. By faith the walls of
Victory is given to faith, the faith that obeys the
voice of God implicitly and trusts only in His power. Faith without works is
dead and real faith is seen in the works it produces.
Crossed the
Circumcision. The reproach of
Know the Captain. Need to become conscious of His presence.
So, dead to self, raised with Christ, separated from sin and conscious of His presence we can advance to victory.
The
city was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. Joshua 2:9-11 "I know that
the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on
us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We
have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came
out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites
east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our
hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your
God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.
Rahab had no direct oracle but confessed her faith in
God over the abundant gods of
Gen.35:5 Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. (Jacob)
Exodus 15:13-16 In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling. The nations will
hear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of
The unity of
The
There had to be the obedience of faith. We must study the word of God and obey it putting it into practice. Sometimes it seems repetitious, day after day doing the same thing. Faith staggers not! We have our walled cities that are shut up, it would be so easy to faint hoping the same hope, praying the same prayer witnessing the same witness, but faith endures, it does not stagger but believes. And because it believes it goes out again and treads the ground that is promised by God.
Every Christian must work out their own salvation, we
all have our strongholds to overcome, but its much easier when we fight
together. As a church we have our battles but our captain has promised that
they are his battles too. Be of good cheer I have overcome the world. He that
is in you is greater than he that is in the world. I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me. To him that overcomes I will give to eat of the
hidden manna.
The Shout. (Guaranee versus Santos 1988)
Teams came out Shout of anticipation, cup is ours. Hampden roar reduced to a
whisper. Job 37:8 At creation the
angels shouted for joy. 2 Chron.13:15
10
Sermons. On the
Introduction. 325-year period
called the Judges. Origin is in Exodus 18:13-26 When Jethro advised Moses to
appoint Judges. This idea was developed in the Promised Land and later in the
Kingdom period 6000 Levites were given this task. Two Facts.
Negative.
The apostasy of
Positive.
Covenant faithful God. “again
Judges was the OT time of the HS 3:10 “Spirit came upon”
NT the HS poured out to enable the church to preach the gospel.
12 Judges from 9 tribes showing an on going circle of life.
Apostasy
Oppression Distress Deliverance monotonous repetition showing that
Sin Servitude Supplication Salvation. Over and over.
Rebellion Retribution Repentance Rest. Again and again.
Apostasy. After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another
generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. 2:10.
How appropriate today as this generation does not know God or His wonderful works. Land of the Book. Two homes, Hillswick and Voe. Family Bible and teachers Bible, five minutes to find.
2:11-19 is a synopsis of this time. 21:25 gives the final word.
In those days
Oppression. Because they would
not cast out the nations God allowed then to stay as a means of chastising them
and bringing them back to Himself.
The angel of the LORD went up
from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you up out of
Raiders were the first wave of oppression. 2:14 In his
anger against
Moses warned
So the narrative says God sold them, gave them, gave
power over
1 Cor. 5:5 “hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.”
Distress. God does not blot His nation out nor
treat them as they deserve, after his chastisement, he is merciful when they
cry. How many times does He forgive them. However we need to mark well that
their distress was terrible, unbearable. Men will put up with the burden of sin
while it is bearable. Often it has to become unbearable before we cry out.
Deliverance. God raised up Judges who are not perhaps the
most inspiring characters yet they all showed a quality of faith which
co-operates with God and allows Him to do mighty things.
Heb.11:32-34 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. They Knew their God and did mighty things.
Postscript.
We can put any of the 12 accounts of the Judges into this framework. Ehud and
his killing of Eglon is better understood with in the circle of Apostasy
Oppression Distress Deliverance.
On
the
Introduction.
Comedy
of errors!
War in
David’s gratefulness. Hunun’s father Nahash had helped him.We send a card, he sent a whole delegation.
Sympathetic ambassadors. Typical David’s men, very Jewish with their long beards showing their maturity and seriousness, finely dressed with robes and girdles, Like true Scotsmen nothing under their kilt!
Life at the court. Intrigue, suspicion, power plays. The court nobles were not noble and thought others were as false as themselves. Hanun was surrounded with the wrong people and he listened to them. He should at least have tested the spirit of the delegation. Think evil of no man, not without cause.
The humiliation. A serious overreaction. Immature and cruel behaviour obviously not thought out. On an errand of sympathy and goodwill the ambassadors were treated as rogues. Half their beards cut as a great insult, their garments cut to expose them to ridicule.
It
happened to Jesus, He was misunderstood, spoken against, wrongly accused, and
humiliated. Lacerated His back, plucked our His beard and stripped him naked.
David’s
concern for them. Stay
at
Postscript. The battle was very
hard for Joab, he was in real crisis, he redoubled his resolve.
On the
Introduction.
There
was a school or collage of prophets at
The
story.
The
desire to extend.
Too small for us! They were not satisfied but wanted to expand. Wanted to carry
the work forward. Good sign. New service, fresh methods and a desire to make
God known to their generation. 3Then one of them said, "Won't you please come with your
servants?" Make sure the master goes with
you for all is useless without the power of God.
Working with borrowed tools. In the Christian life you need for find your own way and develop your
own skills. To copy other is not desirable, not the best. Jeremiah 23 30"Therefore,"
declares the LORD, "I am against the prophets who steal from one another
words supposedly from me. Get the truth
for yourself, dig out the gold from the mine of God’s word.
Better a fair original than a good copy. Your greatest gift is your personality, no one else has your unique gift, don’t copy someone else but develop your own chief asset.
The
lost axe head.
Borrowed it and did not know how to use it. First thing was to check that it
was sound. Handle goes on to the head. He lost his power and usefulness.
I think that this is the meaning or key to this passage. The Gospel is not in
word but power, assurance and in the Holy Ghost. 1 Cor. 4:19 But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I
will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power
they have. Many are living a powerless
Christian life, like a woodcutter with a shaft and no blade.
Where did it fall? A question that such should ask, where did I lose my power. Six classic
areas where power is lost.
(a) Is there some secret sin, adjudged and unforsaken that accounts for it?
(b) Is there a neglect of communion with God or abiding in Christ. Is the person relying on personal abilities? The life of Christ cannot be lived without Christ and the work of Christ cannot be done without Christ. “Without me you can do nothing!”
(c) Is there some quarrel or bitterness of heart with another? “ First go and be reconciled.” Psalm 113:1 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!
(d) Is there a withholding of what is due to the Lord. Will a believer rob God. Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
(e) Is there a feeding on stale manna. Same old thing again and again, no fresh spring, no new message from heaven. Be true to the old but seek new fresh power.
(f) Is the world ensnaring the soul. Robbing us of a heavenly mind and spiritual character.
He
cut down a stick, tree or branch. The term branch is applied to Christ in the
following way.
Matthew, a righteous
branch, a king. Jer.23:5 "The days are
coming," declares the LORD, "when I will raise up to David a
righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in
the land.
Luke, The Man whose name is the Branch, Zech.6:12 : Here is the man
whose name is the Branch,
Mark, My servant the branch. Zech. 3:8 I am going to
bring my servant, the Branch.
John, beautiful and glorious. His name is Jehovah. Isa.4:2 In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious,
Jer.23:6 This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.
He threw or cast it in.
The branch representing the work of Christ was applied in faith and the lost
power returned.
Death to sin, I have been crucified with Christ.
Forgiveness for past failure, Clean hands and a pure heart.
Power for service, the love of Christ constrains us.
Separation from the world. Gal. 6:14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
When the cross is applied then lost power is recovered.
Lift it out. It is not enough to
know these things, take it by faith. Put out the hand of faith and take up the
lost axe head and recover your power and usefulness.
Application. Watch that you don’t try to serve the Lord without the
power of the Spirit.
Failure can be recovered at the Cross.
Postscript. These manifestations or Christophanies stopped
with the incarnation of the Lord Jesus.
1. The Death of Christ.
No
other death like it, no ordinary death, a death with extraordinary
repercussions. None of us know when we are going to die but Christ knew. The Passover, celebrating the
Jews' deliverance from
1. The death of Christ is a divine
judgement from God.
As you know, the Passover is two
days away--and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified. (Mat.26:2)
And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this
Passover with you before I suffer.” (Luke 22:15)
For Christ, our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. (1
Cor.5:7)
Then Jesus told them,
"This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is
written: " `I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be
scattered.'
(Mat.26:31)
Isaiah is presenting
the sovereignty of God in the death of Christ, “yet it was the Lord’s will to
crush Him and to cause Him to suffer…the Lord makes His life a guilt offering.”
The fearful judgement of God sees Christ as guilty and crushes Him death. Jesus did not die serenely as many martyrs have. He was no mere martyr;
He was the Lamb of God bearing the penalty of the sins of the entire human
race. The wrath of God was turned loose on him. Only this can adequately
explain what took place at
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might
become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor.5:21)
To appease the wrath of God so that His justice and holiness will be satisfied and He can forgive sin Christ became a guilt offering to cover or satisfy or to be a propitiation for sin. Propitiation does not make God merciful; it makes divine forgiveness possible; God could not show mercy to Christ and still forgive sin. Atonement must be provided; in Old Testament times it was through animal sacrifices; now, the atonement is made through the death of Christ for man's sin. Through Christ's death propitiation is made for man's sin.
The New Testament uses three key words to describe the finished work of Christ: propitiation, redemption and reconciliation. We will consider propitiation. Here are some references in the New Testament where this word is used: God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, Romans 3:25, sacrifice of atonement. The Greek for this phrase speaks of a sacrifice that satisfies the righteous wrath of God. Without this appeasement ("propitiation") all people are justly destined for eternal punishment.
For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:17) In order for Christ to turn aside the wrath of God against guilty sinners, he had to become one with them and die as a substitute for them.
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:20 atoning sacrifice for our sins. God's holiness demands punishment for man's sin. God, therefore, out of love sent his Son to make substitutionary atonement for the believer's sin. In this way the Father's wrath is propitiated (satisfied, appeased); his wrath against the Christian's sin has been turned away and directed toward Christ. for the sins of the whole world. Forgiveness through Christ's atoning sacrifice is not limited to one particular group only; it has worldwide application. It must, however, be received by faith, repentance and confession of sin. Thus this verse does not teach universalism (that all people ultimately will be saved), but that God is an impartial God.
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:10) as the one who would turn aside his wrath, taking away our sins.
The word "propitiation" comes from a Greek word, which basically means "to satisfy wrath by sacrifice". The ancient pagan Greeks used this word when they spoke of appeasing their gods or doing something to obtain the favour of the gods. However, these ideas are not found in the Bible. God is not a blood-thirsty god who needs to be appeased! The idea of placating a vengeful god is totally foreign to Scripture. The Bible teaches that God is love and desires to have fellowship with man. But God is also holy and righteous. Therefore He cannot just smile and sweep sin under the rug and say, "Boys will be boys!" In fact, the Bible teaches that God has wrath and that this wrath is directed against sin.
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, (Romans 1:18.) And the righteous laws of God in this moral universe which He has created demand that the "penalty of sin is death" For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23). Before God's mercy can be extended to man, something must be done to remove the blockade of sin as well as satisfy the righteous claims of God's wrath against sin.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him. (John 3:36) If you have Christ as your savior you are covered from the wrath of God, If you do not have Christ as your savior then the wrath of God is still on you and is waiting to be poured out upon you. The arrival of the Messiah will bring repentance or judgment. That was so with His first coming at His second coming we will see the wrath of the Lamb.
They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?" (Rev.6:16-17)
A. The fearful sword.
"Awake, O sword,
against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!" declares the
LORD Almighty. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, (Zach.13:7)
As a result of the
God Himself does the striking, this is the idea in Isaiah 53:10: Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering. This is the heart of the Gospel, “For God so loved the world that he Gave His only begotten son.” (Jn 3:16)
It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Heb.10:31)
The sword is a symbol
of God’s Judgement.
He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. (Isaiah 49:2)
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Heb.4:12) Word of God likened to a sword and used to judge.
If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? (Ps.130:3)
B. A Fulfilment of Scripture.
Passover, the most important feast, was to remind the
Jews that God had delivered them from slavery in
Passover was celebrated in mid-April, along with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which lasted seven days. Jesus' last supper with his disciples was a Passover meal. At that meal Jesus gave the Passover new meaning by identifying himself as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (Heb.9:22)
Blood is the life of the flesh But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. (Gen 9:4) For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. (Lev 17:11) in that flesh and blood in their proper union constitute a living creature, beast or man, but when they are separated death takes place.
One of the common objections to The Passion of the
Christ movie is that it is too violent. One of the most common questions
asks, “Why was it so bloody?” One scene that sticks in the mind is when Mary is
soaking up Jesus’ blood with a white towel. This scene shows not the vulgarity
of blood, but the preciousness of Jesus’ blood.
Here is a true story that helps illustrate the
preciousness of Jesus blood:
Fifteen years ago in
As they approached the intersection near the high school, they could see the
flashing lights of the police cars and ambulance units. Vera noticed a
photographer and followed the direction of his camera lens to the largest pool
of blood she had ever seen.
All she could say was, "George, Ben went home--home to be with his
Heavenly Father!" Her first reaction was to jump out of the car, somehow
collect the blood and put it back into her son. "That blood, for me, at
that moment, became the most precious thing in the world because it was life.
It was life-giving blood and it belonged in my son, my only son, the one I
loved so much."
The road was dirty and the blood just didn't belong there. George noticed that
cars were driving right through the intersection--right through the blood. His
heart was smitten. He wanted to cover the blood with his coat and cry,
"You will not drive over the blood of my son!"
Then Vera understood for the first time in her life, one of God's greatest and
most beautiful truths...why blood? Because it was the strongest language God
could have used. It was the most precious thing He could give-- the highest
price He could pay.
Through God's amazing love we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1 Peter 1:18-19).
May we never treat lightly nor trample underfoot the blood of God's Son How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:29).
C. A Faithful Shepherd.
The Good Shepherd. I
am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep
(John 10:11)
Christian dentist named James Reddick was teaching his 12-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son the joy of mountain hiking. A sudden storm came up, battering them with hurricane-force winds and thick, wet sheets of snow. A blinding "whiteout" made it impossible to see or move on the steep slopes….. Inside, they found Sharon and David Reddick, very much alive. But the stiff body of their father lay against one wall of the snow cave. He had "taken the cold spot," in one searcher's words, by using his own back as the outer wall. An image something like that must have filled the minds of Jesus' listeners as he described a good shepherd who "lays down his life" for his sheep.
Unique and wonderful, eternal in His being, duel in
His nature, sinless in His life, perfect in His obedience, yet the object of
divine judgement.
No one less worthy of judgement and yet no one more fitted to atone. Smite the shepherd and spare the sheep.
The death of Christ is a divine judgement from God.
2. The Death of Christ Dark Satanic Attack.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but
against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark
world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
(Ephesians 6:12)
We can’t live our Christian lives and fight our battles
using human recourses. Christ and His church are the wisdom of God, observed
from Heaven and we need to use this wisdom in dealing with evil.
Handed Over to Satan 1 Corinthians 5:5
The strong phrase used in this verse has a biblical
parallel in 1 Timothy 1:20. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I
have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme. To Paul, expelling
someone from the church and Christian privileges meant pushing them out into
the world ruled by Satan. In both references, however, Paul stresses that the
action was designed to teach the offender a lesson.
The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to
give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. (Revelation
12:4)
In Genesis 3 Satan is depicted as a serpent on earth in
Revelation 12 he is depicted as a dragon in heaven.
John is fusing things seen with things normally not seen.
In daily life, two parallel histories occur simultaneously: one on earth and
one in heaven. Revelation, however, views them together. It parts the curtain,
allowing a quick look behind the scenes at the cosmic impact of what happens on
earth. Every inch of this planet is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan.
We normally experience only the visible, everyday effects of this struggle. We
feel it, for example, when we make a choice between what we know is wrong and
what is right. But, as we are living out our lives on earth, the supernatural
universe is simultaneously at war. Revelation draws the contrasts sharply: good
versus evil, the Lamb versus the dragon,
Job's portrayal of Satan echoes the story in Genesis 3:
he has supernatural power to oppress people, but is restrained by God. As John
Newton said, "Satan can only go to the end of his chain." The Bible
records at least one other instance where Satan specifically asked permission
to attack an individual: "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as
wheat” (Luke 22:31)
Satan rose up against
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before
the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The
LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these
surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a
messenger of Satan, to torment me. (2 Cor.12:7)
Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom
Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day
from what bound her? (Luke 13:16)
When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does
not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his
heart. This is the seed sown along the path. (Matt. 13:19)
Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you
did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour--when darkness reigns. Luke 22:53
The sense of the whole passage is, that now was the time
come, that Christ should be delivered up into the hands of wicked men and
devils; that the former should have him in their power, and triumph over him
for a season; and that hell was now let loose, and all the infernal powers were
about him, throwing their poisoned arrows and fiery darts at him; all which
Christ endured, to deliver his people from the present evil world, from the
wrath of God, the curses of the law, and from the power of darkness.
Bruised heal, Job, David, Joshua, Birth, Herod,
temptation, stoning, plot to kill him, Judas, political and religious leader in
The power that was given to darkness to oppress the light
for a time.
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and
brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. Colossians 1:13
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a
public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:15
The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 1 John 3:8
The death of Christ was a dark satanic attack, which He
suffered for us so that He might defeat Satan and bring us under His care and
protection.
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but
that you protect them from the evil one. John 17:15
The Death of Christ was a Wicked Human Murder.
Not right to accuse anyone of such a crime without a fair
hearing and proof. Here are the fact you be the jury, you bring in the verdict.
Premeditation. Malice a forethought. Was
there a motive?
Jealous of His popularity
The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant. Matt.21:12-17
So the Pharisees said to one another, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!" John 12:19
The chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words. Luke 19:47-48
Revenge because he castigated them.
"Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Luke 12:1
The picture of the Pharisees painted by the NT is almost entirely negative. Jesus condemned especially the Pharisees' ostentation, their hypocrisy, and their salvation by works, their impenitence and lovelessness. Not all!
Sanhedrin, self interest.
Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. "What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish." He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on they plotted to take his life. John 11:47-53
Caiaphas was concerned with political expediency, not
with guilt and innocence. He believed that one man, no matter how innocent,
should perish rather than that the nation be put in jeopardy. Ironically, the
Jews went ahead with their execution of Jesus, and in A.D. 70 the nation still
perished.
Roman Authorities.
When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!" Matt 27:24
Pilate showed cowardice. First, he deferred the case to
Herod, who had jurisdiction over Jesus' home region. Herod taunted and mocked
Jesus, and then sent him back. Three times Pilate tried to get the Jewish
leaders to release Jesus, but finally he yielded to the demands for capital punishment.
The soldiers obeyed every command, familiar story?
Crowd. "What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked. They all answered, "Crucify him!" Matt. 27:22
From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting,
"If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to
be a king opposes Caesar." "We have no king but Caesar," the
chief priests answered. John 19:12,15
They hated Caesar and this shows their hypocrisy and callous indifference.
The plot, the method, the conspiracy.
Lies and perjury. Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him. Matt.26:3
The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence
against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any.
Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree. Then
some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: Mark 14:55-57.
Psychological pressure.
On Pilate to crucify him or suffer Caesar’s displeasure, wanted the
death penalty.
Misuse of power and position. Read your rights!
Mocked, beaten, blindfolded, insulted, punched, spat upon, bound, stripped naked, flogged, tortured, beaten with rods, hair pulled out.
Scene of the crime.
In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the
law and the elders mocked him. "He saved others," they said,
"but he can't save himself! He's the King of
Premeditation, malice aforethought, motive, plot crime
scene.
Some witnesses. John. Author and reliable church leader.
So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. John 5:16-18
Jesus; Why are you trying to kill me? John 7:19
Two eye witnesses returning home from the crime scene
"About Jesus of
Peter Men of
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our
fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and
you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You
disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to
you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are
witnesses of this. Acts 3:13-15
Paul. You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. 1 Thes.2: 14-15
Most compelling of all, a confession. "Let his blood be on us and on our children!" Matthew 27:25
Conclusion.
Don’t get the idea that the Jews Crucified Christ, every sin ever committed by any person or race crucified Christ. He died because of sin and for the remission of sins. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge. God is the one in control, however the Jewish leaders played a willing and sinful part; the ordinary people were afflicted and sad but those in a position of power, religious and political maliciously and wickedly put Him to death. The Jewish nations rejection of Christ has had terrible consequences for them and will continue to have until they accept Him as messiah.
Mob was stirred up by the Jewish leaders and their
hypocrisy was complete, the hated Caesar yet cried out we have no king but
Caesar. When Pilate washed his hands they cried: "Let his blood be on
us and on our children!" Matthew 27:25. Something they later denied
and forbade the apostles to preach. Having brought the apostles, they made
them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. "We
gave you strict orders not to teach in this name," he said. "Yet you
have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty
of this man's blood." Acts 5:27-28
He was despised and
rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom
men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Isaiah 53:3
"What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked.
They all answered, "Crucify him!" Matthew 27:22
Jesus' enemies asked him two chief questions: "Are
you the king of the Jews?" and "Are you the Messiah?" He
answered with a simple "Yes, it is as you say" (Matt.27:11),
confirming the major themes woven throughout Matthew's book. Finally he was
executed, with his "crime"--being a king--posted above his crucified
body.
The Death of Christ was a Voluntary Self Sacrifice. John 10:11-18
The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Royal caretaker of
God’s people. Christ used this figurative discourse about the shepherd and his
sheep (vs. 6) Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He referred to himself as the gate
through which Israel would go in and out of the sheep pen to find pasture
(vs.7) Not a 21st Cent. Farm. Shepherd traveled miles to find
pasture, lived 24/7 with his sheep faced many dangers, weather, wild animals
and uncaring hired hands.
Jesus here expressed
his absolute freedom and authority both to die and to rise from the dead. There
are three differences between Jesus' laying down his life for the sheep and
that of the shepherds' doing so in the metaphor.
(1) Jesus' death is altogether voluntary, but not like the shepherd's involuntary death while fighting against a robber or wolves. The shepherd might indeed die, but not willingly.
(2) Christ's death actually saves the sheep eternally, whereas the death of a shepherd would only hasten the death and destruction of the sheep.
(3) Christ will lay down his life, but with a purpose of taking it up again, something no earthly shepherd could do.
That Christ would die for his people runs through this section of John's
Gospel. Both the love and the plan of the Father are involved, as well as the
authority he gave to the Son. Christ obediently voluntarily chose to die; otherwise,
no one would have had the power to kill him.
1. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the Sheep.
(a) The emphasis is on the voluntary nature of his death. He was not forced to go to the cross but did so willingly and
voluntarily and obediently.
This is how we know
what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. 1 John 3:16
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became
obedient to death-- even death on a cross! Philippians 2:8
Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day
after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He
sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. Hebrews 7:27
No one took his life
from him; he laid down his life voluntarily, he determined the hour. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With
that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30
(b) His voluntary
sacrifice makes clear the father’s love (vs.
17)
This is my beloved Son whom I love. An instance, an expression, a picture of God’s love for mankind that he loved his Son more for loving us. The highest act of the Son’s love for his father was obeying his command and voluntarily laying down his life for the sheep. His father loves him as a faithful servant Isaiah 42:1, The Royal caretaker of God’s people.
(c) Sovereign
authority and power to lay down his life and take it up again. A power he held
within himself. Clearly states his deity. He takes up his human life again.
Laid down a vilified body, took up a glorified one. Laid down a life adapted to
this world, took up a life adapted to another higher world.
His death was the fulfilment of God’s will and Christ determined the hour, it was voluntary and he was in full control. Divinely determined yet His actions were free. He laid down his life with the express purpose of taking it up again. Paul explained his power as the power of an endless life Heb.7:16. His life could not be taken but was given, it could not end so it was taken again.
2. The Good Shepherd knows his sheep. (vs.14-15)
He knows and cares for his sheep. The way the father and son know and care for each other suggests the way in which Christ knows his flock and his flock know him.
3. The Good Shepherd has only one flock.
The ultimate purpose of the Shepherd is to have one flock with one shepherd. Fold in the figure is Israel being led out to the pastures of Christianity, the other sheep are the Gentile Nations brought to faith and the fold.
“remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in
The Death of Christ
is Acceptable for Salvation.
Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people;
and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to
those who are waiting for him. Heb. 9:28
1 The Death of Christ
was a Divine Judgment from God.
2. The Death of Christ Dark Satanic Attack.
3. The Death of Christ was a Wicked Human Murder.
4. The Death of Christ was a Voluntary Self Sacrifice.
Thanksgiving. Turkeys by the thousands have given their lives so
that people may celebrate a day of rest, although I don’t how much rest will be
involved when there is so much cooking to do. It is one of those days when it
takes a lot of time, effort and expense to make sure that everything is cooked
just right and all of our favorite foods are on the table.
We all know that America is based upon that first day Thanksgiving that was observed by the Pilgrims back in 1621. After a long, hard winter when many of them had not survived, they were so thankful to God for the coming of spring and a chance to build a new life in their very own “Promised Land”. The New World offered them an opportunity, but made no promises of success. Many days of hard work and great struggles lay ahead, but those who were strong, and those who would not lose faith, would make it through.
Their faith in God was a major factor during those times, and faith in God has brought us to where we are today. Where we go from here will also be determined by our faith in God, or our lack of it. The observance of Thanksgiving Day as a national day of prayer and thanksgiving to God was established officially by President George Washington during his first term.
Many in Britian today have become unthankful, but this is to be expected when man looks to himself for answers and not to the Lord. Why should men be thankful to a God that they refuse to serve, refuse to worship, or even refuse to acknowledge His very existence? Every man’s focus is upon himself, not upon a supreme Creator God.
None of this comes as a surprise to the Child of God who is rooted and grounded in the Word of God. We were warned that these days would come, and we were told exactly how the heart of man would turn away from all that is holy.
2 Timothy 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 Timothy 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2 Timothy 3:3,4 Goes on to say that they are without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, lacking self-control, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, thrill seakers, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2 Timothy 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
In those verse that Paul wrote to Timothy is a nutshell description of the society in which we live. I believe that we are raising the most unthankful generation that has ever been born. The courts of our land have taken away our right to tell them about Jesus, and has given the youth, not a freedom to choose whom they will worship, but a freedom from religion of any kind. We have created a whole generation of self-indulgent; self-worshipping people who are thankful for nothing and believe that they have the right to have everything right now that it took their parents 30, 40 or 50 years to obtain.
As I was studying for this message the very first passage of scripture that I found that spoke specifically about thanksgiving was found in the Old Testament Book of Leviticus. This is the book where God was dictating the Law of Moses which was to be the guiding instructions for God’s chosen nation until the coming of Christ, when it would all be fulfilled in Him.
Leviticus 7:11, 12 And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD. If he offered it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.
The first thing we need to recognize is that the sacrifice of Thanksgiving has to do with maintaining peace with God. A thankful heart is a heart that recognizes the greatness, mercy and provision of Almighty God, and that nothing is given to me by accident, or without His permission. When we offer up our prayer of thanksgiving unto the Lord, we are recognizing His power and control over us. We are also acknowledging His great love for us. We know that because God loves us, He provides all good things for us.
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
1 Sam 31 and 2 Sam 1. David’s reaction to Saul’s death.
Saul’s death in chapter 31 is tragic, all the more so
because his sons including Jonathan, and many in
Last week we saw David’s quick recovery from backsliding. His reaction to Saul’s death, his lament proves his spirituality.
David has been composing Psalms for years with a
theme, how long O Lord! Until you deliver me, how long must I be chased like a
partridge. This is a theme of the OT, Isaiah, Daniel, Habakkuk, if you are
praying how long O Lord until you deliver me then you are in good company. It
seems that the Holy Spirit is directing these ancients in prayer.
Remember we are
looking for encouragement, David was the sweet psalmist but he is not perfect,
some think that he only sinned in the matter of Bathsheba but in reality he was
nowhere near perfect for lots of his life.
When the time of release comes and Saul is dead he cannot rejoice because along with Saul Jonathan is dead.
David’s love for and lament over Saul shows his growing spirituality. We would rejoice and be relieved, but David tears his clothes, weeps and fasts. When do you fast? I very seldom fast but when I do it is usually to ask God for something I want. David fasts and composes a lament, a funeral tribute and weeps for his archenemy.
Saul has hunted David for perhaps 15 years keeping him from the throne and David lamented.
Some reasons why David was sad that show his grace.
1. vs. 19 David laments because it is the death of the
Lord’s anointed. The beauty of
2. vs. 20 David rejects and despises the celebrations of God’s enemies. Difference between our enemies whom we are to love and God’s enemies. God’s enemies and our enemies are not always the same. Our enemies might not always be wrong, sometimes God uses our enemies to correct us. In every heresy, in every error the is some little bit good, that’s what keeps it going. You cannot love God without hating God’s enemies. Fear of God is to hate evil.
Psalm 97:10. Mark of sanctification is to hate evil.
The question is not are you comfortable with this? The question is does God approve?
The evil cannot be separated from the person. Sin is a debt. Money debt can be
paid by another. Criminal debt cannot be paid by another. You can pay someone’s
money debt but not their criminal debt. God permitted substitution payment of
sin. Nothing wrong with rejoicing, but David is unhappy about the rejoicing of
the Philistines over the death of Saul. David fell because he did not rejoice
in God when he was on a high. Why do we get upset over swearing on TV what
disturbs us! Is it that God’s laws are flouted?
3. David charitably covers Saul’s sins. Listen if you
think you are doing well read the larger Catechism 144, 145. We are to cover
our enemies sins, we are to be unwilling to hear a bad report about our
opponents. We are not to unnecessarily expose the weaknesses and sins of our
opponents. Don’t aggravate smaller faults. David did not fall into this trap.
The saviour said let him who is without sin cast the first stone; they all left
except the only one without sin. David says that Saul was lovely and pleasant,
how, because God put him there, because he was valiant. Easy to cover our own
sins. Difficult to cover our neighbours sins. Only Grace will enable us to
cover our enemy’s sins. God has covered all your sins therefore you should be
willing to forgive others.
4. Silence
over Saul’s piety. There isn’t any. Not godly or truthful to make up or
manufacture piety when there isn’t any. If you have nothing good to say, say
nothing. Don’t make up things that are not true.
What would be said of you if you were to die suddenly? What would be your epitaph, what would be said about you? What would they find in your private places? What would they find in your Bible? Which verses underlined? People grasp at straws sometimes for comfort; all that you leave behind will be traces of what kind of person you really are. (Grandfather’s Bible) David does not fabricate lies. How different the Amalakite, lied through his teeth seeking some credit, perhaps a government job. Not afraid to lie or kill a king.
Conclusion
After all this David is a new careful man. Chaper 2:1. Shall I go up. Is
this the time, he will not move without God’s direction. Where to, what spot?
What is grace. Speaking much with God, doing nothing without
God, living closely with God. Not our own righteousness but simply following
closely, living closely to God.
1 Samuel 30:6. But David found strength in the LORD his God. But David found encouraged himself in the LORD his God. One of the most blessed statements in the Bible.
Chapter 28 the outgoing king is into witchcraft.
Chapter 29 the incoming King is siding with the enemy, and has problems of his own making. Lowest point in his life, months of relapse, wrote no Psalms.
Things are not very encouraging; the old rejected the
new backslidden. If there were a time to write
David was in great distress but was able to strengthen
himself in the Lord his God. Verse 6 is our text.
- David’s distress. He had lost everything, every
earthly possession; the Amalekites took everything and
burnt the rest. At this time all David’s earthly possessions were in a carrier
bag. Chapter 15 Saul was told to destroy the Amalekites and his disobedience
cost him his throne. Chapter 27:8 David raided the Amalekites and took no
prisoners. Not surprising the
- His two wives were taken, effectively bereaved.
Alive yet very unlikely to see them again. He can’t eat, sleep, he can only cry. He could not relax and grieve, there might be an ambush, and his life was in danger. Could not say just give me some antidepressants and let me weep and sleep. He encouraged himself in the Lord, he gained strength from God.
Are you in distress today? You can encourage yourself in the Lord your God.
- His own people spoke of stoning him, mutiny,
treason, the very ones he had helped were blaming him. He had no one to turn to. Yet he turned to God.
How low are you? Are you as low as David was? No possessions, no wife, no friends and worst of all he was backslidden. Months and months of being cold, of not worshiping God. He encouraged himself in God. How can he do this? All of a sudden turn to God.
The Bible is for our learning; this is the Old Testament that is ever new and up to date. What we learn from David we can apply to ourselves. The Bible speaks to our condition and can transform our condition.
David could have said “God is against me.” “I probably was not converted in the first place. If I was a man after God’s heart this would not have happened.” “It’s all my fault.” (correct) “It will take years to get back.” Yet that very night, in his darkest hour, he encourages himself in God!
Once you belong to God you are His forever. Isn’t that
a God to serve and follow, once saved always saved. The basis of God’s blessing
upon us is not our good behaviour, the foundation for divine blessing is the
shed blood of Christ our Saviour.
David encouraged himself in the lord his God. Our biggest problem
is ourselves especially when we are discouraged. Discouragement is only a way
of looking at things, it’s just a perspective. You can change your perspective.
David knew this, Psalm 42:5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed
within me?
Put your hope in God. Here David is speaking to himself.
David got into trouble when he spoke to himself out of fear and worry, when he eclipsed God he suffered. Now he is stirring himself up to seek God he is telling himself to trust in God. God does not change, when we are down God is not down. God does not change.
David
started to pray. Problems started when he stopped praying and thinking of God.
Began thinking about himself and his problems. Although the way back to God is
easy, it’s difficult to do. It’s about attitude, be friendly to God, sin is
being unfriendly. Tell the truth, tell God that you want to get right. God
looks at your spirit at your attitude towards him. Just a friendly word of
prayer.
David’s problem was that he was King anointed yet hounded by Saul. His problems caused him to be unaware of his sin. Acknowledge your sin and confess your sin then speak to God. David spoke to God through the priest and recovered everything. David spoke to God and things changed. Psalm 32. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long...Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
David shows mercy. He recovered everything. Coming
home the 200 who were tired and stayed behind and were being excluded from the
spoil by hard men, David showed mercy; he made a statute in
MATTHEW 7:7 – 11 THE SERMON ON THE
MOUNT (17)PRAYING TO THE FATHER
This morning I want us to look at a small passage of scripture which will help us to see what our personal relationship with God is like. In many ways these verses in Matthew 7:7 - 11 are like a little spiritual dipstick which we can dip into the engine of our faith to see how it its getting on.
So what is your relationship with God like? Do you have any relationship with God at all? If you do, is it growing? How do you view God? Is he some man in the sky with a white beard, or is he a loving heavenly father to you?
You may be wondering to yourself why
is the preacher saying that these are verses about our relationship with God when they are in
fact verses about prayer? That then is our key point - our prayer lives in many
ways determine and define our relationship with God. Indeed it is surely one of
the key signs that you are either about to become a Christian or have become
one that you pray to God for you cannot be a Christian unless you have made at
least one prayer to God asking him to forgive your sins through Jesus Christ.
Have you just started to pray - then that is a tremendous sign that God is
either working in you to the point of conversion or you are converted -
although I have to admit that it is possible to pray without being a Christian,
it is not possible to pray in the name of Jesus and to sense his presence
without having the Holy Spirit in your heart. Prayer is really a wonderful
thing, and so we start by looking at the promise of prayer:
1.
THE PROMISE OF PRAYER (7:7 and 8).
"Ask
and it will be given to you; seek and you will find knock and the door will be
opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him
who knocks, the door will be opened."
Now Jesus knows that humans do things
well when there is a promise attached. How many times as children did we do
things for our parents because there was a promise attached - a sweet, pocket
money, a toy, some kind of a reward. Now sometimes these rewards were bribes,
but sometimes they were just acts of love from our parents to encourage us on
our way. God is not bribing us to pray, he is the loving parent who says that
when we do something there is a reward on the other side. The reward of prayer
is that God really does hear our prayers and God always acts upon them. Jesus
does not want us to believe that God is too distant and too great, and we are
too small and too unworthy that our prayers are worthless, instead his teaching
is based on a promise - you pray and God will hear you, you pray and God will
act on your behalf. And note this, and note this well, this promise applies to
all who believe - for everyone who
asks receives - answered prayer does not just belong to those whom we think are
mature and super-spiritual, answered prayer is not just for those who have made
it so far along the Christian road, the truth is that from the moment that you
become a believer answered prayer is promised to us all. Now that makes sense,
for if God will answer our first real prayer, to become a Christian, then he
surely will not stop answering us after that. Some of us hold back from praying
because we feel that prayer would be better said by somebody else, we have some
kind of false notion that prayers said by the minister, or by those whom we
consider to be more mature than ourselves are somehow more effective than our
prayers. That is nonsense, and Jesus would want to blast us out of that kind of
thinking - everyone who asks
receives!
Note secondly from these verses that
there may need to be a persistence in prayer. Jesus nowhere teaches that prayer
is always answered immediately on the
first request, nor that there is something wrong with our faith if we have to
keep on asking about something. There is a persistence required here - ask,
seek, knock. One commentator sees here degrees of urgency, he suggests that a
child asks if his father is near and
visible, if he is not, then the child seeks
and checks to be let into his father's room by knocking. I think that we have to be clear however that Jesus is
not really teaching here three stages of prayer, but that we must always
persist in prayer until we have the answer in our hands. Perhaps the reason
that some of our prayers may have gone unanswered is simply because we gave up
too soon.
2.
THE PARENT THAT WE PRAY TO (7:9 - 11).
"Which
of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a
fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to
give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give
good gifts to those who ask him?"
Here Jesus tells a little parable
which shows us why we can be sure of a good answer to our prayers. He calls us
to imagine a child going to his father with a particular request - in this
case, bread or fish. The question is if the child asks for bread or fish will
the father give him something which looks like bread or fish, but is in fact
something which is disastrously different, or even positively dangerous, namely
a stone or a snake? Of course not! If human parents who are evil - by that he
means fallen and sinful, for all men are sinners fall short of the glory of -
if sinful parents still give good gifts to their children, how much more will
God who has no evil in him but is totally good, give the good and right thing
to a child of his. This is why we can be sure of a good answer to our prayers -
because God is a good and a loving heavenly parent. As we grew up and made
requests to our parents the answer we got depended upon their moods, their
goodness, the amount of money they had in the bank, so too the answer to our
prayers depends upon the goodness of the Father, and the Father is good, therefore whatever comes is a
good answer for us. The word for father in v.11 is the word "abba"
which was the homely family name for the Father, what we might now call
"daddy." There is no other religion in the world where the God who is
prayed to is given such a warm, loving, and intimate family name. This is quite
unique to Christianity, and is in fact revolutionary - that God may be called
"daddy."
Some are not happy with giving God
such a familiar name but to call God "daddy" is not to lose your love
or your respect, nor your reverence, it is to define your relationship with
him. Now we really must challenge ourselves about our prayer lives in the light
of this teaching? Do our prayers reflect a warm and loving relationship with a
heavenly parent, or do we speak to God as if he a bank manager, a doctor, a
dictator or what? Now many of us believe that it is more reverent to distance
ourselves that bit from God, I believe that Jesus teaches us it is more
reverent to come as close to God as a child would to a Father. Prayer is simply
a child talking over his needs, his experiences, his failures, his joys with
his Dad. Talking with a father whom he loves, he trusts, he respects. Prayer is
as simple as that. Yet it is not as simple as that.
Many of us don't have prayers lives with this kind of warmth and love, many of us don't have a prayer life at all, for we experience all kind of prayer problems, and so I want to spend the rest of this sermon time by looking at two prayer problems or wrong attitudes towards prayer and we see how Jesus' teaching can help our prayer lives if these are our problems
3.
THE PROBLEMS OF PRAYER.
1. Prayer is unnecessary:
Jesus has just given us quite a bit of
teaching about prayer, but as we look around us we see a lot of people who get
on just fine without any prayer life at all. Indeed we find that they receive
without praying the very same things that we receive with prayer. That leads
the non-Christian (or indeed the Christian) to ask - what then is the point in
prayer? I get what I need by working for it, not by praying for it. The farmer
gets his good crop by working hard, not by prayer. The mother gets her baby
safely delivered through medical skill and not by prayer. The family balances
its budget because Dad is careful with the finances and not by prayer. This
then presents us with the challenging thought that prayer doesn't make an ounce
of difference, it is just wasted breath. How do we respond to this kind of
thinking?
We answer by making a very important distinction between the Creator God and the Redeemer God. You see God is our Father not once, but twice. He is our Father at Creation in that he makes us, but he is also our Father at salvation in that he redeems us. Every human being born into the world has God as his Father in the first sense - and as the Father of the human race God sends good gifts to all people whether they deserve it or not, the sun shines and the rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous alike. The harvest, the birth of a child and so on are all human events which enjoy the protection and blessing of the Fatherhood of God whether or not people acknowledge God. God's creation gifts belong to all people. All of us here know God as our Father in this first sense.
Yet there is a second sense in which God is our Father and not all of us here today know him in this way. Just as God gives gifts at creation, he also gives gifts at salvation, but God's salvation or redemption gifts are different to his creation gifts, for while the creation gifts are for all people the gifts of salvation are only available to those who have turned from their sins and have called upon the name of the Lord. The good gifts which Jesus promises in v.11 are for those who have acknowledged that they are poor in spirit and have come to God for salvation. What Jesus is promising here is not material blessings which any Father can give to his children, but the spiritual blessings which only a heavenly father can bring to his children - daily forgiveness, deliverance from evil, peace, faith, hope, love. None of these things can be received unless we pray, none of these gifts can be ours unless we know God in this second sense, God our Father Redeemer.Thus we find in the Lord's Prayer which also belongs to the Sermon on the Mount (6:9 - 13) the gifts of God the Father Creator and God the Father Redeemer coming together. We find that we must pray for our daily bread, not because we fear that we would starve if we didn't pray, but because we know that ultimately all that we have comes from God. Yet that prayer goes on to ask for forgiveness and deliverance because these gifts are given only in answer to prayer.Thus while some may say that they don't need to pray because they're doing all right, they have their goods and their health and so on, we have to say where is your forgiveness? Where is the power of God in your life freeing you from evil? Where is your assurance of salvation? For none of these things come without prayer.
Prayer is necessary, without it we are lost.
2. Prayer is unproductive:
Our first problem was that prayer was
unnecessary because God gives gifts to people who never pray, our second
problem is the other side of the coin and that is that many people feel that
prayer is unproductive because God fails to give answers to people who do pray.
This I think is a problem that many of us face from time to time in our
Christian lives - why bother praying because I don't get answers. What's the
point in praying when it doesn't make any difference. I prayed, I got no
answer, therefore I've given up praying. I prayed to pass an exam, but I failed.
I prayed for healing but I got no better. I prayed for my sick friend but she
died. I prayed for peace but the world is filled with war. What is our response
to this familiar problem of seemingly unanswered prayer?
The best way to approach this problem
is to remember that the promises of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount are not
unconditional. It is absurd to think that "ask and it will be given to
you" is a blank cheque to ask of God whatever you want with the certainty
of always getting it. If it were then prayer would be pure magic, a simple
"open Sesame" to getting whatever you want. God is not at our bidding
in this way, therefore we should not expect every prayer to be answered in just
the way that we want or expect. God is a responsible and loving heavenly father
who hears our prayers and acts upon them in the way that he knows is best for
us. If it were the case that we got everything that we asked for our lives
would be quickly ruined, for as we look back we see that things that we felt
strongly about were not always right or best for us. God knew that from the
beginning which is why he never answered our prayers as we wanted. Sure we were
angry then, but now we ought to be grateful.
Jesus says in v.11 that God only gives
good gifts to his children. Many
times in prayer we ask for what is wrong for us, or wrong for others, we ask to
use Jesus' own words, for stones and snakes, things which are wrong, things
which are dangerous. Answered prayer is conditional - it has to be something
which is good which is being asked for or God will not act upon it. Thank God
he answers prayer, thank God that he also denies our requests when they are
dangerous and wrong for us even though we don't see it at the time.
J.I. Packer tells this story which
illustrates the point: "When I was
seven years old I ran under a bread van, thereby proving to my parents that I
wasn't to be trusted on the road. When I was almost eleven, my friends were
being given bicycles, and I boldly asked for a bicycle for my next birthday. On
my birthday morning, I came down to breakfast, eagerly wondering what the
bicycle would look like and saw, beside my place at the table, a typewriter.
Perhaps you're thinking, 'What's this? A boy of eleven who had asked for a
bicycle being given a typewriter? Poor lad! What a pain for him!' But no! My
parents knew me better than I knew myself. That typewriter was the best present
I ever had. No single object has given me more pleasure over the years than
that typewriter and its successors....and I learned to honour my parents for
their loving wisdom in giving me something -better for me at that time than a
bicycle."
That is the same principle upon which
God answers prayer. He hears our requests, he knows what is best for us, and he
gives us the right thing at the right time...because he loves us. If people
accuse us of wasting our time praying because we're not getting answers then
it's because they have some idea of a catalogue God who gives you want you send
in for, the Christian's idea is of a loving parent who really does know best,
and who generously gives the right thing at the right time.
And that is the point - there really
is a loving heavenly Father who hears prayer and answers it. You may have not
become a Christian because you prayed about something in the past and didn't
get what you want. That may have proved to you that there was therefore no God.
You were quite mistaken however, it was not the case that there was no God, it
was the case that your heavenly Father heard your prayer, realised that it was
wrong for you, protected you from the wrong answer and gave you something else
instead which will in the long run work for what is best.
I started by saying that our prayer
lives reveal what kind of a relationship we have with God. The way that we talk
to God in prayer and the way that we trust in him for answers reveals whether
or not we have a real faith and a real dependence upon him. This is a personal
question for no one else can have faith for you. What does your prayer life
tell you about your relationship with God? I finish then with this thought -
whatever your prayer life is like - there is a loving heavenly Father waiting
to hear from you - today.
1 Samuel 29 Last week we saw Saul’s desperation leading him to the occult. Today,
David’s desperation almost leads him to fight the wrong battle.
Can’t live a life devoid of troubles.
Job 14:1 Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. Job 5:7 Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward. (Campfire)
Every life has its share of trouble.
Sometimes not of our own making,
sometimes not traced to our sin, John 9 born blind.
Sometimes problems and trouble are of our own making,
we choose friends, Jobs, like
Sometimes we have troubles not of our own making.
Sometimes we have troubles our own making.
Sometimes we have a combination of both.
Here we have a problem that David made for himself, and the providence of God delivering him, preserving him. Joseph telling his brothers of his dreams?
Review 27:1 Why he was in this trouble or difficulty.
Thought to himself! Escape to the enemy, beginning of his self-made problem,
speaking to his heart.
Governed by fear not faith, despair not dependency.
The prophetic command through Gad to stay in
How can a Christian do that, go against a divine command and make such a bad mistake?
The pressure, constant stress, being hounded month-by-month, he made a decision based on his feelings.
An emotional despairing decision that was wrong, leave the Promised Land for the land of the heathen.
This period was one of deception, lies, and bloodshed, 16 months of deception. 27:8-12.
Made a decision based on fearful, dangerous self-talk.
Fruit of his decision. 29:1-2 David is part of the
Philistine army going to fight
King Achish trusts him even to kill his own people, for 16 months David has pulled the wool over the kings eyes and now he is in a situation that he cannot get out of. King thinks that I am an angel from God. He is living on the edge, how am I going to get out of this problem, he had been a cunning deceiver gaining favour with the king and now he was harvesting the fruit of all his deception.
God working in the background, ordering David’s deliverance.
David is creating his own problem yet this chapter is about God and His goodness to David.
David doesn’t mention God yet it’s all about God.
Surely goodness and mercy shall peruse me (not follow) all the days of my life.
Encouragement is that you can make problems for yourself yet God will get you out of them.
Providence of God silently and surely working for David.
(a) God
arranged that some Philistine Lords mistrusted David as much as Achish trusted
him. Some background. David had 600 men. 1 Chronicles 12:17 and 19-22 more were
coming over to David, powerful warriors from
Vs 3 They asked the right question. What are these Israelites doing here?
(b) God ordered that the Philistine Lords would not be persuaded by their Kings assurances. Vs 4-5. Popular song crossed the border. Lords complained and Achish was outvoted. Proverbs 21:1 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.
(c) God is not mentioned just in passing by a Philistine. Esther 2:21-23 King saved. 6:1-10 No sleep? Read the records, found Mordecai’s intervention. What’s been done! Nothing! Who is in the Court, Haman to ask permission to kill Mordecai. Vs 6 Haman thought to himself. Vs 10 worst words that Hamen ever heard. Psalm 2:4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
God providentially cares for and delivers his people.
Habitual deceit of David. 29:6-8 Reliable/had not been.
No fault/deceit, bloodshed and lies.
Vs 8 Amazing acting an Oscar performance, What have I done! Inside he was relieved, pretended insult and anger, all deceit.
David accepts the directive of Achish. 9-11 God in his
providence uses the deceived to preserve the deceiver. Irony. David persuade by
Saul, yes. David persuade by goodness and mercy, yes. God put a
stop to his problems and God will deliver us from our troubles.
So encouraging. God says enough. Whatever was written was written for our instruction upon whom the end of the ages has come. This is one of these verses that are profitable for doctrine, reproof and correction for instruction in righteousness. Preeminently a chapter about God whom we know, serve and love.
1 Samuel 28 Begin with prayer to guard us against evil
King Saul had a good start
but a bad finish. Unlike his namesake Saul of Tarshish who began badly by
persecuting Christ but finished the race and fought a good fight.
Many night scenes in the
Bible and this is one of the most dramatic. Saul supped with Satan then went
out into the night, not to the light but into the darkness. 1000 years later
Judas supped with Christ and then went out into the night. Two men so close to
the truth and salvation but both destroyed.
Another
deserted King who endured a dark night, deserted by his friends, knew God to be
distant, suffered hours of darkness on the cross, yet has overcome all darkness
and is alive having destroyed sin and death so that we need never feel
deserted.
The preacher has the joy of
preaching the Gospel, there is mercy with God; there need not be a going out
into the night but rather a coming to the light. There must be conviction and
confession before the heart can be restored. If you will not come to God on His
terms, if you will not obey God, if you will not humbly cry to God then you are
choosing to live without God.
The greatest tragedy in
Saul’s life is that anytime he could have repented and returned to God. The
greatest warning is take great care all who play with sin lest it destroy your
will and ability to come to God. Saul retained religious desires but had no
spirit.
Saul was anointed,
empowered, rejected and finally deserted.
The Philistines are active
and there is no rest for Saul, faced with another battle he is afraid and
alone. Samuel is dead so
God did not answer by any
means, not by dreams, Urim or by a prophet. The Urim was with the Ephod and
that was with David so was the last and only legal priest.
If Saul had gone to David and humbled himself and asked for help then David had the means to enquire of God i.e. A good heart a priest and the Ephod.
If Samuel enquired through the Urim then it was counterfeit. Saul enquired of God, I am not sure it was prayer, if we are to enquire of God we need to make sure of our ground. Humble and contrite heart and an honest approach through Christ Jesus. God promises to answer the prayers of His people, not of His enemies, Saul’s enquiry is to late and too selfish. Saul hears the taunts of the Philistines but not the voice of God.
The Witch at Endor. The sinful hypocrisy of Saul in that he had
already expelled mediums and spiritists from the land.
How can you explain this act
of foolishness, of darkness, of desperation? He needs to know the future but
his rejection of God has left him terrified and without council so he calls on
a witch. Witchcraft was forbidden not because it did not work but because it
was evil. Do not indulge in paranormal practices; it’s all around you in
literature and especially in the media. Oban cottage hospital.
Saul can’t go to God so he
goes to the Devil. He goes in disguise, his height would give him away so he
stoops, sin makes a man stoop, makes him dishonest, makes him hide
behind disguises. An honest God fearing man needs no disguise.
Saul breaks the third
commandment by using the Lord’s name in vain, vs.10. You shall
not misuse the name of the LORD. He uses Gods name to promise her safety, he swears by
the God that he has rejected.
We need to be very careful in interpreting this
passage.
- God has cut this man off and is not speaking to him.
- Any dealings with the occult are contrary to God’s Law.
- If God had a final word for him would He speak through a witch?
- There is a great gulf fixed between the living and the dead.
- Paranormal episodes are by nature events rooted in lies, deception and trickery.
There is no new message given but a reiteration of known information.
The information about the impending battle was easily
deduced and Saul’s terror was not only because of his backslidden state but
because he new that the Philistines were coming in full force, using new tactics
and had chosen the perfect battlefield at Shunem.
For their massive assault from Shunem, the Philistines
tried a new tactic. They had fought previous battles in the mountains, rough
terrain where their chariots were next to useless. Now they chose strategically
important level ground that
All the evidence points to a dark godless satanic
episode that leaves Saul more frightened and confused than before, just what
Satan would want. Don’t be fooled by the old woman’s seeming kindness in
feeding Saul, it was no more than a last meal for a condemned man and in accepting
it he is accepting the séance, something he should have rejected.
The episode has been understood in many different ways, among them the following:
God permitted the spirit of Samuel to appear to the woman.
The woman had contact with an evil or devilish spirit in the form of Samuel by whom she was deceived and controlled.
By using parapsychological powers such as telepathy or clairvoyance, the woman was able to discern Saul's thoughts and picture Samuel in her own mind.
Saul during his fasting dreamt it all.
When you reject God and God rejects you, When God
removes His spirit and grace from you don’t be surprised that Satan steps in.
Saul’s last act is his worst, supping with Satan then
into the dark night.
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to
me. John 28:18
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he
made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Col.2:15
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared
in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power
of death--that is, the devil. Hebrews 2:14.
He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 1 John 3:8
BENEDICTION…The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The
grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
1 Samuel Chapter 27
Trust in
the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; Pr. 3:5
In the original Hebrew, "in all your ways acknowledge him" is more literally "in all your ways know him." This fundamental statement of how to relate to God implies more than mere reverence. Nodding in God's direction is not enough: you must know him by living closely with him, relating to him personally in every aspect of your life.
In verse one, we read, But David thought to himself, he began to look at his circumstances and analyze them using his own
understanding logic, reasoning and experience. His view of God began to be
influenced by his circumstances. He figured that his situation was so bad that
God could not help and he would have to take action for his own safety. He is
on another downward period. Just like us he has his ups and downs. When he is
up he is looking to God no matter his circumstances are, when he is down he is
looking at himself and his circumstances and not towards God.
The main thing that we know about David is that he is
a man after God’s heart. He is the sweet psalmist, the hero of
Handling pressure.
One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best
thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give
up searching for me anywhere in
Such a sad statement because it was no true. It was
the opposite of what Saul had said, I know that you will surely be king and that the
David said these negative things to himself they were the expression of his heart, but is he not the man with a heart after God’s heart! Yes he is and has but he is also human and a sinner. When he looks to God he has God’s heart, when he looks to himself he has his own heart.
He thought to himself how strong Saul was and how many
soldiers he had and how many narrow escapes he had had, and concluded that it
can’t last; he thought Saul would get him in the end.
He was using human reasoning to analyse his
circumstances and came to a human conclusion. I will perish! Where did that
come from? God had promised him the kingdom and had anointed him. The javelin
missed at point blank range, with all his resources Saul had not yet harmed
David, Jonathan, Samuel Abigail even Saul had reassured him yet his conclusion
was, The best
thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines.
Spurgeon. The man who keeps his own company is in
great danger of being corrupted by the company he keeps.
His self-interest will affect others, you can’t backslide on your own, he has two wives and 600 men, can’t live to himself, can’t die to himself and can’t sin to himself.
What confusion has come over him to think that there
is safety in the land of the Philistines? He went to king Ashish in
The last time that he did this he had to act the
madman. He wrote Psalm 34 about the experience: The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles. Yet in spite of past
experience David does not cry out to the lord he thinks to himself and acts
using his own understanding.
David wrote in Psalm 34, I will bless the LORD at all times.
Not this time, he does not pray, writes no Psalm and can’t sing. Not until
Chapter 30:9 does David begin to pray again.
No doubt that David had great pressure on him but he
did not handle it well.
Handling the Philistines. The idea to go to the land of the Philistines was already there. 26:19
Now let my lord
the king listen to his servant's words. If the LORD has incited you against me,
then may he accept an offering. If, however, men have done it, may they be
cursed before the LORD! They have now driven me from my share in the LORD's
inheritance and have said, `Go, serve other gods.' When he began
thinking to himself this is what came to mind and cause him to go to the land
of the Philistines. He felt driven from his land and in
Vs.5 David called himself a servant of Ashish.
It is almost inevitable that you advance your own
backsliding by what you say. David sided with Ashish, he was living a lie but
to outward appearances his submission to Ashish was a spur an encouragement to
the Philistines to fight against
The Philistines accepted David because they thought he
would fight against his own people. Had they known that he retained his
Israelite loyalty, they would never have trusted him. So David had to pretend
that he was raiding the Israelites, while actually he raided
David was living in two worlds and Ashish fell for it,
his men didn’t 29:4-6.
What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to
deceive.
It all went badly wrong. Temporarily lost everything
and fell into depression 30:4. His own men wanted to kill him 30:6.
What encouragement do we draw from this! At his lowest
point he turns back to God.
Is this not hypocrisy, leaning on your own understanding, 16 months of self reliance, duplicity and lies then when things go pear shaped turn buck to God.
The encouragement is that God will take you back anytime, God will always take you back.
It’s true that sin can get a hold of you but God has a hold and will never let you go.
Return, I am married to you! Jer. 3:14 We know that God hates divorce.
So David returns and begins once again to
wholeheartedly follow God. He begins to sing again and composes Psalm 119:29 remove from me the
way of lying. He had tried it for 16 months!
Turn from your backsliding and God will renew you once
again. It’s not hypocrisy it’s common sense. Was the prodigal a hypocrite, no
he just came to his senses.
Trust in
the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; Pr. 3:5
1 Samuel Chapter 26 David shows mercy again. Have you ever forgiven someone and regretted it? David forgave Saul; he took a chance and trusted him. Now Saul is back again trying to kill David. Vs 2 Saul has 3ths men, his standing army to get David. This happened remember after David in Chapter 24 spared Saul’s life. I am sure David is regretting his lost opportunity. God is not like that, he may regret your behaviour but he will never regret forgiving and saving you.
The last meeting between Saul and David in Chapter 24 revealed their true character. We are encouraged to see the real David who although he has a heart after God he is a real person with his ups and downs and is far from perfect. However he is growing in grace. Saul on the other hand is shallow, emotional, sinful and on a downward spiral. Remember Saul has had every chance and benefit, God had blessed and equipped him to be king, he was without excuse. Standing on the promises now sitting in the premises!!!!
David spared Saul whose
confession and tears sounded so good. Again in this chapter vs. 21-25 he speaks
more high sounding words but they are artificial, they are the confession of
somebody caught in the act.
Youth club, caught in the act, would not admit it, not even that today, people will not admit they are wrong.
Saul admits the thing the action but has no awareness of his sinfulness; he thinks the sin is
in the foolishness the error of his actions when the sin is in his heart. He is
aware of his actions when faced with them but not aware of himself. He excuses his actions but not himself.
The last verse shows that finally
David does not trust him, they went their separate ways.
Saul’s hollow cry compares with
the cries of those in hell. Self centered and full of self pity. Cain, my
punishment is too great for me, not my sin is too great for me. It’s
like the gnashing of teeth that is the reaction of those caught in the act,
There is no change in Saul, no real recognition of the Holy Spirit and grace of
God in Saul’s life. If the Holy Spirit on earth can’t change a sinner then the
pains of hell will not either. If only Saul had cried to God for mercy. David
was perhaps a greater sinner than Saul, yet he always asked God for mercy
always saw and admitted his own personal guilt and sin.
Saul was getting worse and David
was growing in grace. David could have turned a blind eye to Abishai but to
kill Saul was wrong for David and wrong for Abishai. David has a healthy spirit
and forbids Abishai, he takes responsibility.
Two changes this time as he does
things differently. He does not touch Saul or his robe. The last time when he
cut his robe it cut his heart. This proves how sincere his tears were, he does
not do it again. Saul proved his insensitivity by doing it again.
He takes only what is useful for
evidence and returnable, the spear and the bowl. He will not touch Saul’s
person or dignity.
How do we know that we are
growing in grace. Growing sensitivity to sin and wrong. More tender in
conscience today than we ever were. David forgave the second time that takes
grace. How many times must we forgive they asked Jesus, seven times? True
forgiveness is a mark of grace and can be repeated time after time, where would
we be if that were not true. How many times has God forgiven me? Unmerited,
undeserved pre-paid forgiveness through Christ’s blood.
All Israel were asleep, even
Abner which is remarkable since he was a mighty man, God made a deep sleep fall
on them as a test for David, he could have killed Saul and got off Scot free,
without a fight. It was a test for David, a test of his precious faith, he
passed with flying colours: vs.10 As surely as the LORD lives," he said, "the LORD
himself will strike him; either his time will come and he will die, or he will
go into battle and perish. But the LORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the
LORD's anointed.
Why did Job suffer, to show us
that God can be trusted? Why did Paul accept the thorn in his flesh, to
demonstrate the superiority of the grace of God? Why was David tested, to
show that we can leave issues in God’s hands?
Conclusion. David’s greatest
problem about being hunted in the desert was not that he was anointed and
should be King. In vs. 19 we see that it was being deprived of worship in God’s
house. He could have worshipped in the cave; yes he did and wrote a Psalm about
the experience. He could worship God in the desert surrounded by creation, yes
he did. However it hurt him not to be worshipping in God’s house, he would
rather be a doorman in the house of God for one day than be elsewhere. I can
worship God at home, yes you can. But if that is your only desire you are not
spiritual but selfish and carnal. If you are a Christian then you are part of a
gathered community.
In South Africa during apatite, there was a mine explosion
and some people were trapped one of which was white, someone crawled in and
pulled him out. His eyes were bandaged and he was told that his saviour was
here and was invited to shake his hand, from underneath the bandages he saw a
black hand and he withdrew his own.
Would you have gone in again to the mine to rescue such a person, Christ
died for such people! That’s forgiveness.
Luke 23:32-45. This is a look at the cross, Jesus said I am the light of the world, at the cross light shone out, truth shone out.. As He lay on the Cross to be nailed the first ray of light came from his mouth, light shone on his torturers, a cry from the Ground as he lay there. Father forgive them for they know not what they do.
As
he hangs on the cross more light shines and it shines on a wicked man
who had insulted him but had changed his mind and asked for help. He never
refuses a genuine request, he replied you are coming with me I am never going
to leave you, and you don’t have long to wait. Today before sunset you will be
with me in paradise.
Light
as he lay on the Cross, light as he hung on the cross and there was more
light after the intense three hours of darkness. Forgiven, favoured, finished, the greatest
light, the work was finished, the price paid, the blood shed, God
glorified.
Two
men, characters high up in the Jewish faith, both Rabbis came to take the body
down. The light shone as these men gave Christ the highest burial
possible, the light shone because this burial was like no other burial ever
known, he was buried with a guarantee of the resurrection. This man could not
be held by the grave, death could take him could not hold him. Two women came
to the grave and the body was not there.
Two
angels one at the feet and one at the head a reminder of the mercy seat.
Two
is the number of witness, he is not here, come see the place, you cannot see
him he is not here, light in that sepulchre that day, the light of the
resurrection.
Time
of conversion, Means of conversion, Faith of conversion Result of conversion
Promise of conversion
Evil
man who was cursing Christ got converted, there is a time of conversion, long before a person is born God has
recorded their name and time of conversion.
When
there were only Angels in heaven and earth was not formed, God wrote their
conversion in His book of life.
How sad to think you can be saved and lost, to think that you get to heaven because of your hold on Christ, you get to heaven because of Christ’s hold on you.
Can you conceive of God’s book of life recording someone as born of the flesh, born of the Spirit and of God, then unfortunately lost and condemned? Does that read with any conviction? NO
I
am looking forward to the day when I get to heaven and in the company of the
redeemed and the Angels read my name in that beautiful book my name written in
the blood of my saviour. God gave us to his son before the foundation of the
world. That was the light that shone on the thief that day.
Look
at this man he is dying as a sinner, but beside him is a man who is dying as a
sacrifice. He followed the crowed in their ungodliness, sneered, mocked and
insulted Christ but suddenly he is a changed man, the change is indicated by
his rebuke to his fellow criminal, he has done nothing amiss, he is innocent
and we are guilty, how could he change so in a moment, cursing one moment then
defending Christ, what happened.
Means of his
conversion,
how did it happen, he never heard the Gospel, never heard any preaching, and
never attended a prayer meeting. How did he get converted, God had a limited edition of the Bible for Him and Pilate wrote it.
This is Jesus the king of the Jews. The thief
looked and looked again and believed it, he said remember me when you come
into your kingdom. He saw and believed the written word of God, he saw
it in his translation, Pilate was challenge for writing the king of the
Jews, the said he should write that he claimed to be the king of the Jews,
Pilate responded I have written what I have
written.
Faith of conversion, faith comes by
hearing, hearing by the word of God. If you were there you would have thought
this man is for hell. No, he was
recorded in glory, his name was written. His faith was real; he was
fighting for and defending Christ, the only one there who defended Christ.
At the cross at the cross where I fist saw the light and the burden of my heart rolled away, it was their by faith I received my sight and now I am happy all the day…..
The result of
conversion,
after this darkness came down but it never entered the converted man’s heart, he
stayed in divine light as he was converted from the very edge of hell. What
can separate us from the love of God, shall earthquake, shall darkness, no,
shall death, no, Nothing can separate us.
Anyone can be saved if they are in a place where they can repent, you can’t repent after death, and you can’t repent in hell.
The promise of
conversion,
you can be saved today, the cross is the rock of salvation, the cross is a
beacon a light that shines on you, it is a wonderful thing to be saved, get
saved today, call on the name of the LORD, that all poor thief could do, call
and trust, believe and ask, he will answer you.
Today you will be in paradise with me!!
Jerusalem.”A City to cry over.” Luke 19:28-44
The four
Gospels give an account of this Triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus had
deliberately played down and avoided publicity. Now he is willing to show
Jerusalem that He is King and at the height of the celebration, just when victory is near, Jesus breaks
down and weeps. (Bitter anguish as for the dead) It was a shock to his
disciples and followers to see their King seemingly so weakened and distressed.
The most disappointing day of their lives, when the kingdom seemed within their
grasp, the master washes away His prospects with His tears.
Not very
credible as one whom they hoped to rescue them from their enemies.
The
shallowness of human celebration.
The planning. Colt
prepared and ready.
It seems to be prearranged with followers of
Jesus involved in preparing the colt and having a password. Jesus had often
passed this way and probably had friends and followers in the area. It’s
owners, suggests poor people who owned and shared the animal.
The Lord has need would suggest a high level of respect, expectation and faith. This is Jesus Himself declaring His unique position as lord over Israel.
An unbroken colt. In Baptism he joined with men stood
where they stand.here he sat where no man had sat. The ass would have been
easier but he was not going to Jerusalem for comfort.
He chose coltish men for his disciples. The Pharisees were a safe bunch. His disciples would break out for him.
Needed to be untied, delivered and broken.
Missionary friend lost his daughter, Why? The lord has need of her. The lord has need of you. But perhaps you need to be untied, and delivered to your lord and broken.
Prophecy fulfilled Zech. 9:9 Micah and Isaiah, declared His advent to the world, predicting His birth and showing His humility.
Zechariah declared His advent to the Jews as He enters Jerusalem Showing His majesty.
Now that it would not harm His work He accepted their homage.
Said to Pilate, “I am a King, but my kingdom is not of this world.”
An ass would have done for his earthly ministry, carried his mother to Bethlehem, the family to Egypt and back, but his was the way of poverty, He is recorded only as walking.
Needed a
colt for His Messianic presentation as king of the Jews. He was coming in peace
and love and before their final rejection of him He asks with outstretched arms
and tears that they accept Him as their king of love.
Foretaste of triumph. Transfiguration sowed what he left to come on his Royal errand of mercy.
The
courage. Price on
his head
The High
priest had already put a price on the head of Jesus making him an outlaw and
obliging everyone to report his whereabouts.
The Jews were nervous at the reaction of their people to the resurrection of Lazarus whom they wanted to kill.
And they saw their world being turned upside down by a carpenter from Nazareth.
The Pharisees asked Jesus to rebuke the disciples because they feared the reaction of the Romans to anyone proclaiming a king other than Caesar. Stones cry out. This very public entrance into the city begins His week of passion.
Shallow
praise. Hosanna on
Sunday, crucify him on Friday. Probably not the same people, His followers were
stunned and silent with none prepared to declare His generation.
Blessed be the king on Sunday, no king but Caesar on Friday.
People coming to Jerusalem for the festival were greeted with these words taken from Psalm 118. Your kingdom come, Comes in the name of King David? Yes and No!
He was the King coming in reality. They saw his miracles, sung of his glory, saw his prophetic entry, yet they only saw a prophet from Galilee.
The final
appeal. Take me as your king.
They set Jesus on the cold, they took the initiative, He did not mount,
you have to take, accept, make Him king of your life, you have to take the
initiative. He came to his own and they knew Him not.
The Pharisees asked Him to quieten the celebrations; they did not want
Him proclaimed as messiah or King. Proverb of the day about injustice, stones
cry out.
If you
only knew. This was their day of peace, God
had come to them in the person of Jesus the Messiah, but they failed to
recognize him and rejected him. If they would only realize the consequences of
their actions, the judgment, the destruction for them and for their children.
On the cross Christ cried out father forgive them for they know not what they
do.
The
depth of divine sadness. Tears
of perplexity. They would not come.
During His ministry he had done everything to reach the hearts of His
people. Healed their sick, cleansed their lepers, fed their hungry, taught them
truth yet he won no abiding place in their Hearts. They had spurned His
warnings, and refused His help. As a hen gathers her chicks under her wings so
He desired to gather His people under the shadow of the almighty, he would but
they would not.
Rejected many times. He had
been rejected so often and now he realised that it was too late, now they would
fall into the hands of their fearful God. God could put the planets in orbit
but has restricted Himself to knocking on the doors of human hearts, if they
won’t open and he is denied then the consequences are on their own heads.
Tears
of pain. Crucify
him
His final rejection will be the cruellest, the peace of God is hid from
their eyes and they will kill the king of peace.
Destruction of Jerusalem He knew that they would have to live with the consequences of their rejection and speaks prophetically of events that would happen within a generation. Josephus the Historian describes the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 saying that as far as the eye could see there were crucified Jews. Seeing ahead Jesus wailed for the lost opportunity and needless waste.
Tears
of pity. He loved them
He was wept for those he loved; He bled for you because he loves you.
Wanted
to save them He could
not save His generation because they rejected Him yet he still followed through
with God’s plan of salvation for the generations to come. He overcame the
rejection with great resolve and for your sake endured the cross.
Conclusion. Another Judgement to come, I saw a
great white throne…and those not found written in the book of life!. Christ
still loves the world but on the final day of judgement those who reject Him
will be rejected. It is not necessary just see and believe that this is the day
God came to you.
Luke 23:32-49
Introduction. We need to be saved, we need to trust Christ as our Saviour. You can and must be saved from your sin. Best sermon that I could think of is a seven point sermon, the last sermon Jesus preached before his death.
Christ preaching the Gospel from the Cross.
Seven deep outpouring, seven painful utterances of mercy and justice, seven
cries from the heart that summarize, sum up, the whole Gospel which is powerful
enough to change any sinner into a saint and any hell into heaven. This is how
men can be saved, it is a lifeline strengthened and soaked in the blood of the
saviour. John Newton. Amazing Grace.
Stretch out the hand of faith and grasp the lifeline and be saved. Miss the lifeline and be lost forever.
"Father, forgive them, for they do not
know what they are doing." (Lk 23:34).
"I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." (Lk 23:43).
"Dear woman, here is your son," "Here is your mother." (Jn 19:26-27).
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mt 27:46-47; Mk 15:34-36).
"I am thirsty." (Jn 19:28).
"It is finished." (Jn 19:30).
"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." (Lk 23:46).
First
point
in this Gospel sermon was uttered when they nailed him to the cross. It was a
prayer. 23:34 Father forgive them they know not what
they do. In the midst of the horrific painful and cruel crucifixion is
born the gospel message a message that offers mercy, pardon and forgiveness for
all, even for those with the hammer in their hands, even for you. Now there is
no sin that cannot be cleansed when brought to the blood. Only the unpardonable
sin cannot be brought to the blood so cannot be forgiven.
Second
point.
He responds to a vile sinner who was reviling him then suddenly changes and
believes and asks for help. What changed him, Faith comes by hearing and
hearing by the word of God, he saw the writing above His head, he heard his
first point and longed for that mercy and pardon. Christ did not reply and say
yes I will remember you, He said Today you will be with
me in paradise. JC Ryle calls this man the first immediate convert of
the Gospel and pictures the angels in paradise saying who is this man that
comes with Christ walking hand in hand approaching the throne of mercy, who is
this that The Son introduces to His Father? The dying thief rejoiced to see
that fountain in his day and there may you as vile as he was, wash all your
sins away. All that Adam lost will be restored to you today.
Third
point
concerns his unique and sole office of saviour. Woman
here is your son, God has no mother, she was a sanctified vessel used of
God in the incarnation but had no place at the crucifixion, he would die alone
and he alone saves. He distances himself from her as he had done before at the
temple when he was 12, at Canna, what have I to do with you; my hour has not
yet come, lonely hour. Simeon prophesied a sword would pierce her heart and
here it is the sword of separation. Jesus puts Mary under the protection of
beloved John where she will have security and peace.
Fourth
point. He
deals with his own demons. My god my God why hast thou
forsaken me. From Psalm 22 which ends with another point, it is
finished. In-between these two statements the full wrath of God fell on Him.
What suffering what wrath was outpoured upon him, not just the sin of our days
of iniquity but the sin of the days of our enlightenment which are the worst
hell of all? Faithful and just to cleanse us from our sin, cleansing comes only
from his blood. Why, no man can fathom the anguish of the cry, sunk to hell where
his bear foot touched the blistering heated coals of that place of torment.
Pain in his holy soul as the foulness of our sin and the fire of our judgement
was fully laid on him.
Fifth
point.
I thirst, four times they tried to give him help
and make him drink, but he had to carry the burden alone without help. My
virtue has gone out of me as the woman touched him, it left its mark. He gave
the total virtue of his life and blood and it marked him. Thirsty all through
the crucifixion but he refused to drink until his work was done. There is a
thirst in hell that will never be quenched. The rich man wanted just a drop,
but there was none available, he was in a fire that burns the mouth dry. Trust
in Christ and you will never thirst again.
Sixth
point.
Victory, It is finished, a great cry, after he
had endured all he cried it is finished, only then did he bow his head, never
before. At that very moment the divine hands of God reached down and seized the
great curtain, the great veil in Herods temple and ripped it apart from top to
bottom and a way was made for us to enter into the most holy place, to the
throne of grace to the mercy seat. You can come there and say be merciful to me
a sinner.
Seventh point is the Conclusion, into your hands I commend my spirit. You can say that now, and on your deathbed can repeat it with confidence. The spirit answers to the blood of Christ, accept Him and you will know that you are saved.
Pastor David M Meikle.
Joel Chapter 3 Text. 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
Introduction. Joel is in two parts, firstly about a
natural disaster, a doomsday event equal to any national disaster. A plague of
Locusts used of God to Judge and restore
The second part is more
serious because it is a look into the future to the final judgment on the
nations of the earth. One day we will all be in that valley of decision.
This is not people in a
valley needing to, or about to, make a decision, no this is multitudes in a valley
waiting for God to make His final decision, give His final pronouncement on the
fate of those gathered in the valley.
I could preach a sermon
using this text and say that you are one of a multitude throughout all the
nations of the earth that are in a deep valley of sin and need to make a
decision about whether you go to heaven of hell.
That would be justifiable and many a sermon has been preached to good effect asking the audience to decide. However the passage is much clearer than that, it gives you an insight to your future. This will happen to you, it’s recorded here for your clear understanding. I say your not our, because by the grace of God I have seen and understand, and accept and have acted upon what this text is saying to you, today. What the text is saying to you is that the day of the Lord, the day of final judgment will come, you and I will be there so awake and live your life in the light of the final Judgment of God. Start here and live your life backwards from this future day.
On Judgment day all
decisions have already been made. The nations have only to hear God’s final
decision, his final decision about you and me.
God will judge you on the
basis of your response to the family of God. Vs. 2 Why? Because how I respond
to God’s people is how I respond to Him.
Matt. 25 If you have done
it to the least of these my brothers you have done it to me! How have you
treated God’s family? What is your attitude to
God will judge you on the basis of your treatment to children. Vs.3 gambling for children, selling them into prostitution, selling them for wine. Putting their own pleasure before the welfare of Children. Defenses children being mistreated, better that a millstone were around their neck and that they were cast into the sea. Final judgment is already around their neck.
God will Judge you as you
have judged. Vs.4,7 I will return on
your own heads what you have done.
The punishment will fir the crime. The punishment of God fits the crime against God.
Sinner says I have no fear of
God I can do what I like, there is no thunder bold going to strike me!
Poetic language and meaning
because there is not a valley in the world that could hold all the nations.
This is a dark picture that
has a parallel in the Angels confined to hell awaiting Judgment. For if God did not
spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy
dungeons to be held for judgment; 2 Pet.2:4 How will he spare
multitudes of mankind who are in the valley awaiting His divine decree of
judgment.
Those in the valley have
made their choice, made their decision and now God will make His decision.
Here is the accusation of
God against you. For when I called, no one answered. Is.66:4.
Cod called time after time and you chose not to hear his voice, not to answer his call. How does he speak, in a sunset, in the birth of a child, a near miss in the car, a time of crisis, a still small voice, a sermon, something said or read or overheard? You have decided not to hear not to answer His call.
Hedge. Decision is translated as a dividing hedge,
wall or valley separating two lots of people, some have made the wrong decision
and some have made the right decision. Rich man and Lazerus.
Day of wailing and gnashing of teeth but also a day
when they shall be mine says the Lord on that day when I make up my jewels.
Sometimes it is hard to spot the difference between a Christian and a non Christian. On that day the difference will be seen.
Gold. Is used to describe a decision. A
Two fires, one of judgment one of refining, the refining fire is hottest. Put gold in the fire and it is not destroyed but purified.
Why am I someone in the fire, because you are pure gold? The dross in your life is being consumed, your faith is being strengthened.
What a difference between the two sides in the valley of decision! What side are you on!
Between Joel and the final judgment Christ Jesus
appeared so that before the final judgment there is an individual day of
decision. Accept Christ as your saviour and you will live in the assurance of
sins forgiven and in the power of the Holy Spirit. The day of grace will become
a day of glory!
Matt 25:32-34 All the nations
will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his
right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his
right, `Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the
kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
On judgment day may we all
hear these words spoken to us in the valley of decision?
Song of Songs. The phrase "Song of Songs" means the greatest of songs. In Deuteronomy 10:17 the repetitive expression is used of God to indicate that he is the greatest and is greater than all gods. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords. In 1 Timothy 6:15 Paul uses the same double definition. God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Interpretation. A simple love poem that helps us to see that our human relationships and our relationship with God are best expressed and experienced through love. We believe that our relationship with God is based upon our love for Jesus and perhaps the best use of this poem is to use it to deepen our relationship with Jesus, who is our beloved.
When a book is difficult to interpret and the Church has a variety of opinions on interpretation of this book, where do you go for leads?
Dispensationalists see it as a type of the love of Christ for His bride and His eventual coming for her.
The puritans see it as an allegory going as far as saying that the left breast is the Old Testament and the right the New Testament, such heavy allegory can be tiresome, one writer has 86 sermons on the hair of the bride being the Gentile nations coming to Christ.
Often Jewish writers can help with interpretation and they
view this song in an awe inspiring way. They use the image of the
A more modern up to date approach is to take the poem and the story it tells at face value and let it touch your heart. As long as you stick to the text and its meaning you can apply it to your relationships, especially your relationship with God and Christ. This song was probably first sung at a wedding to celebrate the wonder and potential of married life.
The story. The king has a vineyard in Ephraim, 50 miles
north of
Vs.1 It starts with a desire for closer intimacy, she has met him and he has kissed her. Her desire is for more kisses; let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. Having tasted his kiss she wants to taste it again and again. She can compare his kiss to wine, wine pictures all that the world has to offer and it is delightful but can not compare to his love. He is better than wine, better than honey.
In the Gospels Christ is the great shepherd who loves his flock, his sheep with a self-sacrificing love, he loved his own unto death. How does he kiss us? By His grace as he comes to us showing an interest in us and drawing us to him. How do we kiss him? By accepting his death for us and by repenting of our sin, and believing the Gospel.
The prodigal son repented and returned home and his father embraced him and kissed him.
Why did she fall in love with him, clearly he made the first move, but why did she respond so lovingly, what did she see in him that made her fall more in love with him.
Vs.3 His name, “your
name is like perfume poured out”
The names
of God in the Bible are many and wonderful, father, provider, healer, and
saviour all point to His character and draw us to him in love.
Isaiah the prophet tells his people who are walking in darkness and despair uncertain of the future to trust in the name of the Lord. Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. 50:10.
We love thy name O Lord wherein thy honour dwells.
Vs.7 His character, “where
you graze your flock…and where you rest your sheep” he is a caring
shepherd, a gentle Character, providing for his flock, expressing his care in a
practical way. God goes further than that, he cares for us, we fall in love with
Christ through his care.
Vs.8 His word, “most
beautiful of women” he says wonderful things to her. “how beautiful you are, my darling.”
Mare, decorated amongst the
stallions causing a stir. Doesn’t God say lovely things to you, isn’t his word
filled with invitations, blessings, doesn’t he call us his children, he calls
us kings, queen, princesses and princes, priests and even brothers. Doesn’t he
say we are beautiful in the righteous beauty of Christ?
Vs.10,11 His gifts. Your
cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels. We will
make you earrings of gold, studded with silver. He makes her hand made
gifts, specially chosen by him. God gives us gifts, not all the same gifts or
that would be tedious. He gives the gifts that he wants us to have gifts that will adorn and
enhance our lives. The problem with gifts is that we always look at what other
have. Remember leaving Oban for FM and being shocked at all the gifted young
men and women and being angry with God that I had nothing. Churches fall
into this trap, why can’t we have a pastor like theirs? Worship like theirs?
Have a building like theirs? Let God chose and give you the gifts that he wants
you to have. He gives gifts to his people.
Conclusion. What can we do to encourage our love for God, how can we develop our love for Jesus? We all need to be loved by God and others, we all need to love God and others. Love is something to work at and develop. What did the Shulamite girl do to help her increase her love?
Vs.4,7 Wanted to spend special intimate time with her beloved. “Take me away with you.” “Tell me…where you rest your sheep at midday” even through the day she wanted every opportunity to be with him. She asked where to find him and he directs her to his flock. He can be found with his people.
Vs.12 Made him sovereign of her life. “While the King was at his table.” While we can have loving intimacy with our God and creator he demands that we make him King of our lives. There is no room for competitors. While we love Jesus, we also must submit and bow to him. Lord of Lords or not lord at all.
Vs 6-5. See yourself as you really are. “Dark am I, yet lovely. Do not stare at me because I am dark.” Saw her-self in the mirror and complained about her weather-beaten appearance blaming her brothers for making her work in the fields, and herself for not taking time to care for her looks. Soft and white suggested refinement, tanned suggested a field worker. Often we look at ourselves and are discouraged seeing our faults and failings. Boaz saw Ruth, dark and comely, the Shulanite’s lover saw her as beautiful. In Christ God sees us as beautiful, sees us in his righteousness.
Don’t listen to yourself, talk to yourself.
Vs.7 We need to express our love for God. “Tell me, you whom I love.” Peter do you love me? Express our love through our faithfulness.
Vs.16-17 We need to live in expectancy of the future. ‘And our bed is verdant. The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are firs.” Their thinking of the wedding and the house they will live in. Anticipate what you will do together with your saviour.
Expect great things of God and attempt great things for God.
The Lamb of God - John 1:29. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! Vs. 34 I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."
Here we have an Inspiration straight from God, otherwise he would not
have known, he would not have this fundamental testimony that Jesus of Nazareth
is the Lamb of God and the Son of God. Who was also known as Lion, Lamb, king,
high priest but always the son of God.
After four long dark centuries of silence God speaks through the son of
a priest, a son of Levi dressed like an OT prophet a figure like Elijah. People
flock to hear and obey, the establishment sends a committee, who are you or who
do you thing that you are. A voice! On the second day of their questioning he
lifts up his voice and points his finger at Jesus; Look, the Lamb of God, who
takes away the sin of the world!
This rang a bell struck a cord with his Jewish listeners. OT priests
were butchers, the temple was a slaughterhouse, a lamb was offered every
morning and every evening, and many other sacrifices in between.
Danger today of focusing on Jesus as a teacher, good but not enough, Nicodemus knew him as a teacher but Jesus told him he needed to be born again. Its not the teaching that saved but the teacher. Must come to Him first as the Son of God and the Lamb of God before you can have any fellowship with Him.
The only problem with Portslade is sin, people are sinners, they are already planning a lot of Christmas sin. They need a saviour, they need the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The sin singular, only he can do it. He is able to! Churches are full at Christmas with many people, who are gathered around an Idea a story, they need saved from their sin. Need to be born again.
What cord was struck in their understanding
Abraham on Moriah 1st mention Genesis 22
where is the Lamb, God will provide Himself
a (The) Lamb. Isaac saved by a substitute ram.
Night of the birth of the nation, Passover,
when I see the blood I will Passover you. 2nd mention Exodus 12
prepare a lamb, consume the lamb, eat your lamb. Perhaps 22k lambs slaughtered
that night yet every mention is in the singular. Pointing to the Son of God the
Lamb of God.
Set time beginning of the month, fullness of
time God sent his son.
Spotless lamb, the best about 10k, separate from the rest. How spotless and separate is Lamb of God.
Killed in the evening, slaughtered in a moment of time between two days.
Blood applied to the door posts.
Substitute lamb died in their place.
Sustained them, they ate and were sustained.
Law of final mention Rev. 23:3 No
longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in
the city,
No more curse means no more death, the book begins with a lamb newly slain standing in the midst of the throne. Slain yet standing.
Identification. As Christ is baptized and identifying Himself with our
wretchedness, God identifies Him. This is my beloved Son. Passover lamb was
scrutinized for 14 days He was scrutinized for 30 years and God said I am well pleased.
The Spirit of God also identified Him as the Lamb fit for purpose. The
Spirit lands on him as a tender dove. Every condition met in Him and he is
identified by every true believing spirit to be the son of God and the Lamb of
God that takes away the sin of the world.
Takes away speaks of the cross. A voluntary act of self control and
dedicated purposeful will. He never bowed his head until it was finished. The
fire consumed the OT Lamb
but he consumed the fire of God’s Judgement.
Release someone from a load, take that load upon ones shoulders, and take it far away. As far as the east is from the west. Blotted out forevermore.
OT where is the lamb, NT behold the lamb, in heaven Worthy is the lamb
The Great Galilean
Ministry 16 Mark 5:1-20
Introduction.
Acts 2:22 "Men of Israel, listen to
this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders
and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.”
36 miracles described in the Gospels. Personal
intervention of God. I lift a book, God lifts a mountain.
Since Christ is God is as natural to Him to do a miracle as it is for a watchman to set the hands of a clock.
None are petty or meaningless; each brings help, comfort, restoration and point to the redemption of the soul.
They were a seal to his authority, Bread of life, Resurrection and the life.
Proof that his message was one of compassion and love. Guarantee that he can save; if he can destroy the visible works of Satan he can also destroy the invisible works.
Note. For many the miracles are a hindrance to believing the Gospels! Perhaps in a way they are since we need faith to accept them. Take them away and what is left to believe in?
Illustration. Alpine guide offering his hand. “This hand never lost a man.”
In the
The Great physician was welcome in
Miracles, Demonstrating his power.
Wonders, directing attention to God.
Signs, demonstrating his ministry
Three classes of miracles.
- Power over nature, which we saw last week as he calmed the storm.
- Power over demons, which we will look at today. Some think that our small visible world is the only one. Paul writing to the Ephesians said; “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
- Power over diseases, which we will see next week.
Background notes.
- Vs1 region of
the Gerasenes, South east of the lake, least populated area mostly
gentiles, part of the Roman
- Vs 2-3 Dwelling amongst the caves, not a graveyard as we know it, hewn out of the rocky hillside.
- Vs 19 Go home to your friends and tell them. No danger of hindering crowds following him.
1. Demons are real they are not just psychological problems
Word of God says they are demons so they are. This is not some limited view of an earlier society to describe or understand psychological problems. The psychological problems of one man- or two- could not enter 2ths. Pigs.
Demons are real and can cause dysfunction. Here they are called Unclean spirits,
Luke, deaf and dumb spirits,
Matt. spirit of infirmity,
1 Tim. deceitful spirits.
OT familiar spirits associated with people.
This passage informs us about demons.
- Vs4 Give supernatural strength.
- Vs 5 Cause self harm and dysfunction.
- Vs 9 many could inhabit one man.
- Vs 10 Inhabited a geographical area, don’t send us out of the country.
Jesus has power over demons. They are limited by God and will be destroyed by God.
2. People are more important than animals.
People are different from animals, both created but humans are more important. One man is more important than 2ths. Swine, and the pig industry.
Application.
- Never to far gone for God’s saving power. Clothed and in his right mind.
- The Lord will not stay where he is not wanted. Vs 17. Christ showed their failure and they would not accept him. Asked him to leave and he did.
- Let’s not be slow to repeat the good things God has done for us.
The Great Galilean Ministry 15 Mark 4:35-41
Introduction.
Critics
have a hard time with the miracles. Church made an ordinary Jesus into a
supernatural Jesus.
People
were more gullible. Ignore the fact that the unbeliever of that day saw and
believed. Religious leaders sought to destroy Him because of his actions and
claims. Churchill, could we make this great man into a supernatural figure?
Background.
Vs.35 Crossing west to south from
Vs.36 As he was in the boat. Pulpit. Crowds on the banks and other boats alongside listening to his teaching.
Vs. 38 Cushion. Sleeping peacefully, Marks human touch. Sunday night is the best night for the preacher.
Jesus boat. One of the largest, could hold 15 people. 5ft.5in, 140lbs. Jesus and his disciples.
Two
teaching points.
1.
Jesus has power over nature. Fully God and fully man. Not a man with a
super powers, 75% God 25% man, no here both his complete deity and humanity are
displayed. “Quiet, be still” calmed the storm. Same verbs are used in
1:27 when he cast out the demon, suggesting that the storm had some dark
origin. He was in control of the elements and of any satanic darkness. His
is fully God.
Asleep on a cushion, He needed to eat and sleep and rest, He is fully man.
God
made the
11. Jesus power guarantees a disaster free new
Heaven and Earth.
“creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to
decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know
that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right
up to the present time.”
“But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” 2 Pet.3:13.
Storm are allowed at the moment as the earth groans, but all that will change, The power of Jesus guarantees this.
4 Ds. Disaster, Demons, Death, Disease, will be no more.
Application.
1. Character is built through crisis. He knew the storm was coming, why not wait until tomorrow? He led them into the storm to build character, increase their faith and trust in Him. Why do you have storms in your life? Would you rather be protected from them all?
2. We are not alone in the storms of life. Asleep but in control. Sometimes in our storms we think that God is asleep. Heb. 13:5 "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
Tossed, water-logged, drowning, we are not alone.
Three year old in the swimming pool with his dad. Deeper, deeper, look of anxiety. But if he could analyze the situation, no matter where 3ft or 6ft the child’s safety lay in his fathers arms.
We panic and lose control, but our father is never out of His depth. We are as safe as we have ever been.
The Great Galilean Ministry Matt.7:7-29 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Tim 3:12-17.
The Sermon on the Mount is about the righteous
standard of the King, the moral standard of those who would enter the kingdom.
Someone asked me about salvation! I say read John Chap.3. Someone asked me about a deeper more committed Christian life! Then read Matt.5-7
The Jews rejected Jesus and this sermon but the moral standard still stands today. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. Hermeneutics. Only one interpretation but many applications.
1. Perseverance in Prayer. 7-11. God expects believers
to ask, seek and knock. It’s a command to keep on asking, to keep on seeking
and to keep on knocking. But It’s not a blank cheque.
Sometimes we make wrong requests. James 4:3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
Sometimes we ask outside of God’s will. 1 John 5:13-14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him.
How do we know God’s will 90% found in scripture 10% Found by walking
in the light.
Look at David and the temple, God said No That’s for Solomon.
If the rapture took place tomorrow then many of my prayers will not have been answered.
God knows best and will not give us anything harmful. This persistent prayer is in the context of the kingdom therefore pray for humility, to be a peace maker, for your daily bread, that God’s name will be hallowed in your life.
You can see 39 prayer subjects to this point and 45 in the complete sermon.
Have you heard a pagan praying? Self-interest, vengeance, justification, winging.
2. The Golden rule. Vs 12. Jews it was in the negative
form, Jesus puts it in the positive. A great difference.
Should not gossip but say nice things about people. Do it whether they do it or not.
Practice the golden rule and you fulfill the law and the prophets.
in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:4
Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:10
We don’t live in an Old Testament religion but we must fulfill or practice the moral righteousness contained there.
We now have a common teaching method, two-way method.
To ways, gates, trees, fruits, builders. Vs 28-29?
Jesus used a common method in an uncommon way.
3.
Two different ways and gates. 13-14. Context is discipleship but a gospel
application is acceptable. Travel the narrow way, that which Jesus trod, that
alone leads to the narrow gate and eternal life. Avoid the broad road that
leads to destruction.
Question is, does this mean there are few that are saved? Answer, strive to enter the narrow gate.
There is no mention of an alternative door. When you go through this door there is no return.
Jeremiah 21:8 "Furthermore, tell the people, `This is what the LORD says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.
1 Cor.1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Christ is the door, He is the way. Many respectable people are on the broad way because they are not following Christ.
Most believers will not become disciples but waste their lives on things that do not count for eternity.
What makes it so hard is the false prophets who preach
human ideas and discount or pervert the scriptures. There will be no false
prophets in the future kingdom so this is a warning for today and the
tribulation period. They are so realistic, seem genuine, but are not
characterized by love and sacrifice. Wolves in sheep’s clothing are recognized
by their fruit.
What makes it so hard is self-deception. All the outward
form of religion, Using Christ’s name for preaching, as a formula for exorcism
and for working miracles. Not only self-deception but self-will. Vs. 21
will of my father.
Application.
God is the final judge. Jesus never rejects his own. Persist in Prayer. Watch out for the wolves, don’t be deceived by signs and wonders. Live by the Golden rule.
Marks Message: Matthew 7:7-14
(part 1 of 4) “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be
opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who
knocks, the door will be opened.”
When this service is over, there will be a stampede to go into the hall to get a cup of tea. Maybe not
a stampede, perhaps a polite queue, but what will happen when you get to the front of that queue?
Imagine standing there waiting for a tea, a coffee, or something else … and nobody gives you
anything. You just stand there waiting, and waiting, getting more thirsty by the second, unable to
drink. What’s gone wrong?
That will happen if you don’t ask for what you want.
When Jesus says “Ask and it will be given to you.” The first step we have to take, is to ask. When
he says we will find when we seek, we have to start by seeking. And nobody will open a door for
you, unless you knock on it in the first place.
That may sound obvious, but do we complain or worry about something, and then don’t ask God?
Do we keep seeking his guidance? Do we keep knocking until he answers?
I see Ask, Seek, and Knock as a progression. Something that increases at each stage.
Asking is the first basic step. If you want something, you make a request for it, but then you wait
for the response. If you don’t get an answer, then what?
Seeking is much more active. You don’t just ask and wait, but you participate yourself. See what
you can do. How you can take part to find what you are looking for.
Then Knocking is taking action. Not just searching but then doing what needs to be done. You may
have arrived at the right place, but then you need to take that action. That extra activity.
This is all in the context of coming to God, to give him our concerns and ask him to guide us.
Now if you want a drink after the service, and Barbara is behind the counter, then she will know
what you want before you ask. Her memory is phenomenal.
God knows even more and he knows exactly what we are thinking before we even ask. He still
wants us to come to him. To build a relationship. So we can express how we feel, and know his
presence.
Then when we do, we can ask, seek, and knock. We can keep on asking until he shows us the
answer, or lets us know it is not in his will. But we have to be careful here.
In first Samuel chapter 13 we read the story of King Saul, who was waiting for the prophet Samuel
who had promised to get there, to seek God’s blessing before a battle. Samuel was late, so Saul
panicked and decided to make the offering himself. It was a terrible mistake, and it had bad
consequences for both Saul and the Kingdom of Israel. Saul had ignored God’s command and
showed his lack of faith.
1
When we pray, we don’t always feel we get an answer, or an answer that we want. So while we
should always ask, keep searching, and carry out what God reveals to us, we should never do this in
our own impatience, just because we feel God hasn’t answered.
As it says in Proverbs 3:5-6:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
(part 2) “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish,
will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
In Christmas tradition, nothing to do with the Bible accounts, if you have been naughty then Father
Christmas will only give you a lump of coal for your present. Given how expensive heating is at the
moment, I think that coal you can burn is a quite a useful present really.
That shows that whether something is nice or bad depends on your understanding. It changes
according to your perspective, and that can alter over time.
Sometimes, that is because we haven’t really asked or sought God over the issue. But other times,
it’s because God’s answer is not what we think it should be. But is it the answer that we really
need?
I’ve been in situations where I have prayed, and God has seemingly not heard my cry. I didn’t
understand it at the time. Yet years later, I can look back and see why God allowed that difficulty to
arise, and why there seemed no answer.
For other times, I still don’t know why. And I may never know this side of eternity. For those, I
have to have faith that it is all in God’s plan. That can really hard, but it can be how we are tested.
To trust in God no matter what.
Also here, Jesus talks about ‘evil’ people. Who are these evil people? Jesus talked to different
groups at different times. One group that his comments were aimed at, were the religious leaders of
the time. Often they enjoyed the power they had over the society. They were more interested in
themselves and controlling others than worshipping God. Jesus may have been referring to them.
Today, there are those who also push God out the way. If they look at the marvels of the world and
creation around us they say “it’s just random” “it just happened”, but then if something bad occurs -
caused by evil men or because we live in a fallen world - then that is God’s fault. In effect, they are
saying God only hands out useless stones and never the useful bread. Whereas the truth is the
complete opposite.
It is their own evil selfishness that refuses to accept God and his gifts.
(part 3) “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the
Law and the Prophets.”
2
The Pharisees were the religious leaders at the time of Jesus. They set out the rules, the regulations
that they said God required of the people. These rules had become quite complex and burdensome,
with what could and what could not be done. They had in effect replaced God with a system of
laws.
So when Jesus came along it upset them rather a lot. He wanted people to come to a relationship
with God, not just rigorously follow ceremony.
When Jesus healed someone, you would think the Pharisees would be excited about such a miracle.
Wow someone’s been cured! But no, healing was ‘work’ and that was not permitted on the Sabbath.
Which was the day that Jesus had performed this miracle.
They only saw laws, not God.
Jesus was establishing a new covenant. Not one where people had to make sacrifices for their sins,
but where Jesus died in their place. So that by having faith in him, all sins can be forgiven. It didn’t
remove the law, but created something superior.
What Jesus brought was extraordinary and ground-breaking compared to what they had known until
then. The prophets had foretold someone special would be coming, but it was only when Jesus
spoke and explained God’s plan, that firstly the disciples and later other followers understood.
In this verse, Jesus explains an easy way of how to behave. Don’t worry about every last rule, and
don’t try and find sneaky ways to avoid them. Just ask yourselves how you would feel if someone
did that to you, and then you know whether you should be doing it at all. You know the answer for
yourself.
It’s a good rule to live by, a good start, but it’s not just meant as a human way to be a good person.
The other part of the new covenant, the new arrangement, that Jesus brought was that God’s Holy
Spirit can dwell in us, and guide us in our lives.
In Jeremiah 31:33 we read this prophecy:
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD.
“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
Later on it says:
“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
That is what Jesus’ sacrifice means for us.
(part 4) “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to
destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life,
and only a few find it.”
3
Let’s imagine a cafe. It’s a weekday, so it’s semi-busy. A lot of happy chatter and eating.
Customers can look out the large windows onto the grass area outside.
Then they notice 2 teenagers walking past - but something isn’t quite right. They don’t look happy,
they seem nervous, and why are they even there on a schoolday?
Mrs Davis saw them, and went outside to say “hello”. She invited them and said she would get them
a cup of tea. They hesitated for a moment, but then agreed to come in.
Then Mr Walker, a kind retired teacher, sat down and spoke with them. He found out what was
wrong. How they both had problems at home, both argued with their families, and had decided to
run away together.
It was Miss Hall who came over with a delicious slice of pie for each of them. She chatted with
them, and calmed them down.
Finally, it was Mr Scott, who sat down, pulled out his phone, and persuaded them to send a text
message, so at least their families would know they were safe.
All of them watched the reunion, as less than 20 minutes later, both of their dad’s arrived. They had
both taken the day off work, and had been searching for them since then.
That cafe is an allegory for our church.
Maybe you won’t be the one when the lost soul finally sends a message to their Father in heaven.
But maybe you will be one that invites someone to an event. Maybe you will be the one that
provides a comforting and listening ear. Maybe you will be able to answer questions that they have.
God loves to give us bread, not stones. Do we also give out bread?
When you talk to a friend: do you say hello, and ask them about their day, and wish them well?
That’s great, but is that giving them bread, or just some stones. Pretty painted stones maybe, but
still stones.
If God gives you bread, what do you give to others?
This verse talks about the narrow gate and narrow road that leads to life. That only those who have
faith in God and accept Jesus died for them are saved.
But we should NOT focus here on the fact that the road to life is narrow. We should remember that
there IS a road. And it is our privilege to show people to it.
Mark Hopkins
The Great Galilean Ministry 13 Matt.7:1-6
Introduction. The sermon on the
mount is not about salvation but about righteous living. Micah 6:8. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. So we are dealing with teaching on righteous
living given to the Jewish nation preparing them for the Kingdom of heaven. The
Jews rejected this and the full offer of Gods righteousness and grace extended
to the Gentiles.
1. Be careful how you judge the
motives and conscience of others.
These two verses are often misunderstood. We are not being told not to exercise our critical faculties by which we make valued judgments.
Vs 15 onwards we have a series of problems that need careful consideration, discernment, critical consideration and valued judgments False profits, wolves in sheep’s clothing, fruit, Evildoers who use the Lord’s name to prophecy, cast out demons and do miracles.
Vs 6 Dogs and pigs.
Mat.18:15, a fellow believer who has sinned, private audience.
1 Cor.6:1-6 Christians taking each other to court instead of letting the church judge the matter.
11 Cor.6:14 Unequally yoked.
The kind of judgment that comes under this warning is habitual censorial nagging, carping criticism, hypocritical fault finding, self-righteous finger pointing, ignorant assumptions, prejudice, narrow-mindedness, chauvinism, discrimination, bigotry, intolerance, you get the picture.
When Jesus warns us it is not negative, it’s always for a very positive and beneficial reason.
Ø This wrong kind of judgment weakens those against whom it is directed.
Ø It strengthens the hypocritical self-righteousness of those who use it.
Ø It simulates or invites other to retaliate by indulging in the same nagging faultfinding.
Ø Our own faults are patiently obvious to others even if we don’t see them ourselves. To draw attention to the faults of others and sanctimoniously try to correct them is to leave us open to criticism. “You’re one to talk.”
Judge your neighbor favorably and God will judge you constructively. “Kindness in judgment is a sacred duty.”
Quote from the Rabbis. 6 great works to bring a man credit. Study, visiting the sick, hospitality, and devotion to prayer, educating children in the law, thinking the best of other people.
Collie Knox, Royal flying corps,
out of uniform and with a friend who had been awarded for bravery, eating at a
famous
If your judge you will misjudge. We are all guilty of this or have suffered because others have misjudged us.
Ø We don’t know all the details and circumstances.
Ø We don’t know the person. Man had a stepdaughter, a teenager and thought her a morose, uncommunicative, self-centered, nuisance. Until her mother took ill, and she changed completely, dedicated nurse, unselfish and helpful.
Ø We are not fit to judge the motives and conscience of another. Only God can do that.
2. Don’t concentrate on the faults of other believers.
Jesus uses hyperbole, purposeful exaggeration or overstatement.
Cartoon material. Speck and a telegraph pole.
Tend to see the faults in others and be blind to our own.
We all have faults and it is not wrong to help each other with our faults, but we must clean our own eyes first.
The eye is a very sensitive area and you can’t go cleaning somebody’s eye without great care and tenderness. Granny used her tongue. Great laugh.
3. Be careful how you handle holy things.
Holy
meat to dogs. Pearl to pigs. Pearl of greatest price.
Application.
Ø Don’t suspend your judgement but be generous and clean your own eye first.
Ø Use your sense of humour to serve the lord. Speck and log is funny.
The Great Galilean Ministry 12 Matt.6:25-34
Introduction. Therefore, this passage is in the context of treasure, wealth and the love of money. It’s about covetousness, storing up for the future, it’s about using all your energies to look after the welfare of your body.
Background
information
v.25 Worry. To be drawn in different directions. To be pulled apart by worry. Dog worrying a rabbit. Child worrying a scab. The result is never good.
v.27 Add to your life. 18 inches higher or a few more years. Can’t be done by worrying. Worry shortens life, perhaps makes you smaller certainly not taller.
v.30 fire. Grass and flowers were used to heat clay ovens
v.32 Pagans. Loss of testimony. Man had chance of overtime, what would it do to his testimony. Charlie.
v.33 Seek. Zeteo, to go after, to strive, to pursue, to desire, to aim at, to search for, to endeavour to get. To seek the things of the world with that intensity, or to seek the things of God with that intensity is the question.
1.
Believing Christians need not worry about their basic needs. (Hired a
professional worrier) Let go and let God.
A. Needless. What we worry about mostly doesn’t happen. Worry changes nothing. Que sera, sera.
B. Blind. Two illustrations form the animal and vegetable kingdoms. Birds don’t starve, lilies don’t weave.
“The argument is that God sustains without their conscious participation creatures of the lower order. He will all the more sustain, with their active participation, those for whom creation took place.” (S U Notes)
C. Sinful. The pagans build their barns without any thought of God. They seek everything that is treasure in this world and that satisfies the body. Their body if their master. They have no time or respect for God and would never rest on any promise from God to provide for them, but have faith only in themselves and what the world has to offer. Christians must be different!! Here Christ commands us not to worry. Any command that we disobey is a sin.
Doesn’t
mean we sit around and do nothing. 1 Thes. 3:10. We work for our care and God
blesses us with what we need, he doesn’t guarantee us all we want, general
principle, some suffer.
2. Believing Christians need not worry about the
future.
Today has enough to keep us occupied so don’t worry about tomorrow. (Boy with the hay cart that he tipped)
Doesn’t mean get rid of your savings, nor ignore your pension plan, nor be ungrateful for your social security system. Use common sense and don’t worry about the future.
Three ways to overcome worry.
A. Faith v30 Believe that God will supply your daily needs.
B. Father v32 God knows and cares.
C. First v33 Priorities must be spiritual.
Application. How little is your
faith, does this apply to us? How big is your God, same question, with little
faith your concept of God is too small. (With all the problems in the world I
am not going to bother God with my troubles)
The Gallian Ministry 11 Matt.6:1-24
Introduction. Rom.10:4 Christ is the end of the law so that their may be righteousness for everyone who believes. The law did tow things 1. Taught that all mankind are sinners. 2. Taught that Christ is the designed or planned end or purpose of the law and the only remedy for sin. Christ perfectly fulfilled the law and through Him we are saved from our sin and made righteous in Him. Not an outward righteousness based on deed of the flesh but an inward righteousness written on our hearts.
Previously we saw six examples of misinterpretation of the law and how Our Lord took his audience and us back to the original meaning. Now we have three wrong practices, three areas of false piety. Giving, prayer, fasting. The paragraph on wealth and human attitude to money, makes a forth lesson for today.
1. Don’t flaunt your
generosity and giving.
Pharisees made a show of their giving for recognition. Jesus said their only
reward would be any recognition they get from men. God will not recognise their
hypocrisy. Our giving should give as secretly as possible Vs1. Left and right
is a descriptive figure of speech.
2. Don’t flaunt your
prayer.
Do it in secret and don’t use vain repetition. The Lord’s Prayer, misnamed,
disciple’s prayer. The Lord did not have any debts. Prayer was not given to be
repeated in church or by individuals. Not wrong to use it. A good model or
foundational prayer.
Not
a cry for salvation but a model prayer to maintain fellowship through
confession. Model given in the context of secrecy, in the avoidance of
mechanical repetition, and the false piety and hypocrisy of the Pharisees.
Six
foundational imperatives.
Ø 9. Holiness of God
Ø
10.
Ø 10. Will of God. Worship sovereign rule and will of God are all perfectly done in heaven, pray for the same here.
Ø 11. Our own needs after putting God’s interests first.
Ø 12 Forgiveness is not for salvation but to maintain fellowship. Vs 14-5 support this.
Ø 13 Protection. Distrust our own ability to resist temptation. Complete dependence upon God.
Doxology.
For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever, Amen.
3. Don’t flaunt your
fasting.
Fasting for spiritual reasons. It’s not the God diet. Day of Atonement was the
only commanded OT fast (Lev.23.) Moses, David , Elijah and Jesus all fasted,
nothing wrong with fasting. However the Pharisees fasted for show, used makeup
to look more miserable. Your fasting should be the same as your feasting.
4. Don’t hoard
personal treasure.
Where your treasure is your hart will also be. Negative. Don’t lay up on earth.
Positive. Lay up in heaven. Vs 22-23 is about spiritual insight or understanding. Can’t serve God and money. It’s about priorities. It’s not wrong to be rich but it’s hard to be rich and spiritual.
If
God makes you rich you have a great test and responsibility to give it away.
IT’S THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN TAKE IT WITH YOU.
The Great Galilean Ministry 10 Matt.5:17-48
INTRODUCTION. Most famous sermon,
ask anyone to mention a sermon that Jesus preached, Sermon on the Mount.
Question? Kingdom is coming, the king is here, what about the law? Fulfil all
the OT scriptures. Stand until everything is accomplished. Smallest letter,
Jot, Iota Yohd, Least stroke of a pen. Tittle,
Pharisees and teachers of the law wrongly interpreted and misused scripture to suit their own ends. They were not ready for the kingdom Vs 20 God’s righteousness should be internal not external. Externalism! Jesus uses six examples to show how they were wrong and at the same time to show the real meaning of the law.
You have heard it said, not it is written.
1.
Hate is the root of murder. OK to dam someone, to hate them, call them names, wish
they were dead, as long as you did not murder them. 12:14
Command extends beyond the external act to the internal sentiment. Raca, empty headed: fool, godless. Anger and hatred must be quickly checked and reconciliation sought.
Don’t be contentious and take others to court. You take the first step towards reconciliation whether you were offended or not. Both parties responsible.
2.
Lust is the root of adultery. Command was twisted and distorted.
Pharisees, look and lust all you like just do not commit the act. Jesus exposed
the attitude of lust that leads to the act. Drastic action, figurative not
teaching self mutilation. Mag, TV, Computor throw them out if you cant use them
properly. Mutilation would not solve the problem of lust. Destiny does not
depend on physical conditions. Job 31:1 I have made a covenant with my eyes not
to look lustfully upon a maid.
3. God does not
support divorce.
Malachi 2:16 God hates divorce. Deut 24. Wrongly used to get a divorce for any
reason. Lack of romance, incompatibility, emotional stress, financial problems,
unfulfilled dreams. Not acceptable only unfaithfulness.
Law
did not condone divorce but put restrictions on practices picked up in
Divorce
is not demanded for unfaithfulness, reconciliation is better. Biblical position
is to wait for reconciliation. God’s dealing with
Divorce is a terrible thing it presupposes that the woman will end up with another man for support. Terrible that a man should make his wife an adulteress.
In this day and age we all know people in this situation. When someone comes to Christ God is gracious and picks up the pieces and moves on in that persons life.
4. Oaths are
condemned. Law prohibited swearing in Gods name. They got round this by
swearing by heaven,
Your yes should be yes and you’re no, no because you are truthful, not because you take an oath or swear by something. Panic of a liar when he is telling the truth, I swear!!! Oaths can’t compensate for poor character.
We don’t need crutches to get people to believe us!
5.
Law on retaliation.
Eye for an eye, we would all be blind. This law Deut 19 was given for Justice
and not revenge. Punishment should fit the crime. Punch the manager, can’t take
you to court and have you beheaded.
Pharisees wrote a divorce paper virtually condemning a woman to adultery and if they caught her they stoned her. Retaliation is not an option for a Christian.
Thief and beggar. Moral law stands. You don’t help a thief to rob you, you don’t give to unworthy appeals.
Don’t forget or forsake justice, you are a citizen of the state as well as heaven.
This has a personal application, a new approach; there is no place for personal revenge. Be willing to suffer yourself rather than cause others to suffer. The authority to punish was vested in government not individuals.
Revenge was once legally permissible, limited to an eye for an eye.
Now non resistance and forgiveness is graciously possible.
Our
obsession with material good and possessions makes us recoil at the thought of
giving away what we have acquired. Don’t give grudgingly, but give only
according to scripture.
Moral
law stands for all time, the civil and ceremonial law has no bearing on our
lives. Nine of the Ten Commandments are moral laws and are repeated in the New
Testament, not as laws with punishment attached but as training in
righteousness. One commandment is a civil law and is not repeated in the New
Testament. “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” Sunday is not the new
Sabbath; it is the Lord’s Day.
6.
Law of love.
Pharisees reasoned, love your neighbour but you could hate your enemies. Lev. 19:18
Twisted, distorted, added to. Love that is commanded and is a matter of the
will. Jesus loved us when we were His enemies Rom 5:10
Enemies here are personal enemies, people who bad mouth you, and do you wrong. Love and pray for them, when you pray for your enemies you take the poison out of your attitude.
Ø This love is a mark of maturity. Physiologists tell us that violence is born from weakness; a strong man can face his enemies and turn the other cheek.
Ø This love is godlike. Sun shines on all, rain falls on all, Rainbow, in the end God will set things right. Our love creates a climate of blessing where it is easier to make our enemies into friends.
Ø God expects us to live at a higher level that people in the world. They return good for good and evil for evil, we must return good for evil. Our father loves His enemies and seeks to make them His children, we should help Him.
Conclusion. Vs. 48. Let’s aim
for perfection. Impossible yet God can’t lower his divine standards. 75%
perfect.
Meaning is maturity. Treat others as God has treated you.
Never be flawless but let’s aim high. God will help us.
The Great Galilean Ministry 9 Matt.5:1-16
INTRODUCTION.
Here we have what is popularly known as the Sermon on the Mount Chapters 5,6
and 7. Well known and well loved. We know it is in the Galilee from Chap.8:1-5,
He came down from the mountain and went to Capernaum
Background.
v.1
Up the mountain. No real contradiction with Luke’s account 6:17 that
says He went down to a level place. Matthew recalls Jesus going up the Mountain
to teach, Luke’s research showed that Jesus went high to pray then came down
lower to teach. Perhaps it was two different occasions. Perhaps they are
remembering an incident and gathering their information around that occasion.
Sat
down.
Tradition stand to read sit to teach. Professors chair, Pope speaks ex cathedra “from the chair” He sat down to address His
inner circle, in Luke we are told that He had just chosen them. There were
other followers who were not part of the twelve. People in general, 7:28-29.
v.2
Began to teach them. Opened His mouth means opened His heart, teaching
with no barriers. Opened his mind, teaching with conviction, authority and
passion. Opening His heart and mind to those who were His right hand men. The
sense is also custom, compilation of many hours of heart to heart communication
between the master and His men. Ordination
address.
v.3
Blessed. Spiritual joy and well-being of those who honour Christ as
their King. The word means more than "happy," because
happiness is an emotion often dependent on outward circumstances.
"Blessed" here refers to the ultimate well-being and distinctive
spiritual joy of those who share in the salvation of the kingdom of God
The Kingdom of heaven is not
something earned, but is a gift
rather than recompense.
Vs.
6&10 Righteousness. Christ is our righteousness, in vs. 11 because
of me! One of the keys to His teaching here. See 5:20. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the
Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom
of heaven. Contrasts between Jesus' ethical teaching and Jewish legalistic traditions
(5:21-48).
v.13
Salt of the earth. Preserve and flavour. Salt was much rougher in those
days and larger quantities were used. Sanitise scripture! No flavour,
used as gravel.
v.14
Light of the world. Oil lamps, they used a bowl to dim the light (shade)
and a stand to amplify it.
Teaching
points.
1. This discourse does not present the way of
salvation.
No
substitute for sin, no justification by faith alone, no regeneration. What then
was the purpose? What is the right view?
Ø
Church.
Rule of life for Christians today. Problem, addressed to Jewish people under
the law! Church was not in evidence and is not mentioned until chapter 16:18.
Ø
Future.
Nothing to do with today but since Israel Millennium
Kingdom
Ø
Best
view is the Interim view. That this applied to the time between the offer and
rejection of the Kingdom by Israel
The
offer was made through John the Baptist 3:2 Repent for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand.
Repeated
by Christ 4:17 Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
The
Jewish ness emphasised in 10:5-7 Lost sheep.. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Historically we have
a call for righteous repentance and moral living in preparation of Christ’s
rule in the heart of Israel
Much
of this sermon will apply in the future and there is plenty that we can apply
to our lives today.
2.
This discourse does present the way of righteous living.
Characterises
our lives today. Character acceptable to the King. As part of His Church we are
in a right relationship with Christ, He is our King and rules in our hearts
therefore this sermon applies to us in the present time. All Scripture is
profitable, all the time and although we have to rightly interpret its context
we cannot relegate parts of it to the past or leave it for the future, it’s a
living word and our daily bread. This passage has something to say to Jews
under the law, self-righteous Pharisees, the Church, those who will suffer the
tribulation and the subjects of the Millennium
Kingdom
You
are blessed now when you are!
Poor
in spirit, know your weakness and are dependant on God.
Mourn,
in a world that rejects Christ.
Meek
and gentle.
Hungry
for righteousness, not money and power.
Merciful
in dealing with others.
Pure
in heart and not full of mixed motives.
Peacemaker
and not a gossiper and troublemaker.
Suffer
for doing right.
Are
persecuted for being a Christian, John 15:19, “hated me they will hate you.”
Follow
righteous living you will be blessed now and rewarded later.
This
is a portrait of a righteous citizen. Notice the emphasis on Righteousness v.6
Peace v.9 Joy v.12. Paul probably had this passage in mind when he wrote Romans
14:17. “For the Kingdom
of God
Application
1.
Don’t be like the Pharisees. In your behaviour towards others or yourself.
C
H Dodd The Gospel and the law of Christ. “These precepts of Christ are not
statutory definitions like those of the Mosaic code, but indications of quality
and direction of action which may be present at quite low levels of
performance”
2.
Don’t lose your flavour or hide your light.
This
world needs Christ and you to be Christ like, if not then the world will hold
you in contempt step on you. We must reflect the light of Christ which can not
be hidden.
How were
you as salt and light in this last week!
A
convicting question.
The Great Galilean Ministry 7 The Transfiguration Mark 9 Matt. 17 Luke 9
Introduction. An exceptional and
unique experience for them. If it was a test they failed, the moment Peter
spoke the blessing departed, To be fair he was scared and confused but had to
say something, When Jesus is speaking that’s the time to be silent.
The reason for the experience? Confirm peters confession. Mat.16:16 Jesus said that he would build his church on that kind of confession.
A few days later and the time of testing, do you really believe that. Christ must suffer, this was hard to understand, the Emmaus road pair, the crucifixion changed their mind. We hoped that he was the one.
The
passion week was at hand, how would they endure it. This lift, this boost was
to strengthen them, to prepare and equip them to face this coming week of
Christ’s suffering. Best strength for any trial is to see the glory of Christ.
Moses saw the glory and went forty days without food.
If you have a bad experience to face the best preparation is to see the glory of Jesus. How? By faith!
More
blessed are those who have not see yet believe.
Background
notes on the text.
V
1 Some not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power!
Peter James and John, had this preview Six days later. Death resurrection
ascension and Pentecost then the kingdom and church being out worked in the
world.
They were asleep and only caught the tail end of events, Should have been praying, watching! I would take the wider interpretation.
V 2,3 For a brief period Jesus was glorified before them. Saw Him as He was, is and will be in his future kingdom. Clothes and face shining. His face shone like the sun, a light started to burn from within Him and shone until it was like the sun. What would happen if you looked at the sun? This is the real Jesus, His glory was veiled otherwise no one could have gone near him.
V
4 Moses and Elijah were talking about the very thing that the disciples did not
want to face up to. The death of Christ, his exodus!!
What bores humans and puts then to sleep in church, thrills and intrigues the OT saints. His death had to be accomplished. What have you to do to make sure that you die, what do you need to do to accomplish your death? Nothing, it’s appointed. How can God die, Moses and Elijah are most intrigued by this.
Only God can pay for sin, therefore God had to come in human form to die.
That’s the wisdom of God, then it had to be accomplished according to God’s will, in proper time, in fulfilment of prophecy and so on.
Peters
response, Good to be here, if it was
so good why were you asleep? The disciples were taken up with the
physical. Moses and Elijah were taken up with the spiritual, with Christ and
his death.
V
5 Peter was on an emotional high, a mountain top experience. He responded as he
felt and really did not know what he was saying. Feeling can be a great
hindrance to your faith. Make three booths, big mistake putting Jesus on the
same level as others. At least he did not say six booths.
V
7 Cloud. Shekina Glory of God. The visible expression of God’s glory or
presence on earth. Pillar of cloud before
V
9 Don’t tell anyone until after the resurrection! Popular misconception was
that Jesus would set up his Kingdom immediately and physically on earth.
Anything they said would fuel this popular notion about a messianic earthly
kingdom. In the light of the
resurrection people will be transformed.
V
10 Discussing the meaning of the rising from the dead. They were familiar with
the idea of a general rising from the dead but the idea of a rising out from
amongst the dead was difficult for them to understand.
V
11 Elijah first. Seen Elijah and this triggered the question. Malachi 4:5 “See,
I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and terrible day of the
Lord.” Jesus gave a three fold answer 1. Elijah will come and restore
everything. 2. Son of man would still have to suffer. Isaiah 53 3-7. 3. Elijah
had already come in the form of John the Baptist.
Main
teaching points.
1. No doubt as to the identity of Christ. 8:27
“Who do the people say I am?” He is greater than Elijah and all the prophets.
“This is my son, whom I love, listen to Him.”
2.
Fulfilment of the messianic prophecy of Moses. Deut.18:15. “The Lord your God
will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must
listen to him.”
3.
Elijah has come and is coming. John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of
Elijah and was rejected. Ahab and Jezebel rejected Elijah and Herod and
Herodias rejected John the Baptist.
(Dependant prophetic
fulfilment.
Matt. 11:13-14. read. If
Application.
1.
Do not lower the person of Christ by putting him in the same category as men.
He is dishonoured by such comparisons.
2.
Listen to the Lord Jesus in everything. Hear Him means to submit to his
authority. Scripture is sufficient for all our lives. View on things must be
biblical.
3.
Right and wrong way or time to share our mountain top experiences. Need to
exercise restraint often the ungodly do not understand Matt.7:6 “do not cast
your pearls before swine.” Beware of pride! 2 Cor.12 Paul had a heavenly
experience and a thorn in the flesh to keep him humble. 14 years before he
shared this experience Take care when you share.
4.
Take your biblical questions to the Lord. He wants you to have the answers. He
answered the disciples about John and about their ineffectiveness.
5.
6.
Disciples writings. One obscure reference.
2 Pet 1:18,19 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
A more sure prophecy, the word of God, more stable, more sure that any experience even a Mt. top one.
The Great Galilean Ministry 6 Mark 2:1-12
Introduction: Core of the
narrative and the Gospel is that the authority of Jesus begins with the
forgiveness of sins. He comes to deliver the soul from the paralysis of sin and
give us moral and spiritual energy. The bed carried the man now the man
carries the bed. We are carried by our sin, the influences of the world and
the devil but Jesus frees us and empowers us to be the one in control.
Sin defiles us and makes us unfit for fellowship with God, it also paralyses us making us helpless and in need of Christ.
Background details.
1.
Capernnaum. On
the western shore of the
2.
Preached the word.
A technical term for the good news vs. 14. They had come to hear His message,
to hear the word.
His temporary separation had worked and the wheat was separated from the chaff, the glory seekers had lost interest.
Luke tells us that there was a fact finding mission of Pharisees from as far as Jerusalem such as has cross-examined John the Baptist (John 1:19).
They were the protectors of the law, putting a hedge around it.
3
Four friends. Someone
gave them names. Sympathy, cooperation, originality and persistence. There was
a bond between them as they helped their less fortunate friend.
There are often hindrances in bringing others to Christ. It was a hard task but they managed. One on his own could not have done it.
Jesus responded to their faith, the faith of all five. Name for the invalid? He accepted help, he relied on others.
4.
The house.
Not as we know houses today. Outside stairway onto a flat roof. Tiles across
beams with dirt and clods as insulation. No real damage to create the opening. Important.
Bring them to Christ at any cost!!
1.
Jesus can forgive sin because He is God (vs.4).
Remember in the Jewish mind sin and sickness were connected. Jesus could not heal the body and neglect the soul. Wonderful announcement! Your sins are forgiven!
Here and now, on this earth, in this life, he did not have to wait until the day of judgement. He had a present assurance of Forgiveness.
The fact finding mission were aghast, vs 7 “Only God can forgive sins” In their minds and hearts he was a blasphemer and they condemned Him and began to plan His death in cold blood.
He knew their innermost thoughts and asked a question. Which is easier, forgive sins or heal. For a man both are difficult but for God both are easy.
They could not see forgiveness therefore Jesus healed the man to demonstrate his authority. Jesus did both to prove he is God. Only God can forgive sins.
They did not want to believe that Jesus was God. Faith is in the will and they were unwilling.
Is everyone here forgiven. Divine forgiveness is always accompanied by the power to discontinue sinning, to walk in newness of life. Do you personally know that your sins are forgiven, are you walking in newness of life. Accepting Christ shows in a changed life, the paralysis is gone replaced by moral and spiritual power.
2.
God honours the faith of those who assist in the salvation process.
It was Christ who saved him but he recognised their faith and honoured it.
In
the
James 2:26 Faith must show its reality in action otherwise it’s unreal and self-deceptive. Flood in south, church had a prayer meeting, Boy with a cart full of goods. Dad can’t come but sends his prayers.
Applications.
1.
Lets be creative in bringing our friends to Christ.
2. Lets be willing to carry at least one corner of the bed.
3. Let’s pick up our bed and walk. Jesus gave him the power but did not carry his bed for him. We have to carry our responsibilities.
4. Lets work together in bringing others to Christ.
Sunday 6th The Great Galilean Ministry 5 Mark 1:40-45
Introduction.
We
noticed last week that the priority of Jesus was not healing but preaching.
Jesus taught many things in the Galilean district and we could deal with them
now but the healings of the Leper and Paralytic demonstrate His power to save
sinners and unless we are cleansed and freed from sin His teaching is
meaningless to us. Therefore we will look at the leper today and the paralytic
next week.
Background
details.
1.
He asked to be made clean, why not heal me? A leper was considered unclean rather
than ill. “the man is diseased and is unclean. The priest shall pronounce
him unclean because of the sore on his head. "The person with such an
infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the
lower part of his face and cry out, `Unclean! Unclean!' As long as he has the
infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the
camp.” Lev.13:44-46
Luke 5:12 Doctor Luke says he was full of leprosy;
Leprosy could be used of many skin problems, boils, warts, psoriasis, even acne, but Luke says he was full of leprosy, incurable and contagious. People backed off or threw stones to keep him away. A leper was treated as a dead person while he was living.
2. The leper had
mixed faith. He should have shouted “unclean, unclean,” but he approached
on his knees and asked for help. Three things to notice about this outcast.
Ø He could not cure himself. There was no hope or cure like all other lepers he was doomed death.
Ø He had faith in Christ’s power. He believed that he could heal and that he could do it for him.
Ø He was submissive to God’s will. “if you are willing” this shows fatalism. He was desperate to be clean but left the decision with the Lord. No bargaining or begging, just a sense of his own helplessness, he had unbelief mixed with his faith, would Jesus really heal an outcast. He believed that Jesus could do it but was not sure that He was willing to do it for him.
3. The compassion of Jesus. Moved with compassion, it is one thing to have compassion it is another to be moved. TV presenter can not be moved with compassion but must be professional. Moved by his physical state but also moved by his ignorance. Christ was emotionally and visibly disturbed, disturbed that he had faith that Jesus could heal him but was uncertain that he would be willing to do it. The very thought that God would be unwilling to save someone, to bless someone. Jesus was moved with compassion at the charge against him.
· I believe that Jesus saves but I can’t get my head round predestination and election.
· I believe Jesus saves but I can’t get my head round why God allows all the suffering in the world.
Faith mixed with unbelief. So offensive to God to put a but or an if in the Gospel, Jesus can and will save you and any difficulty that you have with that is because of your unbelief and Unbelief in any form is man’s greatest sin.
He touched him. This is in regard to how he felt about people and is seen in His
willingness to touch this untouchable man. His compassion was stronger than
ceremony or legal niceties. To touch a leper was to be ceremonially unclean, to
have weeks of disruptive ceremonial cleansing before the priest. Jesus touched
the untouchable and can cure the incurable. Genesis 4:26 there is a man called
Enosh it means incurable and the Chapter ends, At
that time men began to call onJ the name
of the LORD. You have
not called yet because you don’t recognize that you are uncurable. The Godly
line of salvation came when men recognized that they were uncurable.
Contact with Christ is electric, have you ever touched an electric wire, you know about it. Woman with an issue of blood, touched him by faith, many others were touching him but she was different. Today we touch Him by faith and is he not touched with the feelings of our infirmities.
You can make spiritual contact with Christ today; you can touch him by faith.
I am willing, be cleansed. Christ dealt with
his problem of divine willingness. One word and he was clean. At a word Christ
can remove every stain of sin from your heart. God reads the heart of men he
knew that this leper had a genuine problem with his faith, no human faith is
perfect so Jesus encourages him by stating His willingness. I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word
and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has
crossed over from death to life John 5:24
4. Jesus warned him not to tell anyone. This was quite common in our lord’s ministry. People were coming for the spectacular, to see the healer, the wonder worker; Jesus wanted them to come by faith to the messiah. Say nothing and he told everything! We are told to say everything and say nothing! His disobedience hindered the Lord’s work since he could not freely enter the city. All disobedience is a hindrance to God’s purpose and to us. (Confidentiality, times to maintain it.)
5. “Go show yourself
to the priest.” He needed to fulfill the law and take
his place in society. Lev.14.
Show yourself to the priest, he avoids the priest. Jesus wanted him to testify in a special way showing himself to the priest and joining the Church was that way. He did not need to say anything to anyone, just join the church. Although the compassion of Jesus was stronger than ceremonial considerations, He knew and obeyed the Law of God and expected others to comply to it, He gave no easy way to blessing and wholeness. Oh! He healed but expected those healed to honour God.
Told to give an offering. Is he paying for his salvation, no it was a thank offering.
Teaching or doctrinal
points.
1. Leprosy is a
picture of sin. It is loathsome and gross giving a
terrible picture of the nature and uncleanness of sin. The paralytic shows how
sin paralyses; here we see the uncleanness, the defilement of sin. It’s
systemic affecting the whole body; you don’t get leprosy of the arm or leg. In
the early stages you can cover it up but eventually it shows. Baby in the cot
so cute but soon displays selfishness, stubbornness, anger and rage, jealousy
of other children and so on. It is not your sins that make you a sinner, you
sin because you are a sinner. In the early stages of leprosy you feel the pain
but later you become insensitive to pain. Sin disfigures, distorts and we
become insensitive to the pain in our lives and in the lives of others. Jesus
had no sin so He has great compassion. There was no cure for leprosy and there
is no cure for sin. Only Christ can remove the uncleanness of sin, the sinner
must come to Christ for a supernatural cure or cleansing.
2.
Cleansing is a picture of Salvation. This man was separate from the covenant, set
apart from God’s people a spiritual outcast. He must come to Christ before he
can join the people of God. He received immediate and complete cleansing. “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our
transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12.
That’s what we receive from Jesus immediate forgiveness and cleansing from our sins. Jesus said, “I am willing, be clean” The problem is never with God’s willingness, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9.
The hindrance is often the willingness of the sinner to come. For those who do come salvation is immediate and complete.
Applications.
1. Have you felt the touch of God?
2. Would you touch a leper? (
3. Is there an instead in your life.
4. Should you not present yourself to the priest and get back into the society of the Church.Sunday 30 The Great Galilean Ministry 4 Mark 1:21-39
Quite
often deacon giving the announcements, Services next Sunday as usual? This week
they were startled, stirred, shaken by what they heard and saw. We don’t know
what Jesus said but He spoke with authority, he spoke for God about God and as
God.
The scribes taught the things of men, the traditions of the fathers, always quoting and comparing human scholars. Famine in the land as there is today as men deny creation; deny the miracles, denies the deity of Christ, little wonder that there is no authority today.
The scribes and teachers of the law majored on trivia, washing hands and cups, carrying wood, tithes, details of Sabbath laws, social and religions environmental activities and reform, but the weightier matters of the soul were left untreated. God was not with them, they taught on their own. The letter kills, Jesus had an unction, a presence, God had give Him the Spirit without measure. Teaching was the three Rs, Ruined by the fall, redemption through Christ, regeneration by the Spirit.
Scribes and other quoted the Rabbis but Jesus spoke with the authority of one who had personal knowledge of God
Background
details.
1.
An
important town on the trade rout from
2.
His authority. 22.
Speaking with authority causes offence. Thrown out of his home synagogue where
their sinful nature was disturbed. Not all some fixed their eyes and ears on
him and listened, not because of his eloquence, or sound reasoning, or his
personality but because of His divine authority.
He spoke the truth; the Bible is truth for everyone, today the truth is changing and being changed to suit every situation. Might be true for you but it is not true for me? The truth can be verified.
He spoke graciously; All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. Luke 4:22, Spoke not as a cruel tyrant or unjust judge. Godly authority is marked by grace.
In Christ mercy and truth have met together Ps.85:10 He is full of grace and truth.
The truth is that we are all sinners, we make mistakes, it will all come out at the judgment when there will be no way to deny your sin.
The truth of my sin will be met with mercy because I confess it. The Pharisees disputed His authority! By what authority does he forgive sins! He has authority on earth to forgive sin. On Judgment day they will be no mercy only justice. Sins are forgiven here on earth; don’t leave this earth without having your sins forgiven.
We
can speak with authority. Preach what you know. One way! I can preach this on the
authority of the Bible.
The truth of the
Bible is for you,
it’s personal, if it offends you in the spirit it will drive you to love Christ
If it offends you in the flesh it will drive you to kill Christ and persecute his servants.
Let me remind you of what the truth is for you.
You are ruined by the fall. Your sin separates you from God and His love.
You can and must be redeemed through Christ. He is your only hope to be reunited to God.
You must be regenerated through the Holy Spirit; you cannot think or behave your way into God’s good books. It is the work of the Spirit.
Salvation is in the here and now not in the hereafter. Christ died on the earth therefore salvation is decided here on earth.
1.
The synagogue. Unclean spirit. 23. Foul mouthed, immoral thoughts and actions
with no redeeming features. This was not
the local pub or brothel but the house of God. Characterised by uncleanness and
when presented with Christ and the Gospel reacts violently. Christ’s authority
exposed the demon. Such incidents are very common in the Gospels 50 occasions.
Demons are spirit beings without bodies therefore can not be seen, but can influence others and even posses their bodies. They come from and are led by Satan who is their lord Beelzebub. The came to earth after a rebellion in heaven that centred on pride, Jude 6 shows that the despised the position assigned to them by God wanting more, Jesus saw Satan fall from heaven Luke 10:18.
How many demons is one of those secret things, but there are some clues. Rev.12 War in heaven between Christ and Satan, Satan’s tail sweeps a third part of the heavenly bodies to the earth, can not be dogmatic but a large minority cast to the earth and they come to steal, pollute, corrupt, ruin and destroy.
Christ has come to destroy and bind Satan and set us free. This all manifested in the Synagogue on that Sabbath day. The saw it and were amazed.
The foul unclean thing instantly recognised Jesus and was terrified.
Devils know that Jesus is God, they Know that his presence is the end of the road for them, they know how long they have, “have you come before the time.”
Christ will not accept the testimony of demons and commands silence, be muzzled just like a dog.
John 12:31 Now is the judgement of this world, now is the prince of this world cast out.
Colossians 2:15, And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
The
cross is the greatest victory of all time.
Devils do not want anything to do with Christ, leave us alone, very solemn when someone says that, not now, not interested leave me alone, where does such reaction come from? If you are being influence by Satan you will use his language.
Demons have to obey Christ, evil is against and opposed to good but is not as powerful, overcome evil with good! Good outshines evil as light outshines darkness.
Although cast out and defeated the demon did not
leave without a fight. The man was convulsed but set free.
Jesus the name high over all, long my imprisoned spirit lay, my chains fell off, my heart was free.
2.
Simons House, Left the Synagogue. 29. After Church meal. Archaeologists say
they have located Peter’s house! Byzantine church of the 4th century
built after the Roman persecution, it was built over a house. Symbols on the
walls, 2+2=Peter’s House. Notice that Peter was married, vs. 30, and from 1
Cor.9:5-6 we know that the other Apostles were also. It is good for a minister to be married.
Healed
the sick and drove out demons. 32,34. This was done in the evening at sunset
after the Sabbath was over. Could not carry a burden on the Sabbath.
Getting right with God is more important than food or health. Seeking should be with humility and faith.
4.
Somewhere else. After praying He knew that he had to move on. 39. He had a mission,
there were other lost sheep. Woe unto you
Doctrine.
1.
Demons can inhabit religious places. 23. Sneak in, even use supernatural
display, Angel of light (
2.
Demons are orthodox in their beliefs 24. Believed He was from
3.
Demons must submit to the authority of Christ. 25. No exorcism, just a
command.
4.
Difference between sickness and possession. 32,34. Extremes, no demons
and everything a demon. Cast out the demon of the cold, ridiculous!
5.
Jesus put a priority on preaching. 38. There were many needs but His priority was
preaching. We must do the same. What’s the point of making people comfortable
on their way to meet God on Judgement day.
Application.
2.
Healing is painful.
Convulsed him, shook him violently. Not pleasant. Dentist and Doctor can
involve pain. There is pain in spiritual healing. Relationship needs to be
broken. Relationships that need to be mended, confess your faults one to
another.
3.
We are healed to serve. 31. Immediately began to wait on them. A miracle then
ministry. See the Lord’s sympathy and caring. We are healed to serve.
4.
Need to find a place to pray. 4am after a busy day need to get away from
normal activities.
5.
We need our priorities to be priorities. Sometimes we need to say no! There may be
many pressing and valid needs but they can smother our priorities. That is why
I have come. Jesus knew his priority.
Challenge.Try and help someone who is hurting spiritually Pray about your priorities, set them in order and don’t be afraid to change them.
Sunday 23rd The Great Galilean Ministry 3 Luke 4:14-30 Luke 23:4-5 Acts 10:37-38
1. Last week we saw the content of His ministry,
preaching the Gospel and calling for repentance. Here in Luke we have the
manner and the reaction. In the power of the Spirit. If we had the power
of the Holy Spirit news of us would soon get around.
In his Baptism and temptation, in life as in birth, we can’t separate Jesus from the power and working of the Holy Spirit. Reaction was one of spreading praise. He worked the whole countryside and targeted the Synagogues.
2.
He went into the synagogue
where they were. Christ went to them.
95% of evangelism and the will of God is common sense. Go where the people are.
Go to where they are predisposed to hear some religion. Jesus built bridges not
walls. It was their custom, their book. Victory,
finger bowl.
Douay version of the Bible. The Douay–Rheims Bible is a translation of the Latin Vulgate,Use their customs, don’t argue over which version just preach the Gospel.
3. He found the place. Is.61:1f, 58:6 Isaiah was given to Him and he found the place where He was described. He could have found the place in any of the Old Testament books. Isaiah was speaking of Him.
4.
A description of His ministry. Of His preaching last week?
Ø Anointed by the Holy Spirit. how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit Acts 10:37-38 You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached-- how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
Ø Preach the good news to the poor. Became poor, poor become rich.
Ø Freedom to the prisoners, captives, spear point. Became a captive, Captives are set free.
Ø Recovery of sight to the blind. Entered into darkness. Spiritually blind can now see.
Ø Release the oppressed. Oppressed by the authorities and by sin. Our burdens are lifted.
Ø Proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour, Jubilee, Paid all debts on the Cross. We are set free.
Had their attention, His sermon was so short, “today is this scripture fulfilled in your presence.” today this is fulfilled, not in the past of future but today. God still does all of this today.
His audience were living in the past dominated with their roots to Abraham and were thinking about where they were going with the Messiah but were having difficulty living in the present. Jesus said today. The bible is full of the here and now. Now is the appointed hour. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Rom.8:1 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. Eph.2:13 This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Ps.118:24
They
rejected Jesus. Tried to stone Him, He quietly left them to their anger and
hatred. Mark 6:1-6 It seems that He returned and was rejected again.
They died trusting in Abraham, they died dreaming about the messiah, they were blind and did not see him as he was, they saw only the son of Joseph the carpenter.
5.
They were amazed, impressed but did not believe, heard what you did in
6. Jesus mentioned two
people a widow and a general, and they became furious.
Widow of Zarapheth 1 Kings 17. A godless
region where Jezebel came from. Elijha went to find out about the famine. The
widow had enough for one last meal for her son and herself before they died.
Make me a meal first then your flower and oil will not stop flowing until the
famine ends. All se received was a promise, a word of promise. A pagan woman
just needed Gods word and the religious of
Naaman the Syrian who was a leper,
went to Elisha for clensing and received a promise Go wash 7 times, although at
first reluctant he eventually washed. On the dasis of a word he was cured. In
A
synagogue full of God fearing Jews and they became murderous. Why because they
thought that God had no right dealing with people they hated, disliked, had no
respect or love for? If you can’t love your neighbour and your enemies then you
can’t love God. Faced with Jesus they could not love and obey Him because their
hearts were full of prejudice and scorn.
Application
1. Jesus is more than the Son of Joseph.
2. Unbelief hinders the work of God. Don’t let it limit the blessing of God in your life.
3.
Danger for those who are greatly familiar with Christ can stumble over Him.
Boyhood friends. Don’t take Him for granted and become cold.
3.
Don’t be discouraged by negative responses from relatives and friends. Press on
even when their seems to be no fruit. Vs 31 He went down to
4 Don’t reject the Lord too many times. Today is the day of salvation. The hour has come.
Sunday 16th The Great Galilean Ministry 2 Mark 1:14-20.
Introduction. Isaiah 9:1-2 Nevertheless, there
will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled
the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor
Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan-- The people
walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the
shadow of death
a light has dawned.
1. Jesus left the Galilee to be baptized by John in the Jordan River near
Possibly, Jesus withdrew to
2. This great Galilean ministry is described as a
proclamation of the Good News, Gospel. Jesus
went into
Ø Gospel of the Kingdom, Faith in Christ brings us into the
Ø Gospel of Jesus Christ, He is the heart of it, His life, death and resurrection make it good news.
Ø The Gospel of God’s grace (Acts 20:24), no salvation apart from Grace (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Ø There is only one Gospel, (Galatians 1:9) As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
Ø This one Gospel centers upon what Christ did for us. 1 Corinthians 15:1-9. Read this!
He came in the power of the Spirit Luke 4:14.
He came to
fulfill an 800 year prophecy.
When Jesus heard that John had been
put in prison, he returned to
He came at a particular moment. Now he had to go through Samaria John 4:4 He had no physical reason to do this and every reason not to use this route.
He had to meet and save a woman, a loose woman who was sleeping around.
He went to
the
3. This great Galilean ministry is described by Jesus in
four statements.
The time has come. God has a perfect timetable. Worldview is an endless cycle, history
repeats itself. God’s view is a creation with
purpose and goals.
For 4k years God’s people have waited for the fulfillment of His promise made in the garden that a saviour would rise up and strike Satan on the head.
Time means nothing to God 4k years or 4 days, God can wait, we find it so hard for our time is short.
There is now no more waiting for salvation, the time has come, Jesus said, “my time is not yet, but yours is always ready.” Every moment of your life is an opportunity to put your life right with God.
"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." Heb.4:7
now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. 2 Cor.6:2. Now is your time.
The
Time, Chronos, Hora, Kairos, Kairos is used here of a quality event. The Jews rejected the kingdom and in a physical sense it has been delayed, for kingdom they read political revolution. However it has arrived, it has come and is coming. Spiritually it is here, repent believe the Gospel and you enter God’s kingdom coming under His rule and protection.
In its physical form it has yet to come and will come at the second coming of Christ He will set up his kingdom on earth and reign for 1000 years. (Revelation 20)
Present reality, in the hearts of believer’s spiritual form.
Future hope, at the Lords return when
The kingdom is near because Christ is near, you never get to or more Christians together without Christ being present. He is Emmanuel, God with us and indwelling us. From God’s point of view everything is ready, therefore there is something for you to do.
Repent. Repentance without faith can become remorse. Remorse can destroy people
who carry a burden of guilt. Judas, Matthew 27:3-5. Believers at
You do not just land in the Kingdom or stumble into it but you must enter into it. Except you become as little children you can not enter the kingdom. You enter by repentance and faith.
Repentance is so important that I need to take a moment to define what it is.
Complete, radical, fundamental, sweeping and deep-seated change of mind, heart and life-style.
Your nature and Character transformed, you are still the same person but a different character, all the old normal ways of your life change and are altered. A permanent change, no trial period or temporary repentance. Shaun O’Neil.
Mind. Your thinking about God will
Change, You will see Him differently, fear Him and be awed at His glory, Love
Him and want to spend time with Him.
Your opinion about yourself will change and your view of your sin will be different.
Heart. You will have a change of heart
as your affections are now attracted to God who you now like and respect.
Before you did not care for God and religion but now there has been a reversal
of what you like and dislike.
Life-style. Behavioural change,
Mind before matter, my mind tells me to pick up this book before I physically
do it. It all begins in the mind them moves to the heart and since material
things are subject to spiritual you then have a change in behavior. Many want
to be saved but don’t go for it, you may be almost persuaded but lost, you mat
put it off until a more convenient time when now is the acceptable time.
Believe the good news. Repentance and
faith go together and what God has joined let no man put asunder. The good news
is that if you repent and believe the good news of the Gospel you will be
saved. When you do that God treats you as sinless. You are a lot worse than you
imagine, but the good news is that you can be saved.
By this the woman at the well and her village had been saved, Nicodemus had been dealt with, a miracle had been performed and here is a summery of Christ’s preaching.
- I have come to seek and to save the lost.
- I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.
- I come not to judge the world but to save the world.
4. Not the first encounter Jesus
had with these four fishermen. Andrew was a
disciple of John and brought Peter to Jesus. They were called to a deeper
commitment, to full time service. They did not leave their families helpless,
hired men, successful business. They were to follow, Jesus would do the rest.
Application.
1. God called ordinary people like you and me. They were regular fellows, fishermen and Jesus used the metaphor saying I will make you fishers of men.
The Bible uses other metaphors.
Ø Builders, build my church,
Ø Farmers, sewing the good seed,
Ø Shepherds, caring for the flock,
Ø Stewards caring for the household of God,
Ø Servants, serving the master.
All metaphors of ordinary people doing God’s will.
1 Cor.1:26-31. read this!
God does call special people, Paul. Don’t feel bad because you are an ordinary person. Abe Lincoln, “God like common people he made so many of them.”
2. We need to be intelligent
fisher persons. Using common sense. Go where
the people are, the Well, use
the right bait, same gospel different approach. New Pastors. Trained before 85
obsolete. New wine!!
Art of fishing art of soul winning. These fishermen had qualities.
Ø Patient faith. Long lonely hours of waiting but believing.
Ø Skill and common sense. Bait, lures, nets.
Ø Discernment. Weather, where the fish are.
Ø Persistence. Not easily discouraged.
Quietness. Avoid disturbance, stay in the background.Sunday 9th The Great Galilean Ministry Jesus the Teacher. The GALILEAN MINISTRY lasted for approximately 18 months and was Jesus’ longest single period of teaching, healing, and preaching. Events from this period are recorded in all four Gospels. Consequently, we know more about this season of his ministry than any other.
John 3:2 Rabbi,
we know you are a teacher who has come from God. Jesus stands alone as
the greatest teacher of all time. However as impressive as His teaching is,
only the Teacher saves.
Let’s read an example of His feelings. “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching
in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing
every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on
them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” Matthew 9:35-36.
He had compassion for them. He saw that they were worried, powerless and without leadership. His
knowledge of their need led to His compassion. He saw their preoccupation with
things as they sought to develop their lives. He saw their abandonment to
pleasure. His compassion was intimate as He reached out and touched people,
children, blind, leper, outcast, crook even a coffin. He is close enough to
touch us by His spirit and through His teaching.
Some
features of His teaching.
Oral. “They were using this question as a
trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and
started to write on the ground with his finger.” John 8:6.
The sand soon blew away and His teaching was entrusted to, handed over to, the memories of a group of crofters and fisher folk.
You would think that was risky. He was sowing the seed of God, His word, in human soil; God working in the human soil would do the rest. Apostles Creed I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified; died, and was buried.
Spontaneous. As situations arose
he addressed them, mostly in local encounters yet what he said is valued
internationally. His teaching is changeless because it was directed at the
changeless need of the human condition. He was observant about the things
around them and used them to teach. Humility=child, faith=fig tree,
giving=widows mite, dependence=vine and branches, prayer=natural affections of
a father and son.
Adaptable. He began at their
level. If it was about the Law of Moses, well he began there. He used simple
language and never went too fast but led them step by step. He never demanded
fully fledged faith from a beginner, he accepted what faith they could offer
him, as little as a mustard seed. He taught conversationally Emmaus, He
lectured the sermon on the Mt., Large crowds from a boat sitting in groups of
fifty, small groups of seventy, twelve or even three, individuals the woman at
the well.
Teaching was interesting and popular. Early
in the morning John 8:2. Taught and gave, initially opportunity to
practice as He sent them out and had them report back. Analyze the success and
failure and gave new instructions. When they reached a certain level He gave
them power. What has Christ given you? I speak just what the Father has taught me.
John 8:28
Jesus teaches us then we teach others.
Figurative. Taught in parables to make men see and understand at
their level. He used common place things and spiritualized them so that the
persons open to his word would understand and the persons closed to his word
would not.
Some Principles of His teaching.
Authority. “The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as
one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.” Mark 1:22.
The Galileans despised Second hand religion; Jesus burst on to the scene with a new authority. Verily, verily I say unto you! Was his catch phrase.
While I was in Glasgow, I knew of a man who gave other people's testimony until he was asked if he had one of his own!
Not Dogmatic. He refused to
compel or dictate or force but rather patiently taught with overwhelming
respect for their personality.
He was sparing with His powers so as not to dazzle them or override their calmer judgment.
He was determined that people should think for themselves, this is the main part of the teachers work. He stimulated interest as well as supplying answers. When asked “who is my neighbour” He responded with a parable to stimulate their thinking. He was not a legislator. The letter kills but the Spirit gives life.
He lived what He taught. Prayer, forgiveness, humility!
He was constantly in prayer, He forgave sinners, He washed feet. He had a
loving spirit. Augustine said; “one loving spirit sets another on fire.”
Questions. To
test the level of their understanding, who do men say that I am? Simon do you
love me? Sometimes His questions were rhetorical, what does it profit a man?
How can Satan cast out Satan?
Some thought about His use of parables.
An appeal to the memory. Truth has to
be seen and pictured in our minds before it becomes really powerful. Abstract
ideas can be hard to take on board as a way of life so Jesus gave pictures to
impress truth on His hearer’s minds because He relied on their memories.
He might have preached for an hour on pardon and forgiveness and the next day the people would have forgotten, but who would ever forget the Prodigal Son.
He might have introduced the mysteries of prayer and the rough crowd would wonder and forget, but they would never forget the friend knocking at the door at midnight.
Who could carry the kingdom in mind except for the help of the mustard seed. (Portlade. “portslade can never be the same again”)
Put new value on truth. We
usually value that which costs us! We lightly value what we lightly get. Not until they had toiled all night did Jesus
fill their nets.
Some who are saved through great trouble treasure their faith. Justification by faith, if we receive it lightly we may treat it lightly.
Martin Luther struggled through darkness for the doctrine on justification by faith and it shone in his heart like a star.
The parables sorted
out the hearers,
parables are a judgment in disguise hiding God’s mysteries from idle scroungers
and from those who thought they knew better. Parables made God’s mysteries
doubly precious to earnest seeker after truth. Jesus was determined to make
people think for themselves.
Every true sermon is a judgment in disguise. We must take pains to hear and what we hear will then be precious to us. Sweet easy preaching never helped anyone or strengthened a nation.
Jesus
has compassion for us and although He sees our waywardness, He respects us as He
encourages us back into the fold.
Sunday 2nd October Isaiah 53. The First sight of our saviour. Also Psalm 22 gives us a more vivid account of the crucification of Christ than found anywhere else in the Bible. Pick up a piece of Gold, but when you hit the mother load.
Visions recorded in the Chapter. Has a emphasis on seeing. People who see and people who do not see. First sight as sinners of our would be saviour. Daily I am reminded that we are in a Chrisst-rejecting world.And we must accept that and keep on going.
Vs2 when we shall see him, sinner who see Christ but they see no beauty in him. we hide as it were our faces from him he was despised. We closed our eyes and hid our faces.
John refers three times to what sinner think about Christ when they first see him
John 1:10-11 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him world knew him not, his own received him not, unacceptable to his enemies and rejected by his friends. First thing the sinner does when he sees the saviour is despises him is to reject him. We used to despise him.
John
8:48 The Jews answered him, "Aren't we right
in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?" belligerent attitude scorn and slander into
the face of Christ Samaritan and devil. Father a Samaritan you’re a Devil.
John
10:20 "He is demon-possessed and raving mad he has a devil and is
mad, the despising and rejecting the son of God. You can look back to a time
when you were in this sad state. Opened your eyes and despised him, opened your
moth and rejected him.
Wounded for our
transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, with his stripes we are
healed. The chastisement of our
peace was upon him. Start with wounds
then bruises then chastisement.
Who
wounded him, mankind with words
attitudes and nails, who bruised him
of course Satan Genesis 3:15. who chastised him, chastised not by man or the
devil but by the hand of God.
Bore the chastisement of our peace, we can not have peace with God unless our sins are chastised on Christ by God.
It pleased the Lord to bruise him. I can’t describe the chastisement of Christ for my sins. It’s too mush for me I can only weep and wonder and worship.
We would still be rejecting him accept one day God taught us what it all meant.
The
seeing of people is one thing but what did God see, what did Christ himself
see.
Vs
10 his seed, Christ saw the soldiers coming to strip him of his clothes, the
cross was on the ground and they laid him their and nailed him to that tree.
Four soldiers and a centurion, he saw the men and he saw his seed, they are all in heaven, he saw his
seed. Mat. 27:54 When the centurion and those with him who
were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were
terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!" Centurion and those with him. Firstly they
just saw another thief but now they feared God and confessed Christ as the son
of God, no one can do that unless the spirit shows them.
Who
else did he see. His mother and the chosen disciple John, he united them, he
saw his seed, see them again in the upper room.
Beside
him was a thief, who at first began to see him as a sinner despising and
rejecting him, but suddenly he changes, and pleads for mercy, Christ looks at him and sees his seed, I am
going to take you today with me to paradise. Christ arrives in heaven in the
company the thief, saying this is my greatest victory from the throes of death.
Anyone snatched from their deathbed is a
great prize.
Vs
11 he shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied
Rev 7 vision of the whole totality of those saved, great number, the Angel asks, who and from where, from great tribulation washed in the blood of the lamb. He is satisfied, what satisfies him. To get all his people home, Peter Satan desires you but I have prayed for you.
The
old prophet 700 years before the cross, he writes in the past tense he was wounded, past tense because it
is certain. Oh may God ever draw us to the cross. O the love that drew salvations
plan oh the love that brought it down to man, oh the mighty gulf that god did
span at Calvary, mercy their was great and grace was free pardon there was
multiplied to me there my burdened soul
found liberty at
Wonderful
Jesus, anyone here today who has been despising, rejecting Christ, he still
knocks, he still knocks with a blood stained hand.
It’s
more than tongue can tell. Vilest
offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
Sunday 25th PAUL ... and the source of his spiritual wealth.. . "In whom we have"
he apostle Paul was probably the greatest evangelist of all time.
His service to the church was of incalculable worth. Although he had very little money, he was perhaps the wealthiest of all Christians - not in earthly assets, but in spiritual power. This outstanding fact is clearly seen in his letter to the Ephesians.
In Christ we have redemption through His blood ... pardon (Eph. 1:7)
It is noteworthy that most of the inhabitants of Ephesus were Gentiles who were worshipers of the goddess Diana. Their city had been notoriously sinful, but the gospel so transformed the district that, before the end of the second century, all its citizens had become Christians. It would have been expected that Jews would understand
the message of redemption through the blood of sacrifice, but for pagans to accept this truth testifies to the effectiveness of Paul's ministry. He did not hesitate to speak about the atoning death of the Lord Jesus, for he knew that for all people this alone was the power of God unto salvation. It is thrilling to read Paul's words:
"... the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.
God s grace is marvelous, but the apostle spoke of the riches o f His grace. That indicates grace in all its fullness. Pardon given to undeserving sinners is measured by the infinite grace of a compassionate God.
In Christ we have an inheritance ... provision (Eph. 1: 11)
An inheritance is something claimed after the donor has died! The writer to the Hebrews said: "For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead; otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth" (Heb. 9:16-17). It was the desire of the Lord that redeemed sinners should receive an inheritance to supply their need through time and eternity. This was only made possible when the Testator's death validated His will. Later, in the Epistle to the Ephesians, Paul itemized the details of the provision made by the Prince of heaven.
In Christ we have been sealed ... possessed (Eph. 1: 13)
So that there could be no mistake in the identity of claimants to this eternal fortune, the stamp of ownership was placed on every believer. That the Christian was eligible to receive an inheritance could never be challenged or questioned in a court of law; the stamp of heaven was indelibly placed on his soul. Paul said, "Ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. " Many logging companies fell trees in the Canadian forests, but these are immediately stamped with the special mark of the owner. The logs thereafter float down rivers to the lake where they are examined and separated. There is never a problem of identity for each log "is sealed" with a stamp of ownership. Christians may mingle with millions of other human beings; but, sealed by the Holy Spirit, their identity can never be confused.
In Christ we have become a habitation ... privilege (Eph. 3:22)
Paul went to great lengths to explain that, within the fellowship of the church, racial bitterness should be nonexistent. Jews and Gentiles were united. Old barriers had been removed to create God's substitute for the temple at Jerusalem. Formerly it was claimed Jehovah lived in the sanctuary made by men; Paul affirmed
something new had been created. Christians had become a home for the indwelling Spirit of God. (See I Cor. 3:16.)
In Christ we have boldness ... pleasure (Eph. 3:12)
This was no "flash in the pan" doctrine, something about which to argue, something which might be proven false. It was "According to the eternal purpose which [God] purposed in Christ Jesus" (v. 11). What had been planned in eternity had been accomplished in time. Paul was absolutely sure of the provisions in his inheritance and said that every believer should share his confidence. Neither shame nor hesitancy should be evident when the believer stated his case before men. There could be no doubt about the realities claimed; God had endorsed what had been said.
In Christ we have access ... permission (Eph. 3:12)
Access into the ancient Holy of Holies had been denied to all except the high priest of Israel. He had been permitted, once a year, to go beyond the veil to stand at the mercy seat. All prohibitions have now been swept away by the death of Christ. Jesus opened a new and living way to the heart of the Father, and all who desire can come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (See Heb. 4:16.) Paul was a wealthy believer, but we also may claim an identical inheritance ... if we know how!
Sunday 18th THEMES IN HEBREWS. The essential theme
The age in which the letter to the Hebrews was written
was a period of uncertainty. Old religious regimes had terminated; people
hardly knew what to expect next. Many Christians were becoming martyrs, the
ferocity unleashed against them was frightening, and every man and woman
wondered if he or she would be the next victim. The outlook was exceedingly
bleak and, for many, joy had become elusive. Many students believe Paul was the
author of this letter, but the identity of the writer is not of supreme
importance. In the midst of uncertainty,
God stressed the certainties of life and by so doing summed up what had been
said throughout the epistle. Here we
have the gospel in a nutshell!
Our problem is
acute (Heb. 9:27).
“It is appointed unto men once to die.”
This fact is unassailable. No person can
deny that the end of mortality is death. The wealthy and the poor, the educated
and the illiterate, adults and children, the people of all creeds and color
will reach the end of their earthly journey. Accumulated possessions will be
left behind; friends and family, at best, can only attend our funerals. It must
always be a cause for regret that even the wisest of human beings have never
been able to discover a way to avoid or defeat this archenemy of mankind. It is
appointed - that is, it has been
ordained - that humans cannot live on earth forever. That is the human
races greatest problem.
Our
predicament is alarming (Heb. 9:27).
“But after [death] the judgment.” This is probably
considered by many people to be the most unpleasant message in the
Scriptures. All kinds of teachers have
tried to minimize the somber fact that men are accountable to God. The idea
that the Almighty could ever punish offenders is considered by liberal teachers
to be obnoxious. Everybody likes to
think of heaven with its glories, but the contemplation of a day of judgment is
unwanted and unpleasant. Men like to
believe that the grace of God will always be greater than human guilt; hence
there is never need to worry. However pleasant and desirable that
interpretation may be, the fact remains that it is not in accordance with the
words spoken by Jesus. He warned people about a day of reckoning and said that,
if they died unforgiven, they would be lost eternally. This terrible reality
should fill men with dread.
Our pardon is
achievable (Heb. 9:28).
“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins
of many.” The entire epistle explains that Christ, the Lamb of
God, fulfilled the types and shadows found in the Old Testament and that He
took our sins and nailed them, so to speak, to the cross of Calvary. In the
merit of His precious blood, He satisfied the requirements of divine law and,
having sacrificed Himself for our sin, sat down at the right hand of the throne
of God. There He intercedes for His people and dispenses forgiveness to those
who seek it. There is no need to fear the Day of Judgment. If our sins are
pardoned, no charge can be made against us. Our High Priest can testify to the
fact that, because He paid our debt, we are free from condemnation. Confidence
in this truth removes dread. “He that heareth my word,
and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come
into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).
Our promise is
assured (Heb. 9:28).
“And unto them that look for him shall he
appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” This is the
greatest of all the certainties mentioned in this epistle. The Lord Jesus
Christ is seated at the right hand of the throne of God, but His position there
is only temporary. He promised to return
to this world. God said that Jesus should inherit the throne of His father
David; therefore, when Christ reigns for a thousand years, the seat of His
kingdom will be in
Evil may appear to win occasional battles, but the
final triumph rests with God. “Jesus shall reign wher-e’er the sun does his successive journeys
run, His kingdom spread from
shore to shore till moons shall wax and wane no more.”
It is easy to understand why the writer of this letter urged his readers to look “unto Jesus. “ When despondency and fear threaten the tranquility of the soul, when approaching peril chills the human spirit, the best and safest way to avoid trouble is to look “unto Jesus” (Heb. 12:2). It is better to look for a sunrise than to close one’s eyes and remain in the dark!
Sunday 11th September THEME IN HEBREWS. Seated at the right hand of God. To sit at the side of a king, queen, or president is a very great honor; and few of the inhabitants of earth ever attain to that place of exaltation.
Throughout this epistle, the writer continues to
emphasize the fact that Christ is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on
high.
The greatest honor that God could bestow was conferred
upon the Savior. This indicated
acceptance and approval of what He had accomplished. The work that God gave Him
to do had been completed; the job was done.
When God crowned Christ with glory and honor, the coronation in heaven superseded anything ever known among angels or humans.
He is accepted as the triumphant glorious saviour , so we are safe and acceptable to God.
His rightful
place (Heb.1:13) To which of the angels did God ever say,
"Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for
your feet" Jesus had accomplished what angels could not even
attempt; He had by Himself purged our sins.
He belonged at God’s right hand for two reasons. He had been there from the beginning; the
place of honor was His by natural affinity with God.
Having done what God desired, the Lord by right of conquest and fulfillment had demonstrated that this was His rightful place of honor.
So, there was nothing surprising in His being at God’s right hand; He was where He belonged.
His rightful place. His royal place (Heb.8:1) The point of what we are saying
is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of
the throne of the Majesty in heaven
Apart from the mysterious Melchizedek there had never
been a royal priest. A king was a king, and a priest was a priest. No man had
ever filled the two positions. Royalty expressed majesty and power; the
priesthood expressed concern and intercession for those represented.
This picture of Christ surpassed all expectation. Seated in the heavens, our Royal Priest not only intercedes; His position suggests He is able to do what needs to be done.
He resembles an ambassador. His one hand grasps the heart of God, and the other reaches down to the impoverished people of earth.
He is at one and the same moment God and Man, our intercessor in another world.
The realization of this eternal truth is the forerunner of peace. This was probably the reason why the great prototype Melchizedek was called both the King of Righteousness and the King of Salem - Peace.
His rightful place: His royal place, His redemptive place (Heb.10:12)
But
when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat
down at the right hand of God.
John 20:17 Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, `I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'
Doubtless He went to present His credentials, for no priest could represent
According to the law, a priest could only exercise his
ministry after the sacrifice had been made.
The reconciliation made through His death made it possible for Him to sit on a real throne of grace.
The ancient priests sprinkled the blood of sacrifice on and before the mercy seat. Many theologians believe that Christ went home to heaven to present His blood as the credential by which He could be installed as the High Priest of believers.
When God accepted that credential the Lord was crowned with glory and honor, and from that hallowed moment Jesus became our representative in the greatest court in the universe.
His rightful place: His royal place: His redemptive
place His radiant place
(Heb.12:2) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and
perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross,
scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus never tried to avoid what men considered being the ultimate tragedy, his death.
Each time He thought of the cross, He was thrilled with joyful expectancy, realizing it was the appointed way by which many would be brought to glory.
Christ was present when our Christian experience began; He will be there at journey’s end. Therefore “let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus.
The path of life may be difficult, it may run through shadowy territory, but Christians should know “the path of the just” leads to the “perfect day” (Prov.4:18)
Themes in HEBREWS Sunday 4th
Themes in HEBREWS. By the blood of Jesus
This epistle was written to the nation of
The entire nation knew that “without shedding of blood is no forgiveness” (Heb. 9:22)
The NT teaches that the blood of animals never abolished sin; it merely provided a temporary covering.
The precious blood of Jesus removed it eternally.
George Pirie wasn’t sure if he was half dead or half alive? Is the blood part of life or death?
Blood means the atoning death of our saviour on the
cross. It should be remembered that the blood meant the life, for life was in
the blood. Lev. 17:14. When the Bible speaks of the shed blood of Christ, it
means His sinless life outpoured on the cross of
He entered the
Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood (Heb. 9:12)
This refers to the fact that, on the Day of Atonement,
the high priest of
Engraved upon his breastplate were the names of the
twelve tribes. When he stood before the mercy seat, he carried those names, not
only on his heart, but also in his supplication. This was the foundation upon
which priestly intercession rested sanctification,
blood sacrifice and intercession. This epistle explains
that, although the earthly temple no longer existed, Jesus had entered the real
No other man was ever permitted to proceed beyond the
veil of the temple; no other person could ever approach so close to God.
Christians have a unique High Priest who pleads their cause continually.
The blood of
Jesus purges our conscience. How much more, then, will the
blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to
God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve
the living God! (Heb. 9:14)
Christ made the atonement, the Holy
Spirit applied it, and God accepted it. This had never been
accomplished previously. To absolve a conscience from guilt was beyond the
powers of man. The blood of a turtledove might satisfy the demands of law, but
it could never bring rest to a guilty conscience. This was the forerunner of
real peace; the assurance that what Christ began He would complete. By His blood we enter the holiest of
all
(Heb. 10: 19-22) Therefore,
brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of
Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his
body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw
near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed
with pure water.
What once was a private footpath used once a year by
one privileged man had become an open highway.
As a marvelous and thrilling contrast to what was, there existed a new and living way by which believers could draw near to the mercy seat. We are not only able to enter and stand there; we stand there with Him, for He has become our advocate, our lawyer pleading a case before the Judge of all mankind. The writer to the Hebrews was able to say: let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith. Thank God, the separating veil has been removed.
And so Jesus
also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own
blood. Heb. 13:12
By His blood
He sanctifies us. Formerly, in order to sanctify any person or thing,
the priest sprinkled people, and even today it is possible to witness the
procedure when priests walk among crowds, spraying incense over expectant
congregations. Jesus never did this kind
of thing. However, the writer of this letter affirms that the merits of the
work done at
His precious blood not only cleansed a believers sins
and opened a new and living way into the presence of God; it also made them
acceptable before the Lord.
This was the climax of His entire endeavor. John 14:3 informs us that, where He is, we may be also.
Since nothing that defiles can ever enter into the presence of the living God, we need to possess something greater than the forgiveness of sin. We must be sanctified; we must reach higher ground and be conformed to the image of God’s Son.
I John 1:7 informs us that, when we walk in the light
as He is in the light, the blood of Jesus goes on cleansing us from all
sin. This process will continue until we
are like Jesus. Dear friends, now we are
children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know
that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
I John 3:2. Obviously, without the assistance of Christ and the
Comforter whom the Lord sent to help us, these exalted standards would be
beyond our reach.
Sunday 21st August THEMES in HEBREWS ... this Man, the incomparable Christ
Another theme of this great epistle is the
incomparable Christ, the High Priest of His people.
He was born in a stable but has since thrilled kings and queens in palaces.
He never attended any university, but He has engaged the attention of every scholar on earth. He never had an army, but He has conquered the world.
He seldom handled money, but He possessed something money could never buy.
This epistle reveals Him in a very unique manner.
This man and
Moses (Heb. 3:3) “For
this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who builds
the house has more honor than the house.”
Moses was a servant in the household of God; Jesus was the eternal Son. He belonged in the intimate circles of the divine fellowship.
The first chapter stresses the fact that the worlds were made by Him; He had been appointed heir of all things.
The revered lawgiver of Israel Moses could not even compare with the description given in Hebrews 1:3: “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3).
Moses was born among captives in
This Man Jesus was truly magnificent and completely incomparable.
This man and the priests (Heb.
7:23-24) 23 Now
there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from
continuing in office; 24 but
because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. e 25 Therefore he is able to save
f completely 31 those
who come to God g through
him, because he always lives to intercede for them. h 26 Such a high priest i meets our need—one who is holy, blameless,
pure, set apart from sinners, j exalted above the heavens. k
The entire nation of
Then this ministry terminated, everyone was overwhelmed with grief and despair. This epistle explained that the seeming catastrophe was of little consequence.
Even Aaron’s ministry had been limited. He could not complete what he commended.
“And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death. But this man, because he continues for ever, has an unchangeable priesthood.
Furthermore, Jesus was not only a Priest, He was a royal Priest.
Citing the ancient Melchizedek as an example, this author went on to expound the glorious fact that the Lord was a Priest after that royal order. His love guaranteed that He would represent sinners, but His power guaranteed He would be able to bring relief to the supplicant.
This man and His offering (Heb. 8:3) 3 Every
high priest v is appointed to
offer both gifts and sacrifices, w and so it was necessary for this one also to
have something to offer. x
It was required that every Old Testament priest offer sacrifices, for “without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb. 9:22). Yet no priest ever offered his own blood! To do such a thing would have been useless and blasphemous.
The Lord Jesus was supremely unique. “Neither
by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into
the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Heb. 9:12).
Christ was different! The merits of His precious blood easily surpassed the
blood of turtledoves, lambs, and bullocks. The termination of the Aaronic
priesthood was of little consequence. Christians had a better priest, who
offered a better sacrifice.
This High Priest lives to make intercession for us. He was complete in every aspect of His ministry. Nevertheless, to enhance that ministry, we must cooperate with Him, by drawing near in “full assurance of faith” (Heb. 10:22). 22 let us draw near to God v with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, w having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience x and having our bodies washed with pure water. y
This man and
His expectancy (Heb. 10: 12-13) “But this man, after he had offered one
sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth
expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. “
(1) How different! There was never another like Him.
(2) How decisive! He offered one sacrifice - not many; it was for ever - not just a limited period of time.
(3) How deliberate! He sat down! There was neither panic nor haste. With absolute dignity He rested, knowing His work had been accomplished.
(4) How distinguished! He sat at God’s right hand. Few people ever reach such heights of exaltation. Our High Priest is enthroned in the heavens, far above principalities and powers.
(5) How discerning! He knew the end would never be in
doubt. The battle and its issues had been won and settled at the cross of
We are safe in His keeping. Lords Table gives us meaning to continue to give thanks for Jesus.
Looking at the Themes in HEBREWS ...today Sunday 14th August we can see
that Jesus is able
Hebrews 5:7 During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he
offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could
save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.
This verse is possibly one of the most
thought-provoking statements in the Bible; it principally refers to that
memorable occasion when, in the
(Read Luke 22:40-44.) 39 Jesus went out as usual
v to the Mount of Olives, w and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said
to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” x 41 He withdrew about a stone’s
throw beyond them, knelt down y and prayed,
42 “Father, if you are
willing, take this cup z from
me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” a 43 An angel from heaven appeared
to him and strengthened him. b 44 And being in anguish, he prayed
more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
86
The cup to which the Lord made reference was that of
human weakness. Satan was trying to kill the Lord prematurely. Jesus, realizing
His life was being threatened, prayed to be saved from an immediate untimely
death so that He could suffer the death that He was willing to suffer, and His
prayer was answered when the Angel came to strengthen Him.
That doesn’t detract from the sentiment that the cup
was also the cup of suffering for sin, a suffering that would separate him from
His Father.
1. Jesus was able to save: Therefore he is able to save
completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to
intercede for them. (Heb. 7:25)
To infer that the humanity of Jesus desired a way by
which to avoid going to
Jesus was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. He came to earth to die. When He contemplated "the death of the cross," He did so with increasing joy. (Heb. 12:2. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.)
The verse mentioned in the introduction enables us to
understand to what depths of suffering and shame He went to provide salvation
for sinners. What happened in the
The way was now open to make real in human experience
that which had been planned in eternity.
His sacrificial death on the cross had atoned for sin; His precious
blood could obliterate human guilt; forgiveness had become gloriously possible.
The author of this epistle was quite sure that Jesus was not only able to save;
He was able to continue the work until every person had been transformed into
the image of God's Son.
2. Jesus was able to help or Succour. (Because
he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being
tempted. Heb. 2:18; For we do not have a high priest who is
unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted
in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin 4:15)
It must always
be remembered that this letter was sent to people who were in real trouble.
Their problems were not imaginary! Some were suffering from severe persecution;
some were even dying. It was difficult for them to embrace a new faith when
their God appeared indifferent to human need.
The author insisted that Jesus, having walked our
pathway in life, was not only aware of our problems but was, out of His own
experience, able to understand and supply that for which weary souls yearned.
In view of the truth that Jesus had become our High Priest; all His followers
should "therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain
mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." As a mother comforts her
child, so the Lord could comfort and sustain His children.
3. Jesus is able to sanctify (Therefore he is able to save completely
those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede
for them. Heb. 7:25)
The salvation offered in Christ was more than the
forgiveness of sin. Read I John 3:2 and realize that all converts must be made
like Christ, as there can be no imperfection in heaven. Dear friends, now we are children
of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when
he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3Everyone who
has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
It was because our High Priest - unlike the members of the Aaronic priesthood - would never die; He will be able to complete that which He began. His intercession for us at God's right hand is the guarantee that He will never "give up" on His difficult task.
However, it is vitally necessary that we "come
unto God by him." Only thus can God’s plan succeed.
We must cooperate in His endeavor.
Having started a process, the Lord desired to complete it. Having lifted sinners
from the uttermost, He intended to save them to the uttermost.
The Hebrews were urged not to be content with lesser
goals and not to exist in the valley of doubt and despondency when it was
possible to climb into mountains of spiritual experience and enjoy the sunshine
of God's favor. Things were better and brighter ahead, and nothing should ever
be permitted to ruin the ongoing, uplifting experience of walking and climbing
with God.
As John Bunyan explained in his book, The Pilgrim's
Progress, we came from the city of destruction but our final destination is the
celestial city, where there is no need of the sun. With the poet we should
sing: I'm pressing on the upward way, New heights I'm gaining every day; Still
praying as I'm onward bound,
"Lord, plant my feet on higher ground."
Themes in HEBREWS
..."Let us"
The better way that is Christ is mapped out for us for our spiritual journey through life.
Christ is better than angelic beings, than any earthly priesthood, Christ is a better sacrifice that all the beasts on Jewish alter slain, Christ offers a better covenant than Abraham, a better hope than Moses, Christ is a better possession than the Law, He offers a better resurrection and leads his people to a better promised land. “I am the way”
The second theme leads on to action, we have the facts, Christ is
better, what do we do now?
Having mentioned the better things to be found in the Christian way of
living, the author goes on to indicate milestones along the road that lead to
the fullness of the blessing of God. He
encourages the reader to put into practice the actions necessary for a life of
forward victory and holiness.
Let us therefore fear (Heb. 4: 1) Therefore, since the promise of
entering his rest still stands, let us fear (be careful) that none of you be
found to have fallen short of it. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom.
(See also 3: 7-11.) The author reminds his readers that in former
generations the people of God possessed much knowledge and yet failed to enter
the Promised Land… Is a type of the full blessing?
Hebrews 6:4 Uses a hypothetical illustration to stress this fact. The hesitant people to whom this letter was
sent appeared to be in similar danger. They knew truth but remained reluctant
to accept its demands. Fear and respect for God will motivate them into
obedience and a conviction that there is no going back for the Christian; the
days of leeks and garlic are over.
Let us labour (Heb. 4:11) Let us, therefore, labour (make every effort)
to enter that rest, so that no one
will fall by following their example of disobedience.
Deep in the ocean there is a stillness…
There was urgent need for these people to arise and with boldness do
something. If dangers threatened, they were to be courageous and overcome them.
The time had arrived to act, not talk. Nothing could be more important than
entering into the
Let us hold fast (Heb. 4:14) Therefore, since we have a great high
priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast
(firmly) to the faith we profess.
(Compare Rev. 3: 11.) (Lose their crown not their salvation) Those
wavering, hesitant people needed to hold fast, for otherwise the most precious
commodity in this world and the next might be lost. Wise people give
consideration to the questions: "How best can a man or woman hold fast the
things of God? What are the greatest assets of the believer? What is the secret
of successful living for Christ?"
Let us come boldly (Heb. 4:16) Let us then approach the throne of grace
with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our
time of need.
Nothing can ever be an effective substitute for communion with God. The man who seldom meets his Lord has no chance of success. Service for God is excellent, but worship is better. Service may indicate the light is shining, but worship charges the batteries! The man who never prays is like a plant without water.
Let us go on (Heb. 6: 1,2) Therefore let us leave the elementary
teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation
of repentance from acts that
lead to death, and of faith in God,
instruction about baptisms,
the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
The Christian who never grows in grace cannot be effective for his Lord;
the man who knows everything knows nothing! Knowledge is thought to be the
ultimate asset. That cannot be correct. To be like Christ is far better
than knowing about Him. Instead of looking for blemishes in brethren, eyes
should be focused on the great High Priest who ever lives to make intercession
for us.
Let us consider one another (Heb. 10:24) And let us consider how we may
spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
The church is a fellowship of those who love Christ; it is a family of people like us. Occasionally problems arise within the body. Understanding is better than criticism; love is better than tension. A person without compassion is a poor example of the Lord who loved everybody.
Let us run with patience (Heb. 12: 1) Therefore, since we are surrounded
by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders
and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race
marked out for us.
Christians resemble athletes in a stadium. The grandstands are filled
with spectators - maybe spectators from all over the world. No runner would burden
himself by running with weights around his neck. He avoids every hindrance, and
Christians performing in life's marathon should emulate that example. They
should lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets them and run
patiently the race. The Galatians ran well for a time but were hindered; we
must not make the same mistake. (See Gal. 3: 1ff) Read
Let us go forth (Heb. 13:13) Let us, then, go to him outside the camp,
bearing the disgrace he bore.
To follow in the footsteps of Christ, it is necessary to avoid the world
with its insidious temptations and alluring attractions. Peter denied the Lord
when he sought fellowship and warmth at the enemies' fire. We must, therefore,
"Go forth" to Him "without the camp.” Separated Christians have
a greater chance of becoming consecrated Christians. We must be in the world,
but not of it!
Let us offer praise (Heb. 13:15) Through Jesus, therefore, let us
continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise
The greatest advertisement for Christ and the gospel is a happy, radiant
believer.
Scowls, complaints, criticisms, and sorrowful expressions are not reflections of overflowing happiness.
If God has been gracious and good to us, we should give thanks to Him.
Faith is like a mockingbird ... it sings in the dark. There is only one sacrifice left since Christ accomplished all that was needed, the sacrifice of praise.
Sunday 24th Amos. 1 Key V.1:2 "The LORD roars from
Here we have a one verse summery of the book. The book of Amos is about judgment.
Background to
170 years later
God was calling out for social justice 5:12 For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. j You oppress the righteous and take bribes
k and you deprive the poor l of justice in the courts. m 15 Hate evil, q love good; r maintain justice in the courts. s Perhaps t the LORD
God Almighty will have mercy u on the remnant v of Joseph. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing
stream!
The man God sends a most
unlikely prophet 7:14-15 "I was neither
a prophet nor a prophet's son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of
sycamore-fig trees. But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me,
`Go, prophesy to my people
Like a cowboy taking care of cattle and care
of fig trees that needed to have the tops cut, he produced meat, fruit and
timber. He was not a paid professional Prophet, but he heard the lion roar and
came to deliver His message.
The
message:
4:12 Prepare to meet your God. Before it was too late!
The surrounding nations would be dealt with
first, the most distant then getting nearer until
It was fine hearing about your enemies being
judged for their ungodly conduct and social injustice. It was fine to hear that
God had had enough of them, but when the message and judgement came closer to
home, then it was hard to bear.
It was like hearing that God was judging
For all the other
nations it was social injustice committed on a large scale. One example vs.6
By Chapter 2:4 God’s complaint was against
his privileged people is that they know better, the have the law and
commandments but have chosen to ignore them. They were hypocrites displaying an
empty religious others were at ease in
The
Response.
Plumb line was the end of mercy; God would
not hear anymore their fate was sealed. As long as mercy was involved in the
prophecy the people tolerated it. When the prophecy was final when doom was
determined, and mercy removed the people panicked and got rid of Amos sent him
back south where he belonged, sent him out of ear shot.
Today we are the same, we like to hear that
God is a God of love and we will all be saved. When we realise that is only a
half truth and that God’s love is extended through his mercy, righteousness and
judgement as seen in Christ then we excuse ourselves by saying that we will be
saved by the skin of our teeth, wood hay and stubble, works judged, but our
souls saved! Ultimately we hide from reality, only God knows therefore we need
to leave it with him.
Wake up, christians prepare to meet your God, meet him
now in his word. What is in your mind right now.
Sunday 17th When God gives His Church a vision, we need to be vigilant we need to be sure of the road we must follow." Even though we are doing ok - Perhaps we can do better. LETS LOOKAT THE FALL OF JUDAS - Matthew 26.14-16
Judas is the strangest and most mysterious character of the Bible ... His life was full of shame and his final story was tragic ... Jesus said it would have been better if he had not been born ... (v. 24). But notice he had everything to go and do what was right ... He had opportunities and privileges incomparable ...
He met Jesus and walked so close to him for three years ... He heard the deepest and profound sermons from the lips of Jesus ...
a) He had a wonderful name: Until then this name was the name preferred by parents to name their children ...
Even Mary, the mother of Jesus, gave this name to one of the children ... Judas... His name meant praise ...
When a boy was born it was an honour for his parents to give him the name of Judas ...Does your name represented a blessing, a tribute of glory to God ...But this man denied his name, and turned something good into something bad ..
b) He was chosen to be an apostle of Jesus: Jesus spent a whole night in prayer before choosing the apostles ...
Judas was not the result of a hasty choice ... Jesus sought guidance from the Father for that choice, but in spite of such high privilege Judas threw away this opportunity so rich ...
c) He was the only one of the apostles to receive a position of trust: Judas was chosen to be treasurer of the apostolic college ... He knew how to deal with financial issues ... anyone who deals with Gods Work needs to be faithful.
Possibly the most studied of the twelve ...The only one who was not a Galilean - was not prejudiced against ...
But despite his unusual ability, and high privilege.This man made improper use of his position of trust –he was not honest .. John 12.6 He stole what was deposited to sustain the work ... His heart was not with Jesus, but the money - he was a materialist So Jesus does not refer to money as a currency, but as a god ... It ensures that no one will enter heaven serving mammon - money loving ...
d) He enjoyed the confidence of the rest of the apostles: Even when Jesus announced that one of them would betray him ... Even when Jesus gave him the bread dipped in the cup... Even when he left the upper room –they thought he went to fetch something ... (John 13:29).
No one ever suspected the action of Judas ...
a) He was sent to preach the gospel: The mission of the seventy remember Judas was sent to preach the good news He was an apostle and as such proclaimed truths about Jesus to the people ... Certainly, he saw many people being touched by the word which he announced ... He preached the gospel to many people, but he did not save anyone...
b) He witnessed the miracles of Jesus: He saw Jesus healing the sick, freeing the oppressed ... He was an eyewitness of the great wonders brought by Jesus
c) He took supper with Jesus and the other apostles: In fact, the Bible says that it was during supper, the devil entered into him ... (Luke 22.3, John 13.2,27) And since then he started acting in the dead of night ... But despite such as high privileges ...
1) JUDAS BETRAYED JESUS:
Since then no parent puts the name of Judas on his child ... They put the name of Peter, James, John, but not the Judas ... That man turned what was beautiful into something ugly ... What was glorious became shameful ... Judas plotted for the arrest of Jesus ...
Jesus himself announced his death to the disciples ...
It may have been that with the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem Judas has moved away from the group to meet the religious authorities ... Perhaps imagining I could capitalize on something that seemed inevitable ... He went to meet the chief priests who were gathered in Gods House... He knew where he could find them ...
The Bible says he had been looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus ... Do not you think that was the only time ... Other times he tried, but failed ... But now he found the authorities and asked them: "What will you give me, if I put Jesus into uour hands?" - The way he betrays Jesus was no surprise ...
They then proposed to give him thirty pieces of silver, and the deal was closed ...What could be bought with thirty pieces? With thirty pieces of silver could buy a good slave ...With thirty pieces of silver from the religious authorities Judas money was later used to buy a field to bury people.Judas was fooled by Mammon ...
2) JUDAS THREW OUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO REGRET AND REPENT:
The disciples were still in the upper room when Jesus instituted the Supper ...
The assembled disciples were arguing over which of them was the greatest ...
Jesus rose, girded himself with a towel and began to wash the feet ...
Remember that Peter protested when Jesus was washing her feet ... He said: "You will never wash my feet" ... (John 13:8).
Until Jesus approached Judas ... Incidentally, Jesus washed the feet of Judas's even knowing of his betrayal...
But we do not find in this story any resistance from Judas ... You cannot find no word of confession on his lips ...
A single word but it would be a question and answer from a hypocrite ...
When Jesus announced that one of them would betray him, Judas also asked: "Am I that one Master?" - Jesus answered him: "Thou hast said." (Matthew 26.25)
Jesus turned to him and said: "What you have to do, do quickly." (John 13:27).
And Judas plunged into the dense of the night ... The disciples thought that he would go and get something for supper - John 13:29. But he had gone to meet the priests and the soldiers with their clubs ...
You know what strikes me in this story? Is that Jesus gave opportunities for Judas to repent ...
Only two were in the upper room, but the son of perdition was resolved ...
Jesus left the upper room went straight to the Mount of Olives with his disciples ...While Judas was plotting with the enemies to arrestJesus ...Jesus bowed before God in prayer ...The time had come, and his soul was deeply distressed ...
The Bible says that His sweat became as drops of blood on the ground ...For two or three times Jesus had to awaken His disciples – to watch and pray ... He knew the traitor approached ...
Judas appeared with soldiers - torches and clubs ... Judas came as the leader he was at the front of the group ...
Note that for him there was still one last glimmer of hope ...
Jesus said to him, (Matthew 26.50). Friend do what you came for.
Judas betrayal sealed with a kiss ... "Greetings, Rabbi! And kissed him "(Matthew 26.49).
He had given a sign: "Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is him: hold him fast." (Matthew 26.48)
And the crowd and the soldiers laid hold of Jesus ...
3) JUDAS WAS TAKEN FROM DEEP REMORSE:
Seeing Jesus arrested and sentenced taken to be judged Judas was remorseful ... But remorse is not repentance - repentance is God's action ... Remorse is the whip of consciousness applied by Satan himself ...
Matthew 27.3-4 "Then Judas, who betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, touched with remorse, returned the thirty silver coins to the priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in betraying innocent blood. But they said, What do we care? That is you doing"
Although the authorities have not heeded his confession ... Judas sought to get rid of the coins, throwing them to the temple ... But note that he got rid of the coins, but not the guilt he felt ...
Corroded by guilt he went outside to hang himself (Matthew 27.5) - this is the plot of Satan ...
Paul speaks of two kinds of sorrow ... II Corinthians 7:10 "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation that brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death"
The sadness of Peter was repentance, sorrow of Judas was remorseful ...
Both sinned and wept, but only one had regret ... How do we know this? True repentance leads us to God ...
False repentance leads to death and destruction ... While Peter was reconciled with Jesus, Judas hanged himself ...
The crying of many today is it repentance or remorse?
Four final lessons ... Do we observe the law, or are we ignoring it: That IS not what we see here in the attitude of the chief priests and elders ... Upon return of coins that Judas cast in the temple, they were careful not to put them into the treasury – It was the price of innocent blood ... (Matthew 27:6).
They knew what the Scriptures said concerning such values ... But look: that they were meticulous in fulfilling the ceremonial law ... Bought a field, and made it a graveyard for foreigners ... (Matthew 27.7).
But they had ignored the principal in the law: love God and thy neighbour ...
b) We can follow Jesus for all the wrong reasons:
Maybe Judas was disappointed with Jesus ... He had spent three years of his life in that ministry ...
Maybe he did not understand what it meant to be part of the kingdom of God ...
The others also had trouble understanding ... The discussion in the Upper Room was to see which of them should be the greatest ...
But now announces theuy realise that Jesus would be handed over and killed by men - Matthew 26.2.
Judas may have seen their expectations evaporate - I do not know ..But I know one thing: many follow the Lord for the wrong reasons ... In evangelical circles we have a lot of people following Jesus for miracles ...
It is called a hedonism self seeking Gospel - momentary advantage ...Why do we follow? For who He is or What can give us?
c) We may have done this for years, and not finding any more satisfaction:
Judas earned money - could buy land with it ...But his soul was lost - money does not give full satisfaction ...
d) We can follow Jesus, and lose ourselves at the end:
Judas is called the son of perdition ... place of everlasting punishment for sinners.
Incidentally, it must be said that Jesus never made a mistake with him ...Jesus identified the traitor to those at the table ... Matthew 26.23 "He who dipped his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me."
John 13:27 "Jesus said: What you going to do, do quickly."
John 17:12 "When I was with them, I kept them in your name those that you gave me, and protected them, and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled" - he was totally responsible .. .
Why then was he called by Jesus? Because he wanted to save him ...
But now think about me ... it is easy to get lost, and go to hell ...And we, in whom do we trust? ...
I trust in Jesus and the work that He started in my life He will complete until the end.
Sunday 10th Joshua 3:5 told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."
Why
consecrate yourself?. They were on the brink of amazing things. Look for
certain things in the development of a local church.
Confidence.
A sense of well being and togetherness.
Freedom in worship, people are not stifled or threatened.
Purpose and direction, something good and attainable is about to happen. Like our home groups in september!
Consecrated
leaders, people to look up to leaders who walk with the Lord and with each
other. United leaders, with a vision and purpose and togetherness.
How
to consecrate. A reaffirming of what we already have and know. God has a work
for us to do; this is our chance, our time, our moment. This is the big
picture, it is not a practice or a film trailer, God has work for us to do here
and now. God wants to put, to graft implant, dreams and vision into our hearts
and lives and through us into the life of our church.
Jeremiah
chapter 1 His calling kept him fresh for forty years. Background vs. 1-3.
Soil
from which he came, good godly family background, Hilkiah God is my portion;
his grandfather gave that name to his father who was a priest. We all have a
history, whether good or bad that influences and shapes us. Geographic
influence of Anathoth on a hill three miles from
We
all have a background with influences that shape us and we all have a context
that is geographical, cultural, social and religious. And we all have the same
experience the Jeremiah had.
The
word or the Lord vs.4
“The word of the Lord came to me.” In verse two it is objective, “came to him,” in verses 4 and 7 it is subjective, “came to me.”
We all believe that we have a speaking God as well as a listening God, a God who has lips as well as ears. A God who speaks in many and diverse ways, but who primarily speaks through His written and living word.
Five
important questions relating to our consecration.
When
did God last speak to you personally? Today, last week, last month?
What did God say when He last spoke to you? God is always clear and direct.
How did God speak to you when He last spoke to you?
How do you know it was God that spoke to you? Not your own religious or doctrinal fantasy, not a spasm of religious activity or wishful thinking.
What did you do when God spoke to you? God speaks for us to obey Him not just to inform us or for our general interest.
vs.
7 God said to me, this was the call of God directly into the life of Jeremiah,
personal to him. God speaks personally to me.
God can do anything with my life. He is sovereign.
God knows everything about me. I don’t have to hide.
God says that He will never leave me. When the fire is hot, when the winds are strong, when I am feeling weak, in good or bad times, He is there.
Choice
not chance vs.5
Predestination, many don’t understand it but I believe it. The sovereignty of God and human choice are both true. I have the wisdom of God to see it with His eyes.
God says I called you, I set you apart, I chose you, I am not here by chance. God planned it. That is emotionally very satisfying.
Human
inadequacy vs.6
Jeremiah feels inadequate, and suggests that God has made a mistake; you got the wrong man he seems to say. His sense of inadequacy comes from the fear of man. A sense of inadequacy is good if it drives you into the will of God, bad when it drives you out of His will. It was not an invitation but an instruction to go.
The touch or anointing vs. 9
The laying on of hands, God touched him, put His words in his mouth, he needed this new anointing for the talk, this new sharpness, this new spirit. We need the touch of God and the words of God in our mouth.
Appointed
vs.10
Appointed to do six things, four negative and two positive. As leaders before we can do this in the place of our appointment we need to firstly do it in our lives. We need stuff removed as well as stuff growing in our lives. Need to clear some ground of stuff that often is not really bad but is not the best. Good can be our enemy and we don’t know it. Uproot, tear down, destroy, overthrow. Then Build and plant.
Renew
our calling. We are not here just to grind it out week after week, we need to
refresh out spirit and rededicate ourselves to the work that God has given us
to do. If we are plagued by thoughts and desires to resign then perhaps we
should consider our calling, otherwise we need to renew our calling and
consecrate ourselves to the task.
We need to ask God to confirm His call in our lives, it so easy to do things out of habit using common sense rather that out of a calling and appointing centred on God given vision.
William Carey faced his contempories with his vision and then replied with common sense.
Filled
with the Holy Spirit. We need to find a way to have the Holy Spirit fill us for
every day. So that before we start the day we are filled with the Holy Spirit.
You can be all right but all wrong, talk, walk and look the part but be
empty. We need to start every day filled
with the Holy Spirit.
Confident
in the Word of God. As leaders we need to be confident and need to be confiding
in the Word. Let the Word of God always direct and guide us. Never lower the revelation of scriptures to
the level of your experience.
Working
within our gifting. It is possible to go from just a few gifted people doing
everything to a plave where everyone gets a chance. This is an area we need to
deal with. It is based upon relationships where we are able to acknowledge each
others gifts and allow each other to work within our gifts.
Spiritual
warfare. Satan has convinced us that there is no war on and most Christians are
civilians not soldiers. We need to know how to stand and fight; as leaders we
are a prime target and need to fight Satan. One for all and all for one. Where
possible make friends of your enemies, we can love and pray for our enemies and
they are defenceless against this. The bible mentions four things for prayer,
the servants of God, the sick, those in authority over us and our enemies. How
many enemies are on our prayer list?
Quiet
time. Have significant communion with God. Have real encounters with God.
Here O my Lord, I see thee face to face,
Here would I touch and handle things unseen,
Here would I lay aside each earthly load.
Here taste afresh the calm of sins forgiven.
Spend
time with God with your wife. A new beginning, can we pray together, worship
God together, how could we do that. Through the power of the Holy Spirit that
obides in all christians..
Sunday 3rd July Hebrews 12:1 12. Endured the cross God Disciplines His Sons 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run g with perseverance h the race marked out for us.
The Hebrews were suffering. They wanted to go back. Bur were told Christ
is better, dont give up, they wanted to give up, but where shown how Christ
endured. Therefore don’t grow weary or lose heart in your walk with God.
Look to Jesus set your thoughts on Jesus.
Read the Bible not to know the Bible that’s being a Pharisee, but to know God,
Christ and let the Holy Spirit lead you into all truth. I have met people who
really know their Bible and can quote me under the table, but I have felt ill
at ease with them? Why because they know the Bible to know the Bible, they are
self-righteous, hypocritical, or sanctimonious person. My advice is seek to
know the Bible to know Christ. That we might know him and share in the
fellowship of his suffering.
Christ went walking to the cross not
waltzing. Christ went willingly to the cross but not with ease
He had to endure, in
Isaiah calls it His souls travail, hard
difficult work to birth something, spiritual travail to bring spiritual birth.
For the Joy set before him, be satisfied,
with and like the multitudes that will be redeemed and reconciled to God and
populate eternity rejoicing in heaven.
The Joy and satisfaction of being at one with
his father. Doing his fathers will, finishing the task and bringing glory to
his father, the intimacy of being one with his father. Do you ever feel that,
what would you endure to so please your heavenly father and have great
intimacy?
Fix your eyes, focus, set your thoughts,
focus, inwardly and outwardly focus on Jesus and His cross.
The Cross represents all that He was willing to do for God.
John 19:17. He bearing his own cross. He
owned it he possessed it, Pilate finally inscribed on it, King of the
Jews. What cross are you bearing, yes
even enduring for God. Take up your cross and follow me, what ownership is
required of you, the name Christian? Membership with others in the Church
militant here? Responsibility, stewardship?
Focus on Christ. A Horse is blinkered so as not to be distracted. The world, your
sin, spiritual difficulties are determined to distract you. Focus fix your eyes
upon Jesus.
Christ on the pathway to
the Cross.
Road was noisy, Luke says multitudes were
following all adding to the shame, Jesus had more to endure, public
humiliation. Never seen anything like it, but I think it will be one of the
expressions on the faces of those who face the judgment without Christ and are
face with the shame of their sin.
In his weakened condition the cross was to
heavy for him to carry, the stress, the rigors of trial, brutality of torture
before he picked it up means he dropped it, spiritually he never wavered but
physically it was too much. Simon a Jew and a pilgrim was compelled to help.
Mark gives an interesting detail, father of Alexander and Rufus, suggesting
that perhaps the readers knew them. Rufus gets a mention in Rom.16:13.
Did this man like the thief on the cross see the Glory of God in Christ, Having literally fixed his eyes upon Jesus he realized that Jesus was the author and finisher of his faith, that he was the King of the Jews.
Christ
at the place of the Cross.
All the hymns say a hill perhaps because of
the hints, skull of Gordon’s
Christ
and the pain of the Cross
Three Sycamore trees were dragged there.
Spikes through the wrists, feet Jesus was the main attraction, perhaps on a
higher cross. Centre of the storm of abuse, reviled.
The only gospel mention of his endurance is I thirst, at the height he cried I thirst, no focus, no zoom into his suffering, more interest in what was taking place around the cross. Soldiers dividing his possessions, perk of the job. Most momentous event in history and they are oblivious. Only when nature rebels does the centurion take notice. Today the gospel is preached, the Lords Table is offered and very few listens.
Jesus was stripped of everything, even his
clothes. However he still had God. Not for long, his lowest point was still to
come drawing from him a cry from psalm 22 God why have you forsaken me. The
only person who truly loved God and obeyed Him and pleased him was forsaken,
deserted by God.
His endurance shows the real mankind, mask is
off, here is what man does.
1. Religious, with all its piety and pretence, jealous rejection.
2. Professional, with all it’s power and control, used and abused him.
3. Cultured, Jews and Greeks with their wisdom and intelligence, wanted more proof.
4. Prodigal, thief, without a reason, mocked him.
Man has always found Christ unacceptable; we will not have this man to rule over
us.
His endurance shows that his death only makes
sense when understood substitutionally.
1. He suffered and endured for others, not for himself. He was guiltless, yet accused, sinless yet condemned, righteous yet numbered with transgressors.
2. We can not justify ourselves, we need someone to stick up for us and that one is Jesus Christ.
3. We are polluted and unclean in the eyes of God, all our righteousness is like filthy rags, even our tears and sorrows need to be repented of. He is our righteousness.
His endurance encourages us to persevere in all difficulties.
The Hebrew Christians were in hard times, some were not even going to the Temple or church anymore and they needed to refocus on what Jesus suffered.
He endured every pain imaginable, endured the wrath of God, and drank every drop of suffering on our behalf. Therefore keep looking to Jesus and you won’t sink, Peter took his eyes of the Lord and sank.
Focusing on His endurance your difficulties will seem insignificant. Look to Jesus and you will reach heaven safely.
Sunday 26th Acts
26:24 - 32. In Jesus' day
Acts
26:28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think
that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?" remember
Acts 11:26 the disciples were called christians first at Antioch 1Peter 4:12 -
17
Paul
was familiar with the Proverbs 25:15 Rulers
can be persuaded. Abraham the father of those who have faith in God was fully
persuaded Rom.4:21 In Thessalonica many Jews, God fearing Greeks and
important women were persuaded to accept Christ as their saviour. The
Chief priests easily persuaded the people to choose Barabbas and reject
Christ. Matt.27:20.
You need to be persuaded to be a Christian and not to reject Christ; my task this year
and every year is to use this pulpit to persuade you to become a Christian. Our
task as a church is to persuade you to become a Christian. We can’t make you a Christian only the Holy Spirit can do that but
we can try and persuade you to think about it, to read your Bible and to seek
God.
The plotting of the Jews.
Was
and Is Political and religious and is nothing new. The Jews wanted to kill and
discredit Paul for preaching the way. Corrupt Felix kept him in prison for two
years to please the Jews and in the hope of a bribe. Festus was more organised
and promptly dealt with the situation using the opportune visit of King Agrippa
to get more insight into what was a Jewish problem. Paul had appealed to Caesar
for judgement and Festus had to send him to
The preaching of Paul.
All
this led to opportunity for Paul to preach to the highest authorities in the
land. In Chapter 25:
To Felix he preached faith in Christ Jesus chapter 24/25, righteousness, self-control and Judgement to come.
In Chapter 26 he preached to Festus and Agrippa.
Paul`s
Testimony 1-19, repent, turn to God, prove your repentance by good works 20. Vs
22 Moses and the prophets said would happen vs 23 the suffering and
resurrection of Christ Jesus who would enlighten Jew and Gentile.
The procrastinating
of the leaders.
In
the face of such preaching by Paul they needed to be persuaded. Felix had two
years of opportunity; he was familiar with the way but procrastinated. Postpone
doing something.
Felix. Trembled but left it
for a more convenient day. There is no record that such a day was granted.
Festus. Bemused, Paul was a
good man gone mad. In his heart Festus did not believe in the resurrection.
25:19 a dead man named Jesus. No record that he responded, however he probably
wrote a favourable report to Caesar.
Agrippa. Almost persuaded
but lost. He wanted to hear Paul and his response was this man could have been
set free, Yet Agrippa would not free himself.
Conclusion.
How can you become a Christian? John 16:8 stated that the Holy Spirit will convict or persuade the world of sin, righteousness and judgement.
Serious
about your sin, repent and turn to God.
Serious
about righteousness which is the excellence, the Glory of Christ, you can feel
your sin and yet not see the beauty of Christ.
Serious
about judgement the word means crises, serious about sin and Christ then the
Crisis is believe in Christ as your saviour, Christ has to be loved, has to be
chosen, if you see him you will have no trouble loving him. He loves you and
wants your heart, wants to change you, to make you a new person. Be persuaded.
Heaven,
would you be happy if Jesus was not there
Lostness is not seeing the glory of God in Christ.
Sunday 19th Isaiah 6:1-8 In the year that
King Uzziah g died, h I saw the Lord i seated on a throne, j high and exalted, k and the train of his robe l filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, m each with six wings: With two wings they
covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, n and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one
another: “Holy, holy o , holy
is the LORD Almighty; the
whole earth q is full of his
glory.” r 4 At the
sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was
filled with smoke. s 5 “Woe t to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! u For I am a man of unclean lips, v w and I live among a people of unclean lips,
x and my eyes have seen y the King, z the LORD
Almighty.” a 6
Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal b in his hand, which he had taken with tongs
from the altar. 7 With it he
touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; c your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned
for. d ” 8 Then I
heard the voice e of the Lord
saying, “Whom shall I send? f And who will go for us? g ” And I said, “Here am I. h Send me!”
We have been
challenged by Pr Marcell to be an ambasador for Christ, to seek His presence,
we were told that when God’s people meet in this place we are in God’s
territory His Embassy His Kingdom Reign.
Today being fathers day what better than to speak of how God felt when the people responded Then
I heard the voice e of the
Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? f And who will go for us? g ” And I said, “Here am I. h Send me!” God sent equipped and enabled them to fulfil their
mission. One of the problems we have
today is to determine what exactly is Sin in this multi-cultural society.
Everybody likes to think that his or her life is stable under control.
But what happens when disasters happen. King Uzziah represented stability for
Judah. It would therefore be right to think! What does his death mean for the
people – what about the future - the
people - the church. But it is at
exactly this time that God chooses to reveal Himself to Isaiah.
We read and we see
that God’s Holiness and His Universal Reign really awed Isaiah. John 12:40-41For
this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: 40
“He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see
with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal
them.” 41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory j and spoke about him. k
Why has God sent
you - us into the world. This meeting that Isaiah had with God, had and has
real significance not only for Isaiah but also for every one of us here today.
This encounter or better still this experience, we like Isaiah will
discover what God demand’s or wants from all His people.
God has shown us the nature of sin in our lives, and for me reading the
Bible it’s one of the certainties that God will judge the people. We like
Isaiah may despair for life and confess our sins to God, vs. 5 “Woe to me” .
But we can thank God that through the revelation of God in the person of Jesus
Christ, we can have the certainty that when we confess our sins to God they are
forgiven.
In this encounter with God Isaiah discovered that God is a God who
reveals himself.
Moments of crisis in your life, when hope is gone, good life seems over,
George Mitchell told me his friend has just joined the negative millionaire
club, like Isaiah when his future looked bleak.
The king is dead – no security – future uncertain – no confidence in the
system. What could he do?
Isaiah went to the Temple and he prayed. God revealed himself –
Questions we have to ask, why are you here today – praying that like me do you
want to have a encounter with the living God who wants to reveal himself to
you.
In your life right now are you in a crisis situation – things getting on
top of you, then you need an encounter with God. You need to meet with God. But
Mathew 5:8 has a warning for us “God only reveals himself to the pure in
heart”.
God reveals himself in nature, the Bible, when we pray and also through
the experience of our lives. God is always ready to reveal His Glory and His
Will for your life, if you are after the truth seek God.
God revealed himself to Isaiah and he discovered that God is Sovereign.
Vs. 1 The Lord is seated on His throne “High and Exalted” …Where is God in you
life? “Ruler or Ruled”
I believe Isaiah was in a crisis of identity situation, he was called to
be a prophet to his own people and in his own country. It would appear that he had lost all sense of
reason, everything seemed upside down. But like Isaiah we can thank God that he
does not change. He is the same “yesterday today and forever”.
Without doubt after reading John 12:40-41 We can see the confirmation of
this encounter of Isaiah with God, that he had the courage and the strength and
the certainty that he had been called by God for this moment. Just like Paul
and Barnabus, when the Holy Spirit said to the church, “separate for me”.
If we believe this truth that God is all-powerful then we like Isaiah can
rely on God. When we let God rule and give Him authority to guide us. But of
one thing I am certain God wants to send us to someone or someplace to tell
these people the Good News about Jesus Christ.
In this encounter with God Isaiah discovered that God is Holy. Vs. 3
This fact showed Isaiah that the distance between man and God is vast.
Luke 16:26… showing us that the Holiness and Glory of God reveals man’s sin.
Isaiah also discovered and realised that he was a sinner, he felt unworthy,
dirty, someone who had nothing to say, in fact he could not say anything, he
had to stay quiet, he could not pray, or worship God.
In this encounter with God another truth was revealed to him, God wants
helpers. Isaiah had received forgiveness, and he decided he had no option but
to dedicate his life to the service of his Lord. His ministry was to proclaim
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “Here I am”.
Conclusion: Isaiah’s life had changed completely after this encounter
with God.
For all Christians here today, every one of us I believe needs this
encounter with the living God. We need a Baptism of the Holy Spirit - not a topping up or a second blessing or
whatever we want to call it. What we need is for the Holy Spirit to dominate and
lead and guide our lives.
If you are not a Christian, then you need this experience, you need to
ask Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and ask Him that through the Holy Spirit,
that He comes and sits on the throne of your heart. You will only experience
this encounter with God, when we confess our sins and let Jesus and only Jesus
remember, can forgive us our sins for He died on the Cross for this reason and
He rose again to show us that we can have a new relationship with God.
Jesus said I am the Way the Truth
and the Life…
Isaiah could say nothing – in the moment of decision – moments of crisis
God revealed His Glory.
We my friends you and I we cannot and should not keep quiet – confess
your sin – receive forgiveness – let the Salvation of God Rule in your life.
Today you can have this encounter
with the Living God. – Do you want to meet the true God everyday? I do. Let me
tell you - you can when you ask the Holy Spirit to change you and lead you and
use you in wonderful and marvellous ways reaching out to others… He still is
taking the Initiative. Lets Pray.
Sunday 12th June The word of the LORD that came to Joel: It has been said that Joel is the Prophet of the Holy Spirit, as Isaiah is the Prophet for the Messiah.
Yet Joel gives us one of the darkest pictures ever drawn by a prophetic pen, but on the other hand, it is also one of there brightest. Joel 2:28 "And afterwards, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
Joel mister nobody from nowhere.
Joel 1:4-12. What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten. Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail all you drinkers of wine; wail because of the new wine, for it has been snatched from your lips. A nation has invaded my land, powerful and without number; it has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness. It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig-trees. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white. Mourn like a young woman in sackcloth grieving for the betrothed of her youth. Grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the LORD. The priests are in mourning, those who minister before the LORD. The fields are ruined, the ground is dried up; the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the oil fails. Despair, you farmers, wail, you vine growers; grieve for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field is destroyed. The vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree--all the trees of the field--are dried up. Surely the joy of mankind is withered away.
Joel 2:25f "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten-- the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm - my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed. "And afterwards, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.
People today could be forgiven, or even to be inclined to think of Joel
as Mr. Nobody. He was after all virtually unknown until certain events began to
happen in the central theme in the life of Israel. It could be proved that he
had lived very near the Temple. He certainly lived in Jerusalem and ministered
to the prisoners in Jail who were from Babylon.
What we have is three chapters with their own distinct message.
1. A Terrible Promise. A Big Appeal. A Fulfilled Promise.
At the time of his preaching, Israel was being plagued by a terrible plague of locusts, 2:1-11. They run in the roads climb the walls and when they fly it appears like an eclipse of the sun has occurred. They have the appearance of horses; they gallop along like cavalry.
We also know that the adjoining countries had not experienced this
plague, but even the worst of sinners in these foreign lands had a terrible
fear of this plague eventually affecting their cities. For the devout of Israel
it felt like another injustice against them.
The situation described by Joel was in fact very scary and frightening,
the woman of Israel must have been terrified, the locusts were after all in
their homes in their clothes and were even contaminating their food. Brazil
with cockroaches - terrible things when they are on the march.
The landowners were on the brink of national disaster, they were
desperate because their harvest was being destroyed and the nations future
economy was in great risk. I can identify with this because it happens in
Brazil and many other countries yearly, drought no rain even pestilence.
But then out of nowhere this great preacher Joel appears. We know little
about him, except that he was a man blessed by God and used and powered by
God's Holy Spirit, and he very quickly became recognized as a national
preacher, (He was like the Billy Graham of his day.)
A Big Appeal.
Joel said 2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarms on my holy
hill. Let all that live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming.
It is close at hand a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness.
Here we have God contending with his own professing people for their sins and executing upon them the judgment written in the law (De 28:42). The fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.
Which we should remember was also one of those plagues that God put on Egypt. God would bring this plague upon them, (De 28:60).
If the laws of the land happened or not as the Prophet suggested, we do not know, but later on he repeats his demand Joel 2:15-18 Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber. Let the priests, who minister before the LORD, weep between the temple porch and the altar. Let them say, "Spare your people, O LORD. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, `Where is their God?'" Then the LORD will be jealous for his land and take pity on his people.
The authorities only saw the problems related to their part of the land,
but Joel saw that God wanted to help all whom called on his name.
This request from the people of Israel is without doubt in my opinion one of the biggest requests made in the Bible.
Read it again "Spare your people, O LORD. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, `Where is their God?'"
The people were in great danger, but nothing was too difficult for the Lord. If the people turn back to God everything is possible.
Joel says in Ch.2:13 Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
Remember it is quite possible that Joel had been reading the prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the temple and also the divided security that filled the heart of the King.
God would bring help to His people if they would return to Him in
prayer.
It is interesting to note that all are included in the suggestion of Joel.
Even the most recent babies those nursing at the breast should be brought to God.
It is clear to me that these children would not be aware of the importance of the occasion but their presence would be an indication of the obedience of the parents. (Like infant dedication – as different to christening) which I explained to many couples during the dedication of their child.
3. A Fulfilled Promise.
It was at this point during the ministry of Joel that he began to widen
the theme of his message. He became interested in a New World and a new concept
filled his soul.
He spoke of the day when the Lord would distribute his Spirit to the human race without measure, and he mentions the strange signs, which would appear in the skies describing how the thousands would be in the valley of decision.
Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, and call a sacred assembly. For the Lord is coming forth from Zion.
It is quite possible that Joel did not understand to the full the
enormity of his prediction but it was to become famous. Much later when the
Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, it revolutionized the Disciples and made the
evangelization of the people possible.
Peter explaining what was happening at Pentecost says this. Acts 2:16.
No this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: "`In the last days, God
says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will
prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even
on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
Then in Ch. 3:18. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold
through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. Repent, then,
and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing
may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed
for you--even Jesus.
He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore
everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. For Moses said,
`The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own
people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen
to him will be completely cut off from among his people.' {Deut. 18:15,18,19}
"Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have
foretold these days.
Joel saw a brilliant light at the end of a long tunnel. He may have been
an obscure prophet, but he was a magnificent servant of God.
It would do us well to read these three chapters of Joel and remember
the reason that he wrote to his own people was to warn them and us of God’s
impending judgment, that unless they turned from their sin, they would suffer.
Remember God’s desires then as now is to Bless his people and not
destroy them.
Fear not, be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.
Call on the name of the Lord, and He will deliver you. Salvation is of the Lord. Amen
Sunday 8th May I shared with the leadership of the church my vision of how can we get back to the first ministry of a local church and multiply making disciples of Jesus Christ until the world is reached?
We have much to learn from the example of the disciples of the New
Testament Church and the strategies they used.
After Jesus completed the task that only He could accomplish, He died to
restore our relationship with God, Jesus commissioned His Church to make
disciples and He provided the means for the Church to fulfill this commandment,
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
We still have many Biblical principles that we must learn from the life
of the NT Church.
Remembering brothers/sisters, the disciples were
gathered together in prayer for about 10 days, waiting for the promise of the
coming of the Holy Spirit. They knew that the purpose of Jesus is to seek and
save the lost, so they went back out to the unbelievers, to reach new people.So REACHING OUT TO NEW PEOPLE that should be our priority also in the
Church today.
But the bigger question is what are we going to do with new people when we reach out to them?
What did the disciples do with the new people reached by the Gospel?
Acts 2:42 And all stood firm, following the teachings of the apostles, living
in Christian love, breaking bread together and gathered together in prayer.
Here we learned that the apostles were not just preoccupied with making converts, but they trained the new people they had reached in the practical principles for Christian life.
Training the BASICS of being a CHRISTIAN, Remember that the NT disciples
still lacked the NT texts we have today, the way they received and practiced
the teachings of Jesus serves as an example for us today. They were if you like
LIVING BIBLES.
Acts 2:47 They praised God for everything and were cherished by all. And
every day the Lord joined the people who were being saved. That is why brothers
training these new people that we have reached should be taught the BASICS OF
BEING A CHRISTIAN this is essential to establishing their new identity in
Christ.
After training in the Basics of being a Christian, look at what the
disciples did with these new people in Acts 8 and it is very clear and
important to realize that the apostles and leaders of the Church were teaching
much more than doctrines of religion to new converts, they were teaching and
equipping the new believers to reproduce.So that should be our next step also being a biblical example. EQUIPPING
THEM TO REPRODUCE
When we read of the first great persecution on the Church all but the
apostles were scattered throughout the lands of Judea and Samaria announcing
the word of God.
Acts 9:31 In all the region of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, the church
was at peace. It grew stronger and stronger, growing in numbers with the help
of the Holy Spirit and showing great respect for the Lord Jesus who was
multiplying His Church.
As we multiply we REACH NEW PERSONS, train them in the BASICS of being a
CHRISTIAN, and EQUIPPED THEM TO REPRODUCE.
Then surely we can understand that reaching new people, training them in
the Christian basics and equipping to reproduce was the origin of the
multiplication of the Church.
The early Christian was convinced as soon as people were trained the
greater opportunity that the Church had was that these people will eventually
train others.
Look at these circles and I believe that it is not difficult to put into
practice these principals REACHING NEW PEOPLE, TRAINING IN THE BASICS of being
a CHRISTIAN, and EQUIPPING them TO REPRODUCE.
Remembering this type of ministry and
training is showing and qualifying future leadership of the Church because
engaging people in this biblical strategy of making disciples to reproduce is
the key to developing leaders for a church that reproduces and multiplies.
This is where the fourth circles enters.
MOBILIZING THEM FOR AREAS SPECIFIC TO THE MINISTRY.
Pastors need to give direction and be a model to the people not only in prayer
and in the ministry of the Word.But to keep the Church in steady growth, they
must train and delegate responsibilities to others. That we will look at later
on the other paper I gave you and explain better,
Do you know how the pastor can identify new
leaders?
It is very easy if the Church has a strong ministry to REACH NEW PERSONS, to
train in the BASICS OF BEING A CHRISTIAN, and EQUIPPED TO REPRODUCE. Because I
believe that in this church working with these goals there are people bearing
fruit, being filled with the Holy Spirit and Wisdom, being a model for all here
in Portslade living a life dedicated to the central ministry that Jesus
commissioned His Church.Acts 6 we have Stephen and Philip chosen to
solve the problem of the Greek widows, reading
the text you soon learn that whatever the task or function of someone in
the Church, this should NEVER become their priority, Stephen and Philip they
never deviated from the biblical strategy of the Church's ministry TO REACH NEW
PERSONS, to train in the BASICS OF BEING A
CHRISTIAN, and being EQUIPPED TO REPRODUCE.
Brethren, whatever the specific area of the ministry that someone is
serving, may be pastoring, church trustees, diaconate leadership group woman’s
men’s children’s ministry, teching classes it may even be a ministry to clean
the church, these people should function and be always directed and considered
as facilitators that the Biblical Strategy of the Church's ministry is being
fulfilled REACHING NEW PEOPLE, TRAINING IN THE BASICS OF BEING A CHRISTIAN, AND
EQUIPPING THEM TO REPRODUCE.
I still want to show the church the mindset the Church needs for
reproduction, our church needs to develop a reproductive mentality. Because new
people need to pass through these levels for multiplication take place second
paper that I gave you.
If I ask a question what attracts to our Church? a paper I have given you. EXPLAIN
PAPER!
Experience shows me that the invitation shows that
you are caring for this person and want their good. But it is good to remember
that when you evaluate our church, you can see that each area of the ministry
has its own attraction level, some are highly attractive and another not so
much, but by chance if it is not attractive what should do?Unfortunately some churches fall into the trap of having activities or
areas to favor and please only themselves.
But what is the purpose of the Baptist Chuch in Portslade?
REACHING NEW PEOPLE, TRAINING IN BASIC CHRISTIANITY, AND EQUIPPING THEM
TO REPORDUCE.
Attraction is very good but the Involvement and Relationship lead people
to remain, the strengthening of these relationships and the essential key for
people to stay, and the sooner we work to strengthen the relationships the
person will feel accepted and part of the Church.
But this is not yet the key to the growth of the Church which is
reproduction. Let's read 2 Timothy 2: 2 Take the teachings you have heard me
give in the presence of many witnesses and give them to the care of trustworthy
men who are able to teach others.
Teaching is training another person so that she or he can train another
in exactly the same way, which in turn will also train another in exactly the
same way.That is why Mark and others are
starting the first course on Evangelism then we will go onto other subject
people using their gifts to help the church grow.
With this type of reproduction the only possible result is
Multiplication.
I taught Evandro my student pastor in Brazil and Evandro is teaching
others the ministry continues to proceed.
Because if the pastor and the leaders are not models of reproduction the
Church will not grow.
I am praying that when the time
comes for me to finish my ministry here we will already have a pastor ready to
take over someone from our own congregation who knows the churches vision and
takes the church to its next level,, because this way the church will contine
with this biblical vision and continue to grow
For years the other paper I have given you shows that the last two
thousand years the Church has used an almost unique method to fulfill the Great
Commission called Traditional.
In this method the pastor and church leaders are doing ministry work.
Perhaps the pastor has the help of a small number of dedicated brothers who try
to help the pastor n his ministry. Look at the trap of this kind of ministry in
Exodus 18:18 What you are doing is not right. 18 That way you're going to be
too tired, and so are the people. This is a lot of work for you to do alone.
That is why I have this vision that every
member has a ministry and the power to fulfill it through teaching and example
This is our vision at present to our church
perhaps amongst us we can write a new one?
Vision of Portslade Baptist Church (Our
Future)
To be a true and victorious and relevant living Church that, based on the Word
of God, exercises its ministry through its members, with each one using the gift that they received
from Christ, to make known the Name of Jesus throughout the Earth, starting in
Portslade, making disciples in all nations.
Mission of the Portslade Baptist Church
(Our Purpose)
To transform people into true disciples of Jesus throughout the world, starting
in Portslade.That the members live a life of Exaltation to
our God being Exhorted and Edified with the Word of God and Equipped for
Evangelization of the lost people in our town,
God's Promise for Portslade Baptist Church. Isaiah 54;2,3 2 “Enlarge the place of your tent, f stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. g 3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants h will dispossess nations i and settle in their desolate j cities.
Sunday 1st May Genesis 3:14-19
Easter is over, already days old. In the Christian world Billions have been
spent, mountains of food consumed, and all the emotion of the season expended
on all the traditions of Easter.
How did it all begin, what does it all mean, what has it really to do with me? Since Easter is over do I shelve it for another year or is it a starting point, perhaps a springboard into a new resurrection a new way forward.
It began here in Genesis 3:15.
He was promised even before judgment was pronounced.
Neil Armstrong, Don’t marvel that a man walked on the moon, marvel that God walked on earth. If it were not for sin Christ would not have walked on the earth.
The curse of sin, the pain, suffering, the death and hell, the unfairness of it all is part of the universal curse, some get more suffering than others, it’s not fair or just or even, it’s unbalanced because it’s a curse. It’s not all darkness, women will give birth to children and that will bring in the Christ Child, the Messiah, It will be in pain but after the pain is blessing. Mankind can eat and live, yes by the sweat of his brow and against weeds and thorns, but he can and will eat.
The labour of childbirth and the labour on the land are a blessing giving us purpose, self worth and hope.
As man labours to till the soil he is reminded that one day he will die and return from where he came.
Why did the fall
happen? What was Satan doing their?
Did God really allow all this to happen?
Satan fell without any external cause or temptation, he saw his
own glory and that was not enough he wanted God’s glory. That makes him Satan.
It’s probable that man’s trial would have been the same without Satan to
tempt him. He would see how good he was, how well made, how like God, how
would he have reacted? However the presence of Satan and temptation
gives man’s fall the single mitigating circumstance if that
is possible or permitable to say. Self-origination sin would have made man
himself a Satan?
Temptation in itself has no power to lead the soul astray; if the soul
is holy, temptation will only confirm its virtue.
Adam and Eve were held responsible for their action; they could have and should have obeyed God.
Contrast their
temptation with that of Christ.
Adam had a garden and provisions.
Christ had a wilderness and deprivation.
Adam had one visit from Satan.
Christ had forty days of oppression.
Adam had confidence in Satan
Christ had confidence in God.
Defeat and shame for Adam, Victory and glory for Christ
The motive for Adam
was not appetite but ambition; he wanted to be like God. Christ was the
opposite, Who, being
in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, (Phil
2:6) His only ambition was to serve God.
Although Satan is defeated and limited he is still active in the world today. Still spreading doubt. He unsettles the mind, fires a thought to confound the mind, to gnaw away at the soul and the inner confidence. Not a violent attack but often a subtle secret thing that saps your spirit.
If you let it get a hold of you if you accept the unworthy input then you are doing Satan’s work with him.
If you reject the unworthy thought then you stand holy in Christ. The poor unsaved wretch has no answer, but through the fall is a slave of Satan.
If you are open to Satanic schemes you can spend days, weeks, months, years in unsettled turmoil, you can easily involve others in your weakness giving them a season of clouded bewilderment and doubt with little peace.
To what purpose does Satan involve you in his wickedness, why did he involve Adam and Eve? Not your soul if you are saved, he knows that he can’t have that, and if you are not saved he already has it. No, any souls that end in damnation with Satan is a bonus, a means to an end, his real objective is to slander God, to attack His glory, to tarnish His name. Does Job fear God for nothing? As if God has to buy loyalty and friendship!!
There is a better spirit abroad, a gentle, tender, loving, kind,
merciful and forgiving one, the Spirit of Christ that encourages us to overcome
evil with good, forgive your enemies, pray for those who abuse you, love your
neighbour, and make peace with all men.
If you are willing to live for Christ then evil and temptation while uncomfortable can educate us.
Teaching us that we need redeeming love, teaching us what we are and what we can become.
Satan is limited, he is chained by an inflexible linkage, Oh, he roars
like a lion but he is not one. Christ is the lion of the tribe of
God is announcing war with Satan; He is giving us a gift,
Enmity, we hate Satan, the war is between God and Satan and we are on one side or the other. We begin on Satan’s side, he won us in the garden and unless a change comes over us we will not come over to God’s side.
God is saying, promising to send a conqueror to pluck us out of Satan’s hand.
Enmity between two seeds, two races, Children of God and the children of Satan.
John 8:4 You are of your father the devil who was a murderer from the beginning.
Matt. 13:38 Good seeds are the sons of God the tares are the sons of the wicked one.
1John 3:8 he who sins is from the Devil, for the Devil sinned from the beginning.
1 John 3:12 Not of Cain who was of the wicked one, born of Eve, but in heart he was of the wicked one.
God’s champion will
bring peace in the hearts of men. The Angels sang peace on earth and goodwill
towards men. We have to defect and join the generations of God; Christ enables
us to do this.
God promised another father figure, another Adam who we know to be
Christ; he is the saviour, the deliverer, the conqueror of Satan.
Application
Can He resist temptation any better than Adam and Eve, and can we resist temptation with His help? He
was tempted for 40 days and nights only the last three were recorded, He was
and is victorious over all of Satan’s ploys, and he will make a way of escape
for us when we are oppressed.
Can He remove our
guilt and condemnation, God cannot turn a blind eye to sin, He has
sworn that the penalty is death and only God can pay that penalty. Because He
is God then in human form He can bear the penalty of sin. His death as a human equals an atonement for
a multitude of sinners.
What security is
there those who trust Him, will the devil not just steal them back
again. Christ made it clear that none could pluck them out of His hand; nothing
can separate us from His love.
Since the human race is not a bit interested, what is the point? The Son of Adam sends His Holy Spirit to change our heart and to create interest within us, then saves us and makes us safer than Adam ever was.
Jesus was never called the second Adam,
he is the last Adam, there is no
third Adam. Christ offers a second chance to regain paradise, there will be no
third chance.
At the sound of the crunch of the apple in the garden Christ began to come? He came to save and will come again to complete that salvation. Have you begun to come to him, don’t perish with Satan and his Angels.
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Sunday 24th Luke 23:32-49 Introduction. We need to be saved, we need to trust Christ as our Saviour. You can and must be saved from your sin. Best sermon that I could think of is a seven point sermon, the last sermon Jesus preached before his death.
Christ preaching the Gospel from the Cross.
Seven deep outpouring, seven painful utterances of mercy and justice, seven
cries from the heart that summarize, sum up, the whole Gospel which is powerful
enough to change any sinner into a saint and any hell into heaven. This is how
men can be saved, it is a lifeline strengthened and soaked in the blood of the
saviour. John Newton. Amazing Grace.
Stretch out the hand of faith and grasp the lifeline and be saved. Miss the lifeline and be lost forever.
"Father, forgive them, for they do not
know what they are doing." (Lk 23:34).
"I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." (Lk 23:43).
"Dear woman, here is your son," "Here is your mother." (Jn 19:26-27).
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mt 27:46-47; Mk 15:34-36).
"I am thirsty." (Jn 19:28).
"It is finished." (Jn 19:30).
"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." (Lk 23:46).
First
point
in this Gospel sermon was uttered when they nailed him to the cross. It was a
prayer. 23:34 Father forgive them they know not what
they do. In the midst of the horrific painful and cruel crucifixion is
born the gospel message a message that offers mercy, pardon and forgiveness for
all, even for those with the hammer in their hands, even for you. Now there is
no sin that cannot be cleansed when brought to the blood. Only the unpardonable
sin cannot be brought to the blood so cannot be forgiven.
Second
point.
He responds to a vile sinner who was reviling him then suddenly changes and
believes and asks for help. What changed him, Faith comes by hearing and
hearing by the word of God, he saw the writing above His head, he heard his
first point and longed for that mercy and pardon. Christ did not reply and say
yes I will remember you, He said Today you will be with
me in paradise. JC Ryle calls this man the first immediate convert of
the Gospel and pictures the angels in paradise saying who is this man that
comes with Christ walking hand in hand approaching the throne of mercy, who is
this that The Son introduces to His Father? The dying thief rejoiced to see
that fountain in his day and there may you as vile as he was, wash all your
sins away. All that Adam lost will be restored to you today.
Third
point
concerns his unique and sole office of saviour. Woman
here is your son, God has no mother, she was a sanctified vessel used of
God in the incarnation but had no place at the crucifixion, he would die alone
and he alone saves. He distances himself from her as he had done before at the
temple when he was 12, at Canna, what have I to do with you; my hour has not
yet come, lonely hour. Simeon prophesied a sword would pierce her heart and
here it is the sword of separation. Jesus puts Mary under the protection of
beloved John where she will have security and peace.
Fourth
point. He
deals with his own demons. My god my God why hast thou
forsaken me. From Psalm 22 which ends with another point, it is
finished. In-between these two statements the full wrath of God fell on Him.
What suffering what wrath was outpoured upon him, not just the sin of our days
of iniquity but the sin of the days of our enlightenment which are the worst
hell of all? Faithful and just to cleanse us from our sin, cleansing comes only
from his blood. Why, no man can fathom the anguish of the cry, sunk to hell where
his bear foot touched the blistering heated coals of that place of torment.
Pain in his holy soul as the foulness of our sin and the fire of our judgement
was fully laid on him.
Fifth
point.
I thirst, four times they tried to give him help
and make him drink, but he had to carry the burden alone without help. My
virtue has gone out of me as the woman touched him, it left its mark. He gave
the total virtue of his life and blood and it marked him. Thirsty all through
the crucifixion but he refused to drink until his work was done. There is a
thirst in hell that will never be quenched. The rich man wanted just a drop,
but there was none available, he was in a fire that burns the mouth dry. Trust
in Christ and you will never thirst again.
Sixth
point.
Victory, It is finished, a great cry, after he
had endured all he cried it is finished, only then did he bow his head, never
before. At that very moment the divine hands of God reached down and seized the
great curtain, the great veil in Herods temple and ripped it apart from top to
bottom and a way was made for us to enter into the most holy place, to the
throne of grace to the mercy seat. You can come there and say be merciful to me
a sinner.
Seventh
point is
the Conclusion, into your hands I commend my spirit.
You can say that now, and on your deathbed can repeat it with confidence. The
spirit answers to the blood of Christ, accept Him and you will know that you
are saved.
Pastor David M Meikle.
Micah 7:18 -20 Theologians use big words to describe God’s unique qualities. Micah marvelled even more over this: God’s Forgivness, unlike the angry God of other nations, ISRAEL.S God delighted to show mercy. 7:18. 18 Who is a God v like you, who pardons sin w and forgives x the transgression of the remnant y of his inheritance? z You do not stay angry a forever but delight to show mercy. b 19 You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities c into the depths of the sea. d 20 You will be true to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, e as you pledged on oath to our fathers f in days long ago. g
All
the 4 major and 12 minor prophets in the bible asked this question even Moses asked
in exodus 15:11who among the god’s is like you,o Lord? Psalm 89:8 O lord God
almighty who is like you?
The Lord gives you choices in how you respond to the things of life! I have no idea how some folks navigate life without faith in Jesus.
How you respond is everything Remember I said before “Never laugh at your wife’s choices, you are one of them.” “I wish there was an autocorrect function for life’s choices.” sadly “Some people don’t want to be fixed because being broken gets them attention!”
In view of the many provocations and
backslidings of the people, Micah is filled with wonder at the goodness and
long suffering of God.
Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.
And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:
Its
interesting because all surrounding gods demanded human sacrificies, casting
living children into fire, with men inventing there own methods of religion.
But God on the other hand demanded sacrifices but He supplied the sacrifice, he
pardoned and punishment sin but he supplied the offering. His own son. God said you sin but I suffer.
What does
God do with sin when confessed? Isaiah 38:17 says He puts it behind his back –
out of sight. Micah says it is out of reach – in the depth of the sea Psalm 103:2 says it as far as the east
is from the west Jeremiah 31:34 says
I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more – out of
mind and finally Acts 3:19 Repent
then turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out – out of existance.
So if God
says that our sins are out of existence and we remember them, where is that
memory coming from?
Your
memory of guilt and the taunting of satan. Satan does not mention specifics, he
just opresses you and you supply the details as you remember your sins and
failings. We remember were we came from but that memory is healed bt the Blood
of Christ. Battle is of the mind so therefore we should have the mind of
Christ..
This
promise is addressed to the remnant of God’ people: remember not all Israel
were saved. God judged the Northeren kingdom and a remnant escaped to Judah.
God judged Judah and a remnant were preserved in captivity to eventually return
and rebuld the temple.
The devil
wants to put you back under the wrath of God, he wants you to do things to
appease God. God has no anger towards those who are under the blood of Christ.
Why is
God so good? Because he pardons not just dismiss. We dismiss our sins God deals
with them, he settles all our sins, you may ask how, He became a man like us,
lived the life we cant live, suffered the shame, guilt and wrath of God against
sin. That is unique.
God’s
faithfulness is not to a faithfull people, even the remnant were not faithful
to God. They just were not so blatant in sin, that is why God is faithful to
His Promise rather than his people. He promised Abraham and Jacob and he will
keep and be faithful to His Word, even though His people are unfaithful, God
will remain faithful to His Word.
Are you
feeling weak, have you lost the face and presence of God and hearing the voice
of God in your Life? Then remember He promised never to leave you or forsake
you.
In Brazil
it was easier to speak to people about backsliding as it was considered to be
an absence from the Prayer Meeting.
God pardons unsubdued sin. Sin that constantly erupts to hurt you and those around you. Satan puts it on the shelf as useless, or make you a troublemaker. If you meet with Christ today as a christian can then subdue uour sin, because Jesus is interceding for you right right now, he keeps you in constant prayer, constant grace and constant forgiveness, that is why there is no other God like our God, my prayer is that you turn to Him.
Christ
forgives and gives us the poweer to life a spirit filled life. What about those
who have lived in habitual sin, unsubdued sin, never gaining lasting peace but
forever moving between victory and defeat?
This
person the devil accuses of not being a true christian. The non christian feels
nothing of guilt but enjoys his godlessness. The true christian is troubled
because the Spirit lives within him, he feels grieve and is disgusted with
himself just like Jabez which we looked at in Open Fellowship He prays Lord
keep me from sin that it might not grieve me 1 Cron 4:10
Therefore
today my adivce is repent and recieve Christ, believe and confess, declare
boldly, then begin to bear fruit and that fruit only manifests if you are part
of the tree of life Jesus Christ.
Sunday 20th March
During this time we are all praying for Ukraine and the missionaries who are there, we haveother missionaries around the world, I have been praying for our local churches finances and their missionary support offerings, as some are perhaps struggling but we need to always remember that the Kingdom Of God is an ongoing process. Thank you for your generous offering for Ukraine appeal and our Friday breakfast support. God Bless each and everyone of you.
Here in
Portslade we support: 6 missions which you know from our financial report.
Philippians 4: 10 – 20 THE CONTENTED CHRISTIAN
Paul gives thanks for their gifts -
Paul uses the word content in v.11. He seems to be saying in this passage that whatever his circumstances, even when they were varied between extreme joy and extreme sadness, or even when he was in the kind of in-between state which hits many of us when nothing much seems to be happening, he says that whatever the circumstances he has learned to be content.
CHRISTIAN
GENEROSITY\ serving with the BMS was tremendous as we know that they are a
faith mission, they always paid their missionaries and looked after us both
financially and spiritually even when perhaps their general offerings were low.
Thank God, for the BMS and other missionary societies that are serving the
Kingdom of God. When their ministry in Brazil was over I decided to return as a
independant missionary and was supported by:
CHURCHES,
AND FRIENDS FAITHFULL FOR MAY YEARS IN GIVING SUPPORT FINANCIALLY AND IN
PRAYER. When I went back to Brazil as a faith missionary I was supported by
many faithfull people and churches.
But then I
accepted a call to be pastor at Portslade Baptist Church here in England. I
asked them to stop my personal financial support but to continue and redirect their
blessings to others who were starting out on their missionary journey as I was
now on a stipend here in Portslade, and their needs as missionaries on the
field are great at these times
As far as
practical matters go, Paul says that he had enough because other Christians
contributed to his needs and in this passage, he admits his gratitude.
Therefore, there is a principle here, which we would do well to learn and that
is: that one Christian has enough
because another Christian is generous.
So
Christian generosity has a double effect. On the one hand, the body of Christ
is blessed when members are generous one towards the other, on the other hand,
generosity of this kind seems to store up treasure in heaven, for Paul says in
v.17 "not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be
credited to your account." God looks upon our love and care for each other
in heaven.
We as a
church had a service of thanksgiving to raise funds for issues our church needs
that are outwith our normal budget and as we were in lockdown and had no
services at this that we prayed/considered and gave out a special appeal
offering letter and Gods people responded. We thank all our people who responded
with very generous gifts and are continuing to be faithful in their tithes and
offerings and God has blessed us all through this pandemic lockdown, we have
maintained our giving to missionary support and paid all our monthly bills.
That is
why I am asking you and appeal to you and encourage every christian to remember
in your prayers the BMS and other missionary agencies and our missionaries on
the field also for our church members to continue to recieve the blessings that
as we give our own offering as a church body to missions we will continue to be
blessed by our God
I have a picture of a rainbow in my window and some
churches sugested we paint or put a picture of a rainbow in our window to
remind people there is hope in God. Today I want to thank all the Daisy’s in
our lives, you perhaps go by other names but to me you remind me of Daisy.
Daisy was a spinster lady who loved the Lord and was a dedicated member of Springburn Baptist church where I was serving for a time. She was a dedicated caring Christian lady who loved the Lord and His church, and His People, she stayed around the corner from the manse, and in my moments of despair and troubles passing through some hard times she supported me and stuck by me as she had done for many others.
One day when things were really difficult which nobody knew about just me and God as I did not tell anyone what was happening, she sent me a small card with a Rainbow and reminded me of the promises of God in my life and ministry, inside she wrote David who can make Straight what God has made crooked, then she said God can make straight what Satan tried to make crooked and destroy in your life David.
I have not heard from Daisy since I left Springburn do not know if she is still alive but I will never forget her and still have this card tucked in my Bible and when going through difficult times which we all do especially now with this war and corona virus that is still affecting some and some are still isolating. I remember Daisy and her message to me. The last I heard of Daisy was that she had altzimers and was not well at all and in a care home. However, wherever she is, I know she is with her Lord.
Here in Portslade and in other churches I have served I thank God for the Daisy’s, they may have other names but to me they are Daisy’s.
People who care for others , here in Portslade we have many Daisy’s, we have a daisy that has started our Whatsapp group called PBC support group, letting people share together, asking for prayer or support, we have other daisy’s phoning those who do not have whatsapp daily to pray and make sure they are ok, other daisy’s who visits the care homes of elderly through Brighton City Mission, and members of our church in similar situations, we have other daisy’s who give up their time to cook a Friday breakfast for people in our community, other daisys serving and cleaning up afterwards other daisys and church members using their time to clean the church, we have other daisy’s who are doing tremendous ministries like Little Lights and our choir to mention only some we have all different types of ministries but God knows these Daisy’s and they will never be forgotten.
Why did this come to mind because during this difficult time many feeling isolated and alone and feel no one cares but God is sending many daisy’s to help them through this crises and we believe it will pass, just like the war in Ukcrain but it has shown once again the quality of Christian people who care enough to do something and bring a little relief and hope into other peoples lives during this conflict.
Its the Lords day today with us our church doors open and the church is active we are seeing Gods people uniting and praying and many are closer to God than they ever where, they are using this time to meditate on His Word and Pray and care and think about others.
Another thought I had when you are out walking for some exercise, pray for your street and for your neighbours give them a card put it though their door we have plenty at the back of the church, but if possible chat to them, it may be the only contact they have that day, that week.
A neighbour passed by the other day James was working in the gareden he said it was beautiful, and he chatted away he was up in Scotland visiting his daughter so we had a good chat with him
We have come through this virus our church is stronger and a more united church a family of believers who have shown that we care for each other and we will continue to produce Daisy’s to our lost world; God Bless you all
Pastor David M Meikle
Sunday 13th March
2 CORINTHIANS 1:12 - 2:17 WHEN GOD BLOWS UP YOUR PLANS
Today I have tried to capture a feeling that we as
believers in all honesty do experience from time to time, that God deliberately
smashes down our plans, our hopes and dreams. I'm not trying to portray God as
a vindictive terrorist in the sky, but if you spent time with broken people you
will know that this is often a real and an angry reaction against God when
things do not go our way.
God does intervene in our plans and our lives. The
apostle Paul was on his way to Damascus planning to persecute Christians when
God intervened, Jesus appeared to him and he was converted to Christ. God
interrupted my life in Brazil in the past I had many hectic years there. But
last two years there I had lived a
tranquil rural life, then God sending me a unanimous call to be the pastor here
in Portslade. I had hopes and plans to retire in Brazil, I had painted the
whole of my house, but I have learned that you have to hold loosely to the
things of the world if you want to hold tightly to the Kingdom.
Many, if not all of you who are Christians may have had
hopes or expectations of your life that will not now be fulfilled because God
has changed your lives and sent you in a new way. I want to testify that God's
way is better is better than any I could have planned for myself, but I also
want to acknowledge that I have not always felt that way.
And so in our own lives that unexpected job move, that
unexpected tragedy, that unexpected illness, that unexpected new
friendship...the list goes on...can change everything. We can even have made
plans which we believed were of the Lord, we can have a testimony of scripture
readings, of being guided in prayer and even messages from the pulpit...and
then it all worked out differently, and we can be left hurt, confused, some may
even become bitter. We can have plans for our church, we can sense God's
guidance in definite ways, and then God seems to pull the plug out and we
wonder what it is all about. The way we have been going may not be the way that
God will lead us much longer, are we ready to have our plans changed? Are we
ready to let God have such a free hand that our lives may never be the same
again? There may be changes round the corner in your family, in your
career..how will you react if God blows up your plans?
This is all introduction, and is all in an attempt to get
the feel of a long section which runs from 2 Corinthians 1:12 - 2:17 Paul is bruised, bruised because the
Christians in Corinth are calling him names because he dared to change plans,
and in so doing they believed that he broke promises that he made to them.
There was also serious opposition to him in the Corinthian church - one of the
members, possibly a leader in the church, had had to be disciplined and this
had caused Paul a lot of personal pain. While this was going on Paul was in
Asia facing such severe personal trials that he despaired even of his life
(1:8). 1:1 tells us that Paul was an apostle by the will of God, the will of
God was certainly very hard to follow at this time, especially as following God's
will mean that Paul had to change his plans.
Originally in 1 Cor 16:2 - 8 Paul had promised to spend
the winter in Corinth if the Lord so permitted. Paul wanted to come to Corinth
to gather the offerings which the Corinthians had collected for the poor Jewish
believers in Jerusalem, but much to Paul's embarrassment he was forced to change
those plans. Instead, he planned to visit Corinth twice, once on his way to
Macedonia, and once on his way back. He would then add the Corinthian
collection to the one from Macedonia and take them both to Jerusalem.
But even that plan had to be scrapped. Paul says in 2:1
that he scrapped this second plan because he could not bear to make another
painful visit to them. The previous visit had been painful because of the accusations
laid against him for changing plans, in 1:12 Paul gets accused of following
"worldy wisdom" and 1:17 of treating the things of God lightly. Later
in 2:17 he gets accused of peddling the word of God for personal profit. In
other words, his basic integrity and personal trustworthiness was coming under
attack from the believers in Corinth - and all because following God's will had
led him to change plans.
How do we keep ourselves in the Lord's will when things
do not go to plan, and we find ourselves perhaps coming under criticism, even
from other believers. Paul points out three things which kept him going:
1. A clear conscience
2. A forgiving heart 3. A triumphant faith
1. A CLEAR CONSCIENCE (1:12 - 24). Paul says in v.12 that "our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God."
That word "conscience" the bible uses in the
sense of discerning between what is right and wrong, but not what is right and
wrong of our own choosing, but what is right with God and the scriptures, and
what is wrong with God and the scriptures. The conscience can only be clear
when you know that what you are doing is in line with the scriptures, and when
you have a God given peace in your heart.
So when Paul had to change his plans his conscience was
clear, he had done the right thing thus far, and when God sent him a new way he
went that way too. But instead of seeing Paul as a man who followed the will of
God the Corinthians were accusing him of being a waverer, who if he said
"yes" you were left wondering if he meant "yes" or really
meant "no." You know the type of person I mean who says "yes
I'll help" but you're left wondering if they ever will get round to it.
Remember at this time there were many false prophets doing the rounds who could
not be trusted.
The Corinthians were therefore saying that Paul's change
in plans made him untrustworthy, against this accusation Paul cites two
evidences to defend his trustworthiness:
1. The message he proclaimed (vv 18 - 20): He reminds the
Corinthians that the message that he, Silas and Timothy preached was about the
Jesus Christ who said "yes" to all the OT prophecies and promises
about the Messiah. He reminds the Corinthians that Jesus Christ reveals the
promises, fulfils the promises and enables us to claim the promises of God. How
could God reveal such a message through false or untrustworthy instruments?
Will they not now remember how trustworthy they found him and his message then,
and will they not consider him and his message to be trustworthy still?
2. The work of the Spirit in his life (vv 21 - 24): What
Paul is saying in these verses is that God's work in his life guarantees the
trustworthiness of what he says and does. God has placed the Holy Spirit in his
life, and that Spirit makes him stand firm in Christ, commissions or anoints
him as an apostle, puts Christ's ownership upon his life and guarantees his
place in the eternal salvation which is to come.
What Paul is making clear here is that his integrity as
an apostle or preacher does not lie in himself, in his background, in his
education - but only in the evidence of what God is doing in his life. His
claim is that when you meet a person who is truly following the Lord then you
ought to trust that person, and if that God-filled and God-led person changes
his plans then it is not through human fickleness, it is not because they are
not right with God, but because they are right with God and God is leading in a
different direction to that which was anticipated.
So Paul's change in plans were based on two things -
firstly the direct leading of God, and secondly his desire to do what was best
for the Corinthians, as he says in v.23 "it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth."
So if you find your life suddenly changed and turned
around, if you find something suddenly working out differently to how you
expected, if you find hopes and dreams disappearing - have you a clear
conscience? If you have, if you believe that you have followed the will of God
thus far, then you must rely on the fact that you are still in the will of God.
God's will will not have changed, only your understanding of it.
If like Jonah you find your life changing, but do not
have a clear conscience, then surely you must take the opportunity now to put
yourself and your life right before God. Sometimes God does allow our plans to
be blown up because they are the wrong plans for us, and we need to come to our
senses. What I want us to see however, is that it is possible to follow the
will of the Lord and for things to work out differently, it is possible to come
under severe criticism - even from believers - and still be right before God.
2. A FORGIVING HEART (2:1 - 11).
There can be no doubt that there was a pastoral problem in the Corinthian church which had caused Paul a lot of grief and pain, and this pastoral problem had led to a change of direction in his ministry in Corinth. Every pastor knows that the church is about people, and that pastoral problems either caused by accident or by deliberate sinful action can change the direction of ministry for many months, even years, even forever.
It is possible that the person in trouble here was the
same man that we encounter in 1 Cor 5 who was living in an immoral relationship
with his father's wife. It may be a different situation, but whatever it was,
it was challenging Paul's authority over the Church. Paul made a quick visit to
deal with the problem (12:14) and wrote to them about it (13:1). The issue here
is that other people's sinful actions caused him to change his plans and
redirect his ministry. How did he react, and how do we react when other
people's sinful actions blow up our plans?
1. Paul put others first (2:1 - 4): In these verses
Paul's priority was not his own feelings, but the feelings of others. Yet that
does not mean that he did nothing, rather he knew that he had to lead the
church to the point of obeying the word and disciplining the offender. Paul knew
that his words would wound, and this brought him pain and distress, even tears.
But the bottom line is his love for the Corinthians - and that meant that other
plans had to be put aside until they got this problem sorted out.
There are plans we might have made that need to be put
aside until we can get some people's lives sorted out. We have to be prepared
to shelve plans of our own so that people in pain can get help.
And so vv 5 and 6 make it plain that upon Paul's guidance
the offender was disciplined, and punished. This is a subject worth study by
itself, but it can only be noted now that Paul was not happy to sweep things
under the carpet, he knew that ministry could not progress until certain things
had been dealt with.
2. Paul
encouraged forgiveness (vv 7 - 11): Paul encouraged forgiveness for the
offending person for three reasons:
1. For the offenders own sake (v.7 and 8): So that he
would not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. There comes a time when
discipline becomes demonic unless forgiveness comes in to heal and restore.
2. For the Lord's sake (vv 9 and 10): The offence was not
so much between the offender and the church, but also between the offender and
the Saviour. So the Lord commands two things of us - proper discipline and
proper forgiveness.
3. For the church's sake (v.11): When there is an
unforgiving spirit in the congregation then the devil can creep in and use it
as a springboard to create havoc amongst the believers.
Thus when your plans are changed through the sinful
actions of others God does not expect you to sweep it under the carpet, if
there is sin then there has to be church discipline, but in time there has also
to be church forgiveness. If your plans have been blown up by the actions of
others then you must come to the point of forgiveness or you are opening the
door to Satan creating havoc in the offenders life, in your life and the life
of the church.
3. A CONQUERING FAITH (2:12 - 17).
As we look at these verses it seems that Paul's plans had
completely fallen apart. He went to Troas in Asia but Titus was not there. At
the same time there was this havoc in Corinth. In Troas it looked like an open
door to ministry could not be walked through because of the changing
circumstances. Hopes and plans were being set back, Paul did not have peace in
his heart or mind, it looked like Satan was getting a victory.
This again is real to us from time to time. Plans made
become plans changed. There is trouble somewhere else and we find that we can
not walk through a door of opportunity. We feel set back, we feel that satan is
getting the upper hand. How do we react - we turn to 2 Cor 2:14 and we look at
the song of triumph that Paul sings out in these verses to the end of the
chapter, and we claim these things, and we believe these verses. They contain
three great truths that we must not lose sight of:
1. The truth that it is God who leads us (v.14): The
circumstances were not good, Paul could not explain all the detours,
distractions and disappointments but he was sure that God was in control. We
need to be reminded again of the truth that we find in Ecclesiastes 3:11 - God
is making all things beautiful in his time.
2. The truth that God is leading us in triumph (v.14):
The picture here is of the Roman Triumph, the special tribute which the city of
Rome gave to its conquering generals when they returned home. The commander
would ride at the head in a golden chariot surrounded by his officers, the
parade would include a display of all the spoils of battle, and dragging up the
rear would be the defeated enemy soldiers.
Paul takes this picture and he uses it to encourage
believers who find their lives and their plans changed, who find themselves
under similar pressures. He says that we follow Christ who has utterly and
completely defeated an enemy - Satan himself, and that we walk like victorious
sons behind him, what we're being told is that we follow behind Christ's
triumph. In other words we do not have to struggle for victory in our lives,
Christ has walked ahead of us, won a victory, and we walk in victory. Quite
frankly the situation in Corinth and in Asia where Titus had failed to appear
did not look like victories from a human point of view at all - but Paul
believed God, and God turned defeat into victory.
And look at that word "always" in v.14 - it's a
reminder that every circumstance is being used by God for victory, for the
Christian, for the believing Church there are no set backs, everything is being
used to lead us in triumph as we follow the victory that Christ has already
won.
3. The truth that God uses us as he leads us (vv 14 -
17): As the Roman priests carried their insence it affected people in one of
two ways. To the triumphant soldiers it meant life and victory, to the defeated
enemy it meant defeat and death - they were on their way to be killed by the
beasts.
This is Paul's picture of Christian ministry. Believers
as they follow Christ emit a scent, to God they are the fragrance of Jesus
Christ, to other believers they are the fragrance of life, but to unbelievers
we are the fragrance of death. As we go through circumstances God uses it all -
he uses everything he puts us through to emit the scent of Christ, reminding
believers of victory, reminding unbelievers of death and their need of Christ.
It's a tremendous responsibility, and no wonder he cries
out in v.16 "and who is equal for such a task?" and answers in 3:5
that our competence or sufficiency comes from God.
And there is where we are going to stop this morning. I
have swept through a huge section picking out only one theme amongst many, I
have skimmed over verses that we you need to go back to later and look at at
greater detail. I believe that God wants me to finish by telling you this -
that if you feel that God had blown up your plans, if you feel that your life
has been changed through the actions of God, or even the sinful actions of
others - then God is calling you to have faith. He promises you as an
individual, and we together as a Church, that his changes in plan come only so
that he can lead us in triumph behind Christ.
If you have a clear conscience, a forgiving heart, and a
triumphant faith then God will use everything to spread the life and fragrance
of Jesus through what you are going through even now. You may not understand it
all, you may not even like it all, but be assured His way is the way of triumph
and not of defeat.
Lift up your heads. Be encouraged, "thanks be to God, who always leads us in
triumphant procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance
of the knowledge of him."
Sunday 6th March
I touched on this theme at the beginning of this pandemic but what are our thoughts in understanding today to shape tomorrow- Political –Scientists War with Russia etc.
John 13:7 Jesus replied: Now you do not understand what I am doing, but later you will understand!
I chronicle 12.32 When King David
was fleeing from Saul; God sent thousands of people to help him. All that God
put at the disposition of David were men experienced in battle. Some of these
men were chosen according to their fighting spirit, others because of military
skill and war experience. Others were chosen because of courage and loyalty.
However, among all these men,
those who were perhaps the most important were the 200 men of Issachar. The
characteristics of these men: they were tacticians. These men were responsible
for drafting a battle plan because the skill of a planner allows them to see
beyond what was before the eyes of all.
They possessed the ability to see
details of the day-to-day events and with this ability; they could discern
really important issues of their days and so draw a course a plan for victory.
Understand today and what can be
done now depends on our strategy to design a future of happiness for our life,
for our family and for our church and nation and this world which seems on the
brink of war.
What are the challenges we have
today to design and plan to have a happy and healthy future for tomorrow? Does
anyone really understand this corona
virus and how its going to affect us tomorrow, can we ever get back to normal:
Does anyone understand why some
in Scotland want independance? They should look at Ukraine, within that country
there are separtists groups, now splitting the country in three, and it has led
to the terrible threat of war with Russia
I. We need to understand the
current moment do we trust in these scientists and politians world leaders: do
they really understand the crisis we are in. Not only covid, peoples welfare
heating electricity floods climate change, threats of war:
What gave the 200 men of Issachar
the discernment to know and understand the moment they were passing? I pray for
the same understanding for this government in this war that looks iminent and
the scientists, doctors and care home staff, which have a real staff crisis.
The men of Issachar were the
mentors of the people of Israel. They knew all things pertaining to time,
astrology, history, knowledge of agriculture, season for planting; they knew
other peoples, their cultures, characteristics, etc... In addition, they had
the ability to discern the time and seasons of the year.
The same knowledge needed to have
the reality that surrounds us. What is behind the things we see and those
things that are happening to us today and how can we apply this knowledge to
the context of our marriage, our family, the facts of the corona virus, this
war that is imminent and even our Church etc...
This ability to make a survey of
reality is to help us to take notice of all its extent. Moment/Time
II. We need to know what to do
now, that is our struggle: To do what I know how to do or do what you know how
to do about God's plans. The men of Issachar submitted to God all their
knowledge. They believed that the knowledge they had was subordinate to God and
so God acted.
In wartime, as was the case, they
knew how to organize war strategy: defense and attack.
What do you need to do right now
given the situation of your own life? Pray -Go to church; -Read the word;
Forgive -Reconcile; to be faithful and confident with faith and perseverance.
When Jesus replied: Now you do
not understand what I am doing, but later you will understand!
Come back to the Bible in 1
Chronicles 12.32 because we need to believe that God wants a better future for
everyone of us. The people expected victory in battle as we pray that every
endeavor not only by the government but also ourselves in our life’s
choices and ministry will result in
success.
What do you believe in? -Your own
ability; - or the action and the Will of God.
The best that you and I desire
for our life, God desires even more. David and his men knew that God had
planned for them the best. Our fears: Many think the government has got it
wrong, and perhaps they did but we can say the same thing in any given
situation with hindsight we can even say what is wrong with the church or our
world.
Why does the church not grow why
do people do not stay, but brothers my experience shows the problem is not in
the church we are a good church, the problem is in the people they believe that
going to church is a waste of time, being a believer will alienate me and I
will become boring, this business of God will keep people away from me. What do
you think this lockdown has produced: people still get awkward even afraid if
others even get to close to them.
Well, Issachar and his 200 men
believed that they would win the battle. They had the courage to believe in God
and that He has for us is the best.
What the church needs today is to
have perseverance and faithfulness Jesus replied: Now you do not understand what
I am doing, but later you will understand!
God wants us to be people who
understand our times, people who come to know what to do and how to do it, and
still have the courage to make a Difference. This attitude or lack of it, is
what will determine the future of your life, your family, this world and the
church itself.
When we study the Bible, we
observe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is totally focused on
relationships. That is why we missed
each other our brothers/sisters on Sunday during this lockdown period because
it is good to have fellowship with the family of God. We see people seeking
separation even in our own country, but I believe that God wants unity not
division.
But we live in days when
relationships are distant, increasingly impersonal, more and more virtual –
"social networks". Whatsapp is a real blessing, but also a drug the
person who has an anniversary we leave "a message". Very difficult to
communicate on a personal level and even worse with so many cell phones,
before the cell phone people called and said how are you now its where are you,
people it seems have no time to talk!
Mark 8:22 to 25 – Jesus asked him
do you see anything? What was the blind
man's response? I see people as walking trees. Jesus prays the second time and
the man comes to see people clearly as people – remember brother’s people have
feelings, and dreams.
How do you see people? We often
see them as trees: "Beggars, alcoholics, marginal, proud, meddling,
etc." The worst is when you cannot even see them.
How many times have you talked,
asked the name of the waiter, the attendant, the cleaning lady at the shops?
The postman, bin man, the shop assistant. Often these people are invisible to
us.
I pray that these politicians
stop the mania of wanting to be the best, the greatest, the one who only wants
to be in charge in Mark 9:33 to 35 They
were arguing, disputing with each other, about who would be the greatest. We
can see this happening now in the political realm but we cannot let politics
interfere with people lives we are all in this together as one nation.
However, what was the teaching of
Jesus? That in the Kingdom of God, what is great in the eyes of God is the one
who serves, that gives the honour to his neighbour, whoever serves is not
concerned to be the first, but to make sure that everyone is well.
Mark 11:15 "My house will be
called ' House of Prayer ' for all peoples." But you have turned it into a
den of thieves!
Mark 11:16 – What did Jesus not
allow? People who are walking needlessly around the country and not paying
attention to stay alert.
Mark 11:17: That is why God wants
our church to be a house of prayer for all nations. House of Blessing, House of
Refuge, House of Help to the needy.
1 Corinthians 6:19,20 – Our body
is the Temple of the Holy Spirit - So Jesus is saying, stop it. Stop bringing
rubbish to God's temple. Let us pray today that God will heal our country our
world and once again we see that we need to look at people as people and not as
statistics.
The 200 men of Issachar had the
discernment to know and understand the moment they were passing. We need to still focus on praying for our
goverment the NHS front line workers and for those children going to school,
people getting back to work, sure it is not easy but let us pray for those making dificult
decisions for our nation and this world.
Now you do not understand what I
am doing, but later you will understand!
Sunday 20th Psalm 51 Many types of Psalms, I see here a Psalm of Renewal. Revival. Redemption. I also like to apply each verse in my own life meditate on it and let God speak to me.
David is responding to Gods
powerful word through Nathan. You are here to respond to Gods word,vs 8 says
let me hear joy and gladness = not feel?
That is why a word from God
settles the matter, hear the word and receive joy and gladness.
Psalm of Renewal. David’s darkest moment,
face to face with his sin. Here we have a child of God who sinned in a
particular way, his spirit has been broken. Many Christians have no place
for such things. It’s not God’s will for a Christian to have an unclean
heart.
Vs 1.He Cries
out, have mercy. But he knows he has no claim on the favour he begs.
That is why Steadfast unfailing love is covenant love and for all his unworthiness he still belongs.
Paradox of the Prodigal, father, I am not worthy to be called your son!
There is more to
forgiveness than tender compassion of which God has abundance. The accusing
record of sin remains, the pollution clings to the mind, soul, heart and will.
David pleads for it to be wiped away, blotted out.
Those who work with computers, when asked how do you deal with problems,they wipe the hard drive clean and re boot it and reform it. God wipes clean, blots out our sin but only the Gospel reveals at what cost.
He forgave us all our sins having canceled the
written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed
to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:14
Vs 2. Wash and clean. I think about my mother doing the
laundry washing clothes again and again until they are clean. The image of
David on his knees praying again and again, prevailing, until he knows that he
has dealt with everything. Deep cleansing.
Vs 3. His sin confronts him as treason against God.
Murder and adultery surely is against people, yes, but the heart of sin is
always against God. Our bodies are not our own, our neighbours are made in Gods
image also.
Previously David was covering up his tracts, now he is saying how could I treat God so!
Vs 5. He sees that his crime was no freak event but an
extreme expression of the warped deformed character he had always been and of
the faulty stock that he came from. He is not against his mother or conception
but realizes that he is a sinner; sin is the very element that he lives in.
Vs 7. Purge me with hyssop, leaper sprinkled seven times
with sacrificial blood, hyssop being the sprinkler, to be declared clean. Purge
is to de-sin (de-ice) whiter than snow, no half measures with God.
All this self knowledge could have led to despair
but it led to a greater enlarged prayer. (Romans
8:14-18) For if you live according to the sinful
nature, you will die; f but
if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, g you will live, h 14 because those who are led by
the Spirit of God i are sons
of God. j 15 For
you did not receive a spirit k that makes you a slave again to fear, l but you received the Spirit of sonship.
35 And by him we cry, “Abba, 36Father.” m 16 The Spirit himself testifies
with our spirit n that we are
God’s children. o 17
Now if we are children, then we are heirs p —heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if
indeed we share in his sufferings q in order that we may also share in his glory.
r
A prayer for a miracle.
Vs 10. Create is a term for what God alone can do. It can be like the first day of creation instant, or a process of seven days!
Vs
12 Restore, renew and
fill, the prayer of a backslider who has found repentance. The fear of being
castaway comes from the example of Saul from whom the spirit of God departed.
Vs
13.The positive delight
in God’s will is the antidote to temptation, David in his prosperity lost this
delight. He was also silenced by his guilty conscience; a joyous faith is an
infectious one. Peter, when you are turned again, strengthen your brothers.
A Psalm of Revival
2 Chr.7:14 if my people, who
are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and
turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their
sin and will heal their land.
That’s a text for revival
and psalm 51 shows you how to do it, it’s the natural sequence, it’s an
explanation of revival, it’s the prayer book for revival.
Humble yourself, pray, see,
turn from your wicked ways. If I look you in the eye and say you have wicked
ways not just sinful ways but wicked way you would be resentful even offended.
How can you argue with scripture? Christians will admit to sinful ways but seldom to wicked ways.
Psalm 139, search me O God
and see if there be any wicked way in me, save me from it.
Oh open your heart and let God examine it, This Psalm shows you how. God will hear, forgive and heal
Psalm of Redemption. The preacher tries to
encourage people to get saved, he tries to explain how to go about getting
saved. The ABC of salvation. But we shoud never complcate the Gospel.
If there is someone here
today who wants to be saved, pray through this psalm get on your knees and pray
right through this penitentiary psalm, go through it word for word, God cannot
and will not deny anyone who prays such a prayer, wash me completely from my
sin, God will do it you will get off your knees a saved person. You will feel
renewed, you will have a clean heart and a clear conscience, you will be full
of joy and gladness. You will be full of God’s free Spirit. He will uphold you
with his Holy Spirit.
Conclusion.
For the backslider pray
this prayer.
For the Church pray this prayer
For the sinner pray this prayer.
Sunday 13th February
Today I want us to START where we stopped last week at GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION FOR ISRAEL (11:11 - 32).\
Has Israel stumbled beyond recovery?
Not at all says Paul. When Israel stumbled over the Gospel, it went to the
Gentiles, and this is good because when the Jews look at the Gentiles receiving
the blessings that they ought to have had they become envious, and envy makes
them fly to God and will in time help them to open up to the grace of God and
receive their salvation through faith.
Indeed this is one of the great
purposes of Paul's missionary work among the Gentiles (vv 13, 14), to bring
salvation to the Gentiles so that he might arouse the envy of some of his
fellow Jews to such an extent that they want what the Gentiles have and thus
find salvation for themselves.
In v.15 the implication is that one of
the great signs of the return of Jesus Christ and the final resurrection from
the dead of all true believers is the conversion of the Jewish race to Jesus
Christ - no wonder then it was so important to Paul that his fellow Israelites
come to Christ.
Will great numbers of the Jews ever
come to Christ? Paul believes it will be so and uses two little metaphors to
make his point in (v.16). He says first of all that when one is making bread,
if the first part is offered up properly as a sacrifice then the whole batch
will be holy, and secondly if the root of a tree is good and holy then the
branches which will eventually grow will also be holy.
To use another metaphor, if you have a
holy acorn then you will have a mighty oak tree which is also holy. What Paul
is teaching is that because there is this small group of Christian Jews now who
are truly holy, in time their influence will spread to the whole of the Jewish
race.
He carries on this thought in vv 17 to
21 with his illustration of the olive tree - this tree representing salvation.
The unbelieving branches of the Jewish race have been broken off, and in their
place has been grafted the wild olive shoot of the Jewish Christians and the
Gentile believers.
But the Gentile Christian is not to
boast, for he has found himself ingrafted not because he deserves it, but
because of the grace of God. The Gentile can not say "God prefers me to a
Jew", because the gentiles were not grafted in because they were superior
in religion and morals but because they received the gospel through faith. The
Jews lost their place in God's grace because they had become boastful and
self-confident, should the Gentiles do the same then they too will find
themselves outwith the grace of God (v.21).
Thus we ought to consider that God is
both kind and stern (v.22), he is kind to the faithful, stern to those who fall
away from following Him through faith. Paul doesn't mean that God is kind and
stern in an aribitrary way, God is always God and is consistently kind when he
finds faith, and consistently stern when he finds unbelief. God's kindness
lasts as long as you live in Him through faith, if you become faithless and
unrepentant then you will be cut off.
But it is the positive note in v.23
that is Paul's most important point - when unbelief comes to an end then God
will immediately graft people back in and his severity swings back to his
kindness. After all, if God can graft in a wild branch (the gentiles) then it
is even easier for him to graft back in the natural branches (the Jews) v.24.
To try and sum this difficult part up,
Paul offers us two pictures, one of a religious and the other of an irreligious
man. The religious man lives in an atmosphere which should constantly remind
him that God is in heaven and he upon earth, but tragically the religous man
becomes comfortable and limits God into being the kind of God that he wants him
to be. The irreligious man stumbles upon the gospel, sees his own unworthiness,
and receives salvation not by merit but by faith. This leaves our religious
man, a Pharisee for example, seeing what has happened to want the same in his
own life and to trust no longer in his own righteousness, but to receive
instead the righteousness of Christ.
Now Paul comes to his dramatic
conclusion. In v.25 he reminds the Gentiles that they ought not to be proud of
that fact that God has by passed the Jews and brought salvation to the
Gentiles, for his plan is that once the maximum number of gentiles have come to
faith, then all Israel will be saved (v.26). This is prophesied in Scripture,
and how Israel will be saved is through the removal of sins (v.27), i.e. they
will be saved in the same way as we are - by asking for God's forgiveness in
Christ, repenting of our sins, and being cleansed of them.
For now, as the gospel is being
preached (v.28) the Jews are God's enemies because they are rejecting the
gospel, this is to the Gentiles' advantage because it means that salvation is
coming to them instead. But even so, God still loves His Jewish people because
of the special relationship that he had with the early Jewish Fathers, e.g.
Abraham and Isaac. Despite the fact that they have proven faithless God still
loves them, because God's love never depended on what the Israelites did, but
solely upon his choice of them.
Thus we enter into a great paradox in v.29 - these people are God's enemies, yet they are still loved by Him because God does not go back on his acts of grace, or as the NIV puts it, God's gift and his call are irrevocable. Even though Israel is a disobedient people God still plans to be merciful to them - for the way to mercy often goes through disobedience. As v.32 puts it "for God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all." That is God brings us to a point when we recognise that we deserve nothing but his mercy, yet when we cry out to him for mercy trusting in no way in ourselves we find it.
Here then in these verses is revealed
Paul's teaching of "double predestination." God has predestined all
men to wrath, yet he has also predestined all men to mercy (v.32). If men were not
predestined to wrath then they could not be predestined to mercy. This verse
then reveals that the bible does not teach that individual men are predestined
to either wrath or mercy, but that all men are predestined to both - thus it is
possible for all men to be saved if they prove believing and faithful, with the
reverse also being true it is possible for all men to be lost should they prove
disbelieving and unfaithful. God would want you to find his mercy, but if you
reject it, then you must accept his wrath.
\3. THE HYMN OF PRAISE (11:33 - 36).\
What matters ultimately then is not
what is in men's hearts, but what is in God's. Thus this section finishes with
a great hymn of praise to God which is a kind of collage of OT scriptures. In
summary they tell us - Who can know the mind of God - who would have thought
that He would have used a people's disobedience to lead others to faith, and in
so doing attract his disobedient people back to him? Who would have thought
that God would would give to his people purely out of his love and grace rather
than doling it out in proportion to our worth and merit?
Is there then a final message for us?
God doesn't count out disobedience against us from the moment that we accept
Christ through faith. What we have done in the past does not matter to him from
the point of our conversions. Not only that our present salvation doesn't
depend on what we do, on our worth or unworthiness, on our successes or
failures, what does matter is that we have received God's gift of salvation,
and to remind us of v.29 "God's gifts and His call are irrevocable."
Our salvation will see us through to heaven, not because we will work hard at
it, although we should, but because God has promised us and he will not break
that promise.
God indeed is the source of all that
we have, for from him and through him and to him are all things - including our
salvation, it was a gift from him, it depends on His grace which flows through
him, and it\will\take us to him. By turning to Him our tragic lives can have
that same happy ending. Thus we finish like Paul with this remark - to Him be
the glory for ever, Amen!
Revd. David M Meikle - Portslade Baptist Church.
Sunday 6h February
Last week we looked at the way of salvation and saw that it depended on one thing only - a personal belief in the person of Jesus Christ, his work on the cross, his resurrection from the dead and his Lordship over all things. Or as Romans 10:9,10 puts its: "if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Now it follows from this that if all you need to be saved is belief - then all you need to be lost is unbelief.
What we have in Romans 10:14 - 11:36
is a tragic story of unbelief. It's a story of how a great nation, Israel, and
God's own chosen people, the Jews failed to believe in Jesus Christ as their
Messiah.
This to Paul, himself a Jew, was
absolutely tragic, but to make things worse it was an unnecessary tragedy, for
the Jews themselves are to blame for their unbelief, indeed their unbelief is
inexcuseble.
\1. ISRAEL'S UNBELIEF IS INEXCUSEABLE
(10:14 - 11: 10)\
1. INEXCUSEABLE - BECAUSE THEY WERE
TOLD THE GOSPEL (10:14 - 21).
Chapter 10:13 announces "everyone
who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" quoting from Joel 2:32.
To the Jews this "lord" was God, Yahweh, himself. What they had
failed to understand was that Jesus Christ was himself both Lord and God.
How one comes to believe that Jesus is
Lord and God is outlined in vv 14, 15. In order to call Jesus "Lord"
you have to believe in Him, in order to believe in Him you have to have heard
about Him, in order to have heard about him somebody must have told you about
Him, and that somebody must have been sent by God himself.
Did anybody tell the Jews about Jesus
Christ? If the Jews hadn't heard about Jesus then they could not be blamed for
their unbelief. Paul points out in v.15 that it was prophesied in Isaiah 52:7
that there would be messengers bringing "good news" about a Suffering
Servant who would bring salvation, therefore he and the other apostles have
fulfilled this prophesy in telling the nation of Israel about Jesus.
We find an example of it in Acts 2 and
the Day of Pentecost when thousands of Jews heard Peter's dramatic announcement
"therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus,
whom you crucified both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:34)
The Jews therefore had heard the good
news, what they hadn't done was to pay heed to it and believe it. Some did of
course, but in general the nation rejected the message which is why Paul says
in v.16 "but not all the Israelites accepted (or obeyed) the good
news" fulfilling the prophecy of Is 53:1.
This was inexcusable on their part
because the apostles had deliberately taken the Christian message to everywhere
there were Jews. If you read through the book of Acts you will read of the
great missionary journeys to take the gospel to the Jews, and how Paul and
others always went first to the synagogues to speak to the Jews before they met
the Gentiles. Although it may seem an exaggeration, it would be true to say
that Paul and the apostles had made every effort to tell the Jews about Jesus -
even to the ends of the world (v.18).
But it could be in v.19 that the
problem was not that of failing to hear the message but of failure to
understand it. Paul quotes from Moses (v.19) and from the prophets (v.20) to
point out that what they preach was taught in the OT and prophesied by it -
that the nation of Israel would be put to shame by the belief of the gentiles,
with the paradox in v.21 that the obedience and belief of the gentiles will be
matched by the disobedience and unbelief of Israel. God says that he has held
out his hands to Israel and has met with nothing but rebuffs. For these reasons
then the unbelief of the Jews is inexcuseable - messengers have been sent to
them, they have heard the good news, the good news is within their
understanding, and God has held his hands out to them. Despite all this they
fail to believe.
I just wonder if this may be the tragedy of some of us today. We've heard, we know, we know that God is stretching out his hands to us. We have experienced again and again a touch of his grace calling us to believe in Christ and to accept all that he would want to give us. Yet still we have no belief. You may say I need faith to believe, well you can never generate enough faith of your own to believe in Jesus.
You have to receive faith as a gift
from God when you trust Jesus Christ, that is what v.17 is all about
"faith\comes\from hearing the message." Have you said "if only I
could have faith to believe?" Don't make the mistake of looking for enough
faith of your own for you will never find it. You must turn to Christ for
faith. It is not faith first, Christ second, it is Christ first, faith second.
Don't do as Israel did and turn Jesus down, ask Him to give you faith, and as
he does, call on His name, and you shall be saved.
2. INEXCUSEABLE - BECAUSE THIS WAS
PREDICTED IN THE OT (11: 1 - 10).
The second reason why the unbelief of
the Jews was inexcuseable was because they were warned in the OT that God would
reject them if they continued on the path of works rather than depending on
God's grace.
Yet - did God reject the his people,
the Jews? Paul says in v.1 "By no means!" "Certainly not!"
- and gives as his reason that he himself was a Jew, a descendant of Abraham
from the tribe of Benjamin. He was a Jew, yet God had saved, not rejected him.
What Paul is saying is that God can not have cast off his people as a whole for
he himself was both a Jew and a Christian, and the existence of Christian Jews
proves in v.2 that God has not cast off his people whom he foreknew.
But all the same Christian Jews
represent a mere minority of the Jewish world, you can not hold up a small
section of the Jewish population who have been converted to Christ and state
that the whole nation and race has been saved.
So what Paul does is to prove from the OT that it never was the case that the whole race has ever been saved, indeed it has always been the case that God has worked through the faithful few, or to put it another way, in the midst of the unbelief of the Jewish race there has always been a faithful remnant who have believed.
His example comes from the story of
Elijah (vv 2 - 5), telling the story which we find in 1 Kings 19 and the
surrounding chapters. Elijah complains to the Lord that Israel is filled with
hostility and unbelief and that he is the only one left. God replies to him
that he is not alone, but that there are indeed 7000 other people who have not
bowed the knee to the pagan god Baal. The nation then had not totally succumbed
to disbelief, there were 7001 true believers left, and it was through this
faithful remant that God would work.
Paul then uses this historical story
to apply it to the situation in his own day - in his day too there was a
faithful remnant, the Jewish Christians are like these 7001 true worshippers in
Elijah's day. The Jewish Christians in the desert of unbelief are an oasis of
hope through which the gospel is spreading. What makes them special is not
their own personal standing or worth, but the fact that God has chosen them,
this faithful remnant is not "better" than the rest of Israel because
they were not selected by their works, but by the grace of God (v.6).
So Israel in its quest for salvation
and righteousness through works and rule keeping never attained it, instead
those who pursued the way of personal faith, that is the elect faithful
remnant, found it quite easily. Thus Israel, that is the whole nation less the
faithful remnant, who refused to go the way of faith found themselves standing
outside of the grace of God and found themselves hardened (vv 8 - 10), this too
was predicted in the OT with Paul quoting from Deuteronomy, Isaiah and the
Psalms.
Here we must understand that word
"hardened" for you find in the Greek language a play on the grammar
that you don't see easily in the English tranlations. Why were they hardened -
because they were disobedient to the gospel.
Why were they disobedient to the
gospel - because they were hardened. In the Greek language it is impossible to
distinguish between "hardened because disobedient" and
"disobedient because hardened." There are two sides to the coin that
must be looked at simultaneously - God doesn't harden people without reason,
but neither do people harden to the gospel unless God permits it to happen. The
Jews became hardened in their unbelief because of their refusal to obey the
gospel message, and\at the same time\God allowed them to drift away from Him.
Thus the Jews ought to have known from
the OT that God would not work through the whole nation but through a faithful
group, and they also ought to have known that should they reject the message of
this group that they will find themselves outside of the grace of God. The
whole purpose of the faithful group was to be a light to attract others to God
through Jesus Christ, thus Israel was without excuse for their unbelief for in
their very midst was a group preaching and living the way to God. What a
dreadful thing unbelief is when it blinds you to seeing what is before your very
eyes. Are you not a believer? Look at what is in front of your eyes - a
worshipping community of believers, singing God's praises and proclaiming His
word. Why is this happening - are we deluded - or may there be a God after all,
who is calling us to himself. Our unbelief too is inexcuseable - we have heard
and we know. We have the gospel, and we have witnessed its effects. Like
Israel, we are a people without excuse.
So Paul presents us with a race of
people, God's chosen people the Jews, who through rejecting the Gospel have
found themselves outside of the grace of God. Is there a way back in for them -
or will God now just simply abandon them and reject them for ever? Did they, as
Paul puts it in v.11, stumble so badly that they fell beyond recovery? It is at
this point, that the tragedy begins to unravel itself and point towards a happy
ending.
Which we will look at next week God
Willing.
Sunday 30th January
Let me begin where I left off last week vs 9-13 \3. BELIEVING AND CONFESSING (10:9 - 13)\
Romans 10:9 states that there are two
things that a person must do if he is to have saving faith - he must believe in
his heart that Jesus was raised from the dead and he must confess that Jesus is
Lord.
And that is the order that we must do
it in order to be saved. Romans 10:10 underlines this by saying that we must
start by believing in our hearts, and then make the confession with our mouths.
This order is very important - because our confession must be the right one
based on the right experience. In fact you have nothing to confess unless you
believe that Jesus has risen from the dead. We must have something to BELIEVE
before we can confess it, and saving faith depends on believing the right
things.
And yet believing is not enough to be
saved, or at least to have a full assurance of our salvation. After belief
there is something that we must do, and Paul describes this as
"confessing." We must confess that Jesus is Lord. This leads us on to
the question "is it really possible to believe in one's heart that Jesus
has been raised from the dead and then\refuse\to confess him as lord.
Surely if you believe that Jesus is
risen that is enough to make you a Christian?" Well, I can prove from the
Bible that it is possible to believe in the resurrected Jesus and yet still not
be a Christian.
There were guards around the tomb when
Jesus rose from the dead. How much they actually saw is unknown, perhaps they
saw the actual incident, perhaps not, but what we can be sure of is the fact
that they knew that Jesus had been raised. They knew that Jesus' disciples had
nothing to do with the tomb being empty. They knew this. They knew it in their
hearts. They actually told this to the authorities at the time - the chief
priests.
There is every reason to believe that
the chief priests accepted every word that they had to say - for they had no
other explanation, and they called a special meeting of the Sanhedrin about it.
But did the Roman soldiers, and the chief priests, despite the fact that they
knew about the resurrection, confess Jesus as Lord? NO!
The soldiers accepted a pay off,
"hush money" to keep their mouths quiet about the incident, despite
the fact that they knew it to be true. And so Matthew 28:12-15 tells us
"When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they
gave the soldiers large sums of money, telling them, "You are to say,'his
disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.' If this
report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of
trouble." So the soldiers took the money and did as instructed."
The same can also be said for Jesus'
death on the cross. I can carefully explain to you why Jesus died. That he took
our punishment and that it was for our sins that he died on the cross. You
might believe me, but you might still not be saved. There have been many times
when I have sat with people and told them the gospel, and they in their heads
have believed what I said, yet have refused to confess Jesus as Lord. You can
agree with every part of the gospel, but unless you confess him you will not be
saved.
That is why Paul uses the word "if" in Romans 10:9. He made
salvation dependent on two conditions, belief and confession must come together
in order to be saved. There is no saving faith unless both are present. This is
why I can say that Christ died for all - yet not all will be saved, or to put
it another way all are invited yet not all will respond.
Those who respond will be saved, but
those who do not will be lost, or will remain in their lostness.
Paul knew then that there would be a
division. Some would believe in the teachings of Jesus, but would not at the
end of the day accept Jesus into their hearts and call him Lord. There would
also be some who would call Jesus Lord, yet would believe in their own Jesus
and not the Jesus of the scriptures. That is why Paul said, "if you confess....and believe....you will be saved." Confession
and belief in the heart, in our heart of hearts go together. One without the
other renders it all invalid.
It is not enough to make a confession
of faith even if it is in front of thousands. It is not enough to come forward
or to walk up an aisle. It is not enough to be baptised. You must believe the
scriptural truths about Jesus as well, otherwise you are making your confession
about the wrong thing.
In Romans 10: 9,10 Paul mentions the
word "mouth" twice. It is with our mouths that confession is made.
Some people say that it is enough to let our lives speak about Jesus, but it is
not enough. There is a command here for us to tell others about Jesus if we
love the Lord. There is no such thing as a silent Christianity. Before we
became Christians our whole lives spoke against God, the meaning of repentance
is that our lives and our mouths should now speak for God. The importance of
confession is stressed by Jesus himself in Matthew 10:32,33 - "Whoever
confesses me before men, I will also confess him before my father in heaven.
But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my father in
heaven." It seems that confessing ratifies our salvation. It validates it,
it sets it into operation.
In the early church the very first,
the most public, and the most dramatic way that a new Christian confessed Jesus
was by being baptised as a believer. Thousands heard Peter preach on the day of
Pentecost, they could all have gone away as secret and silent believers, but
Peter told them that they must repent and be baptised (Acts 2:38), and what
distinguished them, and made them no longer silent witnesses was that they were
baptised.
Baptism sent a signal to Caesar, to
their Jewish or pagan families, that they were not ashamed of Jesus and that
Jesus was Lord. It involved great social stigma, it was done in front of
witnesses and it meant that the Christian had come out of hiding and was now
publicly confessing Jesus as his saviour. Baptism will not save you, but it is
an essential part of the "salvation package" that we repent, be
baptised, and receive the spirit.
Yet you may say to me with great
justification, that Romans 10: 9,10 speaks about confessing with your mouth,
and not about believer's baptism. Surely it is more important that we are
Christians than that we are baptised as believers? Well, I want to say this to
you very clearly that there are numerous scriptures which imply that the words
confession and baptism are almost interchangeable. For example, Mark 16:16
"whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not
believe will be condemned." Jesus says baptism, and not confession, yet
from our understanding of the whole of the scriptures the two seem to
interchange. Why? Almost certainly because it would be at their baptism that
the new Christians would make their first public confession that Jesus is Lord.
And if we were to be totally true to the scriptures today then the very first
thing we would do is to baptise a person moments after their conversion, and if
we asked them to confess their new faith at their baptism like the first
Christians were asked, then we would see why the two words were
interchangeable.
I am not saying that you need to be
baptised in order to be saved. But I am saying that once you are saved the
scriptures say that you need to be baptised. I know that the thief on the cross
went to heaven without being baptised, but his was a death bed conversion, and
was never meant to be an example for those of us who are alive and well.
The main thing is that once we are
saved is that we are to\tell it.\ Tell it to at least one other person. Such a
confession is much the same as baptism, yet baptism needs to be urged on us
all, because Jesus urges it on all us. Baptism is a beautiful demonstration
that one is truly not ashamed to be utterly identified with Jesus' death and
resurrection.
What then are we to confess - it is
that "Jesus is Lord." Phil 2: 9 - 11 tells us that one day all will
confess that Jesus is Lord, but Christians have an opportunity to beat the rest
of the world to the draw. We do it NOW whereas in the final day everybody will
do it. You see it is not a question of whether or not men and women will
confess Jesus as Lord it is a question of when. We will do it now voluntarily
and be saved, or we will do it later when it is forced upon us, but those on
whom it is forced will not be saved. Today God uses persuasion, later he will
use force. Men may win battles against God, but God will win the war,
"every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is
Lord."
Is salvation worth it if it all so
easy? Yes it is. It is worth it because our salvation in the future will see us
through judgement and into heaven, we will never be put to shame (v.11). In the
present our Lord richly blesses those who call on him (v.12). Is salvation then
for everbody? Yes it is "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will
be saved." Everyone, that is the white people, the black people, the good
people and the bad people. What matters for salvation is that we have made that
call - and then when the waters of strife, and final judgement begin to sweep
around us, we will find that in Him we stand safe and secure on His rock.
Who then is Jesus Christ to you? Will
he at the end prove to be a secure rock, or a stumbling stone upon whom at the
end you will be dashed. Your salvation depends on how you answer that question.
"On Christ the solid rock I
stand, all other ground is sinking sand."
Next
week God willing I will come back to this part of ROMANS 10:14 - 11:36 Tells us
of a tragic story with a happy ending. Israel's rejection of the gospel and her
final salvation.
Sunday 23rd January
ROMANS 9:30 - 10:13 JESUS CHRIST - A SECURE ROCK OR A STUMBLING STONE?
Last few weeks I dealt with a very
difficult chapter in which Paul began his explanation of why the Israelites
rejected the Saviour, Jesus Christ. Chapter 9 gave one part of the reason being
divine election, that is, the nation Israel rejected Jesus in fulfilment of
God's plan and the scriptures. From v.30 however Paul gives another part of the
reason and that is that Israel must take its share of the blame as well. What
has happened is that the gospel of Jesus Christ with its joyful news that it is
possible to be put right with God through faith in Jesus was preached first to
the Jews, and then to the Gentiles.
But it was the Gentiles who received
it gratefully when the Jews carried on trying to pursue the path of being put
right with God through law or rule keeping. The Jews have therefore failed to
reach their goal of being put right with God because they are on the wrong
path. It was a hard lesson for the Jews that despite all their privileges as a
race under God that the divine righteousness which they were seeking was as
open to complete outsiders as it was to them.
For centuries they had believed that
they alone were the ones who had a special relationship with God, now they
found that God wanted to have a special relationship with all men. And what
they stumbled over was the way in which God now wanted to have this special
relationship - not through following the law, but through faith in Jesus
Christ.
\1. THE STUMBLING STONE (9:30 - 33).\
It is important for us to see that what they stumbled over, the gospel of Jesus Christ, had been forseen in the OT scriptures. Paul quotes in v.33 two scriptures from Isaiah, Isaiah 8:14 and Isaiah 28:16, both sciptures speaking about a stone laid down by God in a time of disaster and judgement.
In Isaiah 8 the prophet spoke about
how the Assyrian invasion would sweep over the land of Israel like a great
flood, but there was to be one place of refuge from the overwhelming water -
God himself would provide a sanctuary to all those who put their trust in him.
God would provide a rock on which the people could stand safe and secure. But
those who placed their trust elsewhere would find themselves swept away by the
flood and rather than being saved by the rock they would be dashed against it.
The rock for these people was not then a safe place, but an obstacle or a
stumbling stone.
This passage from Isaiah is thus
quoted by Paul here, and also in 1 Peter 2:8 where this stone of safety is now
named as Jesus Christ - obey the gospel and come to him and you will be secure.
But if you disobey the gospel, as the Israelites did, then when the floods of
judgement come you will be dashed against this rock.
So in order to be saved you need a
rock on which to stand, and this rock is our confession of Christ, our faith in
him, for as v.11 tells us "the one who trusts in him will never be put to
shame" - will never be dashed upon the rocks. On the last day, when the
great judgement comes and people begin to be swept away we who believe will
find that we stand on something secure and our faith in Christ will be proven
to be the best decision that we ever made.
Now the point is this - Israel, and
not God, is to blame for refusing to confess Christ as the Saviour. The gospel
was preached in Israel first, but the Jews turned it down. So hand in hand
comes two great truths - Israel rejected the Saviour both because it was part
of God's plan, and secondly of her own free will.
It may be difficult to understand how
these truths work together, but they are both there and we must accept that
fact. Israel has rejected the saviour as part of God's plan and out of its own
foolishness.
But despite all that, Paul goes on say
in chapter 10:1 that he will not cease praying for Israel's salvation. They are
a people who seek after God, but with a misplaced zeal. Their zeal is like
Paul's was before his conversion - a zeal for their traditions, a zeal for
their history, a zeal for their religious practices and a zeal for their law.
But if God could save Paul from all of
this - then Paul knew that God could also save the whole of the Jewish race -
therefore he kept on praying for their salvation. Paul had discovered that
there was only one way to God - that is through Jesus Christ - yet the Israelites
were trying to get to God by another way.
Paul then goes on to describe these
two ways and shows one up to be false, and the other to be true.
\2. THE "TWO WAYS" TO GOD
(10:1 - 8)\
1. The first way: The way of the law.
Paul illustrates this way by quoting in v. 5 from the Law of Moses as it is
found in Leviticus 18:5; "the man who does these things will live by
them." The OT taught that it was possible to find righteousness, in the
sense of being put right with God, through right living, and doing all things
perfectly.
There is nothing wrong with right
living, and doing good, says Paul, but the weakness is that no-one has ever
succeeded in doing all things perfectly, therefore no-one has succeeded in
being put right with God in this way. Men can live such good lives that they
find themselves blameless before men, but in their own hearts they know that
they are not blameless before God.
There is a second reason however why
this way of the law is no good - and that is because it has been superceded by
Jesus Christ, we are told in v.4 "Christ is the end of the law so that
there may be righteousness for everyone who believes." He is the
"end" in a double sense - firstly, Christ was the end of the law in
the sense that he was the terminus, the goal of the law. The law always pointed
to Christ, he is the one who fulfils the law (Mt 5:17). Thus when we become
Christians we too fulfil the law (Rom 8:3f). But secondly, Christ put the law
to its end, he did away with the old order to bring in a new one - life under
the law is replaced by life in the Spirit. Salvation then can no longer be
earned through works, it is a free gift from a loving God, to be received
through faith in Christ. That then leads us onto the second way:
2. The second way: The way of faith. To illustrate this way Paul again quotes in
v.6 from Moses, but this time from his farewell speech in Deuteronomy 30:11 -
14; the full text reading "Now what I am commanding you today is not too
difficult or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven so you have to ask 'who
will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so that we may obey
it?' Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, 'who will cross the sea
to get it and proclaim it to us so that we may obey it?' No the word is very near
you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so that you may obey it."
Paul then goes on to explain what
these verses mean in terms of Jesus Christ. He says that God has brought
salvation near to us in Christ. We don't have to go up into heaven to get it,
for Christ has come down from heaven to give it to us. Nor do we need to cross
the sea, which can also be translated as to plumb the depths, for it, because
Christ has risen from the depths to secure it for us. Salvation is here, it is
available, all that we are called to do is to accept it by faith - by believing
in our hearts that God has raised Jesus from the dead, and by acknowledging him
aloud as Lord.
Yet just as the gospel of Jesus Christ
was a stumbling block to the Jews, it can also be a stumbling block to some
today. There are some to want to be right with God, but they just can't believe
that becoming a Christian is as simple as we make it out to be. They can't
believe that all you have to do is what you find in Romans 10:9,10 : "THAT
IF YOU CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH, 'JESUS IS LORD,' AND BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT
GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, YOU WILL BE SAVED. FOR IT IS WITH YOUR HEART THAT
YOU BELIEVE AND ARE JUSTIFIED, AND IT IS WITH YOUR MOUTH THAT YOU CONFESS AND
ARE SAVED." That's all. But what does it mean? Is it really as simple as
that? Yes it is, if you understand that becoming a Christian involves both
believing and confessing.
I will finish there and God willing
come back to vs 9-10 next week.
Sunday 9th January
ROMANS 9:1 – 29 - THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
While
I was living in Brazil having returned for furlough and a holiday Johann
decided to re-decorate her kitchen. At first I thought that it would be a
simple job of stripping the old wall paper and putting on the new paper then
fitting new wall units and base unit’s worktops etc. The first layer came off
fairly straightforwardly, but underneath it had no less than 3 layers of vinyl
one of which had been painted with white gloss and was like concrete. It took
me three days to strip the paper off when I had allowed three hours, when I
uncovered the difficult bits I wish that I had never started the job.
It
is with that same feeling that I touch on Romans 9 this morning - for in Romans
9 we come to a passage of the scriptures as tough as that layer of vinyl
covered with gloss. I found that reading this chapter it arouses in me
confusion, and a challenge to do more;
Interpretations
of this chapter have divided whole denominations from each other and within
themselves.
It
is not an easy chapter, and it is not possible to simplify it. So we need to
get ready for God's word, for I am convinced that when we stretch ourselves and
deal with the hard topics God really speaks to us and we grow in Grace.
It
is generally accepted that Romans 8:39 closes off one section which finished
with the theme of "Life in the Spirit" and that 9:1 begins another.
But although the theme changes, we have to recognise that God does not. The
generous powerful God who saves people through faith and fills them with his
Spirit is still the same. The God that we find in Chapter 9 is still the giver
and source of salvation both to the Jew and to the Gentile.
But
in vv 1 - 5 Paul reveals his great personal sadness - his own people, the Jews
have not believed the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that is where this chapter
begins with the unbelief of the Jews:
We in Great Britain should have the same sadness, because many don’t believe in our own so called Christian land.
\1.
THE UNBELIEF OF THE JEWS (vv 1 - 5).\
In
the first three verses Paul makes a statement which had it been made by anyone
else would have been melodramatic - he says that he would give up his own
salvation, his own standing with Christ if that would lead to his own people,
the Jews, being saved.
Of
all the people who ought to be saved it is the Jews, says Paul, in v4f. They
were a greatly privileged family - God had chosen them as His sons, they knew
the glory of God, they had a covenant relationship with God, they were the ones
who were given the Law at
If
ever there were a privileged race it was the Jews. Yet the question must be
asked how can it be that having all these privileges they ended up by rejecting
the gospel? The clue is found in the repetition of the word\theirs\the Jews had
begun to worship themselves rather than God.
To
put it crudely, instead of valuing their relationship with God on a spiritual
and vertical level, they were now valuing things on a human and horizontal
level. What mattered to the Jews was now their rights as a nation, their temple
which was once the seat of worship was now paraded before the world as a
tribute to their own skills, they were especially pleased that the Messiah was
to come from\their\race.
I
hope that you get the point that I'm trying to make - that instead of saying
"what a wonderful God we have" they were saying "what a
wonderful people we are." "We are the ones who have the covenant, the
glory." And of course Jesus didn't fit into this image of a wonderful
people - this carpenter from Nazereth who lives, eats and sleeps with poor people
and slaves - he can't be the Messiah. So they called for Barabbas and got rid
of Jesus. Their pride in themselves had done what they considered to be
impossible - it had cut them off from God. They thought that was impossible
because they were God's chosen people - how can God cut himself off from the
people of His choice?
This
then is the theme of the second part of the chapter - God's choice of
\2.
GOD'S CHOICE OF ISRAEL (vv 6 - 13).\
We
know from our OT that God had chosen Israel and made a covenant with it, but
now we find that Israel has rejected Christ, and in rejecting Christ has
rejected God, because Christ is God over all. The question that rises is
"has God broken his promise?" He promised to be Israel's God, yet
that no longer seems to be the case. Has God's word failed - has this word of
promise to Israel been proved false by the historical events of the cross?
Paul's
answer to that in v.6 is quite plainly "NO", "it is not as
though God's word has failed."
God
has kept his promises to
Who
then are God's promises for? Here now we have to pick up the theme of vv 7 to 9
which speak about two lines of children - one of simply human descent springing
from Abraham's sexual union with his servant Hagar (the story is told in
Genesis 16) the other being Abraham and Sarah's second child who was a gift of
God's promise, born of supernatural means, namely Isaac (and that story is told
in Genesis 21).
Paul
is using these two children to illustrate his point - where is the true Israel?
Is it simply those descended from Abraham, or is it the children of God's
promise descended from Isaac? The answer is the true Israel is the seed or
offspring of Isaac - God's children are not those by natural descent, but it is
the children of promise who are regarded as the true Israel - as Abraham's
offspring (v.8).
Here
we have to take a theological leap - where now are the promises of God
fulfilled? We know that it is not in Abraham, nor in Isaac, but in Christ. It
is Christ who is the promised child, and the child of promise.
God's
promises to his people have not been broken, they are still valid, but if you
wish to receive them then it will not be because you live in a certain land, it
will not be because you are descended from certain parents, but because you
yourself have gone to Jesus Christ for salvation, and have received the
promises in him.
In
vv 10 - 13 we have a second illustration of this point. Again we have to deal
with two brothers who have the same father, but in this case who also have the
same mother. One again was a child of promise, and the other was not.
What
made one a child of promise, and the other not, was not what happened at
conception, was not dependent on the good or evil they did with their lives in
the past, present or future, what determined things was not their works or
actions, but a choice or a decision that God made. This is what is known as
election (v.11) - God's call upon our lives which is not dependent on us, or what
our lives are worth, or on what we may do with our lives, but upon God's
choice.
Now
we must go carefully for we start to tread on a theological minefield. A safe
course for us is to start by asking why Paul uses this illustration. Paul is
using it to enforce his earlier point with the two children of Abraham that
salvation doesn't come about by living in the right land or having the right
father, but through hearing the call of God and being justified by faith.
Who
then hear this call and are justified by faith - the answer is the elect. Who
are the elect? Is it the Calvinists? The Baptists? Scripture has one answer,
the elect are those who are in Christ Jesus, as Gal 3:29 puts it "if you
belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed (this was an expression for the
elect or chosen people) according to the promise." Election is not found
in our own worthiness, or in our own usefulness, election is a gift of God to
be found in Christ.
You
see there are two ways of looking at election. The first is in a very negative
way - to see election as being some kind of trap door for the chosen to walk
over and the non-Christian to fall through down into hell. This view makes
people worry whether or not they really are saved, whether they are worthy of
being called to salvation.
The
second way is the biblical way - election is God's great positive for us.
Because God has chosen us he will keep us safe. Election in the scriptures is
not there to make us worry about unsaved relatives, but is there to make us
rejoice that we are saved through God's personal invitation in Christ, and that
once we are saved we are safe, our salvation and our safety not being dependent
on our abilities to keep it up but upon God's decision to look after us.
Yet
these verses 10 - 13 do raise an objection, an objection which is only properly
understood when we accept the sovereignty of God.
Which
we will look at next week God Willing.
Sunday 16th January . I come back to Romans and I start where I finished last week speaking about!
3. THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD (vv 14 - 29).\
If we lose sight of the fact that Christ now represents the children of Abraham, and if we lose sight that election is found in Christ and not in ourselves then an objection arises.
The objection would go like this "for God to distinguish between unborn twin infants, for God to prefer one to the other is unjust, if this is so then God is unfair and not worth loving." Now this is the way that election is often preached - that God loves one lot and not another, and when it is preached this way then God does appear to be unjust.
Paul then asks in answer to this objection in v.14 "Is God unjust? - Not at all!" And he quotes from Exodus 33:19 in v.15 and shows that God's main emotion towards his creation is mercy and compassion. And so in v.16 the point is made that if God does anything at all for sinful man then it springs from his mercy, for sinful man deserves nothing from God - and so should God have decided to do nothing, then God would not have been unjust because sinful man deserves nothing.
And so the closing theme of this chapter begins to emerge - God is sovereign and merciful. It is because God is merciful that justification by faith is possible - and so his mercy is not dependent of a man's worth or usefulness, God is merciful not because of man, but because it is His nature to be merciful.
Paul then moves on in v.17 to illustrate how God's mercy operates. He quotes an incident from
Paul quotes this story to point out to
V.18 is a summary verse of this point - God will be merciful, yet some others he will harden. This word does not mean utter rejection, but it does point out a way in which God will work to try and bring people round to their senses, but let's remember the point that we have already established - if God does harden at all then he does it out of mercy and love and not out of hate. Sometimes God has allowed a lot of dark in our lives so that we might by contrast see the light, but the purpose of the darkness is to highlight the good not to overwhelm us with the bad.
This teaching opens Paul up to a further criticism by the Jews pointed out in v.19 - if God has hardened the Israelites because they have turned their back on him, how can God dare blame them? If God has engineered all this from his control room in heaven how can he judge and blame people for doing the very thing that he has engineered? This is of course sin at its worst. It's sin putting the blame for its actions onto God saying "If you hadn't made me this way then I wouldn't have done it!"
Paul's answer is blunt, and is one we simply have to accept, that the creation, man, has no right to talk back to the Creator, God. Just as the potter has the right to make what he likes with his clay, then God is at liberty to make what he likes with our lives. Man of course is not a pot, he is a thinking being, and he is inclined to complain "why have you made me a kitchen pot and made him a fine vessel for the dining room?" It is the common complaint of those of us who are insecure "why am I not like the other person?"
God's word to us when we feel like that is what you are is my responsibility and not yours. I'm not worried what you're like now, but I have a vision of what you will become as you transform into the likeness of my son. Again you see election is meant to be liberating - God says I've chosen you to make you into something, let me work with your life as a potter works with the clay. God is acting in a responsible way fashioning us, his chosen people, into what is right.
That would be a good point to stop, but I want to draw a final point from the closing verses. Vv 22 - 24 these are complicated verses with three main points:
1. God has borne the foolish behaviour of his creation with great patience. It is a sign of his patience that God has not yet brought in the final judgement of the earth.
2. In this period while he is being patient God is revealing his wrath against sin and at the same time demonstrating his saving power to bring men to repentance.
3. Also in this period God is making his mercy known to both Jew and Gentile. Now this third fact that God also wants to be mericiful to the Gentile is something which would take the proud Jews that Paul introduced to us in the opening verses by surprise, so the chapter closes in vv 25 - 29 with a series of OT quotations proving that God means to call Gentiles, and that it was never God's plan to call to himself those who lived in the land of Israel, or those who had a human line of descent from Abraham, but that God's plan as v.27 reveals it is that only "the remnant will be saved."
And here are the important points - who are the remnant - for it is they who are the ones who will be saved; it is they who are elect, called by God. The remnants are those who are justified by faith. Let me now illustrate this think of a picture of a an egg timer on its side. At the far left God's plan was that all men should be saved (Adam and Eve.) But Adam and Eve sinned and so God started a plan of salvation that would come from Israel. But by the time of Jesus we are told that there was no-one righteous in all of Israel, and that Jesus Christ was the only righteous one. And so the narrowest point in our egg timer is Jesus and his cross. His cross opens up salvation once more, to the disciples, to the crowds at Pentecost, to Judea to Sarmaria, to the ends of the earth. Now the point is this - if you wish to be saved then you must pass through this narrow point, through this narrow door, there is no salvation outside of Jesus, there is no righteousness outside of Jesus, there is no election outside of Jesus, as Romans 8:1 puts it "there is no condemnation for those who are\in Christ Jesus.\
If you wish to receive the mercy of God you must come to him through Jesus. The Israelites made the appalling blunder of rejecting Jesus and why they did this we will look at next. We have learned that God is sovereign - no one will get into heaven unless He calls them. But in these closing verses we learn another truth which is the balance - no-one will be left out of heaven except by their own foolish rejection of the Saviour. So hand in hand come two great truths - the sovereignty of God, and man's free will, the greatest act of our free will being our acceptance of Christ and our surrender to the sovereignty of God. But remember this it would not be possible for us to freely surrender to God when we trust in Christ unless God had offered us the possibility in the first place, so salvation is from its beginning to its end the gift of a sovereign, and a merciful God who has given us everything at a time when we deserved nothing.
This then has been a difficult chapter, it has many depths, but these I feel have been the truths that God would want us to hear this morning.
I will close there and next week God willing we will look at ROMANS 9:30 - 10:13
Sunday 2nd January 2022
HEBREWS 4:14 - 5:10 JESUS - OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST. If someone is in trouble and needs help and advice it is often said that he will either go to his doctor or his minister. Centuries ago when the letter to the Hebrews was written if you were a Jew and you needed help and advice you went to see a Jewish Priest, and if you lived in Jerusalem and had a very difficult problem you might even get to see the High Priest. This section in Hebrews is going to tell us that during 2022 tht there is a Great High Priest to whom we can always turn for help, strength and encouragement.
A High
Priest who is never too busy, a High Priest who knows how we feel and is thus
able to help. The name of this High priest is the Lord Jesus Christ. In Hebrews
4:14 - 5:10 Today I would like for us to learn four things about the ministry
or priesthood of Jesus Christ, begining with that it is Victorious, it is
Compassionate, it is Submissive to God and that it is Effective.
\1. IT IS
A VICTORIOUS PRIESTHOOD (4:14).\ V.14 says: "Therefore, since we have a
great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let
us hold firmly to the faith we profess."
When did Jesus go through the heavens - the answer is, of course, when he ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of God following on from the Resurrection. Which we read in Acts 1. So what we are looking at is very much the ministry of Jesus Christ\now.\ Not his ministry when he walked on earth, not his ministry in the days between the resurrection and the ascension, but what Jesus has been doing, and is doing right now, since he ascended to heaven.
There are
three things which we need to understand from this verse. The first thing is
that Jesus is described as a Great High Priest. Not an ordinary High Priest of whom
there were and are hundreds, but he is the one and only Great High Priest.
This leads
us onto the second thing, that he must then be a unique High Priest, because he
is the Son of God. Our Great High Priest in heaven is not weak and limited - he
is God Himself.
But
thirdly, our Jesus is not just God he is also a man. It was Jesus who passed
through the heavens - and Jesus lived as a man on earth. Therefore there is a
man in heaven who understands us and knows our trials. How many times have we
gone to a minister, a doctor or a counsellor and felt that they didn't
understand us, that they didn't know how we felt. And how many times have we
left them finding them powerless to help us. Because Jesus is our great high
priest, the human part of him does understand us, and the God-part is powerful
enough to help us.
You see in
order for Jesus to be our victorious priest he needs to be great, he needs to
be divine and he needs to be human, because only the combination of the three
of them is powerful enough to have the victory over sin and the devil. The fact
that he ascended means that the work is finished, and that God has put his
stamp of approval on all that Jesus has done for us. It is done! It is
finished! Jesus our Great High Priest has won the victory for us!
This then
is a rallying call for Christian people to stir up their faith during 2022. To
pull themelves out of their despair and to hold on firmly to the faith which we
profess. Jesus is Lord - let us then rise up and worship this Jesus! Jesus is
what makes life worth living, so let us profess him and witness to our faith.
We are on the victory side, there is no need for us to feel or act like losers.
\2. IT IS
A COMPASSIONATE PRIESTHOOD (4:15 - 5:3)\ V.15 is the key verse here, it says:
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our
weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -
yet was without sin."
"Tempted
in every way...." - what does this mean? To some it means that Jesus
experienced as a human being every temptation that there can be. Doubt,
despair, greed, lust and so on, yet he did not give in to these temptations and
therefore did not sin. Yet I'm not quite
so sure that that is really what this verse means. Did Jesus experience
every temptation - did he experience some of the temptations which perhaps the
unemployed man faces? Did he face the temptations which some married people
face?
Is it not
really the case that behind the vast array of different temptations that there
are really just a few basic trials, and it was these basic trials which Jesus
faced. In other words it's not just the specific temptation but what is behind
the temptation, which is often much more sinister and powerful, that Jesus
faced.
Jesus knew
that temptations if left unconquered lead on to doubt, despair, disobedience
towards God and selfishness. If you think of your chief sins then I suggest to
you that they fit into one of these categories - that your sins lead to to
doubt, to despair, to disobey or to be selfish. And Jesus knows what it is like
to face such things, and has the victory over them. Therefore we cannot say,
"Jesus cannot help me because he never had to live with my wife (or
husband!)" Jesus can help, because although he may not have personally
experienced the exact circumstances of your temptations, he has experienced the
exact force of it, and knows how to deal with it.
How then
can we experience his compassion and help for ourselves? The answer without
doubt is prayer. V.16 says "let us then approach the throne of God with
confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time
of need."
One Christian writer called P.T. Forsyth used to say that the root of all sin is prayerlessness. When we don't pray what we're saying is that we can get through this day, or that problem, without God. What is sin? It is living without God.
A
prayerless Christian is a hypocrite for he is saying that on one hand he
believes in God but on the other hand that he can do without him. Yet this
letter invites us to pray, to come into the presence of the God who welcomes us
and the Christ who understands us. Our Great High Priest is the compassionate
one - he is able to deal gently with us in our ignorance, he leads us to
himself when we don't know the way, and he brings us back when we go astray,
when we deliberately wander away. Our God has a heart full of compassion for
his weak and foolish children.
\3. IT IS
A SUBMISSIVE PRIESTHOOD (5: 4 - 8)\ The key-note of the whole ministry of Jesus
Christ is that it was always in submission to the will of God the Father. Jesus
did everything which the Father asked, and Jesus did nothing which the Father
did not ask of him.
It started with his call which you can read in Philippians 2: 6 - 8: "Jesus, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!" Right from the beginning Jesus never tried to take over God, like Satan, but he submitted to God and was obedient.
Not that
obedience was always easy. We are told in v.8 that he learned obedience through
what he suffered. And v.7 tells us about the agony which he faced in the Garden
of Gethsemane: "during the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up
prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him
from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission."
In
Gethsemane his friends had let him down. He had asked them to remain awake and
to watch with him, but they had gone to sleep. Jesus knew that the hour of his
death was upon him and so he cast himself upon the God whom he knew was able to
save him. Yet he was not saved! Did then his prayer go unanswered? Of course it
was answered, but not by relieving him from the agony of the cross, but by
giving him the strength and the peace to face it.
This was perhaps the moment of the greatest crisis in his earthly life, he must have felt alone and desolate. It may well be the case that no human tragedy can ever cause the grief and the emotion which this experience stirred in the heart of our Lord Jesus. Therefore when we feel that we are at the outer limits of our ability to cope with anguish and strain - we need to remember that our Jesus knows how we feel and can lead us out. Yet the way out is not the way which many of us would choose. When we are the depths of our despair we feel much more like rejecting the God whom we feel has abandoned us than we feel like submitting to him. Yet submission is the answer. Jesus was heard because of his reverent submission - and although his submission did not deliver him from death, it delivered him from fear. The message here is that we must not resist the sovereign purposes of God, but submit to them, if we are to know deliverance. The human spirit is proud and arrogant and does not like submission, it sees submission as being a sign of weakness. The Christian on the other hand should be humble and should see submission as being a source of strength.
\4. IT IS
AN EFFECTIVE PRIESTHOOD (5:9 - 10)\ V.9 tells us: "and once made perfect
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him."
To say
that Jesus became perfect does not imply that there was once a time when he was
imperfect. Rather what this word perfect means is to bring all things to
completion. It means to finish the job. The job started with his becoming a
human being through the virgin birth, living and ministering on earth, dying on
the cross for our sins, being buried, on the third day rising from the dead,
ascending to heaven and sending the Holy Spirit. Once all that was done, Jesus
became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. A human priest can
only point a man to the source of salvation, but our Great High Priest IS the
source of eternal salvation. All his life and work, all his suffering, all his
joys have not been wasted. God has accepted all that Jesus has done for us, his
priesthood is effective - through him we can find salvation.
So this
passage finishes with two challenges - the first is to those who don't know
Jesus as their Saviour, and the second is to those who do. To those who are not
Christians the message is clear - Just as Jesus had to obey the father, you
have to obey Jesus if you want to be saved. Salvation is there for those who
obey Jesus, for those who surrender their lives to him. The way to do this is
simple. You must say in prayer that you have spent much of your life in
disobedience to Jesus, that you have sinned. You must ask God to forgive you
your sins. God will forgive you, because Jesus has won you that forgiveness on
the cross. You don't deserve it, not one of us do. But salvation is there as a
free gift for all of us. Having confessed your sins, you must ask Jesus to come
into your heart to be your saviour and Lord, and you must promise to obey him.
I believe that there is also a word here for Christians. We live in an instant age now, instant coffee, instant credit, if a thing is to be had we expect to have it\now.\ Some Christians have written books about this, they say that the promises are there in the scriptures, all you have to do is claim them and they will be yours\now.\ You will see immediate results, instant healings and so on.
Of course
this does sometimes happen - and praise God for that. But what can we say to
those who do not get these immediate answers. Is there something lacking in
their faith? I want to remind you that the way of Christ was one of persistent obedience and of humble submission, and that is as much the way of God as is
the spectacular.
I want to
say something now that some may find controversial, but others hopefully will find
encouragement. That I believe that the quick answers, and all the spectacular
things are more often, though not always, given to the immature, because God
knows that without such signs these people would not persevere.
Yet to
those who are mature, their way is often the way of persistance and submission,
because God knows that we can bear it, and that his kingdom and our Christian
lives will be much more enriched this way than through quick and spectacular
signs. I know that there are exceptions to this, I only offer it is a general
principle.
Christian
people take heart - any difficulty is not necessarily a sign of your lack of
faith, but is sent by God to strengthen it and to enrich your life. The victory
side is not the life free from trouble but a life freed from the despair which
troubles often bring, and fixed on the next life. And we find freedom from our
despair in the strength and encouragement which comes only from our Great High
Priest. He is our effective high priest - he is able not just to save us, but
also to keep us.
We have been praying for OHAV – Our Choir - Open Hearts and Voices during this month and during Advent services, today I would like us to think coming up to Christmas that we think of Open Hearts and Minds’. Remember Love came down at Christmas. Perhaps you can restore lost love and think about what I am saying:
Hearts
Wide Open (2 Cor 6:11-13) We have spoken
freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not
withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a
fair exchange--I speak as to my children--open wide your hearts also.
God has entered our hearts but also
our minds to receive from Him the truth and blessing to open them both to
receive from Him the Promises of His Love, and the love of our fellowship with
others.
The
apostle Paul was a man who loved the brethren. From reading 2 Timothy 1:2; we
see that he loved his
Co-worker. He also loved the CONGREGATIONS that he worked with, Read 2 Cor 11:28 I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches .Because of his love, he was willing to give of himself and become close to them - 2 Co 12:14-15
The
passage in 2 Co 12:15 indicates that sometimes Paul's affection was one-sided;
he elaborated on this in 2 Co 6:11-13..in Vs 11 Paul's heart was "wide
open" towards the Corinthians Vs 12 But their love for him was
"restricted"
Vs 13 His exhortation, therefore, was "be open"!
Today,
I would like to say... Why I believe we all need to have "Hearts Wide
Open"
Perhaps I also need to explain why some people may have "restricted hearts" (Closed Hearts)
Or even be bold enough to suggest how we can be sure to have our "Hearts Wide Open"
WHY
DO WE NEED "HEARTS WIDE OPEN" If we don’t love one another how can we
expect others to join our church and be part of our loving family of
Christians? We have a happy loving church here in Portslade. Remember!
BROTHERLY
LOVE IS A MARK OF TRUE DISCIPLESHIP! Look what Jesus said about brethren loving
one another in John 13:34-35 "A new
command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one
another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one
another."
Such love would be the visible sign by which the world would know Christ's true disciples. Look at Churches today - divided – many have even lost their first love. Is Jesus talking to you or about you:
Surely then people "restricted hearts" or closed hearts would have a difficult time displaying a visible and true love to others!
BROTHERLY
LOVE IS ALSO AN INDICATION OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH!
Peter lists brotherly kindness (and love) among those graces involved in growing in the knowledge of Jesus Christ - 2 Peter 1:5-8 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
While
having a "restricted heart" is an indication of: Spiritual immaturity
- from our passage in 2 Co 6:13 he says: I
speak as to my children--open wide your hearts also.
Having a "restricted heart" the Bible also tells us that it causes spiritual ailments such as short-sightedness or may even lead to blindness 2 Peter 1:9: For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is short-sighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
BROTHERLY
LOVE IS AN ASSURANCE OF OUR SALVATION! It is one way that we know we have
passed from death to live 1John 3:16-19 This
is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we
ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
The one who truly loves is one who is born of God - 1 John 4:7-8
Having "restricted hearts" then would not be very reassuring in the light of such verses!
Notice 2 Peter 1:10-11... Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. If we want assurance, if we want to convince the world, we need to have "Hearts Wide Open"!
Now
let us consider some reasons. WHY SOME HAVE
"RESTRICTED HEARTS"
IT MIGHT BE DUE TO "IGNORANCE"...
Some Christians may not have been given proper "follow-up" i.e. discipleship training.
Their follow-up may have been totally "unbalanced" one sided!
a. There may have been an emphasis put upon the externals. To the neglect of the internals
This though cannot be our excuse any longer. Look at 1 John 4:20 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, he cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
OTHERS
HAVE "RESTRICTED HEARTS" AND IT MIGHT BE THE RESULT OF
"SPIRITUAL AMNESIA"...
As Peter indicated in 2 Peter 1:9 But if anyone does not have them, he is short sighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
This
spiritual amnesia occurs when we...
a. Forget God's love for us is cleansing us from our sins - 2 Peter 1:9
b. When we do not apply "all diligence" - 2 Peter 1:5,10
With the passing of time, we may have simply forgotten how important love is in the mind of our God - 1 Co 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
OTHERS
HAVE "RESTRICTED HEARTS" AND IT MIGHT BE WE HAVE "SKELETONS IN
THE CLOSET"...
Some people refuse to get close to others for fear, that some of their hidden secret may became known, if we have such "skeletons in the closet", we had better get rid of them! LET ME TELL YOU WHY?
Because
the Bible tells us that they will eventually become known - Numbers 32:23 "But if you fail to do this, you will
be sinning against the LORD; and you may be sure that your sin will find you
out.
It
may be now or later, but they will come out - 1 Timothy 5:24 The sins of some men are obvious, reaching
the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them.
With
skeletons removed, we won't mind how well people know us. besides, no one is
perfect, and we can use the help all our Brothers and Sisters can give -
Galatians 6:1-2 says, "Carry each others burdens".
But of course, this requires that brethren being trustworthy and not gossip! Because gossip is what kills Churches more than anything does.
OTHERS
HAVE "RESTRICTED HEARTS" AND IT MIGHT BE THAT WE HAVE A "FEAR OF
GETTING HURT"...
Loving remember does involve the "risk of rejection"
Paul experienced rejection, not only at Corinth, but also at Rome - 2 Timothy 4:16 At my first defense, no-one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them.
But do you know the joy of true fellowship and love by the few can more than make up for the few times other people may reject us.
The
apostle John had experienced both love and rejection - 3 John 1-4,9-11 The elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I
love in the truth. Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that
all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. It gave me
great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the
truth and how you continue to walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to
hear that my children are walking in the truth. Then look at Vs. 9-11 I wrote
to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do
with us. So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously
about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also
stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church. Dear friend, do
not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from
God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.
But
remember this, if he had never taken the risk of running into a
"Diotrophes", he would have never found a "Gaius"!
OTHERS
HAVE "RESTRICTED HEARTS" AND IT MIGHT EVEN BE THAT "TRUE
CONVERSION HAS NOT TAKEN PLACE"... As I said before, brotherly love is an
assurance of salvation; similarly, it is an indication of true conversion! - 1 John 3:14-15
Unfortunately, some people simply go through the "form" of conversion - or to put it simple - conforming, yet not converted.
They are in Church out of convenience, not conviction. When this happens, there is no "life" to begin with!
Those with "restricted hearts" might need to examine themselves before God does.
Examination
is a process that all Christians should undergo periodically - 2 Co 13:5 "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in
the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--
unless, of course, you fail the test"?
While
there are reasons why true Christians may not love as they should which we have
looked at, we can't discount the possibility that their personal problem may be
more serious!
But
whatever the reason, there is really no excuse for true Christians having
"restricted hearts". Therefore what can be done to "open wide"
our hearts? Here are some.
SUGGESTIONS
FOR HAVING "HEARTS WIDE OPEN"
LET GOD'S LOVE TEACH YOU...
1. This is what enabled the Thessalonians to excel in love - 1 Th 4:9 Now about brotherly love j we do not need to write to you, k for you yourselves have been taught by God l to love each other
Contemplate upon God's love for you as an individual! Because! This love is manifested through the blessings He has bestowed upon you. Especially the blessing of being His child! - 1 John 3:1
B.
NEVER BE CONTENT WITH THE PRESENT STATE OF YOUR LOVE...
Paul did not let the Thessalonians rest on their laurels - 1 Th 4:10 And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. n Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more. o
The key idea is to "increase more and more"; or as Peter would say, "abound" - So we need to look out for more people to love and more ways to express our love.
C.
LOVE TAKES TIME, SO TAKE TIME TO LOVE!
Take advantage of opportunities to be with brothers and Sisters ACCEPT invitations to people's homes, meals, church services, gospel meetings, etc.
But
use commun sense as we are advised by the government at this time about being
in confined places in large groups but this wont last forever get prepared for
having parties. I also want to say with or without the covid jabs we can catch
it but for sure evidence shows that with the jabs it will be safer, and milder
that is why I got all my jabs.
Make every opportunity to
be with brethren OFFER invitations, practice hospitality - 1 Peter 4:8-9 Above all, love each
other deeply, g because love
covers over a multitude of sins. h 9 Offer hospitality i to one another without grumbling. j 10 Each one should use whatever
gift he has received to serve others, k faithfully l administering God’s grace in its various
forms.
To
end lets consider:
What
is the condition of our own hearts?
Are they "restricted", suffering from "spiritual hardening of the arteries"?
Is the love of God being hindered from flowing freely? By the "plaques" of ignorance, selfishness, hypocrisy?
Or are they "wide open"? Where God's love flows freely, nourishing not only our own lives, but also the lives of those around us!
It is my Prayer that we may all be "taught of God" to have "Hearts Wide Open"!
For those among us who may not yet be Christians...
Consider God's love for you, which is wide open in Jesus Christ John 3:16 tells us of Gods Love. (No one is perfect)
Why not open wide your love for God...by keeping His commandments? - 1 John 5:3; This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.
John 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. Love with all your heart.
1 JOHN 1:1 – 4 - THE WORD OF LIFE
We start with a phrase which asserts the eternal pre-existence of Jesus, that is, that Jesus like God has always been, always is, and always will be. We start by looking at the person who is behind the gospel:
\1. THE PERSON
BEHIND THE GOSPEL (v.1)\ Verse 1 breaks
down into two very important phrases:
1. THAT
WHICH WAS FROM THE BEGINNING:
1 John
opens in much the same way as John's gospel with the assertion that Jesus was
God, and was with God from before the beginning of time as we know it, Jesus is
the eternal God. The term that John uses for Jesus both in this tract and in
his gospel is "the Word" or the "Word of Life."
It's
important that we understand the full meaning of "The Word" - which
in the Greek language is "logos" - for it refers to two things which
can not be seperated, it refers firstly to the person of Jesus himself; Jesus
is the life giving word of God himself, the word made flesh; but secondly it
also means the word which is preached about Jesus, Jesus gives life to us now
through the preaching of his life giving word. What John is telling us here is
that if Jesus had not been born into our world there would have been no gospel
to preach, and that if Jesus had not existed before his birth he would not have
been able to come in the first place. It really is a devastatingly simple piece
of logic.
We're told
further down that Jesus was "with the Father" (v.2). Now that means
more than Jesus simply lived with God, in the sense that you might live in the same
house as your husband, or parents or whoever, it means to be "at one
with." If somebody says to you "are you with me?" and you reply
"yes I'm with you" you don't necessarily mean that you're planning to
live with them, it means that you agree with them, wherever they go, you'll go,
you've become a partnership. Jesus is in partnership with God the Father - the
two do not do anything without each other. Jesus didn't become God at his
baptism, he was God before he was born, Jesus didn't cease to be God on the
cross - it was God himself who died for us there, and it was a real body which
rose from the dead for us. How do we know Jesus was real - John witnesses to
the reality of Jesus in the next important phrase we find in v.1:
2. WHICH
WE HAVE HEARD, WHICH WE HAVE SEEN WITH OUR EYES, WHICH WE HAVE LOOKED AT AND
OUR HANDS HAVE TOUCHED. (v.1):
What John
is telling us here is that the eternal God in the person of Jesus broke into
our time and our world - that is of course the Christmas story - and lived amongst
us. The word became flesh, and human beings were able to hear God, see God and
touch God for themselves. Now in the past the Jews were able to hear God many
times - God spoke to them through the prophets. In the past the Jews were able
to see God many times - God makes many appearances in the OT storyline, but
John declares something new here, the people were able to stand alongside God
and touch him. The Greek word for "touch" here is very interesting,
it doesn't mean to poke in an unsure way in the fear that it might explode or
bite you, the word means to grope until you find something and then to grasp
it. A blind man would do that if he got lost, he would grope about until his
hands held something familiar, something which made him feel safe. John hadn't
just seen Jesus, he had understood who Jesus was, he hadn't just touched Jesus,
he'd grasped him, embraced him.
This is
what conversion is all about isn't it - you can read the NT and see Jesus - but
fail to understand who he really is. It is when you understand who he really is
that salvation comes to you. You can touch Jesus, and indeed he might bless
your life, but unless you embrace him as Saviour there is no real conversion.
Is this your experience of Jesus - have you understood who he is - and have you
embraced him as your Saviour? Now having understood, and having embraced, what
do we as Christians do next? John gives good guidance - he says you proclaim
the gospel.
2. THE
PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL (vv 2 and 3).\
There is
nothing more important to John than to proclaim to others what he knows about
Jesus Christ - what a rebuke this is to our privatised religion. When these
first apostles realised who Jesus was they didn't hold Him to themselves, the
revelation which mas made to them in v.1 became a proclamation unto others in
v.2.
Here I
think is a key as to why some Christians are not confident about their
conversion experience - because they have not witnessed about it to others. You
might say to me, "surely it ought to be the other way round, surely I
should only witness about Jesus when I know more and when I'm confident about
him." But you know in your heart that's an excuse and not a reason. I
remember learning to play golf if I only played golf when I could play like
Tiger Woods, I would never play it. It's only when you start playing that you
improve and get your confidence. It is much the same with witnessing, it is
only when you open your mouth that the Holy Spirit gives you what you need, and
the more you speak the more real and confident your faith becomes. Perhaps you
have made a prayer of commitment but haven't told anybody - will you do it
today or tomorrow? Will you unlock the Holy Spirit who now lives in you and
speak for Jesus however humble and faltering the first words may be?
There are
two key words in this verse - the first is testify and the second is proclaim.
The Greek word behind "testify" is\marturia\from which we get the
English word "martyr" which is a timely reminder that it is not
always an easy thing to speak for Jesus, and that it is often a costly thing.
This word
carries the sense of "to speak from personal experience" like a
witness in court is called to share what he has seen and heard, no more and no
less. This is what Jesus asks of you and me, to share with others what we have
experienced of him, no more and no less. We hear other testimonies and we think
"if only I had a story like that!" but we're wrong to think that way
because what Jesus has done in our lives is just as important, and may be the
very thing that somebody else needs to hear.
The second word is "proclaim" the Greek word behind that is\apangellia\which means to speak with the authority of another. Christ himself has commissioned us to speak up for him, we speak by his authority and not in our own. You find that commission and that authority given to us at the very end of Matthew's gospel. When we become Christians, like these first apostles, we are given a personal experience of Christ, that is our testimony, and we are also given the command to proclaim it to others, that is our calling or commission.
If you have had an encounter with Jesus but have not as yet shared it, then you'll only be half a Christian until you do. The person behind the gospel, whom you have met if you are a Christian, calls you personally to proclaim the gospel. For what purpose - we find the purpose in vv 3 and 4:
\3. THE PURPOSE OF THE GOSPEL (vv 3 and 4):\ There are indeed two purposes brought out in these verses, the first is\fellowship\in v.3 and the second is\joy\in v.4:
1. FELLOWSHIP:
"We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you may also have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ."
Now we might say that the purpose of sharing the gospel is so that others may be saved, here John says the immediate purpose of sharing the gospel is to bring people into fellowship with us. Of course properly understood there is no real difference, for there is no Christian fellowship without salvation. You and I can have a wonderful friendship, we can have the same interests, we can go to the same places and have a great time together, but unless we are both saved there can never be fellowship between us, for fellowship belongs only to those who have encountered Jesus. Fellowship is a Christian word meaning to share in the grace of God, in the salvation of God, to have the same Spirit of God living in us. Three teachings immediately spring to my mind from this verse:
1. About relationships with other churches: While I can have great friendships with all of the people that God has created, I can not have fellowship with those who preach a different gospel and who have a different understanding of salvation. Thus while baptists teach tolerance and understanding we recognise that we can not have fellowship with those who believe and preach a different gospel.
2. About church membership: Have you ever wondered why there is church membership, why it is by interview, and why it is restricted to baptised believers? I offer this to you today as part of the explanation - it is to show to the world that we have more than friendship here, we have fellowship one with each other. We can and will be friendly to all who come, but we can not have fellowship unless and until that person is a believer, and the way that we express that we are in fellowship with one another is through our membership. Thus when you join a Baptist Church we make sure that there has been an encounter with Christ, and a willingness to be obedient to his word - and that means baptism - and a willingness to be responsible to one another. There are many here and those watching, who ought to consider again membership of this church as a way of showing that you do not offer merely friendship, but also fellowship.
3. About personal relationships with non-believers:
Once again I must emphasise that it is possible for a Christian to have great personal friendships with non-believers, but it is impossible for a Christian to have fellowship with a non-believer. Here I must draw the attention of those who are believers but who are dating or seeing those who do not believe. Paul says very directly in 2 Cor 6:14f "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?"
Note that the word that Paul uses is\fellowship\and not\friendship.\Sure you can have great friendships with those who don't believe, if these friendships are of the opposite sex then one can understand how romance can begin, and perhaps the relationship might even develop to the point where the two of you want to get married. Marriage is dificult even among believers imagine a mariage between a believer to an unbeliever. Now people can say to me "I believe in God - I asked Jesus into my heart when I was 8" and I can not be their judge, but I have to ask what have you done since you were 8, where is God in your life now?
Young people don't go out with people who have no time or place for God, and don't marry them. However much you may argue with me that they are lovely, and that you are in love, and that other people have done it before you and have succeeded all of which I am sure is true, yet you're still disobeying the scriptures here, and since you can not have fellowship with your partner you can perhaps never have the Christian marriage that God would want you to have.
Now I put
this challenge to you today - to be honest with each other. To tell each other
what God or Jesus does or does not mean to you, and if you want the deepest
form of relationship and you discover that one of you is not saved then arrange
to see me or a Christian friend and bring Christ into your relationship as the
third person and be saved and enjoy fellowship one with each other.
2.
COMPLETE JOY (v.4): "We write this to make our (your) joy complete."
The
immediate effect of the gospel is to bring us into fellowship with God, and with
other believers, the long term effect of the gospel is that it brings us into
an eternal salvation, it takes us to heaven, it brings us to a perfect and
eternal relationship with God - that is what the bible means when it speaks
about completed joy. Completed joy is not possible in this life when we are
troubled by sin, so the gospel offers us the hope of an eternal life after
death where sin is left in its grave and we rise to be free from it, filled
with joy and free to live for God.
That then
is the person of the Gospel proclaimed to you today. The pupose of that person
and his gospel is to bring you into fellowship with himself, with God the
Father and God the Holy Spirit, to bring you into fellowship with the believers
who are around you, and to offer you the hope of a completed joy in heaven.
Have you embraced him? If you haven't will you do so now as we pray:
Sunday 28th November 2
CORINTHIANS 2:12 - 3:6 WHO IS EQUAL TO SUCH A TASK?
In
the middle of our bible passage this morning a heartfelt cry comes from the
mouth of the apostle Paul, you find it in 2:16 "who is equal to such a task?" These are the words of a
man under pressure, and I believe that God's word this morning is partly geared
to people under pressure, people with serious burdens upon their hearts and
lives, and those who are wondering how they are going to make it through.
The
pressure may be in your family, it may be in your work or in your health. It
may even be spiritual, for it is a pressurised thing to be a Christian in the
real world. Paul's words may be your words as you come to church this morning
"who is equal to such a task - how am I going to make it?" The good
news is that there is a way to make it - as the NIV title to passage indicates
Christians are ministers of a new covenant, a new promise from God made to us
in Christ. So let's listen to God's word and be open to what He has to say to
us.
1. TROAS AND THE PRESSURE POINTS (2:12,13; 2:17 - 3:3).
Paul
says in v.12 that when he went to Troas, an important sea port north of Ephesus
on the Aegean sea, he found that the Lord had opened a door for him to preach
the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul had had such experiences before, in 1 Cor 16:9
he says that the Lord had opened a similar door for him in Ephesus and as a
result churches were established in Ephesus itself and also in Colossae and Laodicea.
The idea here is of potential, of finding people willing to listen and to
respond to the gospel without much resistance and persecution.
But
there was a problem, Paul had either arranged a meeting with Titus in Troas, or
had expected him to be there, whichever it was Titus failed to show up, and as
a result Paul had no peace of mind. His sense of unease about the situation is
emphasised by the fact that Paul left such a hopeful situation to go on to
Macedonia instead. Remember there were no telephones internet whats up he could
call so he went in person.
Why
was Paul so concerned about Titus? We
get the answer later in Chapter 7 when Paul shares that he had been worried
about the reception Titus may have received when he took a letter written by
Paul to the Corinthians. He was also concerned about how the Corinthians would
respond to his letter as it was strongly worded and severe, he was uncertain
whether his letter would bring the people to repentance or rebellion,
thankfully chapter 7 reveals that Titus was well received and the letter
brought tears of repentance and reconciliation to Paul's ministry.
This
need for reconciliation is revealed as a further pressure in v.17 where Paul
says that unlike others he did not peddle the word of God for profit. The word
"peddle" is deliberately used, in the Greek it describes traders who
watered down wine, or who used false weights, Paul probably had in mind the
Jewish-Christians who came to Corinth and who took advantage of Paul's absences
and his imprisonments to spread false teaching throughout the church. These preachers tampered with God's word,
told people what they wanted to hear and made a profit out of it. They rode on
a crest of popularity while Paul was unpopular with the Corinthians for telling
them the truth about their immorality and their half hearted dealings with God.
Apathy is rife in our churches even today.
What a real pressure
this is - to speak the truth of God for the sake of Christ without worrying
about your own popularity, it is assumed that believers want the truth, but
Corinthians proves that this is not always the case, it is a pressure to
compromise the gospel to retain a friendship, to keep yourself popular.
Paul
in fact became so unpopular with some in the Church in Corinth that a group
began to suggest that he was not a real apostle because he did not bring a
letter of recommendation with him when he came. This accusation obviously hurt
the apostle deeply and he makes the case in 3:1 - 3 that the proof of his
ministry was not a letter written in ink, but the change in people's lives as
the Spirit of God came into people's hearts after responding to the gospel he
preached about Jesus Christ.
The
people themselves were the letter of proof. Paul did not need a letter from
man, Jesus himself had proven his ministry by giving him converts and by
establishing the church in Corinth. Really it was an insult for anyone to
demand a letter from him when he had established the church in Corinth in the
first place.
So
these were Paul's pressures - an opportunity for good ministry had to be given
up, a further dangerous and probably unwelcome journey had to be made instead.
He
had no peace of mind about his friend Titus, and about what was happening in
Corinth. On top of this he has already revealed to us in chapters 1 and 2 the
accusations being made against him, the criticisms of his integrity, the
disappointments of the people he had newly led to Christ turning away from the
gospel and going to back to some of their old ways. He was pressured by the
very truth he spoke knowing that it made him unpopular, some within the very
church he founded now doubted his right to minister to them, even his claim to
be a Christian.
vs 14 "but thanks be to God." Why then does he say this?
2. THANKSGIVING - THE TRIUMPHAL PROCESSION (vv 14 - 16).
Paul
says in v.14 that God is to be thanked because he always leads us in triumphal
procession in Christ. Now we've got to pause over this expression because it is
difficult language in the Greek grammar and various versions have translated it
in different ways. In all there are 4 main ways of looking at this expression:
The
first way to translate it is in the sense of causing someone to triumph.
The second way to translate it is in the sense of putting someone on a show or a display.
Most scholars favour the third way and take the Greek to mean to lead someone as a CAPTIVE in a triumphal procession." This is how the Good News Bible translates this verse, it says "for in union with Christ we are always led by God as prisoners in Christ's victory procession."
Jesus Christ has won a victory and we follow in triumphant procession behind him. The problem for some is that we follow as prisoners or captives, and in terms of the Roman Triumphal Procession that is a place of defeat and shame.
As
a result of that some commentators reject this interpretation and favour a
fourth which means to lead someone as a SOLDIER in a triumphal procession.
This would then carry the notion of following on from behind in victory, but
not in the position of a defeated enemy, but as part of a victorious enemy.
It's a key verse, one
which we need to claim and to apply to our lives therefore we need to
understand what it really means.
The first truth that we need to grasp is that Christ has gone ahead of us and
won a victory, and this victory is not just over sin and death, which is
essential and important, but also a victory over those things which pressurise
us, squeeze our lives and make us feel unhappy and uncomfortable.
Yet
at the same time as I say this I must also say that it is because we follow the
one who was himself criticised and abused and pressurised, the one who himself
suffered that we get criticised, abused, pressuried and end up suffering
alongside him.
Thus
we follow him I believe both as a captive and as a soldier. We are captives and
prisoners because we belong to Christ, and if that is a place of shame then we
discover that it is at our points of greatest shame that God's greatest
victories are won in our lives. Yes its painful to be shamed, yes it's painful
to be exposed for what we really are, but Jesus is in the business of
exchanging our shame for his glory. Yet we also follow as a soldier,
recognising that it is a real battle that we're in as Christians, but unlike
other soldiers who start a battle not knowing whether they will win or lose we
know that Christ has already won the victory and that we are more than
conquerors through him.
To bring that teaching
into the context of vv 14 - 16 we learn that following Christ means that the
way to victory is through the pathway of suffering and shame, yet the assurance
comes that despite the disappointments, discouragements and set backs God
promises are sure, are genuine, and are a permanent victory in Christ.
Thus
God uses all our experiences in two ways at the same time - this is what Paul
means when he says in v.15 that we are the "aroma of Christ"
reflecting the insense which would have been burned during triumphal
processions. For our experiences preach the gospel perfume of Jesus Christ, and
this gospel aroma or perfume brings joy to those who believe, what Paul calls
"the fragrance of life" to those who disbelieve we are the
"smell of death."
So
what we're being told here is that our very lives, and all our experiences are
used by God to reveal Christ in us to the world, to reveal that we belong to
his victory procession, so the challenge is that Christ is to be seen in us not
just when things are going well, but that Christ is also to be seen in us when
we're under pressure, when things don't go to plan, when people speak against
us, when opportunities for ministry have to be given up, when we're worried and
when we have no peace of mind. No wonder then Paul cries out "who is equal
to such a task?"
Then
at last comes the answer to people under pressure - God has made provision for
us. In the closing verses we move from pressure to confidence through the
provision of grace.
3. CONFIDENCE - THE PROVISION OF GRACE (3:4 - 6).
Paul
is confident that he is going to make it through, but he is not confident in
himself but in the belief that God himself makes his servants competent to
carry out any tasks that he gives us, and he makes us competent by giving us
the Holy Spirit.
One
of the marks of the Holy Spirit is confidence or boldness. Let me share a few
verses with you which make this point all the more clear: "When they saw
the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary
men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with
Jesus" (Acts 4:13)
"Now
Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with
great boldness" (Acts 4:29)
"After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly." (Acts 4:31)
Confidence is one of the marks of the spirit-filled believer, it is the opposite of fear and timidity 2 Tim 1:7 says "for God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline." There comes in these verses a recognition that by ourselves in our own strength nothing much will ever be achieved, pressure will crush us, criticism will embitter us, accusations will silence us, disappointments will distract us, opposition will finish us.
In contrast to this
there is the way of the new covenant, there is the way of the forgiveness of
sins and the filling of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual work can be accomplished,
and will only be accomplished by the power of God which can be released in us
through the preaching of the gospel.
Thus
Paul writes to the Romans in Romans 15:17 - 19: "Therefore I glory in
Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything
except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey
God by what I have said and done - by the power of signs and miracles, through
the power of the Spirit."
He
writes to the Corinthians in much the same terms in 1 Cor 2:3 - 5: "I came
to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my
preaching were not with wise and persuavive words, but with a demonstration of
the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on
God's power."
Paul
concludes that there are two ways of looking at God's word, the first is to
look at it in Old Covenant terms as being letter or law, a list of rules to be
obeyed in order to improve your life and to get you to heaven. The trouble with
this way is that it creates additional pressure of its own as we find that in
our own strength we can not keep the rules, and that we can not be good enough
- thus the letter kills faith and we feel complete failures and totally
inadequate.
The
second way is to see that God has given us a new covenant, a term which Paul
uses here in v.6 and only uses one other time in 1 Cor 11 when he speaks about
the Lord's Supper. This term exposes Christianity as being not about following
rules, but coming to God through Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, in
genuinely having our sins forgiven and being remembered no more, and at the
same time in being filled with the Holy Spirit from God and given the strength
to do what we could not do on our own.
Thus
there comes a two fold message to us this morning. The first part of the
message is to those who are under pressure and who as yet do not know Jesus
Christ. You need to see that God is interested in your life to such an extent
that his one and only Son Jesus Christ came and lived in this world so that he
might experience the pressure that you're under now and so that He can find a
safe path through it for you. If you follow Jesus then He will lead you in
triumph through your difficulty. Note that I said "through it" for
the gospel does not mean that you will avoid it, but that with Christ alongside
you you will come through it.
What
you need to do is not to rebel against the difficulty but come to God through
Christ in the midst of it, to ask his help and knowing his forgiveness, you
will receive the Holy Spirit and you will look upon your life with new eyes and
as a new person.
The
second part of this message is to people who already know Jesus. Perhaps you
are struggling with pressure, it may be enough for you to know that this is
normal, and that God will use your struggle to bring glory not just to your
life but also to his name.
Or
the problem may be more serious than that, although a professing Christian your
life today is a dry river bed to the Spirit of God. You have lost the sense of
the Holy Spirit who brings life. It may be sin which has dammed up the river of
the Spirit, or it may be circumstance. Which ever it is you need a fresh
infilling of the Holy Spirit of God today. The good news is that such a filling
of the Holy Spirit is promised to you as part of the new covenant, not as a second
blessing, but as someone else put it, as a blessing every second.
It
may seem like a huge leap to you moving from a non-believer or as a dry
Christian pressurised by life to being a believer filled with the Spirit of God
and making it through. It may seem to you to be a huge gap between what you
read about in the bible about power and boldness and what you find happening in
your own life.
What
the word of God is telling you this morning is that the experience of pressure
is the very door between struggling by yourself and living in the power of God.
Don't see that door as being a way for you to get out to God, see that door as
being a way for God to get in to where you are, as a way for God to save you,
to forgive you, to fill you for the first time or anew with the Holy Spirit.
Let's
be Christians now of the new covenant, and pray together:
Sunday 21 st November 1 JOHN 5:6 – 21 THE THREE WITNESSES, ASSURANCES AND CONCLUSIONS
The
passage before us today is full of good stuff for the believer - assurances
about eternal life, about answered prayer and many other things, all of these
assurances being gifts of God through Jesus Christ. But how can we know for
sure that Jesus is the right person to go to for salvation? How can we know for
sure that he is the Christ? You see there is no assurance of eternal life if we
have gone to the wrong person for it, nor is there assurance of answered prayer
if we are praying through the wrong person. How do we know that Jesus is the
right person to trust as Saviour and Lord? John says that there are three
witnesses prepared to stand up and testify that Jesus is who he claims to be.
Now Jewish law required three witnesses to prove any fact, and so John calls
his three witnesses in vv 6 - 12: The Water, The Blood and the Spirit.
1. THE
THREE WITNESSES (vv 6 - 10.) 1. and 2.
The water and the blood (v.6):
John says
that Jesus "is the one who came by water and blood." What then do
these two terms refer to? Some have argued that they refer to the sacraments of
baptism and communion, but this is hardly correct for in no way did Jesus come
into the world in the past through the sacraments. Others see here a reference
to when the soldier thrust the spear through the side of Jesus and out from the
wound gushed water and blood (Jn 19:34, 35). But again this is hardly correct,
it is much truer to say that the water and the blood came out of Jesus than it
is to say that Jesus came by water and blood in this way.
What we
are looking for is two incidents in Jesus' life which witness and testify to
his claims to be the Son of God. Water therefore refers to his baptism when the
Holy Spirit came upon him and empowered him for his ministry, and blood refers
to the cross when that work was finished. What John is telling us here when he
says that Jesus "did not come by water only, but by water and blood"
is that Jesus did not cease being the Son of God when he died on the cross.
Some
people in John's day as well as in our own believe that to be true. They can
not believe that God himself could die for us, and while they believe that God
was in Jesus during his earthly ministry they believe that God left Jesus
before the cross. Some say that Jesus was just an ordinary man until his
baptism when the Holy Spirit came upon him, but then left before the cross
returning Jesus to his normal ordinary human status. Against this John declares
the New Testament truth that this Jesus was God right from his birth, it was
the Son of God who passed through baptism, it was the Son of God who passed
through the blood of the cross.
Everything
that we believe about salvation depends on our accepting the witness that Jesus
was God himself. Unless Jesus was fully a man, unless Jesus was fully God then
we are not reconciled to God. Unless Jesus was God himself on the cross then we
are not forgiven, sin has not been dealt with. Without the blood of Jesus there
is no cleansing from our sin (1:7). And so the baptism and death of Jesus bear
witness that Jesus is who he claims to be.
3. The
Spirit (v.6): "And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is
the truth." John moves on now from the outward historical witnesses about
Jesus (the baptism and the cross) to the inward personal encounter that
believers have which proves to us that the claims about Jesus are true - he has
already told us in 3:24 "and this is how we know that he lives in us: we
know it by the Spirit he gave us." And so in order to be a Christian we
have to believe in the witness of the historical events of the gospel, the
baptism and the cross, and we need to have the internal witness of the Holy
Spirit in our hearts.
Vv 7 and 8
are repetitions of this theme and were probably added at a later date. As we
move on to v.9 John tells us that the startling thing about the witness of
these three is not that man is behind them but God himself. It is God who
testified about his son at the baptism, it is God who testified about himself
at the cross, it is God who bears witness to Jesus as he puts His Spirit in our
hearts. When we listen to the gospel message then it is not man's word that
we're asked to accept but God's word, and the purpose of the gospel is to give
us the faith to believe in Jesus.
And that
is the way that it works, when we take the leap of faith of believing that the
gospel message is true and that Jesus died for our sins, it is then that God
confirms it by giving us the witness of the Spirit to confirm that it was right
to trust Christ. Following conversion we wonder how we ever doubted, but that
is because we now have the Spirit whereas before we did not.
Sadly not
all believe. Having heard the testimony about Jesus given through the baptism and
the cross they reject God's word and they make it impossible to receive the
further testimony of the Spirit. They make God out to be a liar because in
turning down the gospel they're saying in effect "what you're telling me
God is not true." Unbelief is not just a mistake, it is rebellion, it is
to say to God "I don't believe this rubbish you're telling me about Jesus,
it's all a pack of lies."
So God has
sent Jesus and gives three witnesses to prove the gospel claims. The baptism of
Jesus, the death of Jesus on the cross, and the sending of the Holy Spirit.
These are summary terms of course for there are other witnesses about Jesus -
the miracles, the resurrection and so on. What we have to decide about is
whether we believe what God is telling us through these witnesses. If we do
believe then we are saved and God sends the witness of the Spirit in
confirmation. If we don't believe then it is not the witnesses, nor the
preacher that we are calling liars, it God that we are calling a liar, and on
judgement day we will have to tell him why.
Having
told us about the three witnesses who confirm that Jesus is the Saviour John
moves on to tell us the three assurances that the saved enjoy:
2. THE
THREE ASSURANCES (vv 11 - 17).\
1. The assurance of eternal life (vv
11 - 13):
John says
that "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his son." If
you want to have eternal life then you need to know that eternal life is
dependent on two things - firstly, that God has really given us his son - the witnesses
have proved that, and secondly that you personally have the son - the witness
of the Spirit should also prove that to you as well. If you have the son, then
you have the promise of eternal life. Eternal life is in Jesus and is found
nowhere else.
Three
important truths about eternal life are found in these verses. Firstly, it is
not a prize for good living, it is the undeserved gift of God to those who
believe. Secondly, it is found only in Jesus Christ so in order to give us life
God had to give us first of all his son. Thirdly, if you are a Christian then
you already have eternal life, it is a present possession not just a future
hope.
V.13 makes
it plain that God wants all believers to have a full assurance that they have
eternal life. Some say that it is presumptuous of us to believe that our
salvation might be eternal and that we can not lose it. I tell you that it is presumptuous only to doubt God's word, if you are a believer then trust v.13
"that you may\know\that you have eternal life." The first assurance
that God wants you to have as a believer is that you now have eternal life,
when you die you will pass on to be with God forever. It is an unshakeable
promise.
2. The assurance of answered prayer
(vv 14 & 15):
There are
two things that a believer ought to be confident about - he ought to be
confident in approaching God in prayer, and he ought to be confident that God
will hear and answer his prayers. We have to note that answered prayer does
depend upon it being in the will of God, how then can we tell if we are praying
in the will of God?
The first
general guideline is - is it scriptural? To be praying that God will allow us
to get away with things which are in total contradiction to His Word is to be
praying out with the will of God. If we are praying in ways that God reveals to
us in the bible then we can be confident.
The second
general guideline is - are we walking in the will of God? If we are doing our
best to lead the Christian life then more often than not God uses our common sense
to guide us in prayer. There may be no scriptural verses which jump out at us,
no blinding flashes of light, we just look at a need, or a situation and we use
our common sense and we pray.
God wants
us to pray, he wants us to know that it's all right to come before him in
prayer with all our needs, joys, woes, successes and failures. He wants us to
have the assurance that he hears our prayer, that he bends our wills into His,
so that we can have the confidence of knowing that the right answer will come
our way.
3. The assurance that God will deal
with sin (vv 16 and 17):
VV 16 and
17 are complicated verses which can be interpeted in various ways. I want to
tell you tonight how I think they should be interpreted, the key to the whole
thing being the assurance that God deals with sin.
He deals
first of all with sins that do not lead to death (v.16). In one sense all sin
leads to death, for the wages of sin is death. But there are forgiven
Christians who do sin and their sin does not threaten their eternal salvation.
I think we are talking here about sin in the congregation - how do we deal with
it? John says that we should pray and have the confidence that God will give
life.
Now when
we hear about sin in the congregation we all too often lobby the minister or
deacons and insist that they do something about it. Instead we get guidance
here that such situations call for prayer, to get our hands off, to get down on
our knees and to petition and interceed until God has transformed the situation
and forgiven the sin. We need to have the assurance, and we are given it here,
that if our family, if our church, is troubled by sin that if we pray then God
will deal with it.
God deals
secondly with the sin that leads to death (v.16). What then is this sin that
leads to death? Some say that it is apostasy, that is a saved person completely
turning his back on God and renouncing Christ completely. But John has already
argued that the save person has an assurance of eternal salvation and he is
unlikely to contradict himself only three verses further down. No, what we are
talking about here is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit which Jesus
mentions in Mt 7:28. This is to turn down the revelation of Jesus as the
Messiah and the hope of the gospel, this is to call God a liar.
While we
are not to give up hope on anyone, while we must keep on praying that those who
have rejected the gospel will change their minds and accept Christ we are not
to pray that those who have decided once and for all to reject Christ will all
the same be saved. The believer has the assurance that those who die in their
sin, die in their sin and are eternally separated from God. The believer has
the assurance that he did the right thing to turn to Christ, that the life of
holiness was worth it.
If you
reject Christ, if you call God a liar, then you must know that such a sin leads
to eternal death. If you accept Christ, if you believe the truth, then you must
know that you have eternal life. If we as believers are troubled by sin then we
have the assurance that sincere prayer will transform the situation and God
will give life.
3. THREE CONCLUSIONS (vv 18 - 21).\
John now
brings this first letter to an end with three conclusions which sum up much of
his thinking.
1. We know that anyone born of God
does not continue to sin (v.18):
This does
not mean that a Christian becomes a sinless person upon conversion, it means
that it is an obligation placed upon saved believers to give up the life of sin
and not to continue sinning. The new birth means new behaviour. Sin and the
child of God are incompatible, they may occasionally meet, but they cannot live
together in harmony.
There is
further good news for the believer, John tells us "the one who was born of
God keeps him safe" meaning that it is the work of Jesus to secure our
salvation. That is good news for if it were up to me to keep my salvation going
I would lose it every day. Instead it is Jesus who brings the good work to
completion in us. As Christians we are not immune to temptation, there is an
evil one who seeks to do us harm. So the devil does not touch the Christian
because the Son keeps him, and because the son keeps us we are obliged not to
deliberately sin.
2. We know that we are children of God
(v.19):
We belong
to one family, but the world belongs to another for it is under the control of
the evil one. So everyone belongs to one of two camps with no middle ground, we
are either Christians in the family of God, safe and secure with the assurances
of eternal life and answered prayer, or we are unsaved and in the clutches of
the evil one.
The good
news is that if we believe that we still belong to the world and the evil one
then Jesus came and died for the sins of the world. There is a way out for us,
but if we choose to stay in the world then that is the sin which leads to
death.
3. We know that the Son of God has
come (v.20):
The
concluding thought is that all that we have depends upon the fact that Jesus
was the Son of God come into the world. Without him we have nothing, if we find
ourselves in him as Christians then we have everything. It is Jesus who reveals
God to us in all his truth and glory. If you want to know God then you have to
first of all know Jesus Christ.
And then
in v.21 John gives his final piece of advice "keep yourselves from
idols." Don't believe in false gods with no hope in them. Believe instead
in the one revealed to us by water, blood and the Spirit - that is Jesus Christ
the Son of God and Saviour. The one who offers eternal life, answers prayer and
deals with sin. The one who who keeps us safe, and who reveals God to us.
Have you
done this? If you have then today you can go home with the fullest assurances
of salvation and eternal life. If you haven't then God will still deal with you
but it will not be to give you eternal life, but to send you to your well
deserved eternal death. The choice is yours.
Sunday 31st October and 7th November 2
CORINTHIANS 3:7 – 18 = NEW MINISTRIES FOR NEW PEOPLE
This
morning I want to speak to all of you who do your best to serve the Lord and
live for him. Because after this pandemic which we all thought was coming to
the end, but we still need to be careful. But also because we are coming to the
end of the year it brings more pressure, I want to speak to those christians
watching on livestrem but mostly I want to speak to those of you who have
responsibilities within this church or the church that you attend, to our
elder, deacons, future sunday school teachers, especially leaders of future
organisations...
I speak to
those of you who are busy sharing your faith in the streets, to those of you
who see that your work is your ministry as you seek to serve the Lord as a real
person in the real world. I speak to those who see that where the Lord has
placed you in your house, your flat, your neighbourhood, your school as your
ministry as you seek to share his love with those around you.
I speak to
you knowing that at some point, perhaps it is even today, you have asked
yourself questions like "why do I bother doing this..." "how can
I keep this up...I feel so tired." We need to come back to God and His
Word for the response.
How is it
that Paul can say in 2 Cor 4:1 "Therefore, since through God's mercy we
have this ministry, we do not lose heart." What was this ministry that he
speaks about...and how did he keep his courage?
This is
our entry into 2 Cor 3:7 - 18 for in this passage Paul explains what the
ministry was, and how he kept going even when at times he was placed under
extraordinary pressure.Many churches will have this pressure coming back after
such a long time absent during this pandemic.
The
passage before us breaks into two clear sections both of which are mini sermons
written by Paul from a passage in Exodus. So in order to understand what is in
front of us in 2 Corinthians, we're going to have to look at Exodus.
1. A
SERMON BASED ON EXODUS 34:29 - 32 (2 Cor 3:7 - 12)
When Moses
came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands,
he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.
When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they
were all afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all
the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. Afterwards
all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord
had given him on Mount Sinai.
In Exodus
then we have the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses along with the radiant
presence of the glory of God which literally left Moses' face glowing. But here
in 2 Cor 3:7 - 18 Paul contrasts the ministry that God gave to Moses by the Law
(what we call the Old Testament or Old Covenant) with the ministry that God
gave Paul by the Spirit (what we call the New Testament or New Covenant.) And
what Paul says is that the ministry which God has given him is better or more
glorious in three ways.
1. The
ministry of the Spirit is more glorious than the ministry of death (2 Cor 3: vv
7 and 8).
Now if the
ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters of stone, came with
glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses
because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit
be even more glorious?
In these
two verses Paul begins by acknowledging that when Moses descended from Mount
Sinai having met with God and having been given the 10 Commandments the glory
of God was there in such a way that people could hardly bare to look at Moses'
face because the glory of God just shone from it.
Yet
although there was glory at that moment, the problem with the Old Testament,
and the ministry of Moses was that it brought death. Now this needs to be
understood in terms of Romans 7:10 where Paul says "I found that the very
commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death."
What he
shares in that passage was that he barely thought about coveting until he saw
the command "You shall not covet..." and the moment that he started
to think about it, sin seized the opportunity and he found himself caught in
the trap of coveting unable to get himself out of it.
This is
exactly our problem too. Just as we never think about communication cords in
trains until we're sitting there and we see the notice forbidding it except in
cases of emergency and then are overcome by an overwhelming desire to pull it,
just as we never think about going into debt until we see that wonderful word
"sale..." we find that it is in our sinful nature to do the opposite
of what our minds and our hearts tell us it is wrong to do. And simply being
told not to do it is not enough.
How many
of us here find ourselves this morning in the wrong job, in the wrong
relationship, in the trap of a sin that we can not get out of, and we know that
before we jumped in that we were told by others, and probably told ourselves,
that it was wrong, but being told that it was wrong was not enough. We still
ended up doing it anyway. Rules and laws are not enough, as we have seen all the
way through this pandemic, unless there is inward power and new desires we are
unable to say "no" and stop the sinning.
Thus the
ministry of the Spirit which we receive when we become Christians is more
glorious than OT Law because God now gives us the power inside of us to say no
and to stop the sinning. Instead of just giving us a rule book and telling us
to keep it, God still gives orders about how he wants us to live but at the
same time He gives us his own Spirit to live inside of us so that we can keep
these rules, not by our own strength but by His power. And if you want to know
more about this take the time to read Romans 8.
2. The ministry of righteousness is more
glorious than the ministry of condemnation (v.9). "If the ministry that
condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings
righteousness!"
Here
Paul's point was that the OT ministry simply condemned men and made them feel
bad. In OT law you realised that you had broken God's law and you felt
condemned. The wonder of God's new covenant is that although we still break the
law, although we still deserve to be condemned, although we are certainly
guilty of our transgressions we are nevertheless declared righteous by God. In
the new covenant, the grace of God is seen so much more clearly.
In the new
covenant righteousness is no longer to be found by whether or not we are able
to keep rules, but by whether or not we have personally put our faith in what
God's Son Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross. Thus Paul says in Romans
3:22 "this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to
all who believe."
There are
times in our lives when we feel very smug about ourselves. We think "you
know I'm not doing too bad at this game of being a Christian. I'm not doing
this, I'm not doing that. I'm certainly glad that I'm not doing the things that
Joe Bloggs is doing." Who gets the glory for this - we give it to
ourselves! We give ourselves a pat on the back!
Instead
the NT is good news for those who know that they can not pat themselves on the
back at all. For those who are honest enough to say that the partnership of sin
and our own foolishness has made a mess of our lives. And do you know what God
says "I know, but I have a Son who can help you and forgive you. I have a
Son who can give you a righteous that you can never earn nor deserve through
your own efforts. I have a Son who died for you. Put your faith in him."
Have you
done this? If not you need to, and if you have then you'll know why Paul says that
believing in Jesus is more glorious than trying to keep rules.
3. The
permanent ministry is more glorious than the ministry which fades away (vv 10
and 12).
For what
was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if
what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that
which lasts! Therefore, since we have such a hope we are very bold.
Here
Paul's point is that although the OT came with glory it has no glory now. The
glory of the OT has faded away. It's important that we understand right now
that the righteous requirements of the OT law still stand, Jesus himself made
it plain when he came that his purpose was not to do away with OT law but to
fufil it (Mt 5:17).
What has
faded away was not the law itself, but the ministry of the law, to put this
another way the Old Testament or Old Covenant has been superceded by the New
Testament or New Covenant.
The New
Covenant we're told here is permanent. This makes it superior to the OT in the
sense that it was surpassed when the NT will not be. So what we have before us
in the NT, what we know about Jesus Christ now. There are no further
revelations, thus the Koran, the Book of Mormon, the Divine Principle writings
of Rev. Moon, the so called further revelations given to Jehovah's witnesses
and other cults can not and do not come from God. The New Testament witness
about Jesus Christ is permanent, not to be changed not to be superceded.
Some
people hold back from buying things in the hope that somewhere around the
corner will be something better, something cheaper. Don't hold back from Jesus
Christ in the hope that around the corner will be something better, something
easier. This is it. There is salvation in no other way, in no other name. It's
a glorious and permanent truth - all those who call on the name of Jesus Christ
will be saved.
Therefore
because there is no other way, because we know that God has no other plans like
Paul we need to be very bold and confident. The confidence of the minister, elder
or deacon, the Sunday Scholl teacher and so on is that we really do have the
truth, that we really do have the only message which is really worth sharing
and that God is not going to pull the rug our from underneath us.
This is it
folks, this is the message that God wants proclaimed by us, therefore we must
get on with it and be bold and be strong. This point will come later, but even
though it be placed in the clay jar your life you have a tremendous treasure to
share. There's the story of the man who said to his wife "Honey, you're a
treasure...someone should take you outside and bury you." God says don't
bury the treasure of the gospel, display it boldly.
Sunday 7th November 2. A
SERMON BASED ON EXODUS 34:33 - 35 (2 Cor 3:12 - 18).
When Moses
finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered
the Lord's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out.
And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they
saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face
until he went in to speak with the Lord.
In v.13
Paul comments on the veil that Moses placed over his face. It is fair to say
that the OT does not indicate that the brightness ever left or faded from
Moses' face, but the point seems to be that Paul deduced that the reason why
Moses veiled his face was not so much to protect the Israelites from being
dazzled by the brightness but to prevent them seeing the glory fading away.
Some argue
that the veil which Moses placed over his face prevented the Israelites from
seeing the glory of the Old Covenant in the first place, and that maybe in some
way Moses hindered the Israelites, but Paul makes it plain in v.14 that the
real veil which prevented the Jews from seeing and appreciating the glory of
God was not the one over Moses' face but the one over their own minds which
made them dull to the things of God. This dull mind, or hardened mind,
depending upon your translation, prevented the Jews in Paul's day as well as in
our own from seeing that in Jesus Christ the Messiah had come, the Old Covenant
ministry had passed away and the New Covenant ministry had begun.
It is in
coming to know Christ that the bible, what it contains, that God, that life
itself begins to make sense. The whole point of the new ministry of the new
covenant is to make new people, and so Paul finishes this section by pointing
out four wonderful things that happen when a person becomes a Christian.
1. Vision
(v.14): In Christ the veil is taken away. When you become a believer the veil
of ignorance and unbelief in the things of God is taken away. Now we want it
the other way round, we say that if we see then we will believe. God's way is
that if we will believe then we will see. Now this is true to our experience,
things which did not make sense in the bible, in our lives often come into
focus after salvation. The bible says, and we boldly declare that if a person
will believe in Christ then he will see, he will see God, he will see himself
as he really is, and he will see for the first time what matters in life.
2.
Conversion (v.16): I wonder if you have ever felt that there must be more to
this life, more about God, more truth in the Bible but you haven't quite been
able to see it. That is because like the Jew in Paul's day, and the man in
Portslade in our day who doesn't yet know the Lord there is a veil over your
heart. This veil is woven in the fabric of your sin, sin in your life prevents
you from knowing God, yourself and your life as it ought to be known.
But look
at the tremendous promise in v. 16 "but whenever anyone turns to the Lord
the veil is taken away." That word "turn" in the Greek means to
convert. It doesn't mean simply to turn around, it means to change into
something different. It means that when you become a Christian you become a new
person, and part of being a Christian is that the things you were blind to,
whether it was your own sin, or the things of God suddenly become blindingly
clear and you think to yourself "how come I never saw that before, how did
I miss that?" The answer was because you were blind, but now you see.
In these
verses we see Paul's emphasis that it is only in Christ that a person comes to
God, that a person can see God. You can't come to God any other way than to
allow Christ in to change you and make you new.
3.
Liberation (v.17): Verses 16 and 17 need to be held together, and the point is
clear that when a person becomes a Christian then the veil over their minds is
removed and they realise that they can not come to God through the Old Covevant
ministry of rule keeping, but only by accepting the righteousness of Christ,
which is the ministry of the new covenant. The moment that you accept Christ
the new covenant ministry of the Spirit begins in your life, and the Jesus that
you come to know, and the God that you come to know, is the God and Jesus
revealed in your heart as the Spirit works in your life.
So the
sign of the spirit's presence in a believer's life is freedom. Freedom to do
what? In this context it is freedom to do the will of God. Many people want to
do the will of God, they want to live holy lives, but they are not free to do
it because sin holds them back in chains. They want to keep the rules but they
don't have the strength to do it. Letting Christ into our lives hacks these
chains and we're free, and the spirit comes in to give us the power to do the
will of God. And with this freedom comes freedom from the past when past sins
are remembered no more (Rom 4:6 - 8). Freedom in the present knowing that you
are truly a child of God (Rom 8:15, 16).
4.
Transformation (v.18): And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect (or
contemplate) the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with
ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
We learned
in Exodus that although Moses veiled his face when he was in front of the
Israelites he lifted the veil in the presence of God - the lifting of the veil
being symbolic of the confidence and freedom that Moses felt when he stared God
in the face.
What Paul
is telling us here is that when we are Christians we too can look God in the
face. The word "reflect" is a complicated Greek word and the fullest
sense means that when we are Christians the Spirit works in us so that we
become a two-way mirror, we look out in confidence to God and see his face, and
in our lives people look in and see the Spirit working in us to reflect the
glory of God.
Now we've
got to finish by looking at the words "are being transformed into his
likeness." The Greek word is metamorphism - you'll have seen the adverts
for the new transformed Metro - metromorphis being the slogan. The caterpillar
metamorphoses into the butterfly, and the important thing to see is that what
is in mind here is a process of change.
So what
we're told is that when we become Christians the Spirit begins a work of
transformation in us, constantly changing us more and more into the image of
Christ, constantly getting us ready for entering into that final glory. And if
you are a believer it is happening, Paul says we are being
transformed into his likeness.
Now we may
sometimes feel that we are not making much progress, and sometimes in honesty
that is true. But inside us in the spirit God's process of transformation goes
on, making us ready and making us more like him. Now this is not to say that we
can do what we like, but the measure of conversion is not what happens on the
outside, what rules we keep, what rules we break, the measure of conversion is
what is happening on the inside, and what this verse tells me is that however
much I mess up my life on the outside, God does not mess me up on the inside.
He is changing me...praise his wonderful name. Sure this change needs to be
seen on the outside, for it is by our fruits that we will be made known, but
Christian change comes from the inside out, and not meant to be merely
superficial on the outside.
It's the
greatest thing to be a Christian. To receive vision, conversion, liberation and
transformation. I hope that you know Christ and can sing with the hymnwriter
Let us see
Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee
Changed from glory into glory
Till in heaven we take our place
Till we cast our crowns before Thee
Lost in wonder, love and praise.
Sunday 24th October MARK 6:1 –
29 - THE DANGERS OF UNBELIEF
If you
look at chapter 5 then you will see that a tremendous picture is given of Jesus
Christ - Jesus drives out thousands of demons from one poor man, he heals a
woman who has been sick for twelve years and he raises a young girl from the
dead. As I said to you may times, you
would think that that would have convinced people about the claims of Jesus
Christ to be the Saviour, The Messiah, to be God come to us in the flesh.
The hard
facts of the case are however that after these tremendous signs and miracles in
chapter 5 then in chapter 6 which is all about unbelief. There is the unbelief
of the people in Jesus' own home town of Nazereth, there is the unbelief of
Herod, there is the unbelief of his own disciples as they see Jesus feed five
thousand people and walk on water.
Unbelief
is one of the most dangerous things that a person can have in his heart, it can
be a barrier to our personal salvation as we hold back from the claims of
Christ upon our lives. Unbelief can be the hands of Satan around our spiritual
necks choking the faith that we do have if we are already Christians. We're
warned in Hebrews 3:12 "see to it, brothers, that none of you has a
sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God." Even we as
Christian people, can be troubled by unbelief as they limit Christ and what he
can do in our lives. So let's look at the first 29 verses today and open
ourselves up to the Spirit of God and see if there is any unbelief in our own
hearts.
1.
UNBELIEF IN NAZERETH (vv 1 - 6).
In v.1 Jesus
went to his own home town, Nazereth, where a year earlier the people had
rejected him as he spoke in their synagogue. Which we looked at a couple of
weeks ago. It's a picture of the grace of God that he comes once more to the
people who have rejected him, yet this is not a second chance that we should
always take for granted.
News of
the miracles and wonders would have travelled ahead of him, and indeed the
people of the town accepted him as a travelling Rabbi and allowed him to preach
in the synagogue on the Sabbath day. Those who heard him were once more amazed
at what he had to say.
You would
have thought that with the evidence of the miracles and the clarity of his
teaching that the people would have taken it all to heart and have begun to
believe, but they didn't, what they wanted to know in v.2 was where the
miracles and teaching came from. These people thought that they knew who Jesus
was - v.3 gives this plainly, he was the carpenter, he was the son of Mary and
the brother of James, Joseph (Jnr)., Judas (not the disciple) and Simon. His
sisters were there too. They had him all worked out and the problem was that
Jesus didn't fit their picture of him, their picture didn't allow for miracles
and wonders, it didn't allow for teaching that might touch their lives - they
wanted him at arms length as a simple carpenter.
It is
worth noting at this point that v.3 seems to indicate that Joseph, Jesus'
father had died. This perhaps best answers the question why there is a long gap
in the scriptures in the life story of Jesus. We know a lot about him in his
very early years but then the scriptures become quiet until he is about 30
years old when he was baptised by John in the Jordan. It would appear that
Joseph died when Jesus was young and that he worked at home in Nazereth until
his other brothers and sisters were old enough to take care of the family. For
those of us like myself who have lost loved ones it is good to know that Jesus
lost his own earhly father and understands the human emotion of bereavement.
To return
to the point - these people thought that
they knew all that there was to know about Jesus, he was a carpenter, a
commoner, a man like them, but in truth they didn't know him at all. What they
believed about him, what they knew about him, they used as a barrier to
believing the actual truth about him - "he can't be who he claims to be,
he's only the carpenter's son."
It seems
to me that the Lord wants me to say to some folks here today and those
watching. that like these people in Nazereth you may think that you know who
Jesus is but in fact you don't know him at all. You've heard stories, like the
people in Nazereth you may have spent 30 or more years growing up with Jesus,
but in truth you don't know him at all.
You don't
know him as Son of God. You don't know him as the Saviour in your heart,
changing you, making you new. What should have been these people's greatest
strength ;became instead their greatest weakness. They had watched Jesus grow
up, they knew the type of person that he was, they knew the quality of life
that he had led. If anybody should have accepted the claims of Jesus of
Nazereth they should, instead they took offence at him, the Greek language
means that they stumbled over him - in the words of 1 Peter 2:8 the "stone"
that the people should have believed in, became the stone that caused them to
stumble and fall.
I put it
to you that there are folks here today or watching, who have grown up with
Jesus Christ but have stumbled over him. That Jesus Christ, here in his own
house, in the words of v.4 is a prophet without honour, and that the very
people who know about Jesus Christ and who should be following Jesus hold back
the ministry in the church as the people in Nazereth held back the ministry
then - the bible says that Jesus could not do any miracles there, except lay
his hands on a few sick people and heal them, and he was amazed at their lack
of faith.
Is Jesus
amazed at you? You've grown up with him, you know that he can perform miracles
and wonders, you've seen the change that he's brought to the lives of others.
You know that his teaching is amazing because it has touched you, yet still you
don't accept him and follow him. In truth you don't believe in him and his
power because if you did you'd have been down that aisle, through the waters of
baptism and you'd have been telling the world about Jesus long ago.There's a
word here for somebody today. The Lord has just described you? See it as being
a sign of his love, he's returned to you as he returned to Nazereth calling you
one more time. Heed that call, believe in him, trust him, and follow him.
In the
midst of this unbelief however the ministry of Jesus Christ moves on. The Lord
doesn't waste time, he seems to work in an area, in a church, in an
individual's life in special ways for a season, but if the work is resisted
then he does not tarry, so Jesus left Nazareth and began travelling around the
nearby villages preaching the gospel. The need was so great however that the
time had come for Jesus to divide and multiply his ministry, so vv 7 - 13 deal
with the sending out of the Twelve.
2. THE
TWELVE ARE SENT OUT (vv 7 - 13).
Jesus
called the twelve to himself in Mark 3 :13 - 15 and told them then that his
purpose would be to send them out to preach and to have authority over the
demons. The time had now come for this and so Jesus paired them off because it
was always easier and safer for servants to travel and work together and
because the Jewish law always required two witnesses to verify any matter and
to attest to any miracles (Dt 17:6).
Of course
in pairs they would also be able to help one another and offer companionship to
each other on their travels. Before he sent them out Jesus gave them his
authority to cast out evil or unclean spirits - this was not so much the
beginning of their own ministries, but an extension of the ministry of Jesus
Christ.
The
instructions in v.8f about what they were to wear and what they were to take
are not to be taken literally by us today, but the idea behind the instructions
that the gospel message is so urgent so travel light and travel fast is to be
taken seriously by us all. Indeed the gospel message is so urgent that time is
also not to be wasted on those who refuse to welcome its messengers or its
message.
Jesus
tells the disciples in v.11 that the dust is to be shaken from their feet if a
town or a person will not accept them. The Jew shook the dust from his feet
when he left a Gentile town so that none of its influence remained upon him.
There are therefore people and areas that we have just to let go of, it may
well be that Jesus will send others to them, or it :may well be that they will
lose their chance, but there definitely does come a time when the Spirit moves
on and we have to shake the dust off our feet. It's a dreadful moment, but the
gospel is not to be wasted on those who will not accept it.
In vv 12
and 13 we see the balance of Christian ministry - the preaching of the gospel
and the performing of miracles and wonders. There is a place for a sermon on
the place of signs and wonders but that will come at the end of our studies in
Mark. For now we must note that the primary task of the disciples was to preach
and to call the people to repentance, for it is through the preaching of the
word that the power of God is made known, God uses the spoken word and turns
men and women's lives around as they hear. But let me say this that the purpose
of the gospel is to bring us to repentance, to turn our lives around so that we
longer live for self, but live for God.
What is
repentance? In the novel "Quo Vadis" there is the story of the Roman
soldier who hears Peter preach, the writer says that "(the soldier) felt
that if he wished to follow that teaching he would have to place on a burning
pile all his thoughts, habits and character, his whole nature up that moment,
burn them into ashes and then fill himself with a new life altogether different
and an entirely new soul." That is repentance - without that giving up of
self and that being filled with the new life of Christ there is no salvation.
It's a tremendous gift that is on offer - a completely new life in Christ, a
complete turning around. If you want Christ without giving up your sin then you
can't have him. If you want to belong to the Christian church in the truest
sense yet want to go on sinning and living an unchanged life then you can not
belong. Christ will change you and turn you around.
And so the
ministry of Jesus Christ spread, the gospel was proclaimed, demons were driven
out and the sick were healed. The news travelled to King Herod and his court -
you would have thought that they might have believed with all this evidence
around them. But No the next stage in this chapter is the unbelief of Herod and
his court.
3. THE
UNBELIEF OF HEROD AND HIS COURT (vv 14 - 29).
V.14 tells
us that news about Jesus reached Herod's ears along with various opinions about
who Jesus was. Some were saying that he was John the Baptist raised from the
dead, others were saying that he was Elijah, others that he was a prophet.
Herod's opinion was that Jesus was the Baptist back from the dead
(v.16), and he held this opinion because in in his own heart he felt guilty
that he had been the one to order the Baptist's death.
The story
is spelled out in v.17f. Herod belonged to a complicated family line where
there had been many murders carried out by his own father the King Herod who
was alive when Jesus was born, indeed there was a saying going round at the
time that it was safer be one one of Herod's pigs than it was to be one of his
sons. The Herod before us in v.14f was Herod Antipas one of Herod's sons who
was not in fact a King in the same sense that his father was, but governor of
only a quarter of the Kingdom. He persuaded his brother's wife Herodias to
leave her husband and to marry him instead. This was forbidden in Jewish law
and the Baptist preached against him, calling him to give up his sin, his
sinful relationship, to repent in fact and to return to God.
Herod and
Herodias reacted differently to the Baptist's message. Herodias nursed a grudge
against him and plotted ways of getting rid of him. Herod however feared
executing him and placed him in prison, while he was in prison Herod listened
to John and found him to be a righteous and holy man.
He never
quite saw the whole truth for v.20 tells us that the Baptist puzzled him, but
all the same there is no doubt that he was seeking the truth. I am sure that
had he been prepared to give up his sin then Herod would have believed, but
there are sins that we cling to, and as long as we cling to them unbelief will
blind us. The problem is not that God doesn't speak to us, the problem is that
like Herod we're not prepared to give up our sin.
Herod and
Herodias were two people then with guilty consciences. They knew that they had
broken the Jewish law, and when confronted with their sin they dealt with it in
different ways. Herodias wanted rid of her accuser in the hope that when the
Baptist was out of the way then the sin might not matter any more, Herod seems
to be seeking a different way out, perhaps even seeking to get himself right
with God, yet he seems to have been seeking to get right with God and keep his
sinful relationship - this is of course impossible.
There is
no doubt that a gulf emerged between Herod and his illegal wife for she had to
resort to a trick in order to get her husband to execute the Baptist. The trick
was as low as she could get, she persuaded her own daughter (who history tells
us was named Salome) to dance like a common prostitute before Herod and his
guests, Herod obviously had a soft spot for her and offered her a great gift,
she sought her mothers advice and her mother told her to ask for the head of
the Baptist. He could have said "no" but he was more afraid of losing
face before his dinner guests than he was of losing face before God so he had
his executioner carry out the deed which was illegal as no charges had been
brought against the Baptist. Herodias stands before us today as a reminder of
the power of a bitter woman, who allowed her own bitterness to drag her own
daughter down and to make her own husband look like a fool. She thought that
when the Baptist was gone she could sin in peace, but she forgot that although
she would no longer have to face up to the Baptist she would still have to face
up to God.
There are
a lot of parallels between the fate of the Baptist and that of Jesus Christ.
Both were imprisoned because of their preaching, both were hated because the
crowd preferred their sin to getting themselves right before God. Both were
executed without proper trial. Both of them were buried by their followers. Yet
there the similarities end and the differences begin. John's followers buried
the Baptist and according to Mt 14:12 went and told Jesus and probably joined
forces.
The
baptist however remained buried and so all the ideas about Jesus going around
at this time were wrong, Jesus was not John the Baptist back from the dead
because he had been around long before the Baptist died, as we know Jesus was
baptised by John in the first place. Neither was he Elijah back, neither was he
simply a prophet - we will have to wait until Chapter 8:29 when Peter gets it
right and exclaims "You are the Christ!" And unlike the Baptist Jesus did not remain in the grave but rose from
the dead and appeared to the disciples and to countless other witnesses (1 Cor
15).
It is
important for us to see that the problem in these stories is not that there was
no belief, the people in Nazereth and Herod had beliefs all right - they
believed that Jesus was the Carpenter, they believed that he was John back from
the dead - what they did not have was the right belief in Christ.
The
evidence was there, the preaching was there, the truth was before their very
eyes, yet still they got it wrong. They can be partly excused for in that time
Jesus was hiding who he was, the full revelation of the cross and the
resurrection had not yet been made.
We today
however have no such excuses to make. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who died
on the cross for our sins, who was buried and who on the third day rose from
the dead.
Have you then repented from your sins and turned to him in faith? In order to be saved you must confess your need of him and invite him into your life. Don't be satisfied with unbelief, don't hang onto wrong belief, believe the truth and be saved tonight. Perhaps there is somebody here to wants to do that even now - let's turn to Jesus in prayer:
MARK 6:30
– 56 - THE DANGERS OF UNBELIEF (Part 2)
The
unbelief that we find in the second half of the chapter is of a different kind
altogether. From v.30 to the end of the chapter the theme is still unbelief,
but the people who don't believe are no longer Jesus' opposition but his own
friends, his own disciples. Today if we're Christians we're going to have to
have a hard look into our own hearts and ask ourselves if we haven't fallen
into the same kind of trap - claiming to believe but in fact filled with
unbelief at the same time. The section breaks down into two familiar miracle
stories - the feeding of the five thousand and Jesus walking on water.
\1. JESUS
FEEDS THE FIVE THOUSAND (vv 30 - 44).\
The
passage begins in v.30 with the disciples on a high note - in vv 7 - 12 Jesus
had sent them out to teach, heal and to cast out evil spirits. Now in v.30 they
return to him and report everything that they had done and taught. What they
must have seen and experienced can only be left to our imagination, but there
can be no doubt that they had ministered in the power and authority of Jesus
and their hearts were full. It's worth noting then how quickly one can move
from belief to unbelief - was there once a time when you trusted Jesus more
than you do today? Was there once a time that you had more belief in your heart
than you do now? The scene is very recognisable.
Jesus
wanted to spend time with his disciples for he knew that they were drained
after their experience of ministry and needed to come aside for some quietness
and rest. This was impossible where they were for so many people were coming
backwards and forwards asking for ministry that none of them had time even to
eat. So they all got into a boat and crossed over to a solitary place. But
people run along the shore line and came from other towns so by the time Jesus
and the disciples had crossed the Lake of Galilee there was already a large
crowd waiting for them. A lesser man would have groaned but Jesus had compassion, saw that they had
need of spiritual direction and began to teach them.
To Jesus
the crowd was an opportunity, but to the disciples the crowd was a problem, it
was late and everybody was getting hungry. The disciples had two suggestions
for solving the problem - they could either send the people away to find their
own food or they could try and raise enough money to buy a bit of bread for
everybody. As far as the disciples were concerned they were all in the wrong
place at the wrong time and nothing much could be done.
Somebody
has pointed out that this story illustrates the worst thing about committees
when the committee is a group of people who individually can do nothing and
collectively decide that nothing can be done. The disciples saw the crowd and
their needs as a problem that they could not solve which is a form of unbelief.
Jesus
however looked at the same crowd and did not see a problem but saw potential,
here was a situation for him to exercise faith in the Father and in which to
believe. God had sent the crowds, God if you like had created the problem not
Jesus and the disciples, so God had a plan and an answer. You see faced with
the problem in v.37 the disciples had looked only at their own resources and
complained that they didn't have enough money, but that's unbelief again,
belief doesn't look at what we've got, belief looks at God's resources and
discovers that God is not short of funds.
At first
God's supply in v.38 doesn't look like much - there were only five loaves and
two fish, but when Jesus took that little lunch and blessed it a miracle began
in his hands. Whatever we have to giveHim, when he takes it he always blesses
and multiplies it. (Mk 10:27 - 30). We can not manufacture God's blessing but
we can distribute it like the disciples distributed the bread to the hungry
crowd.
What we
see in this story is the way that we come to faith, and the way that God uses
people of faith. We find that first of all Jesus took the five loaves and the
two fish. Salvation begins with our being taken by God just where we are - just
in our ordinary lives, nothing special in ourselves, nothing special to offer
to God. Salvation can only begin when we recognise that we have nothing worthy
in ourselves to offer to God. Just bread. Just fish. But what we are we give to
God and let him take.
The next
thing that Jesus did was to look up to heaven and he gave thanks and blessed
the bread. In looking up to heaven and blessing the bread Jesus gave the bread
and the fish possibilites that they never had in themselves.
Without
Christ they were bread and fish, with Christ they were a miracle. Jesus changes
things and changes people, it is not possible to be in the hands of the Saviour
and to remain the same.
Yet we
must note how the miracle was performed - it was performed by breaking the
bread and dividing the fish. When Jesus touches our lives then he breaks us
too. Now this word "broke" does not mean to "break up" -
when Jesus comes into our lives he doesn't seek to break us up, to disrupt and
to destroy, it means to "break open" he opens us up, like a surgeon
opens up wounds so that we can be cleansed and healed, Jesus was broken so that
we might be healed, so we will be broken so that He can use us, and like that
bread and like that fish the more we are broken the more we will be used.
The
miracle had one more stage, after the taking, the blessing and the breaking
came the giving - Jesus gave and gave and gave until they all had eaten and
were satisfied, he gave and gave until over 5,000 people were fed for v.44
tells us that only the men were counted and they added up to 5,000.
So the
point needs to be made that we are not fully His until we are prepared to be
given out for others. We want to be taken, we want to be sure that our names
are written on that book in heaven, we want to be blessed, we might even want
to be broken for we know that it's for our own good, but to give...to
witness...to serve...to be his hands...that can be a different matter for some
of us. Have you taken but not given as a Christian? Have you given back in
love, worship and service what the Lord has given you?
Unbelief
says I am only bread and fish Lord you can do nothing with me. Belief says I am
only bread and fish Lord you can do miracles with me. Unbelief says this is a
problem in my life, in our church, belief says this is an opportunity for you to
do something wonderful Lord.
In
finishing this part of the story it's worth considering why in v.43 the
disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of bread and fish. Twelve because there
were twelve of them and this was to be their food for the next day. The
disciples couldn't throw it away and expect the Lord to perform the same kind
of miracle day after day. The Lord had given them what they needed - no more
and no less.
\2. JESUS
WALKS ON THE WATER (vv 45 - 56).\
There's a
nice touch in v.45 where Jesus sends the disciples on ahead of him while he
gets on with dismissing the crowds. They were tired and overtaxed and needed
the break from the pressures, so Jesus dismissed the crowds alone and went up
on a mountainside to be by himself and to pray.
Later on
in the evening Jesus saw from his place of prayer on the hillside that his
disciples were in the middle of the lake and that they were struggling against
a wind. This story illustrates another Christian truth and that is that the
normal Christian life consists of a pattern of being tested and then being
delivered.
The
disciples had not sinned, they had followed the Lord's commands yet they now
found themselves in the middle of this great storm. God's path for them lay
through that storm to the other side of the lake. This storm too was different
to the one we encountered in Mk 4:35f where a sudden wind hit the boat in which
Jesus and the disciples were travelling, this storm was a continuous head wind
forcing the disciples into steady back breaking rowing.
Sometimes
we feel that we're in a kind of storm, everything against us, making no
headway, we might even reach the point where we think that we'd be better off
if we stopped rowing and simply threw ourselves into the sea death being more
welcome than the storm, but that's unbelief whispering in our ears again, belief
says that the storm is an opportunity, He sent us the storm so he has a plan
for getting us out of it.
In both of
these storm stories it may have seemed that the Saviour was not much use. In
the first he was asleep at the back of the boat, in this story he was somewhere
else half way up a mountain. Didn't he care? Didn't he know?
Yes Jesus
did care. He saw that once more the disciples were on a spiritual high, they
had shared in the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 and sometimes being on a
high can be dangerous. While it is good to be on the mountaintop you run the
danger of stepping one step too far and falling off a cliff.
So
spiritual blessings need to be balanced with burdens and battles if we are to
become mature Christians. He was stretching their faith, he had tested them
this way before but then he was in the boat with them, now in this test they
were on their own. Yet they were not on their own in this sense - Jesus was on
the mountain praying for them.
It's a
picture of the situation in which believers find themselves today - we're in
the midst of the storm of a world which is against us, sometimes it's a real
struggle and we feel that we're going to sink, but Jesus is alive and is
interceding, praying, for us and when the hour seems darkest he comes to rescue
us. The disciples saw him walking on the water, at first it seems that he will
pass them by, but when they cry out to him even in fear he responds and comes
to their rescue. Jesus told them to take courage, he climbed into the boat with
them and the wind died down.
Jesus
wants us to live by faith and not in fear. Fear and unbelief says the Saviour
is away, he's too busy, nothing can help me. Faith says that even in the storm
the Saviour prays for me, and he's prepared to perform miracles to get to me,
he'll come to me when I cry out to him, and he'll be in the boat with me when I
need him.
But why
were the disciples afraid in the first place? Mark says in v.52 that it was
because they had not understood about the loaves and their hearts were
hardened. Smallness of faith and hardness of heart are two constant sins of
God's people - we forget so quickly what God has done for us in the past, we
forget that just as he helped us then he can help us now. It's a terrible scene
of unbelief creeping in just after belief - have you forgotten how the Saviour can help you?
The
section then finishes with the Saviour still ministering, healing and
performing miracles and wonders in the Gennesaret region, touching people in
their need, healing souls. The unbelief of the disciples is to be contrasted
with the belief of the crowds - all who touched him were healed.
Many of
you will have noticed that Mark omits the part about Peter walking out into the
water to meet Jesus. Matthew tells us in 14:22f that during this storm Peter
questions whether or not it is actually Jesus who is walking towards them and
asks "Lord if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water." Jesus
says "Come" and Peter gets out of the boat and walks safely until he
looks at the wind, loses faith and begins to sink. He cries out "Lord save
me" and Jesus catches him and rebukes him with the question "You of
little faith, why did you doubt?"
The point
is that we have to choose between unbelief or belief, between fear or faith.
Unbelief or fear would have kept Peter in that boat, unbelief and fear keeps us
where we are too. Perhaps you have felt for a long time that you ought to
become a Christian, perhaps you have felt for a long time that you ought to be
baptised, but fear and unbelief has kept you where you are. You are afraid that
you're not good enough for Jesus, that you don't know enough about Jesus or the
bible, you're just bread, you're just fish. Then hear the word of God telling
you that you are just the kind of person that Jesus is looking for today.
The voice
of Jesus is calling you, saying "Come." "Come to me."
"Come to me all of you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you
rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden light." Come in faith and not in
fear. I can do so much with you if you will only let me, you don't need to be
perfect you need only be willing.
Don't let
fear keep you stuck in that boat any longer. Make a decision based on faith
today. Walk out, throw it all on Jesus Christ and trust him absolutely. If that
undeniable inner voice is telling you to come, then you come.
Let us
pray:
Sunday 17th October - REVELATION
3:14 – 22 OPEN THE DOOR - The Letter to
the Church at Laodicea is one of seven special messages given by the Lord Jesus
in the opening chapters of the Book of Revelation. The Lord Jesus was
distressed at things which were going wrong in the churches and revealed his
feelings in a revelation which he gave to John. It would appear that Jesus
reserved his strongest feelings for the last of the seven churches - the church
at Laodicea.
Laodicea
itself was a city in the Roman province of Asia in what is now modern Turkey.
Under the Romans the city became an extremely prosperous commercial centre
being well situated at the junction of main roads crossing Asia into Europe and
Africa. It became an important banking town and was famous for its clothes made
out of the local black wool. The city boasted a famous medical school, indeed
it was one of the most important and prosperous centres of the Roman world. The
gospel reached it early, and a church was founded in Laodicea not by Paul, but
almost certainly through the preaching of a man called Epaphras.
Yet for
all its prosperity the city did suffer a major disadvantage. The city was built
to suit the road systems and was not built as other towns were near a water
supply. The water had to be piped to the city from hot springs nearby, but by
the time it arrived it was lukewarm. The city's water supply was not hot enough
to be of benefit, nor cold enough to be refreshing. It was lukewarm and tasted
of limestone and if drunk warm it induced vomiting.
It is against
this background that the Lord gives to John a revelation about the church at
Laodicea. Once there had been a strong church there, but now it had
deteriorated sadly, perhaps not it numbers but certainly in spiritual
commitment, and it received the severest condemnation of all the seven letters.
But first before there is a revelation about the church, there is a revelation
about Christ in v.14:
\1. A
PICTURE OF CHRIST (v.14).\ "These are the words of the Amen, the faithful
and true witness, the ruler of God's creation."
Here in
this verses Jesus is given two titles, the first being "the faithful and
true witness" and the second being "the ruler of God's
creation."
If we take
the second one first "Jesus is the ruler of God's creation." This
means that Christ has the supreme authority over all that God has made, which
includes us. It means that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is Lord over all that is
made, over our lives and over the Church. It is because He is Lord that he has
the right to speak to the church in Laodicea. As we work our way through their
story we will uncover that at the root of their problems lay in the fact that
they had forgotten that Jesus was Lord.
The first
title said that "Jesus was the faithful and true witness." What does
that mean? That means that Jesus in himself is always faithful towards us and
that you can trust him. Christ's reliability towards his church, towards us,
stands in stark contast to the unreliability of the Laodiceans and probably
ourselves. He is also a witness, and a witness is called to give testimony for
or against another. Jesus came to tell us about God, he reveals God to us, for
he is in himself God. You can trust everything that Jesus tells us about God.
But not
only that, God trusts everything Jesus tells Him about us. On the Day of
Judgement every person who ever lived will be called to bring account. The
bible says in 2 Cor 5:10 "For we must all appear before the Judgement
Seat...that each one may receive what is due to him for the things done while
still in the body, whether good or bad." God will be told what we have
done (even though of course he already knows it.) And Jesus will be called as a
witness. Jesus will confirm that it is true that we have sinned in all the ways
that have been outlined, but what will matter is whether or not Jesus can
testify that we came to him for forgiveness. If we have, then it is His witness
that will see us into heaven, if we haven't then Jesus will still have to tell
God the truth, even though that witness will banish us from the presence of God
forever. What witness will Jesus give about us when we appear before him on
that day? I trust that it will be a better reference than the one which he was
forced to give about the Laodiceans.
\2. A
PICTURE OF THE LAODICEANS (vv 15 - 16).\ "I know your deeds" says
Jesus, but these deeds are not described. The church was probably very active,
the people may well have been faithful in attendance, concerned about their
community. The outward appearance of the church may have been very good - but
what was troubling Jesus was that behind the outward facade there was a very
serious inward spiritual problem. The people were lukewarm, like the water
coming into the city, they were neither not nor cold.
Lukewarm
towards what? We have to be clear about this - what is troubling Jesus is that
the people are lukewarm towards Him. Jesus felt that his marriage to these
people was tepid. They were married, there was a relationship, but there was no
love. Neither was there hostility. What came to Jesus from these people was a
great lack of interest, apathy and indifference. Just like today!
These people professed Christianity but in fact they were untouched by it - they knew nothing of its fire and its fullness. It would have better for them if they had known nothing of the Lord at all for Jesus could have made a start with them. It seems that there is no one further from the Lord than the one who makes an empty profession which has no real faith behind it.
Yet
although the people are indifferent about Jesus He can not remain indifferent
about them, so a severe warning comes "I am about to spit you out of my
mouth." The Lord will not endure lukewarmness, in fact it makes him sick.
What more terrible condemnation could there be of a church's condition than
that the Lord would prefer even a cold Christianity to the kind that he finds
there.
This is a disturbing word, but perhaps
some of us need to be disturbed today.
Are we lukewarm towards Jesus? We can be outwardly active, we can be regular in
attendance, we can be impressing and fooling the whole world. But is there a
real love for Jesus inside of us? A love which makes us sing the hymns to him
with worship in our hearts, or a lukewarmness which leads us to stare at the
hymnbook in apathy and whisper to our friends.
Do we have
a lukewarm contentment in having made a profession in the past, or is love for
the Lord making us move on to baptism and commitment to the fellowship? Or does
the Lord find us today converted, baptised, in fellowship yet still with no
warm love for Him in our hearts? We can pretend to others, but we can not
pretend before the Lord. What is our spiritual condition today?
\3. THE
CAUSE OF THEIR LUKEWARMNESS (v.17).\ The root cause of their being lukewarm was
that the people had become self-reliant. They were a prosperous city, so
prosperous that when an earthquake flattened the place in AD60 they were able
to rebuild without outside aid, a thing almost unheard of in the ancient world.
Now while there may be some good in being self reliant in material things it is
a positive disaster if this is carried over into the spiritual realm. To be
self-reliant, to be maintaining our personal and church lives through tradition
and human activity rather than upon the living Lord is a terrible thing.
The people
say "how can the Lord be about to spit us out of his mouth." We're
important, we're rich, we've got everything. Sure the church was wealthy but it
failed to discern its own poverty. Jesus says to them in v.17 "you are
wretched" which means in the Greek language "you are the most
wretched one of all." He's telling them that their church is the
international leader of how a church ought
not to be. What's wrong with it - the people depend on themselves and not
on the Lord.
Laodicea
was a rich banking town - yet Jesus says the people are poor. Laodicea had a
medical school famous for its eye ointments - yet Jesus says the people are
blind. The town was famous for its clothing industry - yet Jesus tells the
people that they are naked. In other words, you can have everything in the
world, but if you don't have the Lord then you have nothing. You can have nothing in the world, but if
you have the Lord then you have everything.
If the
people want to know real riches then they need to turn to Jesus for pure gold
and not the city merchants. It is only his treasure in heaven which has any
lasting value. If they want to wear decent clothes then it is robes of righteousness
that the people need. Perhaps the Laodicean church was fashionable, what
mattered to the Lord was not the people's expensive clothes on the outside but
that inside they were righteous. The salve that they needed for their eyes was
not a primitive ointment but the gospel of salvation. It is Jesus in your heart
that gives you the sight to see what matters in life, and how life ought to be
lived.
What had
caused the Laodicean's lukewarmness was that they were storing up treasure on
earth and not in heaven. They were concerned with outward appearance and not
inward righteousness. They were blind and could not see the truth. Could the
Lord be putting the finger on the same problem in our lives today? Could we be
receiving the same rebuke as the Laodiceans. If we are, then we need to hear
the word of encouragement that the Lord gives in v.19:
\4. A WORD
OF ENCOURAGEMENT (v.19):\ "Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline. So
be earnest, and repent."
All is not
lost, despite what the Laodiceans have done and have become the Lord still
loves them. If He didn't love them then he would give them up, because He loves
them he rebukes them in the hope that they will be brought to their senses and
repent.
What does
this word "repent" mean? To repent means to turn away from something
and to turn to something else instead. If you repent then you turn away from
your sins AND turn to the Lord. One without the other will not save you. Some
people are genuinely sorry for their sins and errors and do try and give them
up - they clean up their act - but they fail at the same time to turn to the
Lord for salvation. Some turn to the Lord, but they fail to give up their sin.
This in many ways was the Laodicean church's problem - it had turned to the
Lord but had gone back to sinful living.
Yet the
threat of total rejection if the people will not repent is balanced by total
acceptance and re-instatement if only she will repent. There may be a threat,
but it is counterbalanced by the encouragement - I rebuke you because I love
you, I want to reinstate you and not lose you. So the Lord leads us now to the
moment of decision in v.20:
\5. THE
MOMENT OF DECISION (v.20 - 22):\ "HERE I AM! I STAND AT THE DOOR AND
KNOCK. IF ANYONE HEARS MY VOICE AND OPENS THE DOOR, I WILL COME IN AND EAT WITH
HIM, AND HE WITH ME. TO HIM WHO OVERCOMES, I WILL GIVE THE RIGHT TO SIT WITH ME
ON MY THRONE, JUST AS I OVERCOME AND SAT DOWN WITH MY FATHER ON HIS THRONE. HE
WHO HAS AN EAR LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT SAYS TO THE CHURCHES."
The Lord
leads this church to a decisive moment. Here I am, he says, I am standing at
the door and knocking, waiting to get in. This may have come as a surprise to
the Laodiceans who thought Jesus was already in the church. But what they had
welcomed over the thresh-hold was religion and had left the Lord outside.
This may
be a word to us, especially to the young people of long established church
families, as well as to others. What ought to be our strength, our religious
tradition, generations within the church, may instead be our weakness. That for
some, and I mean only some, what they have welcomed into their lives is
religion and not the Lord himself.
Let's face up to this question now. All of us. It's a very important question. Is Jesus inside our lives, in our hearts, is His spirit breathing life into us, is He really our Saviour and our friend. Or is he outside - perhaps even deliberately kept outside - not really touching and changing our lives at all?
It's
important to recognise that Jesus' invitation is personal. He's been speaking
about the church as a whole, but in v.20 he's speaking to individuals. He's
knocking at the door of the life of every individual, he's not just giving one
tap and then running away, but he will constantly knock until he gets a response
- whichever way it goes Jesus will keep on knocking until he gets that personal
response from you.
It's a
personal response. However wonderful or awful your family background is,
however involved or uninvolved you have been in church life, Jesus is wanting
to know how you feel about him. Are you cold, hot, or lukewarm? If you're cold
or lukewarm - holding back in some way - will you have the courage and the
conviction to break out of that pattern, out of that lifestyle, and will you
let Him in? So that you can be close to Him, and He close to you.
This
picture of "I will come in and eat with him, and he with me" is very
important. It's a picture both of intimacy and activity. What the Lord wants
from us is our love and friendship, He wants from us an active fellowship, an
active relationship, an active church membership. Anything less is to go back
to being lukewarm.
So the
crux of the matter is this line "If anyone hears my voice and opens the
door." Christ has done all that he can do, he has died for our sins, he
has buried them and He is risen offering new life. He has sent the Holy Spirit
to change us and fill us. Yet the question remains "will the church open
the door?" "Will the individual open the door and let him in?"
The only cure for a lukewarm Christian is to re-admit Christ. The only way to
be saved is to open the door of your heart to let Him in.
What Jesus
wants us to do is outlined for us in v.21. He wants us to\overcome.\He wants us
to break out of a lukewarm apathetic Christianity. Christ himself has made this
possible for us by overcoming on the cross, he has overcome our sin, our shame,
our half-heartedness. So the only way that we can overcome is to go via that
same cross. When we overcome we will receive royal honour "we are given the
right to sit with Jesus on the royal throne."
"He
who has an ear - let him hear what the Spirit is saying." Have you heard
something from Jesus today? A call to salvation? A call to baptism? A call to
commitment? A call to break away from a lukewarm faith? God will have spoken to
each one of us in a personal way today. He is knocking at the door of our
lives, looking for them to open and for us to respond. Will you let Him in? Let
us pray:
Sunday 3rd October As a church we were aware that we needed as a church to start thinking of a new strategy as we face new challenges of outreach to our city our locality where we live. We have been busy with some new projects here in Portslade reaching out to people, and helping our more vulnerable elderly members becuase the young are the future of our church but our older members have been faithful for many years and we value each one of them.
Harvest I was reading that they will have to destroy some crops as there are no people to pick them or drivers to deliver them, seems such a waste God has blessed us with a great harvest, but have the farmers planted more than we need? Could they not invite people to come and pick them for free, or invite charities or projects the opportunities to pick them and distribute among the poor and needy? Surely be better than letting them going to rot?
Read LUKE 10 V 1-12 1 After this the Lord p appointed seventy-two 40 others
q and sent them two by two r ahead of him to every town and place where he
was about to go. s 2
He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord
of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. t 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs
among wolves. u 4
Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. 5
“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If a man of peace is there, your
peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in that house, eating and
drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. v Do not move around from house to house. 8
“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. w 9 Heal the sick who are there and
tell them, ‘The kingdom of God x is near you.’
10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into
its streets and say, 11 ‘Even
the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. y Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is
near.’ z 12 I
tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom a than for that town. b
‘GROUND-RULES FOR SERVICE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
FIXING THE FIELD v1. Jesus was about to start His ministry in these places and He sent these people to Judaea to Samaria, Galilee and Perea. Like today local evangelism giving out tracts, speaking to people about the Kingdom of God. He was preparing the people to hear the message
FACING THE
FACTS v2. “The harvest is
plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to
send out workers into his harvest field. It will be a
Big Harvest, because
there is a Big Need, but remember we have a Big God.
FINDING
THE FOCUS v3 - 12. Its not going to be easy and it never was even before this
pandemic or brexit hit our country we are still: Vulnerable v3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among
wolves.
Insecure v4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
comfortable v5-8 Limited in time and opportunity.
Ministry v9-12. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God x is near you.’
I sent out a letter last year as we were in lockdown at Harvest time to study it was from 1 Corinthians 3:1 – 17 FOR THE CHURCH TO BE BUILT UP TOGETHER - BECAUSE WE ARE GOD’S FIELD (vv 5 - 9).
Paul tells the Corinthian church that they are “God’s field” in v.9. This field was planted by Paul himself (v.6) - in other words he was the first person to preach the good news in Corinth and to see converts. He was followed by Apollos who watered the field (v.6), in other words the follow up of the first Christians and the work itself was continued by Apollos.
What we see here is that in order for a church to grow it needs different kinds of ministries, indeed different kinds of ministers at different times. This is a point about ministry which is worth labouring upon by itself, but the point from the text is twofold - the first point is that the purpose of ministry is so that the people of God will grow, and the second point is that the power for growth comes from God himself.
The whole point of calling a group of Christians “a field”, is that the field ought to grow into a harvest. A field here is not a Van Gogh or Monet picture to be hung on a wall and admired, the field here is industrial, it is the place where God works, planting, watering and harvesting.
The question now is what kind of harvest is God going to get from this field called Portslade Baptist Church?
This question must first of all come to us personally. For the bible tells us in 2 Cor 9:10 that there is a harvest of righteousness which ought to be found in our lives. It is interesting to see from Heb 12:11 how this harvest comes about - it comes as God disciplines us and brings our lives into line with his word. It seems painful at the time, says the writer to the Hebrews, but later on it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace. The challenge then is are we submitting to the discipline of God? Are we resisting sin, and are we prepared to bring our lives into line with the word whatever the cost, no matter how much it hurts? Do we care whether God harvests righteousness from our lives or not?
But there is a second dimension to this harvest - and that is the harvest of souls. The challenge moves away from personal holiness to winning souls for Christ.
You really don’t need me to remind you of Mt 9:37, 38 where Jesus says “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
As we look yet again at this church we might be deluded into thinking that we’ve survived we have preserved and even at times been successful. I want to say in no uncertain terms with full biblical authority that as long as we see this as being a place where we expect people to come of their own willingness and fill up our pews and thus fail to see this church as being a place from which believers are sent into mission then we are not successful.
But I believe that God looks for a harvest of righteousness from the existing membership first of all, this church needs a work of holiness, renewal and revival - and hopefully it is out of that, that a genuine spiritual overflow will pour into the community and new fields will be planted.
WE ARE GOD’S BUILDING (vv 9 - 15). Paul’s point in these verses is that God’s building is not a physical building, but a building up of believers on a foundational experience - this foundation is Jesus Christ himself. The church is founded on the person and work of Jesus Christ on the cross - you don’t belong to the church in its truest sense until you first of all believe on him.
Now I must pause and bring yet another challenge. I want to speak to those of you who have not yet been brought into the membership of any church. I want to ask you to ask yourself whether this is because you know that you have not yet had that necessary personal encounter with Christ.
You need to know in no uncertain terms that as long as that space is empty you are not saved, and that in the truest sense you do not belong to his church. I want to encourage you to take that decision you know that you should take and very simply to ask Jesus to forgive you your sins, your delaying, and to invite him into your heart as your Lord and Saviour.
Having said all of that Paul’s words are really directed towards believers who have already made their decision for Christ and his concern is that they may have built poorly. There are in fact two ways that a Christian can build poorly.
The first way is to tamper with the foundation - and having become a Christian to try and lay another basis for your life other than Christ. There are Christians here tonight who have made that mistake. People who have decided, perhaps even been baptised and even in membership who are building their lives now upon another foundation other than Christ. The foundation now is money, or business, or even more subtely its religion and the church rather than Christ himself. Let me tell you now that your building is going to collapse.
The second way to build poorly is to build upon a good foundation with shoddy materials. Recent devastating earthquakes in Russia and Eastern Europe have exposed poor designs and cheap and nasty construction so that when the tremors came however deep the foundation was the building above them just disintegrated.
So the challenge comes - what are you building with? Is it gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw? Paul says that if you put unworthy material into the construction that when the Master Builder comes to test the building he will see the shoddy construction for what it is and the builder will lose out on his reward or his pay. That’s a point worth dwelling upon tonight, but again we don’t have the time.
So again the challenge - what are we adding to the spiritual fabric of the church? You might be quite active, but loveless, criticial service is worthless service and it is but straw to be burned. When our children come to look back at the period in which we were responsible for the prayer life and leadership life of the church will they find a layer of gold or a dangerous layer of wood?
The question is personal, it’s also collective. Where are we today in the building up of God’s people together? Are we even in the building in the first place genuinely belonging to a foundational conversion experience of Christ, and if we are Christians what kind of materials are we offering up to God for him to use.
There is a story of the man who died, arrived at the gates of heaven and Peter showed him to the place prepared for him. He went past great mansions, and then through a heavenly equivalent of a council estate, and ended up in a row of shacks. The place prepared for him was a pile of hay, straw and rubble. “What happened to my mansion” he cried out. Peter replied “we can only build with what you send up.”
OK the story is fanciful. But it is not fanciful to ask “what are you sending up to heaven today?”
WE ARE GOD’S TEMPLE. (vv 16 and 17). Our final picture is that of the temple, and we need to remove from our minds any image that we may have of a building, and accept Paul’s definition that a temple is the place where God’s Spirit lives. Individual Christians are therefore temples of the Holy Spirit, and when they meet together for worship a local church is formed.
Yet Paul gives a warning - he says that the temple can be destroyed in v.17. Now we know that Jesus has stated explicitly in Mt 16:18 that the church can not be destroyed. Jesus says there “I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not overcome it.” What we learn when we balance Mt 16:18 with 1 Cor 3:17 is that the great group of believers throughout the whole of history can not be overcome, the church of Jesus Christ as an institution can not be destroyed.
But it is clear that a local fellowship can be brought to an end. It happened to the 7 churches in Revelation, and it can happen to us. Ruling out the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, there are no guarantees that this Baptist Church will be here next year never mind in the next 150 years.
We need to ask then what is it that can destroy a church - and having defined that we need to make sure that we don’t fall into the trap.
Paul makes it plain that there are three things which can destroy the temple, one taken from the picture of the field the other two taken from the picture of the building.
The first thing is to exercise the wrong ministry at the wrong time. It is to plant when you ought to be watering, and to water when you ought to plant. If you try and plant a crop on ground which has not been irrigated and watered then that crop will die. If we move ahead and try and plant a church when it is the wrong time, or when the planting has not been bathed in the irrigation of prayer, sacrifice and commitment then the church plant will die.
But if we keep on watering the spot which ought to be moving out in a new sowing or planting then the watered spot will die. If you over water a plant you kill it. If you over feed a fish it dies. We have to be make sure that we don’t spend so much time and energy on ourselves that we fail to secure new growth for the future. Portslade Baptist Church will die unless it sows at the right time, and waters at the right time. God will guide us on this, our future is secure if we move in faith within God’s timing, for it is God who gives the growth.
The second way to kill off a local church is by tampering with the foundations. Paul was concerned that some of his churches were tampering with the foundation of the work of Christ on the cross and were going back to Jewish Legalism. We too have to make sure that we do not replace a love encounter with Christ as the essential foundation of the church with religion, or respectability, or rule keeping; that we do not replace loving Christ with cold-hearted service, or replace gospel truth with our twisted understandings of the scriptures.
And the third way to destroy the temple or kill off the local church is to build on the foundations with unworthy materials. It is tragic to see God’s people go back to their old ways, and it is a certainty that if a local church ruins its testimony then that local church runs the risk of disappearing. We may have been here for 3 years but I know that Satan works hard at trying to make sure that individuals and the church as a whole may be brought down by falling into one of these three traps.
How do we avoid them, how do we secure our future, and the future of our children should the Lord tarry? It is by being built up together. It is by taking a personal decision that we are going to give the Lord and his church the very best that we have to give, and it is by taking the collective decision that we are here to do the Lord’s business, and here for each other.
I call you then to embrace the highest calling that there is in life, to give yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord and to serve him through a local church. I call you to the great responsibility of the covenant of love towards God and towards each other. I ask you to work according to God’s timing and not your own, I ask you not to tamper with the foundation and not to build with unworthy materials. If we go by any other route then this fellowship will fall, if we go this way in the light of God’s word then the kingdom of God shall grow, and we shall be built up together!
Sunday 22nd Joshua 6:1-2, Now Jericho s was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in 2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered t Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 20-23 20 When the trumpets sounded, m the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, n the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. o 21 They devoted p the city to the LORD and destroyed q with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys. 22 Joshua said to the two men r who had spied out s the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her. t ” 23 So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. u They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.
"Michelangelo great genius of art, made a statue of marble and marvelled at his own work. The artist eyes fixed on the statue,he thought that it was it moving, the lights in the room made the statues eyes look like flames sparkling blazing its forehead; its cheeks glowed, its lips appeared to tremble, and Michelangelo, in delight , gave a blow with the hammer on the knee statue, saying Parla! Parla! " which means speak!
There was only silence it remained mute as it was marble it was not possible to speak since it was stone, only stone, it lacked life, and the soul that generates life. The artist stood before the statue, recognizing man who thought he was god, and understood that only God gives life. It was just a statue made by human hands.
And just as it was
impossible for that marble statue to talk after the command of Michelangelo, it
was also impossible for the walls of Jericho to fall with only the cry of the
people. Jericho was in the way of God's people who told to enter and to
conquer the promised land. This town was about 16 miles from the Jordan
River and 27 km from Jerusalem and was very important and known for its huge
walls, its size and wealth.
It is presented in the
Bible as a city of palm trees, Deut. 34:3. As the city was a fortress,
a local Oasis. Jericho was a appealing. To enter Canaan, the people needed
to go through Jericho. This city was a major obstacle and Joshua had a
responsibility to conquer the land, it was impossible to continue the journey
with such a great obstacle ahead.
Joshua turned to God to
know the plans for the conquest of Jericho. And God determined that the
city was to be surrounded for six days and on the seventh day the priests
playing their trumpets of rams' horns were to walk around it 7 times, then when
the people screaming and the priests playing their instruments the walls would
collapse from the inside out, soon huge blocks began to fall and fire broke out
everywhere. All were killed except Rahab and her family.
When we meditate on this
text, perhaps perplexed, as the impossible becomes possible we seek an answer,
we do not find any reasonable explanation in science. The only explanation
is that God acted miraculously there. We also come across many situations
where the solution to our problems seems impossible, but like the walls of
Jericho fell, also in our struggles the impossible becomes possible when God
acts. The best example is our salvation. We never, by our own merits
can be saved, but it was possible when God acted in and through us.
I. The impossible
becomes possible when God acts in us.
The greatest miracle of our life is conversion. We were dead in trespasses and sins. We had a heart of stone, not even a hammered knee or a cry of command, as did Michelangelo ordering life to the statue could give us life. It is difficult if not impossible to have a life where there is a smell of death and a heart of stone.
Impossible - is an
unpleasant word, it hurts to hear it. If you have a loved-loved and your
doctor says impossible to save his life. What a pain! How
disappointing this word. How sad to see an old lady looking at her
portrayal when she was young and say: It's impossible to turn back the years!
In some circumstances the
word impossible becomes dramatic, for example, it is impossible to reach! You
can not win! It is impossible to be approved! It is impossible to
make peace where there is hatred in the heart, it is impossible to love where
there is sorrow and ill-treatment, it is impossible to recover the lost
time.
But the impossible becomes
possible when God works in us. Maria found it impossible to give birth to
a child without the involvement of her husband, but the angel said to him: For
God nothing is impossible. Luke 1:37. "The things which are
impossible with men are possible with God" How many things become
possible for us when God acts.
Disabled, sick people were
restored by Jesus. Lazarus was resurrected from the dead after four days
in the tomb.So many other things happened because God acted. And faith is
the secret to divine action.When we have the presence of Jesus, we have the
possibility in our impossibilities. When all else fails he will avail
us. When all seems lost he will save us. He will give us what man can
not give, not money, or science, or by brute force, can help only God. He
can put in harmony all the desires of our heart.
However, we must do our
part, for the Lord, will do what is impossible for man to do. He works in
us and transforms our lives, but this does not exempt us from our
responsibilities. He works in our inability, when all else fails and we're
left with nothing we can do, then God does the impossable, what we can not do.
II. The impossible
becomes possible when God works for us
Remember when Babylon was in danger of being invaded by the Persians, the people thought they must first save their gods and BEL NEBO. The Persians could overtake the city and break their gods and who would they turn to next?
Then their gods were placed
on animals that were placed in front of
the crowd. They were huge statues, and the animals walked slowly and
escape became slow. And so, instead of saving the people, their gods had become
stumbling blocks to the crowd and people
were beaten and taken captive. Our God is very different! He is the
true and living God whom we love and whom we trust. We need not save Him
or protect Him from enemies.
He saves us and carries in
his arms when we fall and when we are weak. He delivers us from the hour
of trial. He delivers us when the impossible surround us. Jericho was
taken with the direct help of God, to inspire confidence among the
Israelis. Our God is the God of the great battles, wars our wars like King
Hezekiah said to be threatened by the king of Assyria "With him is
an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our
wars."
II Kings chapter 6 is
another episode. The king of Syria wanted to arrest Elisha and sent his
army to Dothan, where the Prophet was staying overnight. The servant of
Elisha saw the Syrian army surrounding
the city and panicked and said: "Oh my Lord, what shall we do? Then
Elisha said, Fear not: for more are those who are with us than those who are
with them. Elisha prayed and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes so he
may see. The Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he saw that the mountain
was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. "God works in
us and makes the impossible become possible.
God works in us when there
is an Egypt enslaving us, God works in us when there is a red sea ahead; God
works in us when the waters are bitter. God works in us when hunger
presses. He works for us and guides us through the deserts of
impossibilities.God works in us and brings down the walls of Jericho that
prevent us of taking possession of the promises.
We may not always have
everything we want, but we have everything we need. Deut. 2:7.We must
trust God because He works in us. We should still trust Him when we walk
in the valley of the shadow of death, even though the fig tree shall not
blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; we need to trust in the Lord,
because He acts for us.
III. The impossible
becomes possible when God acts through us.
God worked through Moses to free the people from slavery in Egypt. God acted through Joshua to lead your people to conquer the land the land of Canaan. God later acted through the Judges to deliver his people from the oppression of their enemies. God acted through some kings, as well as through the prophets. But God also acts through men who had little value also, as in the case of the 4 lepers mentioned in II Kings 7. who went to the camp of the Syrians and the people brought news that the enemy had fled leaving behind tons of food.
Apparently they were outcasts, and in fact were despised by society,
however, God worked through them and Samaria was saved from starvation .. This
reminds us of the prayer of David shortly before his death, I Chronicles
29:11,12.. Yours, O LORD,
is the greatness and the power v and the glory and the majesty and the
splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. w Yours, O LORD,
is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. x 12 Wealth and honour y come from you; you are the ruler z of all things. In your hands are strength and
power to exalt and give strength to all.
When weak men stood in faith for the Lord, God acted. God brings life where there is death, and where the heart was stone before, becomes a sensitive heart, which beats the excitement, love, mercy.
It is God's grace that
fills our lives. God works through us lowly and weak beings. God
fights for those who trust in Him.
The impossible becomes
possible when God acts through us. It makes the enemy hear noises of a
great army. Panic enters the heart of the proud. Remember God creates
everything from nothing.
Conclusion: The impossible becomes possible when
God works in us, and when God works through us God acts through us. There
are many problems before us are perhaps even our Jericho. The salary that
does not meet all our needs! The loss of loved ones. These are
challenges that we face in our daily walk, but we must trust God.
The most important factor is obedience to God's will. The impossible becomes possible when God acts. Let God work in your life! Trust him and something extraordinary will happen ..
Sunday 15th The other Sunday I asked you and left you with the thought have you said to Jesus “I LOVE YOU”. Many of you will have grown up with the story of the Apostle Peter. Peter, the strong brave fisherman who was the first to confess Jesus as the Christ, the Saviour of the world, yet who also lost his courage on the day that Jesus was arrested and ended up by denying his Lord. Today I want us to look at this man, and his involvement with Jesus, I want us to look at the story of Peter and his denial.
His denial,
as I have said, came at a time when there was a lot of pressure. Jesus had been
betrayed by Judas and had been arrested. He had been taken to Caiaphas, the
Jewish Chief Priest, then onto Pilate the Roman Governor, and then like a cruel
human pass the parcel game onto Herod, the Jewish Regent King. All of these
people had made their decisions about Jesus, they had rejected him or washed
their hands of him.
In the
midst of all this drama stood Peter still deciding where he fitted in, which
part he should play. Perhaps that is where you stand today in your thinking
about Jesus, you're wondering whether or not you should follow him, whether or
not it is worth following Jesus all the way. All around you there is the drama
of others who have made their decisions one way or another about Jesus, but you
as yet are undecided.
Peter's
dilemma however was not so much whether he should follow Jesus, but whether or
not he should stand up for Jesus and be counted for Christ in hostile company.
Feelings were running high, tempers were hot, the pressure was on. Jesus had
been interrogated by the Jewish leaders in the Sanhedrin and the whole thing
had finished with Jesus being spat upon, blindfolded and beaten with fists.
Peter had been hovering below in the courtyards and was aware what was going
on. The bible then tells us of his denial in Mark 14:66f:
"WHILE
PETER WAS BELOW IN THE COURTYARD, ONE OF THE SERVANT GIRLS OF THE HIGH PRIEST
CAME BY. WHEN SHE SAW PETER WARMING HIMSELF, SHE LOOKED CLOSELY AT HIM.
"YOU ALSO WERE WITH THAT NAZERENE JESUS," SHE SAID. BUT HE DENIED IT,
"I DON'T KNOW OR UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT," HE SAID, AND
WENT OUT INTO THE ENTRANCE AND THE COCK CROWED. WHEN THE SERVANT GIRL SAW HIM
THERE, SHE SAID AGAIN TO THOSE STANDING AROUND, "THIS FELLOW IS ONE OF
THEM." AGAIN HE DENIED IT. AFTER A LITTLE WHILE, THOSE STANDING NEAR SAID
TO PETER, "SURELY YOU ARE ONE OF THEM, FOR YOU ARE A GALILEAN." HE
BEGAN TO CALL DOWN CURSES UPON HIMSELF, AND HE SWORE TO THEM, "I DON'T KNOW
THIS MAN YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT." IMMEDIATELY A COCK CROWED THE SECOND
TIME. THEN PETER REMEMBERED THE WORD JESUS HAD SPOKEN TO HIM: "BEFORE THE
COCK CROWS TWICE YOU WILL DISOWN ME THREE TIMES." AND HE BROKE DOWN AND
WEPT BITTERLY."
But let us
not be too hard on Peter, let's be aware of the fact that if we changed the
time or the place, it so easily could be anyone of us. How many of us called to
give our hearts to the Lord have denied or suppressed that call? How many of us
called to testify to our faith through baptism, or some other way have denied
that call, and in so doing have also denied our Lord? Yet, Jesus had a place
for Peter despite the fact that he knew that Peter would deny him, that means
that Jesus can also have a place for us. Today I hope you will find your place
with Jesus.
What then
caused him to deny Jesus? Let me give a few suggestions:
\1. HIS
OWN UNREALISTIC SELF ESTIMATE.\ Earlier in Mark 14:27f Jesus had predicted
Peter's denial. The scripture tells us ""YOU WILL ALL FALL
AWAY," JESUS TOLD THEM, "FOR IT IS WRITTEN 'I WILL STRIKE THE
SHEPHERD AND THE SHEEP WILL BE SCATTERED.' BUT AFTER I HAVE RISEN, I WILL GO
AHEAD OF YOU INTO GALILEE." PETER DECLARED, "EVEN IF ALL FALL AWAY I
WILL NOT." "I TELL YOU THE TRUTH," JESUS ANSWERED, "BEFORE
THE COCK CROWS TWICE YOU YOURSELF WILL DISOWN ME THEE TIMES." BUT PETER
INSISTED EMPHATICALLY, "EVEN IF I HAVE TO DIE WITH YOU, I WILL NEVER
DISOWN YOU.""
There are
two assessments of Peter in these verses. The first is his own, it was self
confident and as events proved, it was a false confidence. The second was
Jesus', it was realistic and as events proved it was true.
Have you failed like Peter? You have tried or wanted to be some kind of a person, but you haven't been able to do it.
Perhaps
you're worried about becoming a Christian in case you can't keep it up. If we
live our lives basing all we do on our own self-estimates then we will either
live in a cloud of false pride, or under a burden of self-induced guilt.
Jesus knew
that Peter would deny him, Jesus knew how weak the human being is. Yet knowing
that, there was still a place for Peter. Peter thought that his place was
dependent on his boldness and self-confidence, he would later learn that his
place was only dependent on the Lord's love for him, and his love for Jesus.
\2. HE WAS
SCARED.\Jesus was among hostile chief priests and Roman soldiers. The crowds
were hostile too. Later they would prefer to call for a murderer or what we
would now call a political terrorist like Barabbas rather than for the Saviour,
Jesus. He was frightened at what would happen to him if he were arrested too.
The thought must have dawned on him that what they were doing with Jesus they
probably would also do with him. He wasn't the first, and he won't be the last
to refuse to be counted for Jesus because he was scared what would happen to
him.
Perhaps
you are scared of Jesus. Scared of what will happen to your life if he comes
into it. Scared of what it means to be totally committed to Jesus. If you're
scared then you have to ask yourself who Jesus is. If he is evil, then you
should be scared of giving your life to him. If instead he is the Son of God,
the expression of all that is holy and good, the one who wishes to transform
our lives and prepare us for heaven, what logical reason have you to be scared?
\3. HE
DIDN'T WANT TO STAND ALONE.\ The scene of Peter's denial took place at the
Jewish Sanhedrin where there were 70 or 71 of the most rich, powerful,
influential and supposedly the most godly men in Jewish society.
They had all rejected Jesus as the Saviour and were ready to punish him, in fact they wanted him dead.
Outside
the Sanhedrin was a large Jewish crowd also ready to reject Jesus. Peter had
once thought that Jesus was the Saviour, and when he was with the other disciples,
and with the sympathetic crowds he was happy to hold on to that belief. Things
were different now. The disciples were scattered and the crowds were no longer
sympathetic. The majority were fixed in their opinions, and Peter like most of
us didn't want to stand alone against them. After all could so many people be
wrong?
This is a
real problem even today. Who is right about Jesus in Britain today? The small
group who follow him or the large majority who couldn't care less? Who wants to
stand up and be counted for Jesus amongst friends who would think that we were
crazy. Is this the pressure on you? Is this why although you know who Jesus is,
and what he is asking you to do, that you do nothing? To do nothing is not to
be neutral, it is to deny. (persecution in parts of world)
\4. WAS HE
TEMPTED AWAY?\ Was there something more subtle? it's not speculation to talk
about those who have denied their Lord in order to pursue a relationship which
they know to be wrong. Sometimes the standards of Jesus seem to be so high that
it seems to be better not to be a Christian. That too leads us down the path of
denial.
But of
course there are no valid reasons, you can't justify the unjustifiable. I pose
these ideas only to expose the futility of some of our thinking, or some of our
actions. To deny Jesus is a dangerous action, for in the words of Jesus himself
in Matthew 10:32 "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also
acknowledge him before my father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men,
I will disown him before my father in heaven."
In order
to be saved then there needs to be some kind of public witness of faith. This
idea that religion is meant to be personal, something you keep to yourself, is
not what the scriptures teach nor what God expects. God wants us to stand up
and be counted for him. To admit publically in some way that Jesus is both our
Saviour and our Lord.
He is our
Saviour because as The Son of God he died on the cross for our sins. Our sinful
lives meant that we deserved to be punished by God, but Jesus took our
punishment on the cross. The moment that we say to Jesus "Thank you for
dieing for me, please cleanse me of my sins and forgive me" Jesus takes us
to God the Father and says this man now belongs to me, I acknowledge him before
you. To reject, or disown what Jesus has done for us means that salvation can
not be ours.
But have
you yet acknowledged this faith? Have you witnessed to it publically, in
baptism because the scriptures teach you that once saved you ought to be
baptised, but also verbally before men. Today if you have never stood up for
Jesus, then I want you to change that.
But I
don't want us to leave Peter there with this bad press of being the man who
denied Jesus, because the gospels don't leave us with that impression at all.
In John 21:15f Jesus comes to Peter a further time, only now Jesus is the
resurrected Lord.
You know,
there is no stage manager like the Son of God. He never seems to start the
action rolling until the stage is perfectly set, and you will find that
everything on the stage will be poignant in meaning. For example, Jesus meets
with Peter here around a coal fire (v.9) - where did we last find Peter at a
coal fire? Was it not beside a coal fire that he denied the Lord? (John 18:18).
The Lord takes Peter back not just spiritually, but also physically to the
point of failure so that he can restore him. And there is no doubt that Peter
wouldn't have been allowed to move on until he conquered that point of failure.
The Lord
will often take us back again and again to the same point and say to us
"look you cannot move on until you have victory here." And just like
he set the stage for Peter so he will set the stage for us - before us again
and again will come reminders - people, places or whatever, and these people or
places will twinge our conscience until we get right with God.
The
re-instatement of Peter will depend on how he answers the Lord's question
"do you truly love me?"
Yet there
is a play in the Greek language here which you cannot see in the English. The
first time Jesus asks Peter "do you truly love me" he uses the
word\agape\ for love, and Peter replies "Lord you know that I love
you" and uses the word\philia\for love. To put that together Jesus asks
Peter "do you love me with the highest form of love, with great
self-giving and sacrifice" to which Peter replies "Lord you know that
I have great affection for you."
That, of
course, is not really answering the question. So Jesus asks the same question
again, and gets the same reply. The third time however Jesus uses the
word\philia\and Peter replies using the same word." The significance of
that we will work out when we look at the three questions in turn now:
1. The
first question, "do you truly love me more than these?"
Jesus is
asking Peter two things, firstly does he love him with the highest form of
love, and secondly does he love him more than his fellow disciples do as he
once claimed? This refers back to Mark 14 which read: "Then Jesus told
them, this very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is
written: ' I will strike the Shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be
scattered.'" Peter replied, even if all fall away on account of you, I
never will.""
Before he
learned otherwise, Peter had been so sure of himself that he imagined himself
to be the only disciple ultimately, on whom Jesus could rely. He believed this
despite the fact that Jesus had just said that\all\would fall away. Peter must
have thought that he knew better - even if that lot all fall you, I won't. What
a proud boast, and how quickly Peter failed to live up to it. Now he must admit
to Jesus that the answer to both these questions is "no", he can
however answer in honesty that he has great affection for his Lord.
We all
must like Peter honestly admit before the Lord that most haven't got this
highest form of love for the Lord, but that like Peter there is a kind of love.
And so Jesus asks Peter the second question:
2. The
second question, "do you truly love me?"
Jesus
drops the comparison of Peter's love with that of the other disciples, but he
doesn't drop the word\agape.\ He simply drives home his main challenge,
"do\you\truly love me?" The Saviour is asking Peter to have a second
look into his heart, it can be easy to give a quick and slick response, to say
"I love you Jesus" because you think that that is the right answer to
give, rather than having it swell out of our heart. Peter replies again
"Yes Lord, you know that I love you." Then comes the third question:
3. The
third question, "do you love me?"
This time
the word\agape\is dropped, and Jesus uses the word that Peter
used\philia.\Jesus seems to be asking Peter, "OK I can see that asking you
for agape love is impossible, but are you even sure that your philia love is
real?" This as John tells us in v.17 hurts Peter, and he replies with a
strength that was not there before "Lord you know all things, you know
that I love you."
That is
the point that I want you to think about today. The Lord knows all things about
you, yet he loves you, he died for you and wishes to forgive you. Yet he wants
to ask you the same question "do you love me." Not are you
sentimentally attached to me like some kind of pet dog, but do you love me
enough stand up for me, to let me be your Lord.
He comes
to put things right in your life. If you have lived a pretence living under a
false estimate of yourself then Jesus comes to tell you the truth, but even
exposing us for what we are, Jesus still has a place for us. if we will own up,
and own him.
If we have
been scared of what he might do to us, or scared of speaking up then he comes
with the same message of love as he did to Peter. If we have denied our faith
because we didn't want to stand alone amongst those around us then he calls us
to stand up now. If we have been tempted away by false relationships then you
can sort that out by making your relationship with Jesus and with God right
today.
The world
awaits people who will stand up and be counted for Jesus. Jesus when he hung on
that cross stood there and was counted for you. Today will you stand up for
him, as soldiers of the Cross.
Today then
is the day when Jesus comes to you with that same touch as he did to Peter, he
comes to put things right with you, he comes with the same question
"do\you\love me?" What then is your answer?
Sunday 1st August MARK 1:21 – 34 THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS
As I look out of my window some nights South Street becomes a race track between the chip shop and St Nicks as cars run their shuttle service. The air is filled with the sound of car hi-fi's as the Pioneers and Panasonics blast their way through the open windows and sunroofs - providing it's not raining of course.
If I were to walk out onto South St and to try and stop this I would no doubt become another casulty as I was spread across the road. If however a white car with an orange stripe along the side should cruise along the road then everybody seems to slow down. Why? Because we know that the Policeman has authority. He has been given the power by the Government to stop crime, and speeding is a crime. We know that if he stops us, and if we get stopped enough times then we will be fined or lose our driving licence's. It is the Policeman's authority that makes the difference.
Today we are going to learn about the authority of Jesus. Jesus has been given authority, not by any human government, but by God himself. But unlike our policeman who only represented the government, Jesus not only represented God, but was also God himself. When he puts his hand out and says "stop, you're going the wrong way" he speaks with authority. The passage before us today shows us three ways in which Jesus used that authority:
\1. THE
AUTHORITY OF HIS TEACHING MINISTRY (vv 21, 22).\
V.21 marks the beginning of the actual ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus had reacted to the signal of John the Baptist's ministry at the banks of the Jordan and had come forward for baptism. He had been driven out into the wilderness to face forty days of temptation. Jesus now knew everything that the human being had to face. John had been put in prison, so Jesus gathered around himself a band of followers and began his ministry in the town of Capernaum which was on the North West shore of the Sea of Galilee.
His
ministry began with God's own people the Jews as they met in the synagogue, and
so too it often seems that before a major work of God can be done with
unbelievers God first of all deals with those who claim to believe. That only
makes sense because in reality how can we encourage new converts to move on if
we ourselves are slacking in our faith and commitment? Many of us are going to
see at this time here in Portslade that God may call for our rededication first
before we see the rest of our family or our friends being saved.
Jesus
began with the people of God in the synagogue in Capernaum. You have to
understand the difference between the Temple in Jerusalem and the local
synagogue. Sacrifices only took place in the temple and all Jews were expected
to make regular pilgrimages to the temple. For the rest of the time however
they were called to attend their local synagogues which were only for prayer,
the reading of scriptures and the exposition of the scripture. There was no
singing, no music and no sacrifices - these belonged exclusively to the Temple.
Each local
synagogue had leaders who had basic practical duties - to take up the
collection and to distribute it to the poor, to put out the right roll of
scripture, some taught the children and so on. You will learn more about these
characters as you work your way through Mark's gospel.
What the synagogue
did not have was a permanent preacher or teacher. When the synagogue met for
worship it was the Ruler of the Synagogue's duty to call on any competent
person to read the scripture and to explain it. That was why Jesus (and later
the disciples) moved from synagogue to synagogue, they were known as people
with a message, and so the pulpits of the synagogues were open to them, open
that is until hositility towards Christ and the Christians hardened.
When Jesus
taught, v.22 tells us that the people were amazed, amazed because his words
carried an authority which the people recognised that their own teachers of the
law did not have. The teachers of the law, or scribes, taught from the first
five books of the Old Testament; i.e. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and
Deuteronomy the law or Torah from God.
However
these teachers went further than the first five books of the bible and began to
draw up all kinds of rules and regulations covering every aspect of life. They
changed God's laws from being the great moral principles that they were to
being an infinite list of petty rules and regulations. What began as a great
religion ended as legalism. They recognised that their rules were not the same
as the written laws of the scriptures, so they called them oral laws, but
rather than seeing them as being of secondary importance to the scriptures they
made them even more binding than the OT itself, so instead of hearing the word
of God the people heard interpretations of it, and lists of rules.
Suddenly
Jesus spoke, and he did not speak like the teachers of the law, he gave it to
them straight. When he spoke he spoke the word of God, and although the people
could not put their finger on it then, they began to realise that He was the
word of God. The difference was not just in the preaching, the difference was
in the preacher. Here was a man who knew God, here was a man who spoke for God.
Here was a man of authority.
I hope and
pray that you can normally trust what I say is from the scriptures, but I have
to admit that you can not always trust everything that you hear from a
minister. You get different preachers telling you completely different things
from the same bible verse, and you wonder who you can trust. Let me give it to
you straight - you can trust every word that Jesus tells you about God. If you
would only take the time to read one of the four gospels and to look at
everything that Jesus tells you then you could sense for yourself why these
people were amazed - Jesus speaks with authority, he speaks with clarity. Take
the time to find out what\he\has to say. You can trust him.
\2. HIS
AUTHORITY OVER EVIL SPIRITS (vv 23 - 28).\
I wonder
just how many synagogue services that man had attended without revealing that
he was demonised. It took the presence of the Son of God not only to expose the
demon, but also to command it to be quiet and to cast it out. Jesus told the
demon to be quiet because at that time he did not need, nor did he want, the
assistance of Satan and his evil army to reveal who he was.
The Jews
at that time may not have known who Jesus was, but Satan and his evil army
certainly did. He was Jesus of Nazereth - the Holy One of God! The demon was
spot on, he acknowledged Jesus' humanity - that he was from Nazereth, and his
divinity - that he was from God. He also knew that Jesus had the power of
judgement, the power and authority to send the demon to the very pit of hell.
The demon's theology an understanding of Christian truth was perfect and that
just goes to show that you can know everything that you need to know about
Jesus Christ and yet remain unsaved. There are some here today or watching on
livestream who know who Jesus is. They know too that they are as yet unsaved.
It is a terrible thing to know what you need to know, to be afraid in the
presence of the saviour, and to remain unsaved.
How about
demons - do they really exist? William Barclay in his commentary on Mark
suggests that in Jesus' day before proper medical knowledge etc.. people
believed that they had demons, the man thought that he had a demon, and so
Jesus treated him as if he had one. Barclay is inclusive, he is also wide of
the mark.
It is
quite wrong to say that what the bible calls demonisation we would now call
sickness or madness because the bible itself distinguishes between the two. Mt
4:24 reads "people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases,
those suffering severe pain, the demon possessed, those having seizures, and
the paralysed and he healed them."
You get a
similar verse in Mark 1:34 "and Jesus healed many who had various
diseases. He also drove out many demons." The scriptures therefore
differentiate between epilepsy, sickness, madness and demon possession. We are
told quite clearly that human beings can fall foul to an evil much worse than
any madness or sickness - they can fall foul of demons.
Having
said that however, I believe that to be possessed by an evil spirit is not a
normal event. Too much is made of demons, it is interesting to note that
although there are many references to demons in the Gospels there are very few
in the OT, in Acts and in the Pauline letters. It seems that there was a
particularly large outburst of demonic activity around the time of Jesus, and
that we should not read "demons" into every illness or accident that
comes our way. It is certainly the case that born again believers can not be
possessed by demons, for they are the Lord's possession, filled with the Holy
Spirit of God. Believers can be oppressed by, depressed by, but not possessed
by demons.
Yet I do
not want you to think that I believe that demons do not exist. There are times
in my ministry and counselling that I have recognised that I have been facing a
great evil. I have seen demons, I have been involved in casting them out. I
could reel of story after story, but I'm not going to because one way that
Satan has interfered with us is in making us interested in evil, when the bible
encourages us to resist it. What I will say is that the authority which Jesus
used to cast demons out, he has given to us. The name of Jesus still casts out
evil spirits - Luke 9:1, Luke 10:17, Mark 9:38f.
In this
story however Jesus commands the demon to silence, and then casts him out with
the simple command "Come out of him!" What a contrast that was to the
ministry of exorcists in Jesus' own day where the removal of a demon involved a
long process of incantations and prayers. In fact I remain suspicious of modern
day ministry which involves special prayer, holy water and so on. One command
from Jesus and the demon was gone. This was new! This was a new teaching! A new
authority! This was the ministry of the word followed by signs and wonders.
\3. HIS
AUTHORITY OVER SICKNESS (vv 29 - 34).\
Following
the casting out of the demon Jesus left the synagogue to go to Peter and
Andrew's house for the Sabbath meal. There in the house, Simon's mother in law
was lying in bed with a fever and what takes place next is a private miracle.
There is now no synagogue audience, nobody there but this sick woman with a
burning fever and Jesus. One touch from the Saviour and this woman was made
well. This is a reminder to us that the private ministries achieve as many
results and see as many miracles as the great public events. You don't often
hear about them in the same way, but whether it is in private, or in public,
when the saviour is there, there is the power to change things, even the worst
of sicknesses.
This story tells us that already the disciples were learning to take their troubles to Jesus. Peter's mother in law was ill, the home's routine was upset, they brought Jesus into it, told him all about it, and he dealt with it. This simple story reminds us that we too must take all our family's needs to the Lord in prayer as well. And I want to encourage you if you are visiting people who are sick to use the opportunity to have a simple prayer with the person. You don't need to be a minister, just a believer who cares.
What about
this woman getting up to wait on Jesus? Some say that Jesus healed her in order
to get a meal out of her. What a cynical thought. Instead, we're told that
having been touched by the Saviour the woman's first thought was to serve him.
These were her gifts, service and hospitality, and she put them to use for the
saviour. This is a humble, yet an effective story. When there is a need take it
to the one who has authority over the problem, take it to Jesus. Allow Jesus
into the situation to touch it, and when he does just that, don't just say
"thank you" - get up and serve him. So many of you have stories in
your lives about how God has helped you, about how God has spared you. Many
have even said "thank you?" But my question is are you now willing to
serve him as He first served you?
The day
was not yet over for Jesus, however. As soon as sunset came, the Sabbath was
over, and the people brought to Jesus the sick and the demon possessed. The
teachers of the law had forbidden the carrying of burdens on the sabbath, so
the people were not able to carry to the sick to Jesus. At soon as the sabbath
was over, however, they came, and they came in droves. They flocked to Jesus
because they recognised that he had authority, that he could do things. There
were plenty who could read the scriptures - but here was a man whose ministry
was followed by signs and wonders. They came and they came and they came.
But in
these verses we get a hint of the tragedy that will eventually bring the
ministry of Jesus to an end. The crowds came all right, but they only came
because they wanted to get something out of Jesus, they did not come because
they loved him. They did not come because they wanted to get right with God,
they wanted a miracle to end their illnesses, they wanted to get relieve of
their demons. It was misfortune that brought them to Jesus, not love.
There's a
crowd here watching. Why are we here? Have we come to get something out of
Jesus? We want a word, we've got a need. We're here because we always come and
haven't thought much about it. Has anybody come here simply because they love
Jesus? Because they want to tell him that they love him through the worship?
Salvation
begins because Jesus has said to this world "I love you." Salvation
can only happen in your life when you say to Jesus "I love you, because
you first loved me." This the demons would never do, this you can do, and
must do if you want to be saved.
So this is
Jesus Christ - a man of authority, you hear it in his teaching, you see it in
the way that he could cast out demons and heal the sick. Have you met him? Do
you know him? Do you love him? If you don't know him then you can ask him into
your heart today. If you do know him, then get out of your house get back to
church to worship Him and serve him.
Sunday 18th July MARK 3:7 – 34 - JESUS - THE MAN WHO MAKES ALL THINGS NEW
The verses
before us today reading from chapter 3:7 to the end of the chapter may look
like a series of disconnected stories and events but I think that underlying
them there is a common theme which will help us to understand them - all of
these stories centre around Jesus Christ and reveal him as the man who makes
all things new. Jesus is the man who has brought about a new church, a new
kingdom and a new family.
\1. A NEW
CHURCH (3:7 - 19).\
Reading
the Bible and through Mark in particular this month I can see the hostility
that was mounting between Jesus and the Jewish leaders, teachers of the law and
the Pharisees. There hostility began in chapter 2 when Jesus claimed to forgive
the sins of the paralysed man, when he ate with the tax collectors and the so
called "sinners", but when he didn't follow the normal pattern of
fasting this hostility climaxed with his breaking of the sabbath rules as they
understood them.
In Jesus'
own words it became increasingly obvious that the new wine of Jesus Christ
could not fit into the old wineskin of the traditions and teachings of the
scribes and Pharisees. The time had come to make a break and to establish a new
church.
We find
the break coming here in 3:7 with the expression "Jesus went with his
disciples to the lake." He withdrew from the pressure, the hostility, and
took steps to begin the work of establishing what was to become the Christian
church.
In coming
outside from the synagogues Jesus forced others to make up their minds about
him. The crowds had to decide who they were going to follow, and the disciples
had to see that following their master had consequences. In truth, Mark is
describing in simple words what must have been one of the most dramatic and
traumatic moments in the life of Jesus Christ and his followers as they made
their break from the Jewish leaders who were hostile towards them.
Once more
it seems that the crowds took little time to make up their minds. Hearing what
Jesus was doing, his teaching, his healing of the sick and his casting out of
the demon possessed they flocked to him. These crowds came not just from the
local area but from hundreds of miles away from the regions across the Jordan
and from Tyre and Sidon. It seems that God confirmed the decision to make the
break by sending the crowds.
It is sad
that in the midst of the healing, the casting out of demons, the teaching that
a group of people who ought to have known better failed to understand what was
going on. Of all people, the scribes and the Pharisees knew their Old Testament
and the prophecies about the coming Messiah. Yet rather than see the hand of
God in it all they accused Jesus of working under the power of Satan a point
that we'll come back to later. Yet although the Pharisees failed to see who
Jesus was Satan and his followers were perfectly aware of the threat they were
under - the evil spirits were falling down all over the place crying out
"You are the son of God" yet it was not they who needed to confess
Christ, but men, and so Jesus silenced them.
And so
having made his break with the Jewish church the time came for Jesus to
constitute his own church. He retired from the crowds and from the lakeside
ministry and went up on a mountainside (v.13) which was his usual place for
prolonged prayer and communion alone with God. Luke 6:12 tells us that Jesus
spent the whole night in prayer before he selected from amongst the disciples
twelve men for special training for the apostolic ministry.
The choice
of twelve men was of course very significant. Israel had in its history twelve
founding fathers, so too the new Israel, the Christian church, would also have
twelve founding leaders. Indeed there are strong parallels between the names
chosen for both the Old and New had a Simeon, a Levi and a Judah. In the old
there was the beloved tribe of Benjamin, in the new was the beloved disciple
James. One significant difference however was that in the Old Israel the tribes
were distinctly separated in their functions, there were the royal tribes from
which the Kings came from and there were the priestly tribes of the Levites.
But in the new Israel all are both kings and priests (Rev 1:6).
These
twelve men were set aside to be continually in the company of their Lord and
Master so that they could learn from him and spread the work. Their mission was
to preach the word of God and to drive out demons. They were given the
authority of Jesus Christ himself to expel the evil and dark forces out of
men's lives.
And so in
v.16f Mark names the twelve by using their nick-names, or by names. These by
names tell us quite a bit about the people and give us some idea of the rough
material that Jesus worked with. There was Simon, who was to become Peter or
the "rock"; there were James and John who were the hot tempered pair
of brothers that Jesus nick-named "sons of the thunder." Thaddeus
means "big hearted"; there is Simon the Zealot or
"enthusiast" and Judas Iscariot, Iscariot meaning "dagger man."
What a
choice - why did Jesus choose this particular twelve? Is this simply
predestination - that God only calls those whom he wants? Or is it the case
that out of the large group following Jesus he chose 12 who had run the course
and looked suitable for the special ministry of apostleship?
There is certainly a mystery here, and there is perhaps no greater mystery than the choice of Judas. The God who knows everything beforehand, chose Judas Iscariot. Perhaps Jesus saw that this man had a capacity to respond to the truth of God, perhaps Jesus knew that when he handed the food to Judas at the Last Supper that it could go either way - that Judas could either love him, or reject that love and be damned for ever for it was after Judas rejected the love of Christ that he took steps to destoy Jesus.
Whatever
we make of this we realise that Jesus is still making his church and calling
people into it today. We realise that Jesus can take the roughest material and
use them greatly for there is hope for us all. Yet we must also realise the
serious consequences of turning down that call of Christ when we hear it. It
was rejecting that call that led to the end of Judas. Have you heard the call
of Jesus upon your life? Calling you for your salvation. Calling you to baptism
and discipleship? Calling you to service? Jesus is making a new church even now
and he may be calling you to belong to it. Will you accept that call?
\2. A NEW
KINGDOM (3:20 - 30).\
Right from
the beginning of Jesus' ministry in Mark 1:15 Jesus made it plain that the
central thrust of his teaching was to announce a new kingdom - "The
Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news." For too long
another kingdom had had its way - that is the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom
of the evil one itself. The ministry of Jesus Christ was to bring that kingdom
down, and to bring in a new kingdom.
Signs of
that old Kingdom are to be seen clearly in this section about Jesus and
Beelzebub. Jesus' own family in v.21 become convinced that Jesus was out of his
mind. It has to be said that Jesus' own brothers did not recognise him as the
Messiah during his earthly life and ministry (John 7:5) - but here it seems
that their concern was well intentioned - Jesus was so busy with the crowds
that he wasn't eating, they thought that they needed to save Jesus from the
consequences of his own ministry. Their plan, I suppose, was to get rid of the
crowds and to give him a meal. What they failed to see was that Jesus was on
God's timetable and not their own. At that moment God was sending a crowd with
needs, his duty was to be obedient to His father's will even if that looked
unreasonable to his family.
And it
seems to me that well motivated ideas from others are often used by the kingdom
of darkness to distract us from the calling of Jesus Christ and the mission of
the kingdom of God. How many of have held back from a spiritual commitment
because others have thought that we are mad, that we're going too far, too
fast, too soon.
How many
of us have said no to God over some matter because of family pressure. Now of
course there are times when we are wrong and family pressure is right, there
are times when are to honour our parents, but this story teaches us that when
God calls our calling is to obey and not to be distracted. So the kingdom of
darkness rears its ugly head here as it seeks to work through well motivated
people to distract Jesus from his mission. Beware in case it seeks to do the
same in your life.
But then
the Kingdom of darkness tries to play its trump card by speaking through the
mouths of the teachers of the law who say in v.22 "He is possessed by
Beelzebub. By the prince of demons he is driving out demons." Satan here
exaggerates the fear of insanity to a direct accusation of Jesus being demon
possessed himself. He tries to divert attention by making people think that
Jesus is not against his evil kingdom but that instead Jesus is on his side.
Jesus
makes it plain in no uncertain terms that he is not on the side of the devil.
The name "Beelzebub" means "master of the house" and Jesus
uses this term and tells a story around it about a strong man guarding a house.
If you want to rob the house then you have to first of all tie up the strong
man. If it was by the power of Satan that he was casting out the demons then
that would mean that Satan was fighting against himself, that his kingdom was
divided and was therefore on the verge of collapse.
But that
is not the case for Satan guards those who are under his influence very
carefully because he doesn't want to lose any of his territory. The bible makes
it plain that before we become Christians we belong to Satan and to his power
of darkness, but that Christ has overcome Satan on the cross, that the strong
man is tied up, and so Jesus can invade out lives, our homes and rescue us from
Satan. Our salvation is also our deliverance from the evil one's hands.
The
kingdom of darkness and evil to which we belong can be replaced by the new
kingdom of God as we give our lives to Christ.
Then comes
one of the most wonderful yet also one of the most serious passages in the
whole of scripture. We have the wonderful news in v.28 where Jesus says "I
tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven
them." There is therefore forgiveness from God for every wrong thing that
we have done, and can possibly do - with one exception which we find in v.29
"but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he
is guilty of an eternal sin."
It is the
work of the Holy Spirit to reveal Christ to us, to reveal our sin and our need
of him. To hear the truth about Jesus and to walk away from it saying "I
have no sin, I have no need of Christ" is to deny Christ, is to deny and
to blaspheme against the work of the Spirit. If a man says that he has no sin
and no need of Christ then he can not be forgiven, because he does not believe
that he needs to be forgiven, he can not be saved because he does not believe
that he needs to be saved, he is guilty of an eternal sin. If you refuse the
only way of forgiveness that God has on offer, then you blaspheme against the
Holy Spirit and you can not be saved. God says in Gen 6:3 that His Spirit will
not always strive with you. The thrust of the scriptures is that\now\is the day
of salvation - you may find that in turning down the spirit now that there is
no other chance. You have hardened your heart and a loving God must finish with
you.
This is a
most tragic position to be in. The teachers of the law and Pharisees ought to
have known better. They knew their OT scriptures, they knew who Jesus was, they
heard his claims and saw his miracles but they turned him down. They blasphemed
against the Holy Spirit. Are you a modern day Pharisee? You know who Jesus
Christ is. You have heard his call upon your life. Yet you remain uncommitted,
unbaptised, unwilling to accept discipleship. I want you to realise that to
know the truth, and to turn it down,\is\to harden your heart and to blaspheme
against the Holy Spirit. This is serious life and death stuff.
But there
is good news. Whatever you have done Christ has died so that you can be
forgiven. God the Holy Spirit reveals this truth to you. If however you turn
this truth down and claim that you have no need of it, then you by your own
action separate yourself from God forever. Jesus calls you. He offers you a
place in his new kingdom where you can be released from sin and darkness for
ever. You must choose for yourself whether or not you will accept it. If you
refuse then you run the risk of being lost forever, if you accept then Jesus
draws you into his new family.
\3. A NEW
FAMILY (3:31 - 35).\
The
picture is a simple, but a telling one. A crowd is sitting around Jesus
listening to his teaching when news comes that Jesus' mother and brothers have
arrived and are looking for him. The crowd assumes that his human family have a
prior claim over them - but Jesus says no, his new family are the ones who make
the claim upon him.
Now we are
not to take from this story that Jesus is commending lack of respect for family
needs. Jesus is not telling us to sacrifice our family lives for the sake of
the church. What Jesus is telling us is that if you want to belong to His
family, the church, then there is a condition for entry - you must be prepared
to do the will of God.
Now we
have to grasp this nettle tightly. You do not belong to God's family simply
because you come to church. You do not belong to God's family because your
parents are believers or because your name was written on a cradle roll. Your
name on the cradle roll says that you belong to the family of Portslade Baptist
Church and that we will take a prayerful interest in you, but if you want to
belong to God's family then you personally have to be prepared to do the will
of God.
Now
knowing God's will does not mean that Jesus is asking you to know the bible
inside out, he is saying that in order to know God's will you have to know God,
you have to have a personal relationship with God himself. Now I know for sure
that it is God's will that you turn to him and be saved. Jesus says in John
6:40 "for my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and
believes in Him shall have eternal life." I also know that it is the will
of Jesus Christ that all those who seek to follow him in discipleship be
baptised - Jesus says in Mt 28:20 "baptise them in the name of the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit." So to remain unsaved, to remain deliberately
as an unbaptised believer is to remain outwith the will of God.
Do you
belong to the family? In order to belong you don't need money, you don't need
position, you don't need respectability, you need simply to be ready to do the
will of God. "Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and
mother." It could not be simpler.
Has Jesus
put a call upon your life? Is he calling you out of a kingdom where there was no
place for God into his new kingdom, is he calling you to belong to him? You
have a real choice at a moment like this - you can obey the will of God and
belong to the family, or you can reject and blaspheme against the work of the
spirit in your life and run the risk of being eternally lost.
Jesus
wants to give you new life. He wants you to follow him through the waters of
baptism and into discipleship. You have a real choice to make - to do the will
of God or to turn him down. And the choice needs to be made now.
Sunday 11th July MARK 8:11
– 26 - THREE WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
Today I
want to deal with three stories from Mark's gospel. I want to look at the
Pharisee's demand for a sign, at the disciple's concern about their lack of
bread and the healing of the blind man at Bethsaida. As we look at these three
stories I want to bring to you three words of encouragement, three words which
are definitely from God for folks here today, and even for this fellowship as a
whole, these three words spring directly out of the Bible so we can trust them,
they are:
1. Don't
go looking for signs. 2. Don't try and solve your problems by yourself. 3.
Don't limit what Jesus can do.
THE DEMAND FOR A SIGN (vv 10 - 13).
After feeding the 4,000 Jesus sent the people away and got into a boat to
travel to the other side of the Lake. Again this encounter with the Pharisees
is another story about faith. The Pharisees come to Jesus to question him, and
in order to test him they demand a sign from heaven. This causes Jesus to sigh
deeply, the word means to groan, he groans almost with impatience for these
Pharisees were the very one who claimed to believe, and who ought to have
believed. What he really finds in them is a lack of faith.
Perhaps we have to acknowledge that
that is all too often our problem too. We've heard messages about Jesus, about
salvation, about baptism, about holy living, and we know the facts, yet we will
not accept them, we will not obey the truth that we know. Many of us are modern
day Pharisees, knowing the truth about Jesus, but not accepting that truth
personally.
But worse than that Jesus has given a
sign, what is the sign of Jonah? It is first of all death, burial and
resurrection. Jesus Christ has given the ultimate sign - he has risen from the
dead, it is well documented, and if properly studied is undeniable.
The proof that Jesus is who he said he
was is his death on the cross, his burial in the tomb and his rising from the
dead three days later - that is what is of the first importance. Thomas had the
privilege of seeing the risen Lord with his own eyes, and touching him with his
own hands, but listen to what Jesus said to him in Jn 20:29 "Because you
have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet
have believed."
Today as we exercise faith in Jesus
Christ in all things,we know that it makes all the difference:
1.
DON'T GO LOOKING FOR SIGNS (vv 10 - 13).
As it
stands these verses contain the account of one of the missions of Jesus, Jesus
crosses over the Lake after feeding the 4,000 and enters Dalmanutha or the
territory of Magadan. This mission bore no fruit, simply because it was met
from the outset by a group of Pharisees who refused to believe because Jesus
didn't fit into their theology.
In order
to test him we're told that they demanded a sign from heaven, this request
caused the Saviour to sigh deeply, probably with impatience and certainly with
frustration at their unbelief. Luke records in 16:31 that Jesus said about the
Pharisees "if they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets (in other words
if they do not accept what they learn about me in the OT) then they will not be
convinced even if someone rises from the dead." The Pharisees knew the
truth, their problem was that they were not prepared to accept the truth, they
were delaying having to accept the truth about Jesus by demanding a sign. The
fact that Jesus fulfilled OT prophecy was not enough, they needed a sign.
The
trouble with signs is that they strike faith dead at its roots, the Pharisees
wanted to see in order that they might believe, but to the Christian
"believing is seeing" not "seeing is believing." Hebrews
11:1 says "faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we
do not see." The eye of faith sees what is ahead of us, trusts in God and
finds the strength to endure.
The
saddest thing was that the Pharisees were blind to the greatest sign of all -
God was right there in their midst in the presence of Jesus Christ, so much
could have been done, but faced with their unbelief Jesus stepped back into the
boat and crossed back to the other side. They had God himself standing right
next to them, but they refused to see him, and yjey let him go. I wonder just
how many times in our lives we've felt the Lord next to us, perhaps at a
service or gospel invitation, and we've let him go.
It may
well be that you're looking for some kind of a sign today, you've come to
church with a problem and you're looking for some kind of word or sign that God
still loves you and has an answer to your problems. It may well be that you
still remain unconvinced about Jesus and his power to change lives, you'll
believe when you see it.
Don't go
looking for signs, because the proof of the love of God and the power of Jesus
Christ is all around you. Firstly, Jesus is as present with us now as he was
when he stood alongside the Pharisees in that story, Jesus has promised in Mt
28:20 "surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age."
Believing that verse is seeing the truth of it, Christians ought to have faith
in that promise, they don't need flashes of lightening, God's word says it, and
we believe it. Jesus comes to us through the word.
The
encouragement today is to live by faith by trusting his word - don't go looking
for the proof of the life and love and Jesus in things, believe the Bible and
what it tells you. Claim its promises, and even though you may feel no
different faith believes what it can not see, Jesus says "blessed are
those who have not seen and yet have believed (Jn 20:29). Don't go looking for
signs, faith trusts in God's word instead.
Let me
illustrate this through one verse, 1 John 1:9 which says "if we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us
from all unrighteousness." That's how we become Christians, but some are
misled into thinking that they're not saved because they felt no
different after confessing their sins - they were looking for some kind of
sign. Instead, they would have done better to believe this verse, to claim it,
and to realise that our standing before God does not depend on how we feel but
upon what he says in His Word. I hope that this makes sense to someone here
today or if you are watching on livestream - if you have confessed your sins
then you are saved, God says so, trust his word, don't listen to the
lies of the flesh or the devil, don't go looking for proof in the wrong places,
God says it here, have faith and believe.
2.
DON'T TRY AND SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS BY YOURSELF (vv 14-21).
The
problem in this story was lack of bread, it doesn't appear to have concerned
Jesus much but it was creating a serious debate amongst the disciples. It's a
sad illustration of how much we fight about it and get het up about what is not
on the Lord's agenda at all. Perhaps the disciples had a guilty conscience
about their oversight, perhaps somebody had left it behind, certainly they had
created the problem themselves for one of them had "forgotten" it
(v.14). But the rebuke that they earn from the Saviour has nothing to do with
forgetting the bread, it has everything to do with their lack of faith. What
concerns Jesus is not so much our administrative abilities, our natural talents
although they are of course useful to him and his church, what he looks for is
faith in his disciples. So let's wipe out any notion that we're not of much use
to the church because we can't do much, the Lord's looking for faith.
Jesus sees
that there's a problem - lack of bread - he knows what the cause is - the
forgetfulness of one or more of the disciples - he knows what the solution is -
faith - but what he finds is lack of faith. So he warns them in v.15 "Be
careful, watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod."
In using
that word "yeast" or as other translations put it "leaven"
Jesus was warning the disciples against a quality in their lives which would
make then unfit for the service of God. In the OT yeast was a symbol of evil
and sin, like the yeast in bread sin spreads its way through our lives until
everything is affected. Before the Passover every Jew then and today cleared
all the yeast from the house, symbolising the putting aside of evil in time for
the great festival.
The danger
facing the disciples was that the evil ways of the Pharisees might be imported
into their lives and spoil the future of the Christian church. The sin of the
Pharisees was hypocrisy, believing one thing but doing another, and the sin of
the Herodians was that they saw that the way forward for the Jews was to
support Herod and compromise with the Romans. They believed that the coming
kingdom of God was following Herod and accepting a Roman way of life.
Today we
might not be dealing with Pharisees and Herodians but the temptations and the
dangers are the same, how many of us have fallen into the trap of believing one
thing, but doing something different, we too can become all too easily
hypocrites. How many of us have compromised Christ's call to discipleship with
worldly living and accepting the status quo in society? Let's not fool
ourselves here, many of our problems in our Christian lives, in our church,
have nothing to do with God, they're of our own making because we do not live
by faith, because we believe one thing but practice another and because we have
compromised with the world.
The
miracle in the midst of this is that Christ still loves us and has a plan for
us. So what do we do when we have a problem in our lives or in our church which
may or may not be of our own making?
Firstly we
do not start as the disciples did by talking about it amongst themselves
perhaps even in a blaming and accusing way (v.17). Unanswered problems should
be taken directly to the Lord himself, rather than bandied about amongst the
disciples. Once again faced with a problem the disciples had forgotten what
Jesus had done for them in the past, they needed bread before and he had
supplied it. They needed bread again and he had supplied it. Now although he
had given them bread they'd forgotten it and as a result were in need again -
but still they didn't understand, all they needed was to ask, to have faith,
and surely the Lord would supply their needs once more.
They had
forgotten the basic teaching that we find in the Sermon on the Mount in Mt 6:31
where Jesus says "So do not worry saying, 'what shall we eat?....for the
pagans run after these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need
them. But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things
will be given to you as well."
How are
our problems answered as Christian individuals and as a church - by talking
them over with the Lord and by making sure that our lives and our Church are
busy seeking the things of the Kingdom, do this and the Lord promises to
look after us and to help us with our problems.
So don't
try and solve your problems by yourself. Admit the need and come to the Saviour
with it, seek His kingdom and all these things shall be added unto you.
If you're in trouble ask yourself "am I seeking the things of God? or am I
going my own way?" The answer to that question ought to lead you to the
one who is himself the answer.
Don't make
the mistake of the disciples who forgot the way that the Lord had blessed them
in the past. William Barclay says about this passage: "The odd fact is
that we learn only half the lessons of experience. Too often experience fills
us with pessimism, teaches us what we cannot do, teaches us to view life with a
kind of resigned hopelessness. But there are other experiences. Sorrow came -
and we came through it still erect. Temptation came - and somehow we did not
fall. Illness took us - and somehow we recovered. A problem seemed insoluble -
and somehow it was solved. We were at our wit's end - and somehow we went on.
We reached the breaking point - and somehow we did not break. We too are blind.
If we would only read the lessons of experience aright, it would teach us not
the pessimism of the things that cannot be, but the hope which stands amazed
that God has brought us thus far in safety and in certainty and the confidence
that God can bring us through anything that might happen."
3. DON'T
LIMIT WHAT JESUS CAN DO (vv 22 - 26).
It is
quite appropriate that after a section which shows up the spiritual blindness
of the disciples that we should encounter a man with physical blindness.
As with
some of the other healing miracles this one begins with a group of concerned
friends bringing the blind man to Jesus. This I fear is one of the ways that we
do limit what Jesus can do - we know of someone with a need but do we pray for
them, do we bring them to church so that they can hear and respond to the one
who can help them? If you really care about someone then you'll want them to
meet Jesus.
Jesus
takes the blind man outside of the village, away from the crowds, away from
being made a public spectacle, away from the frightening sight of a large crowd
of people when his sight was restored. What comes next is unlike any other
miracle in the NT where instead of the man getting his sight immediately, it
comes in stages, vision is returned but it's indistinct, and so the Saviour
touches the man a second time, this time his sight was restored and he began to
see perfectly.
Nowhere
else do the scriptures record the Saviour having to pray for a person twice,
but the important theological point is not how hard the task was, or even any
peculiar difficulties that the blind man may have had, but that the Lord did
not give up until the task was completed. Paul writes about this in Phil 1:6
where he says "Jesus will bring to completion every good work that he has
begun."
It strikes
me then that another way that many of us limit Jesus is that we give up too
soon, we assume that no immediate answer is no answer at all, whereas the Word
of God is telling us that if the Saviour is asked to do something then he will
see it through, that the right answer will come, but it will come in His time
and in His way. As we wait for this answer we are called to persist in prayer
and to live by faith. What we mustn't do is give up, or fake some answer of our
own, Jesus will bring to completion every good work that he begins.
Don't
limit him either by expecting him to do things the same way every time, here he
performs a miracle in a different way to before, Jesus is pleased to work in a
variety of ways, but the outcome is always the same.
William
Barclay spiritualises this story and says that it shows us that there is always
more to see, that you can not learn everything about God at once, that
spiritual sight if you like comes in stages. The man might have been happy to
stop at his first experience of sight, but the Lord had more for him, and if he
had limited himself to his first experience of Jesus then he would have missed
out on the more that the Lord had to give him.
It may
well be that we set the same kind of limitations upon Jesus. I'm saved now I'm
going no further. I'm baptised now I'm going no further. I'm a church memember
now I'm going no further." Christianity is on going, ever deepening, don't
limit Jesus and what he can do in your life by stopping and assuming that
you've made it. There's always more to learn, always more to give, always more
about Jesus to receive.
So three
words of encouragement from the scriptures:
1. Don't
go looking for signs 2. Don't try and solve your problems by yourself 3. Don't
limit what Jesus can do
Live
instead by faith, seek first His Kingdom and watch God add to your life in
every way.
Sunday 4th July MARK 7:24 - 8:13 - FAITH IN ACTION
What I want to look at today is three
miracles that Jesus performed - the casting out of an evil spirit, the healing
of a deaf man and the feeding of 4,000 people. I want you to see today that
what makes these three stories significant and special is not so much what
happened, but where it happened - v.24 is our clue it says "Jesus
left that place (in fact he left the whole area of Palestine) and went to the
vicinity of Tyre" which was 40 miles North West of Capernaum where he had
just been. This was not Jewish territory, it belonged to the Gentiles, so what
Jesus is doing is demonstrating to his own disciples that His is not just a
mission for the Jews, he intends to be a Saviour for all the people.
1. THE CASTING OUT OF A DEMON (7:24 -
30). It seems from v.24 that Jesus' whole reason for leaving Palestine and
entering into Gentile territory was to get some privacy and some time alone
with his disciples. He was so famous now that it was almost impossible for him
to get peace and quiet and to instruct the disciples about things of the Kingdom.
So he took refuge in a house in Tyre hoping to get peace - but as the bible
says "he could not keep his presence secret." A woman whose daughter
had been possessed by an evil spirit heard that he was there and came to him
seeking help. We've got to be aware that she had to jump a number of hurdles or
obstacles in order to get the Saviour's help, but she overcame them all through
faith and got what she needed.
To begin with her nationality was
against her, she was a Gentile, and she was a woman in a society dominated by
men who had a very low view of the opposite sex, she was not to know that part
of the mission of Jesus was to raise the role of women. We learn in Matthew's
in Mt 15:21f account that she also faced the opposition of the disciples who begged
Jesus to send her away. She also faced opposition on the spiritual level, for
Satan himself was against her and had invaded her daughter with one of his evil
spirits. It seemed too that even the Saviour was against her. Matthew recalls
in his parallel account that Jesus' first response to the woman was to say
"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel" and then
both Matthew and Mark record Jesus telling her in v.27 "first let the
children eat all they want, for it is not right to take the children's bread
and toss it to their dogs."
Through this story we're going to
learn something about real faith - real faith that can take the roughest
strokes that life has to give us and to claim something good from God in the
midst of it. And it was a rough
situation to be in, and it's all summed up in that word "dog" which
is floating around this story, for the title "dog" was used by the
Jews as a heavy insult towards the Gentiles, the word meaning not a pampered
pet but a filthy disease carrying beast. But when Jesus used the word
"dog" he used a different word which meant "puppy" - it's a
warmer word, and in that word the woman saw a glimmer of hope.
She was given more hope in the image
of the children's bread, for Jesus was not saying that there was nothing for
those who weren't Jews, he was saying that the children had to be fed first,
and after them the puppies. He was bringing the woman to a point of
understanding, and she saw it, and she took it, for in those days people did
not eat with cutlery but with their hands, and as they ate they threw the
crumbs down for the dogs to eat. She began to see that Jesus was hinting that
she might not have to wait until the meal was finished, but that there were
crumbs to get even now. So she claims it - she says "Yes lord, but even
the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." In other words, I
don't have to wait until you have finished your mission to the Jews, you have
something to give me now.
Her reply reveals that faith had
triumphed, she did not deny the special place that the children (the Jews) had
in God's plan, neither did she wish to assume it, all she wanted was a few
crumbs of blessing from the table, so in saying no to the woman at first Jesus
created faith in her, and demonstrated that he was a Saviour for all the
people, and he cast out the demon from her daughter even from a distance.
So if you have prayed and have felt
that you have as yet not been answered, it is only because the Saviour has more
to give you than you are asking for, it is only because his plans and his ways
are higher, persist in prayer, don't let go, for Jesus plans to be glorified at
the right time, in the right way, in answer to your request.
2. THE HEALING OF THE DEAF MAN (7:31 -
37). While Jesus was in the region of the Decapolis or ten cities some
concerned people brought their deaf and mute friend to Jesus for healing. Jesus
took the man aside so that the healing would be private and so that the man
himself would not become a public attraction. The man was deaf and could not
hear the Lord's words, but he could feel his touch upon his ears and his tongue
and that would have indicated to him what Jesus was about to do. This would
have created faith and expectancy in the man.
Jesus looked up to heaven and with a
deep sigh said "Ephphatha!" which means "be opened, be
released" and this was the last word which the man ever failed to hear for
his ears were opened, and a further miracle ensued for although the man had
never heard words properly he was now also able to speak perfectly.
Once more faith had triumphed, the
faith of the friends who brought the deaf man, the faith of the man himself as
Jesus touched him, and the result of faith was not just that the friends and
the deaf man got what they needed but that the Lord Jesus was glorified through
the excitement and amazement of the people (v.37).
3. THE FEEDING OF THE FOUR THOUSAND
(8:1 - 9).
We need to be very clear in our own
minds as we look at this story that this is not the feeding of the 5,000 which
took place on the shores of Galilee in Mark 6:30f. The feeding of the 5,000
involved the Jews, the feeding of the 4,000 took place near the Decapolis and
involved mainly Gentiles. In Mark 6 Jesus started with 5 loaves and 2 fish,
here he has 7 loaves and a few small fish. The 5,000 were with him one day, the
4,000 had been with him three days. After the 5,000 had been fed there were 12
baskets left over, after the 4,000 there were only 7. There is enough detail
deliberately kept by Mark to make it plain to us that these are two different
events, which took place in different places and at different times.
However, this story of the feeding of
the 4,000 begins with the compassion of the Saviour. Jesus called his disciples
together and said in v.2 "I have compassion for these people; they have
already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home
hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long
distance."
Yet what comes next is a dark shadow
which is all too true to life - we have the collapse of faith of the disciples.
Now they had seen Jesus in exactly the same situation before, they had seen
what Jesus could do, but instead of saying "do with this crowd what you
did with the last one" they come up with in v.4 "but where in this
remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them."
It's tempting to be hard on them
without realising that we all too often do the same thing. I wonder if there is
anyone here today with a problem before them and you're wondering how it is
going to be solved? Is the Saviour reminding you of the shortness of your
memory even now, has he not helped you in the past? Will he not help you now if
you will trust and rely on him once more?
You might say but he did help me, but
I let him down, and I feel that I have no right to ask again. Let this story
about the feeding of the 4,000 and the story about the woman with the demon
possessed daughter remind you that the Saviour wants you to come and ask, even
if you have asked before, even if you have failed before, because his miracles
rise out of our failures.
The story of the 4,000 may be
different to the 5,000 but it carries with it the same message about how we
come to faith. We find that first of all Jesus takes the loaves and fish (vv 6
and 7), and our salvation begins with our lives being taken by God just where
we are - just in our ordinary lives, nothing special perhaps to offer God.
Salvation begins when we recognise that we have nothing worthy in ourselves to
offer God, that we are just bread and fish. But what we are we give to God and
let him take.
The next thing that Jesus did was to
look up to heaven and to give thanks and in so doing to bless the bread and
fish. In blessing the bread and fish Jesus gave them possibilities that they
never had in themselves, without him they were just bread and fish, with Christ
they were a miracle. Jesus changes things and changes people, it is not
possible to be in the hands of the Saviour and to remain the same.
To be in the Saviours hands can be a
real strain some times, we battle with him crying out that we want to remain
the same, but Jesus must break us if we are to be truly his, and if he is to
use us as he wants. Thus the miracle finishes with the bread being given out, a
reminder that we are not truly His until we are also prepared to be given out
in witness and service.
How Satan likes to blind us with
unbelief. He says to the woman "you're not a Jew, don't bother
Jesus." He says to the deaf and dumb man "your problems are too big for
Jesus to cope with," he says to the disciples "the crowd's too large
and there's not enough food."
The answer each time is faith - but a
directed faith, a faith that relies on Jesus Christ for all things, a faith
which looks to him and to him alone. A faith which looks to Jesus, saviour not
just of the Jews, but a Saviour for the world. A Saviour for you.
4. THE DEMAND FOR A SIGN (vv 10 - 13). Which we look at next week but After feeding the 4,000 Jesus sent the people away and got into a boat to travel to the other side of the Lake. Again this encounter with the Pharisees is another story about faith. The Pharisees come to Jesus to question him, and in order to test him they demand a sign from heaven. This causes Jesus to sigh deeply, the word means to groan, he groans almost with impatience for these Pharisees were the very one who claimed to believe, and who ought to have believed. What he really finds in them is a lack of faith.
The parallel accounts expand upon this
incident, where in both Matthew and Luke Jesus bewails the fact that the
Pharisees can read the weather signs and make accurate forecasts, but they can
not read the signs of the times, that is the events surrounding Jesus, and see
who he truly is. The problem lay not with the mind, for the mind knew the
facts, the problem lay with the will - the will would not accept the facts.
Perhaps we have to acknowledge that that is all too often our problem too. We've heard messages about Jesus, about salvation, about baptism, about holy living, and we know the facts, yet we will not accept them, we will not obey the truth that we know. Many of us are modern day Pharisees, knowing the truth about Jesus, but not accepting that truth personally.
But the point is this - and remember
that these are all stories about faith - to demand a sign is to try and bypass
faith, because the nature of faith is belief even without the stone tablets and
the flashing lights.
But worse than that Jesus has given a
sign, a sign that can not be surpassed, and he points to it not in Mark's
account, but in Matthew and Luke where he says that no sign will be given to it
except the sign of Jonah.
What is the sign of Jonah? It is first
of all death, burial and resurrection. Jesus Christ has given the ultimate sign
- he has risen from the dead, it is well documented, and if properly studied is
undeniable.
But more than this - the sign of Jonah
is preaching, for Jonah was sent to preach, and preaching the word about Jesus
Christ brings the life of Jesus Christ to the very door of our lives. Many
times you will have sensed the strange power of his presence as the gospel is
preached, you can not go for greater signs that the resurrection of Jesus from
the dead and the proclamation of it through gospel preaching.
The proof that Jesus is who he said he
was is his death on the cross, his burial in the tomb and his rising from the
dead three days later - that is what is of the first importance. Thomas had the
privilege of seeing the risen Lord with his own eyes, and touching him with his
own hands, but listen to what Jesus said to him in Jn 20:29 "Because you
have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet
have believed."
I have not seen the risen Lord with my
own eyes, nor have I touched him with my own hands, but the day I trusted and
put my faith in Him was the most blessed day of my life. That's what faith is -
it is as Heb 11:1 says "to be sure of what we hope for, and certain of
what we do not see."
Today as we exercise faith in Jesus
Christ in all things, we know that it makes all the difference:
Sunday 27th June 2 TIMOTHY
4:1 – 22 - PREACH THE GOSPEL!
During the week I was remembering my farewell from my ministry in Brazil and leaving Avare and Heliopolis and thankful to our God for Pr Evandro and Pr Osiel that they are continuing the work and not forgetting the people that we left there, but mostly I thank God for the privelege preaching the Gospel in that great country.
But on my
last Sunday there I found myself delivering my last sermon to them. I preached
from 2 Timothy 4 and felt the sense of privilege to have been their pastor for
many years.
2 Tim 4
contains the last surviving words which the Apostle Paul spoke or wrote. They
were written to Timothy within weeks or even days of his execution, which by
tradition was by being beheaded on the Ostian Way outside of Rome.
These
words before us mark the end of 30 years of ministry by Paul, starting on the
Damascus Road and ending on the Ostain Way. I can identify with Paul 30 years
of being a missionary and an evangelist - at the end of which Paul could say in
vv 7 and 8 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have
kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness."
I am privileged to have been called to Portslade and though my work and ministry has
not ended for me just yet but my prayer is the same as Paul that I will finish
the race, I will have kept the faith as we continue here in Portslade.
Pauls last
words take the form of a charge - he says to Timothy in v.1 "in the
presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead,
and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:" -
Words addressed to Timothy, but also to us as the solemn responsibility passed
on to Timothy passes on in turn down to us.
1. PREACH
THE WORD (v.2).\ "PREACH THE WORD; BE PREPARED IN SEASON AND OUT OF
SEASON; CORRECT, REBUKE AND ENCOURAGE - WITH GREAT COURAGE AND CAREFUL
INSTRUCTION."
What is
this word - chapter 3 reveals it to us as all of Scripture is God breathed and
is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness." (3:16) It is the duty of the preacher not to invent
messages of his own, but to preach the word of God. How is this gospel to be
preached or proclaimed? Paul gives Timothy four words of advice:
1. Preach
it with urgency: The NIV says "be prepared", the GNB says
"insist upon proclaiming it" the RSV says "be urgent" and
JB Phillips says "never lose your sense of urgency." The preacher has a life or death message to
give and it must sound urgent and important or people will ignore it.
Urgency is
not just a quality however for preaching, it must also be a top quality when
witnessing. When we share our faith do we make the gospel sound important, or
urgent, or like an optional extra? We must carefully assess how we speak to
people.
That does
not mean that we speak with brashness, ramming our faith down their throats.
When Paul says be prepared "in season and out of season" he is saying
as the NEB gives it "press the gospel home on all occasions convenient and
inconvenient." This does not give us as free licence to interrupt people's
lives and meals to tell them the gospel. It is a command for us to speak
whether or not we find it convenient.
2. Preach
it with relevance: The word is to be applied in the right way to meet the needs
of people - thus three ways of preaching are given - correcting (or using
arguments) , rebuking and encouraging. Some people have doubts in their minds
so it is up to the preacher to use arguments to convince them of the truth.
Some people have fallen into sin and need to be rebuked. Some people are
hurting and are haunted by fear, they need to be encouraged. All of this can be
done from God's word if the scriptures are properly preached and applied
relevantly.
3. Preach
it with patience: Preach the word with great patience says Paul to Timothy.
While we are to be urgent in our proclamation but we are to be patient in
waiting for results. It is impatient preaching which fails to trust God and
tries pressure techniques, it is impatient witnessing which tries to force
people into a decision. Our responsibility is only to speak, and thereafter to
be patient, to be prayerful, and to wait for God to work.
4. Preach
it intelligently: Preach using careful instruction says Paul. The word instruction
applies to Christians now. Paul is no longer speaking to Timothy about his duty
in bringing the gospel to the unconverted, but is speaking about his
responsibilities in teaching the saved about how they ought to live. This
ministry is to be taught in a way that people can understand, and in a way that
people can relate and apply to their own lives.
To go back
to Timothy however, we must now remember that he was a quiet, shy, and timid
person by nature, and the world in which he was living was hostile to the
Christian message. He must have felt weak when he received these instructions
from Paul - "how am I going to do it?" he must have asked himself.
Paul then goes on to give Timothy three sources of encouragement:
\2. THREE
SOURCES OF ENCOURAGEMENT (v1, vv 3 - 8).\
1. Look at
Jesus, Paul says in v.1 that this charge is given "in the presence of God
and of Christ Jesus." When we're discouraged, when we feel that we're not
going to be able to do what God has asked of us we need to remember that we're
not alone. The charge comes from God and from Jesus, it comes with their
authority and approval, that God will give all the grace which is needed to
make sure that the task is done.
We are
servants of God - we are working for
Jesus - we do so with His blessing and
presence, when you feel down look up and remember just who it is that task is
being done for. If you're doing something for yourself, for the minister, for
the church, then you're likely to fail. Success will come when we remember that
we do it for Jesus.
Yet the
main point in v.1 is not so much the presence of God or Jesus but the coming of
Christ. One day Jesus is going to personally return to Earth - v.1 makes it
plain that Jesus will come, will judge and will establish his kingdom.
At that
point every minister, and indeed every Christian will be asked to make an
account. Now that can be taken as a threat, but we would do better this morning
to take it as an encouragement, let's do our duty so that we can make a proper
account to Jesus when he returns.
2. Look at
the people (vv 3 - 5): Look at the people, says Paul to Timothy, they can not
bear, they can not put up with sound doctrine. Indeed they find teachers who
will tell them what they want to hear so that they can have the comfort of following
them. Their criteria for many of what makes a good preacher is not "is he
true to the word of God" but "does he tell me what I want to
hear?" They do not first of all listen and then decide whether what they
have heard is true; they first decide what they want to hear and select
teachers who will toe the line.
How is
Timothy to react to this? Knowing that when you open your mouth you're going to
get opposition might lead us to think that we would do better by keeping quiet.
But look at the people says Paul - they're lost, you Timothy have got to stand
up and tell them the truth! Timothy then receives 4 bits of advice about how to
speak to the people in v.5:
i) Keep your head in all situations: When men
and women get all caught up in all kinds of whims and fancies and speculative
ideas it is the duty of the minister to keep calm and sane. The Greek language
means "while that lot are getting drunk on their foolish ways, you Timothy
are to keep sober." Panic is an easy trap to fall into, perhaps many have
fallen into it many times, Now I know that to stand back, and not to react
immediately is by far the better course.
ii) Endure hardship: When some teachings are
unpopular, both with the unsaved and the saved, it is the duty of the minister
to preach the truth in love even if it causes offence and ultimately hardship.
iii) Do
the work of an evangelist: Look at the people - they are ignorant of the truth
- therefore we must tell them it.
(iv)
Discharge all the duties of your ministry: Even if some leave to follow foolish
teaching it is Timothy's duty to be faithful to those who remain. Timothy is to
persevere in the Ephesian church until his task is finished and God calls him
elsewhere.
In summary
then, those difficult days in which it was hard to get people to hear the
gospel, were not to be discouraged Timothy; was not to deter him from his
ministry; not to induce himself to trim his message to suit his hearers; he was
not meant to let them silence him altogether
- looking at the people might have encouraged him to give up - instead he was
to look at them and be encouraged to preach all the more.
3. Look at
Paul (vv 6 - 8): Paul encourages Timothy to get on with the task because Paul's
own life was coming to an end and he needed to know that Timothy would get on
with the work after he had gone. One life was coming to end - Paul was being
poured out like a drink offering - and his eternal life was about to begin -
Paul's work was finished, he looked back upon it without regret - the race was
finished, the faith had been kept. Now he looked forward to Judgement, to
meeting Christ and receiving his crown.
Now the
time has come for Timothy to step bravely into Pauls place. Timothy could no
longer rely on Paul, the time had come for him to stand on his own two feet as
a Christian and as a leader. Sometimes I think this is why ministers must leave
churches, especially where they have seen many conversions, because some people
depend on their minister and need to learn to stand on their own feet and depend
on Christ.
The
chapter then moves on to its conclusion. Paul gives a sad list of those who
deserted and failed him, of his experience of being tried and of constant
danger. He asks for some personal objects to be sent to him. One gets a double
impression from these verses - the first is that humans, even Christians, will
let you down.
The second
impression is that God never let him down. Paul never blamed God for his trials
and troubles, he knew above all others that trials and troubles find their source
in sin and human wickedness and not in God.
Instead we
learn this about God in vv 17 and 18 "BUT THE LORD STOOD AT MY SIDE AND
GAVE ME STRENGTH, SO THAT THROUGH ME THE MESSAGE MIGHT BE FULLY PROCLAIMED AND
ALL THE GENTILES MIGHT HEAR IT. AND I WAS DELIVERED FROM THE LION'S MOUTH. THE
LORD WILL RESCUE ME FROM EVERY EVIL ATTACK AND WILL BRING ME SAFELY TO HIS
HEAVENLY KINGDOM. TO HIM BE GLORY FOR EVERY AND EVER. AMEN."
How then
are we to conclude or summarise this letter? We must start by saying that underlying
the whole of this letter is Paul's basic conviction that God has spoken through
his prophets and apostles, and that this unique revelation - called in the
letter "the faith" "the truth" "the word"
"the gospel" "the sound teaching" has been committed to the
church as a "treasure" or "deposit."
Now the
apostle after 30 years of delivering this message to others finds himself on
his deathbed. He is on his way to being sacrificed. He has a picture in his
mind of his executioner's sword. He knows what is about to happen. So he writes
to his young second-in-command, Timothy, and asks him to step into his shoes,
to carry on from where he has had to stop, and to pass on the torch to others.
Yet when
he asks Timothy to do this Paul is fully aware of the difficulties. he knows
Timothy through and through. He knows that Timothy is weak, shy, inexperieced
and timid. He knows that the world's opposition is strong. And behind all of
these things stands the devil who is hell bent on taking and keeping people his
prisoners.
For the
devil hates the gospel and uses all his strength and cunning to obstruct its
progress. He does it by perverting the mouths of the men who preach it, he does
it by frightening preachers into silence, he does it by adding fanciful notions
to the gospel. He does it best of all by getting people so caught up in
defending the gospel that they find that they have no time to preach it.
Knowing
all of this Paul gives Timothy these four commands that we have been looking at
today. From chapter 1 comes the command GUARD THE GOSPEL - because it is a
priceless treasure. From chapter 2 comes the command SUFFER FOR THE GOSPEL -
because it is a stumbling block to the proud. From chapter 3 comes the command
- CONTINUE IN THE GOSPEL, because it is the truth of God and from chapter 4
PREACH THE GOSPEL because it is the good news of salvation.
Timothy
was called to be faithful to his generation.
v.22 "GRACE BE WITH YOU." These are the last recorded words of
the apostle Paul. It is a prayer directed to the whole church, it is also for
us today.
The prayer
recognises that if you will go out and serve the Lord then God will give you
all the grace that you need. This is my prayer for you "GRACE BE WITH
YOU."
Lets
finish with v.18 "TO HIM BE THE GLORY FOR EVER AND EVER, AMEN." It
would be difficult to find a better summary of the apostle's life and ministry.
First he received grace from God to do it. Then he gave the glory to Christ at
the end of it.
Sunday 20th June 1
CHRONICLES 28:1 - 29:30 - THE GREAT UNCHANGEABLES
This year
we have been open to many changes during this year. Change is something that we
all have to go through in life, we change as we grow up, life changes as people
come and go out of our lives. If you review the past 12 months of your life you
will probably have gone through several changes.You will have had many such
changes in your own life, some may have even experienced the greatest change of
all recently - you've become Christians and your life is no longer the same.
Some
changes are welcome in our lives, some changes are not, but welcome or not all
changes affect our lives to greater or lesser degrees. Indeed in the midst of
change our lives can feel very unstable, without direction and unhappy.
The Bible
tells us this morning in the two chapters that we'll be looking at, namely 1
Chronicles 28 and 29 speaks to a people undergoing change - he tells a story
about a great change in Israelite history when David died and the crown was
handed over to Solomon, yet he also tells his story 400 or so years after the
event when much has changed, when Israel has no temple nor no king.
The
message from Scripture today is simple - he says much has changed on the
surface, people and things have come and gone, but underneath the surface the
great unchangeables remain, if you want to feel secure take your eyes off the
surface events and look at the truth of what is happening underneath, there you
will find strength, stability and security. This then is a message about what is it that does not change when
everything else changes?
Let's look
at 5 great unchangeable from these two chapters:
THE ETERNAL GOD (28:2 - 8).\ By eternal God I mean the God who was there in the beginning, who is here now, and who always will be. In Chapter 28 David speaks to the assembly of Israel and says in v.2 that God had placed it in his heart to build a place of rest for the ark of the covenant. Now what we have to understand is that David only had this thought because God had given him the ark of the covenant in the first place. Before God called David to do anything he had given in the beginning the covenant and all that that meant.
In v.4 David also admits the prior activity of God - it was God who chose Judah out of Israel, it was God who then chose Jesse out of Judah, and then finally it was God who chose David out of all of Jesse's sons. In v.5 it was God who gave David his sons, and it was God who chose Solomon out of all his sons to succeed him. Thus God was there is the past in charge of events so that David would finally be the right king at the right time, God was there in the present helping David in his reign and giving him sons, God would be there in the future in the reign of Solomon guiding and prospering his reign (v.7).
Therfore as time passes, there was, there is, there will be an eternal God whose hand is upon all events. This first great unchangeable that there is always an eternal God bringing stability to the present, makes sense of the past and gives hope and assurance for the future.
Whatever
great events shook your life in the past - God was there. Whatever is shaking
your life now - God is here. If you fear for the future - don't - for God will
be there too. It is an unchangeable fact for he is an unchangeable God.
\2. THE
PLAN OF GOD (28:9 - 21).\ So we can see there is an eternal God who oversees
all things, but that does not mean that we as human beings have no part to play
in shaping our lives and our history. God has made us to dream dreams, to make
plans, and as his spirit searches us and guides us we find that our plans come
into line with His will and become his plans, thus we read in 28:12 that David
gave Solomon "the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind."
To go back
to v.10 David tells Solomon "the
Lord has chosen\you\to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the
work." It was when Solomon realised that it was God who had called him to
be the man of this moment, that he truly had God's calling upon his life, that
he found the strength to get up and do the work.
At this
point we would all do well to remember that we are all called by God to be here
at this time. Paul begins nearly all his pastoral letters by reminding the
churches both of his call to be an apostle, but also their calling to be the
church of Christ is the place where they live (e.g. 1 Cor 1:1, 2).
At this
time let's remind ourselves that it is we (and nobody else except those who
might join us) who are called for this task. It's a tremendous task, first of
all on the personal level to get our lives right and to walk in holiness, it's
a tremendous task on the level of evangelism for there are so many unsaved
around us, it's a tremendous task on the physical level as we consider our
future. All of these tasks might divert us, or divide us, or fill us with
despair unless we remember this basic principle - it is God's plan that we are
working out, it is God who has called us to be the people for this moment in
time - therefore we must be strong and do the work.
And what a
plan it was that God had given to David to hand over to Solomon, a plan of
extreme detail even down to the size and weight of the forks, sprinkling bowls
and pitchers (v.17). God is not just concerned about the overall plan, but also
the smaller details which make up the whole picture.
Yet we
must be careful that we don't fall into the trap of thinking that God always
has an exact plan in mind which if we deflect from it just an inch then we move
from what is best into what is second best. God does allow us some freedom to
use our own minds and imaginations, when it comes to God's plan for our lives
we have freedom of choice within it, but we are not meant to be free to go
outside of it.
How does
God reveal his plan to us? In the same way as he did to David. Through the
scriptures, through Christian people, through events, by sifting our ideas by
the Holy Spirit and making them burn within us when they come in line with His
will. While events in our lives bring great changes the plan underneath it all
does not change, nor does the blessing of living within God's plan for our
lives. David says to Solomon in v.20 "Be strong and courageous and do the
work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you. He
will not fail you or forsake you."
For you
and me then God has a plan for our lives which does not change. We may opt out
of it for a while, but if we are truly Christians God will bring us back into
it. That is not to say that we are robots with no freedoms, for the plan allows
us freedom to make our individual choices. The encouragement we are to take
today is that while kingdoms rise and fall, while people come and go in our
lives, while we succeed and fail, while there is change and decay - God's
second great unchangeable, his plan for our lives remains unshaken.
3. GOD'S
EXPECTATION OF US (29:1 - 9). In chapter 29 David addresses the whole assembly
and tells them in v.1 "my son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is
young and inexperienced, the task is great." It is comforting for us to
know that the right man for the task is young and inexperienced for I am sure
that we often feel that what we are called to do is beyond our abilities. Yet
God does not leave us on our own, for before Solomon was asked to build the temple
David had made much preparation, indeed v.2 says that he had surrendered all
his resources for the temple.
But
secondly, David makes it clear that the responsibility for the temple falls
upon all the people and not just Solomon. The challenge is for all the people
to provide from what they have, from material wealth as well as from their
skills. I am not going to labour this point today, it is enough to say that
throughout the scriptures God expects his people to provide for his temple -
and that too is an unchangeable fact. God expects us to provide for the
building, and for the people.
But are we
ready for the kind of giving which we see in vv 7 - 9 where tons of gold,
silver, bronze and precious stones were given by the leaders of the people?
Where as v.9 puts it - the people gave freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord.
Let's
return to v.5 which contains the real challenge where David says to the people
"Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the Lord?" It was
only consecrated people who were free to give. It was because they were
dedicated to the Lord and the Lord's task that the were free to give. And so
here is our third great unchangeable - it is consecrated people that the Lord
wants, and one of the signs of consecration is freedom to give to the temple.
4. THE JOY
OF KNOWING GOD (29:10 - 22). This was a great assembly - the people had
gathered, had consecrated themselves and were now fully committed to the task
of the temple, and in vv 10 - 19 we are given David's prayer at the climax of
the ceremony, and it introduces us to the fourth great unchangeable - that if
you know God and do what is right before him there is great joy in your life.
If you
take the time to read the prayer you will see that it is really quite
magnificent, David's heart just wells up and out from it pours this great psalm
of praise and joy. On the surface what provoked the prayer was the bringing of
the gifts, look at v.16 which says "all this abundance that we have
provided for building you a temple", but as we read on into the verse we
see that the real source of joy was not the gifts, but the giver, and the real
giver was not the people but God himself. Look at the end of v.16 "all
this abundance...comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you." Look
at the end of v.14 as well "everything comes from you, and we have given
you only what comes from your hand."
It is
important that we realise that the source of Christian joy is God himself. If
we make the source of joy singing, then as soon as there is a bad hymn we will
lose that joy. If we make the source of joy hyped up foot-stomping hand
clapping meetings then as soon as we leave the meeting we lose our joy. If we
make the source of Christian joy people, then as soon as people let us down we
lose our joy. Our joy changes with outward things, it will be unchangeable if
it is rooted in God, and if we would come to learn that all that we have and
all that we need is found in God.
The Bible
tells us that joy and praise such as this is not a thing of the past, if you
knew joy once but have no or little joy now, then you have switched the source
of your joy away from God and onto people or things.
It is an
unchangeable fact that if our hearts are loyal to God (v.18) then we can know
joy.
\5. THERE
IS A KING ON THE THRONE (29:22 - 30). The end of the teaching today from our
text about the life of David is not the same as the one as we find in the Books
of Kings where we read about David's failure in health and various plots
against him. The writer here ignores the detail and just gives us the bottom
line of the facts and so we read in v.28 "David died at a good old age,
having enjoyed long life, wealth and honour. His son Solomon succeeded him as
king."
The king
is dead - but long live the King! There was a tremendous change for the people
of Israel, but in one sense nothing changed, for even when David died there was
still a king on the throne, but more than that even when the human king changed
the Divine King still reigned, as v.11 put it "Yours, O Lord, is the
kingdom; you are exalted as head over all." In other words when all the
changes take place down here there is still an eternal king on an eternal
throne and that is an unchangeable fact.
This was
an important word for the Jews for as we know the writer wrote 400 years after
David when there was no human king and when the people were under the rule of a
foreign power - namely Persia. They needed to know that when the king was gone
and there was a Persian governor that the divine royal throne still ruled and
that that truth was unchangeable.
Who is on
that divine throne now? Matthew 22:21 - 46 gives the answer. The King who rules
now is Jesus Christ who is David's son - so the Davidic family line still
rules, but Jesus is not just David's son, he is also David's lord.
The final
thought then this morning is are we committed to this unchangeable fact - that
the Lord Jesus Christ is on the throne of the events which affect our lives,
and our church? Perhaps we've been in the church many years and seen half a
dozen or more ministers come and go all bringing their changes some welcome,
some unwelcome. Yet as these human leaders changed the Lordship of Jesus over
this church never changed. What was really important remained rock steady and
sure, and as we think about the future we need to be reminded that his hand is
steady upon this church.
And in our
personal lives as all sort of changes come sweeping our way, some welcome and
some unwelcome we need to be reminded that nothing, not one thing that came our
way changed the Lord's love for us, and his rule upon our lives. We can have
disobeyed him, we could have got angry with him, we could have wandered, but
he's still king.
Now I pray
that you believe that and leave this temple and go forward this week with joy!
Sunday 12th June We have a great example in the book of Judges chapter 6 of a man used by
God. 7 When the
Israelites cried m to the LORD because of Midian, 8 he sent them a prophet, n who said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought
you up out of Egypt, o out of
the land of slavery. p 9
I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your
oppressors. q I drove them
from before you and gave you their land. r 10 I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; do not worship s the gods of the Amorites, t in whose land you live.’ But you have not
listened to me.” 12 When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, b mighty warrior. c ” 13
“But sir,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is
with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders d that our fathers told e us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now
the LORD has abandoned f us and put us into the hand of Midian.” 14 The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have
g and save h Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending
you?”
Gideon was reluctant, but
the Lord revealed to him in powerful ways and promises a victory over the
oppressor. Vs 11 "Then the angel
of the Lord came and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah and his son Gideon
was threshing wheat from the Midianites."
Manasseh,
and I am the least in my father's house?" I. Why did God chose Gideon to
guide him for sure but also because: 1. Gideon was brave: The
text above shows a determined young man, despite being at a disadvantage before
the enemy. During the night, he worked with a challenge to tend the
harvest and to preserve it, so as not to let it fall into the hands of the Midianites. He
was not sleeping like many others were at that time.
2. He was also a Working man. To be found at night, taking care of your wheat, prepared to fight watching for the enemy as they could appear at any time, he really was a man of struggles and work.
3. Humility. Judges 6:15 "And he said, Oh my Lord, how can I save Israel Behold my family is the weakest.
He feels very small. Before the great responsibility entrusted to him; he thought he was unable to accomplish such a feat, this pleased the Lord, for the salvation of the people was not dependent on the man, but the Lord.
Because it would give another lesson to his people, using the smallest, the poorest, the weakest, II Corinthians 12:9 God's power is made perfect in weakness.
4. Gideon was sensible. Judges 6:17. Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in
your eyes, give me a sign l that it is really you talking to me. 18 Please do not go away until I
come back and bring my offering and set it before you.” And the LORD said, “I will wait until you
return.” Gideon now asks for
a confirmation of all the revelations that have been delivered, but the moment
that he brought the offerings to present to God the Angel (The Lord Jesus)
reveals this, With
the tip of the staff q that
was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched
the meat and the unleavened bread. r Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat
and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared.
"In the moments of worship,
the Lord reveals Himself to us wonderfully when we bring our offerings the
moment we are at his feet to worship him for any reason, we receive the
greatest blessing from God.
II. The preparation
for the work begins. Destroy the altar of Baal Judges
6:25 - That
same night the LORD said to him,
“Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. 30
Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole 31 y beside it.
26 Then build a proper kind of 32 altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height.
Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second 33
bull as a burnt offering. z ”
The Lord begins asking Gideon to remove the abomination which was
among the people. The Lord is calling to first remove the detestable
things of your life, then cover it with power; This first fight he faces
because his father followed Baal, but here was the first victory, so we have
decided to remove the events of oppression, and also the strange god, sometimes
people fall because they love the strange gods, but here the Lord marks our
first victory.
2. Build
a new altar Judges 6:26 -.. "And build
the Lord thy God, an altar on top of this stronghold ... and you shall offer a
holocaust" The construction of the altar restores the worship
service to the Lord when we come to Lord and leave the world. He demands that
we re-establish this altar that is within us, that is continuous indwelling of
the Holy Spirit, this also means new birth, new life in the presence of the
Lord.
II. Once
again God confirms the work of Gideon Judges 6:36 -. 40. Given the increased
responsibility and fearful by his inexperience, of what could happen if he
failed, he decides to ask God once again to confirm what the Lord had
revealed. “If you will save
o Israel by my hand as you have
promised— 37 look, I will
place a wool fleece p on the
threshing floor. q If there
is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know r that you will save Israel by my hand, as you
said.” 38 And that is what
happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out
the dew—a bowlful of water.
This is a lesson of
caution, here because Gideon wanted to perform the Work of the Lord in the way
God had commanded, because he did not want to fail or miss something, because
he knew that if he failed even in the minimum detail it could be
fatal. The Lord teaches us to prepare and to be daring at that which He
tells us to do, sometimes we need to pray more, fast more, get the details
right, if we want to be sure that the victory is certain.
IV. Gideon dealing with the people The Lord dealt directly with
Gideon, now comes another challenge: dealing with people. Judges 6:35 - He sent
messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher,
l Zebulun and Naphtali, m so that they too went up to meet them. n
1. The call of the people.
The LORD said
to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In
order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength z has saved her,
3 announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear
may turn back and leave Mount Gilead. a ’ ” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten
thousand remained.
2. Presentation of the people: 4 But the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still
too many b men. Take them
down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, ‘This one
shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with
you,’ he shall not go.”
Here the Lord would show
Gideon with whom he could go into battle with. God would prove them to
descend to the waters. And so it happened: three hundred men drank water
leading a hand to mouth, and the Lord said, By the three hundred men I will
give you the Midianites into thine hand. The important detail of this
proves that the Lord has examined the people, God shows that he wanted a
vigilante army, and not distracted as those who went down to lick the
waters. But its a great revelation for us today, That is that the Lord
tests His servants in the waters of the Spirit ie, those who search for the
Lord in prayer, fasting, in the early mornings, and it is when we are
approved, the Lord separates us to fight for this work. It is in this work we
are involved in today, we cannot count on crowds, economic or financial powers,
but with a faithful remnant, a small group, willing to do the Lord's will
we will conquer Portslade.
V. Gideon fears facing
the enemy. Gideon was afraid now, because even with 32,000 men the battle would
be difficult., With 300 it would be impossible. But the victory was not
with the men of Gideon but in the Lord.
Man himself has nothing
they can do against the enemy, but the blood of Jesus gives us the
victory, but only if they obey the Lord.
VI. The
courage of Gideon. Judges 7:9 "And it came to pass that night, the Lord said unto him, Arise and
go down to the camp ..." The Lord gives a final confirmation when
Gideon sends him down to the enemy's camp. On his return he heard an account of a mans dream.
Judges 7:13-14 - "... “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.” 14 His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, k the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.”
1.Knowing the dream, Gideon worshiped the LORD, and he understood that victory would not be his or his men, but the Lord.2. The certainty of victory had returned to him now he was certain that the Lord would give them the victory,
In our struggles we have nothing to fear, for the bread of barley, ie the Lord Jesus fights for us and destroys the enemy giving us victory. 3. Gideon then enters the battle secures the battle with the following weapons: 16 Dividing the three hundred men n into three companies, o he placed trumpets p and empty jars q in the hands of all of them, with torches r inside. 17 “Watch me,” he told them. “Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. 18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, s then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon.’ ”
Strange these weapons, how
could he beat a powerful, well-armed, army skilful in battle, only with those
apparently harmless weapons? It would be counterproductive, but the Lord
had said so, and so Gideon obeyed.
What
are these weapons? The Horn –
Glorification. Empty jars -. man stripped of all his vanity, pride,
self esteem, etc.. Torches lit - power of the Spirit. Final
victory. Division of men into
three groups. Waiting for
right time of the attack. Judges
7:19-20 - Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the
edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had
changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars t that were in their hands. 20 The three companies blew the
trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches u in their left hands and holding in their right
hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword v for the LORD
and for Gideon!” 21
While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran,
crying out as they fled. w
When the pitchers that hid
the torches, were broken, and there suddenly appeared a large number of
torches, and the sound of the horns, the enemy panicked and was defeated.
Conclusion: The pitcher hid a lighted torch, which
would only appear after being broken.The power of the Holy Spirit only appears
when man is broken also, in the presence of the Lord he humbles himself so that
the Lord's light may shine. It is this position that the Lord blesses us.
God wants these type of
people in our day like the servants, like Gideon, to also face a big challenge:
to continue the fight against the world, sin, the flesh, but the Lord will make
us victorious also, not by our might, nor by our abilities, but by the blood
the Lord Jesus. Amen
Portslade Belongs to Jesus
Christ.
Sunday 6th June On
Pentecost Sunday I was in the middle of a serires of messages on Ephesians but
today taking part in the Lords Table I want to look at THE PENTECOSTAL POWER -
At 1.8 But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you; o and
you will be my witnesses p in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, q and to the ends of the earth.” r
In our church every time we meet we have a pentecost experience because we are in the presence of God but it would be good to remind ourselves about being led by the Holy Spirit. “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men dream dreams.” Acts 2.17
The
Character of this Power is that we recieve it from God and its the Power to
witness and the Power to service.
The
source of power. The Holy Spirit. Acts 1: 8. The very Spirit of God testifies
of the Word.
The
human position of power. The disciples were completely surrendered to Christ.
They were obedient. Acts 1: 4; On one
occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not
leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard
me speak about. j
Chapter
2:1 When the day of Pentecost t came, they were all together u in one place, They recognized their need as a
group. Acts 1:14 They all joined together constantly in prayer,
There
was an intense desire among the disciples to seek Gods will. For ten days they
focused their thinking and prayer on needing Jesus. They prayed fervently. Acts
1:14; Luke 11:13) We need to get back to being a people of prayer also if we
want to see pentecostal revival in our land.
They
prayed and waited. 1 John 5: 14-15 This is the confidence k we have in approaching God: that if we ask
anything according to his will, he hears us. l 15 And if we know that he hears
us—whatever we ask—we know m that we have what we asked of him. n
The sign of power. They spoke in the
power of the Spirit. (Acts 2: 4a) as the Spirit enabled them they abandon their
own strength and wisdom and depend completly on God, They testified
of God's wonderful working. Everything that was of self was abandoned the
"I" was forgotten. Their focus was on God.
They preached Christ. Acts 2: 22 “Men of Israel,
listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth q was a man accredited by God to you by
miracles, wonders and signs, r which God did among you through him, s as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you
by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; t and you, with the help of wicked men, 9
put him to death by nailing him to the cross. u 24 But God raised him from the
dead, v freeing him from the
agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
The Result. The crowd were amazed, even perplexed. Acts 2: 6-7,12 we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
2.
Some scoffed. Acts 2:13 13 Some, however,
made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.
“Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! i 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 “ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. j Your sons and daughters will prophesy, k your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
3.
Many were affected. Acts 2:37 “Brothers, what shall we do?” that is why true conviction is needed today. Genuine
conversion. Acts 2: 41-42 “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand
were added to their number w that day. 42 They devoted
themselves to the apostles’ teaching x and to the fellowship, to the breaking of
bread y and to prayer
You
and I and Portslade Baptist Church can have the same power and the same results
will happen, if we follow the same convictions. As Hebrews 13: 8; Jesus Christ is
the same yesterday and today and forever. x
The powerful advances of the primitive
church: Acts 1.8 The church grew and advanced look and read each chapter of the
book of Acts because it marks their advances being filled with the Holy Spirit
and power.
We as a church will advance also, 2 Ch 7:14. if my people, who
are called by my name, n will
humble o themselves and pray
and seek my face p and turn
q from their wicked ways, then
will I hear r from heaven and
will forgive s their sin and
will heal t their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my
ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. u 16 I have chosen v and consecrated this temple so that my Name
may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there
On
the day of Pentecost: almost 3,000 were saved (Acts 2:41,42). After the lame
man was healed at the door of the beautiful temple, the number grew to almost
5,000 (At 4.4). And the crowd multiplied and many who believed in the Lord men
and women and grew more and more (Ac 5.14).
The
number of disciples also grew ...; and the word of God grew and in Jerusalem the
number of the disciples multiplied (Ac 6.1,7). The multiplication of the church
in the geographical sense, Judea, Galilee, Samaria, the secret is going into
the wole world (Ac 9.31). The multiplication of a local fellowship is to be
steadfast in the teaching of the Bible and in prayer.
The church grew through persecution
and even before this pandemic we have faced many forms of persecution, we have
also been in another type of persecution
with this virus not being able to meet together, but Pentecost Power we see an
example of genuine faith, here we see the change and growth that many churches
desire, the more the church was persecuted the more it grew.
Many believe that some christians
today and even before the virus were accommodated in their faith. But learning
through this coronavirus the world has been persecuted But (Acts 16: 5). Tells us that
the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. z
Here
we have the promise of church growth and it will be fulfilled in our church and
we are growing remember it is not the lack of power? We will grow through being
united and being obedient then we will have growth.
I
believe we are going to see our church grow as we have all been using this time
of isolation to pray and are looking forward as the Body of Christ to being all
together again as a Church.
30/04/2021 “ARE YOU DRIFTING?” During this lockdown and still with many churches closed someone asked me if I thought people were drifting away from the church, as many people even though they have had their injections are finding it difficult to come to church. We are aware some have ongoing health cares and others are frail but we are praying for you all.
I read a article about “Two young men were fishing above a low dam on a river near where they lived. As they were concentrating on catching fish, they were unaware that they had drifted until they were not far from the water flowing over the dam. When they realized their situation, the current near the dam had become too powerful for them to keep their boat from going over. Below the dam the water was gushing with really strong force over great boulders and through crevices in the rocks. Caught by the swirling waters under the rocks, they never came to the surface. After days of non stop searching, the divers finally found one body, and then, two or three days later, the other.”
2. Remember the danger of drifting is not limited to the physical realm... In Hebrews 2:1, we find a warning against drifting it says; We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
Sadly, it is not uncommon for Christians to drift toward Destruction! I have to ask you, “Are You Drifting?” it’s a fair question but could I be so bold to ask, would you know it if you were drifting?
I hope that listening to my messge today we can become aware of the danger of drifting away from the Lord.
I. THINGS WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT DRIFTING
A. DRIFTING REQUIRES NO EFFORT...
Just stop rowing or batteling against the wind, and you will begin to drift. The same is true for the Christian, which is why we are told: We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”
B. DRIFTING IS A PROCESS WE MAY NOT BE AWARE OF.
1. It is possible to drift and be unaware. In a boat for example, the undercurrents are often unnoticeable from the surface, but you know when they have you in their grasp.
b. In a plane, the wind or gravitational forces move the plane without you realizing it, except when you are in turbulence.
2. The same is true in the spiritual realm. Many individual Christians have slowly drifted away from Christ and they do not know it. Many churches have gradually drifted into error and confusion only one day to find them selves far removed from the teaching of Holy Scriptures.
C. WE NEVER DRIFT UPSTREAM OR AGAINST THE TIDE...
1. Unfaithfulness to the Lord is like rowing upstream, The Bible tells us that we must constantly be “adding to your faith, goodness and knowledge;...” 2 Peter 1:5
You must continue to grow - 2 Pe 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever!
The moment you stop growing, you start going backward or downward.(Shrink with age)
D. WHEN DRIFTING THE SPEED DOWNSTREAM INCREASES...
1. The dangers increase with the speed by which we drift.
a. When we can hear the noise of the waterfall, it is already too late, perhaps it is too late for you?
b. Any sailor will tell you that when we lose sight of land, it is even more difficult to discern that we are drifting.
2. As we move farther and farther from the Lord, we care less and less about what we do or what we say.
E. DRIFTING IS DANGEROUS TO OTHERS...A ship, just drifting, is a hazard to all other vessels at sea
Parents who are just drifting, will soon loose possible every opportunities to teach their children - Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
3. Many are tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine. Which we looked at in Ephesians 4:14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
F. DRIFTING ENDS IN SHIPWRECK...
1. A boat adrift will eventually crash on the rocks or go over the falls. For those who drift spiritually through their own neglect, there shall be no escape from a just punishment -
Hebrews 2:1-3 We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.
Friends the danger of drifting is real, or there would be no need for the Bible to warn you against it. So again I ask, “Are You Drifting?” To help answer the question, here are some
II. COMMON SIGNS OF DRIFTING
A. DIMINISHING DESIRE TO STUDY GOD’S WORD AND PRAY...
1. The Bible is a unique book - a source of information not found anywhere else
a. Without God’s revelation, how could we truly know our origin, our purpose, or destiny?
b. It tells us of sin’s dreadful consequences, and how God saves us from sin
c. It provides direction for living happy, useful lives Psalm 1:1-3 says that when one loses their desire to study God’s word, they are drifting!
2. Prayer is a wonderful blessing - a way that we have to communicate with our God! Jesus, who loved His Father, often prayed - Mk 1:35; 6:46
b. He expressed concern that His disciples not grow weary to pray - Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
When a Christian prays less and less, he is drifting more and more!
B. DIMINISHING DESIRE TO BE WITH GOD’S PEOPLE
1. This includes attending services to worship God. How many times have we heard its been so long since I hve been to church. One should always have the attitude of the Psalmist 122:1"I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD." (But it does not say go only once! or when we want to!)
b. If we no longer rejoice in the worship of God in the presence of believers I believe that we are drifting!
2. Fellowship with God’s people remember extends beyond the services of the church
a. We are to be concerned with edifying one another - Ro 14:19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.This edification should occur even daily - He 3:13
c. For the right kind of friendship strengthens us, while the wrong kind leads us to sin - 1 Co 15:33 Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."
When a Christian prefers the companionship of people of the world, rather than fellow Christians, he is drifting toward the rocks of spiritual destruction!
C. DIMINISHING DESIRE TO SHARE THE GOSPEL...
1. When one obeys the gospel, he knows God has blotted out his sins, made him a new creature in Christ, and he wants to tell the world about Jesus - cf. Ac 8:4; 1 Th 1:8. When a Christian no longer has the desire to take the message of salvation to others, he is drifting! How many churches have been drifting for years and do not know it
D. INCREASING DESIRE FOR THE THINGS OF THE WORLD...
Parents of one young man were excited beyond measure over a worldly honor he had received.
They had never demonstrated such emotion over spiritual matters NEVER EVEN WENT TO HIS BAPTISM.
With the passing time, the entire family had drifted beyond the point of no return. How many young people who were on fire for Jesus have left the church because they have no support or help during dificult times.
The apostle John warns us against the love of the world and the things in the world - 1 Jn 2:15-17
a. Paul described some who were “lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God” - 2 Ti 3:4
b. If we reach the point when we find more pleasure in some worldly activity than meeting with others to worship God, we definitely are spiritually adrift!
For me these are some of the signs of drifting away from God. If we are to remain close to God, it will not be easy.
But let me share some:
III. REMEDIES AGAINST DRIFTING
A. KEEP ROWING...
1. Spiritually speaking, this involves diligence - 2 Pe 1:5,10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,
2. It also means to keep abounding in our Christian graces - cf. 2 Pe 1:5-8 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
3. There is no place for “retirement” in living the life of a Christian! A sense of we have made it.
B. WATCH OUT FOR UNDERCURRENTS...
1. We must always be on guard for the undercurrent of temptation
2. For we have a fleshly nature which wages war against the soul. 1 Pe 2:11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
C. EXPECT TO GO AGAINST THE TIDE...
1. There are many tides to sweep us away
a. Popularity, peer pressure, the praise of others
b. Modernism, scepticism, humanism
c. Denominationalism - false doctrines of all kinds
d. Liberalism and worldliness in the church - greatest enemies of the church in our lifetime we will never have the victory or go forward until we get the world out of our churches and the churches into the world.
D. WE MUST HAVE STRONG ANCHORAGE... Are we Rooted and grounded in Christ - Co 2:6-7 are our minds anchored to the truth - Ep 4:14-15 do we still posses an unshakable hope - cf. He 6:18-19. That is why we are rooted and grounded in the love of Christ - Ep 3:16-18
CONCLUSION
1. Friends are you drifting?
a. The danger is real, we would be foolish to say otherwise
b. Many have drifted away from the Lord, and it would be arrogant to say it could not happen to us!
2. Are there signs of drifting in your life? As a pastor I would ask that you honestly ask yourself:
a. Is my desire to study God’s word and pray diminishing?
b. Is my desire to be with God’s people not what it has been in the past?
c. Have I lost my desire to save those who are lost?
d. Am I too much enamoured or involved by things of the world?
If we are in any way then we must confess that we are drifting, then may we encourage one another to give earnest heed as warned by the writer to the Hebrews in chapter 2 vs 1 “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him..”
Our Salvation in Christ is simply too great for us to neglect!
23/04/2021 I want to finish this months thinking about unity.We remember we all fly under the banner of BUGB “Baptist Together” and even though we are an individual congregation we are as a Baptist Church all joined together, we are joined with the BMS in our World Mission Activates but today their is nowhere better to start thinking about unity than Ephesians 4:1-16 which talks about Unity in the Church.
Ephesians 4:1-16 Unity in the Church. ¶ As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why God says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men. What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service. So that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
The first three chapters consist of several important doctrinal truths. Which we have considered ut we remember chapter four, where we have the most weighty and serious exhortations that can be given.
Remember friends the Grace of God is necessary to keep the unity of the body. We saw how Paul explains these four areas that we need to work on to ensure this unity is effective, and true.
1.
Unity through our life. Vs 1-3.
2. Unity through what we believe. Vs 4-6..
3. Unity through our gifts. Vs 7-12 Which we looked at last time
4. Unity through our growth. Vs 13-16 Today
Remember we saw that the Church of Jesus Christ grows as a unified body
through its Life, its Beliefs and through His Gifts. To finish my thoughts on
Unity I want us to look today at unity through our Growth.
If asked to summarize Ephesians 4. It has to be with the words.
· IN Christ. Made alive IN Christ. One IN Christ. No barriers IN Christ
· We should seek to be filled with the wisdom of God.
· Our prayer is surely that we are filled with the fullness if God.
· Its Paul’s plea for us today that we seek unity through our Life, our Belief, our gifts and our growth.
Vs 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the
waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning
and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
·
Infants – Baby Believers – remember a baby contest
- my mum entered me for one –beautiful baby - everybody loves a baby – I could
not enter now though!
· We grow up!
· Mother here will tell you though that any problem with the growth of a child gives concern.
· We worry that it grows correctly – everything is ok
· The word used here is NEPIOS i.e. children not capable of eating solid food or speaking properly.
Paul's Definition of NEPIOS. Vs 14
Convictions are held very lightly. Tossed back and forth by the waves
and blown here and there by every wind of teaching.
· Easily swayed by new fads.
· Like a child goes from one toy to another.
· Children have a short attention span.
Look at the ease at which they can be deceived.
·
By the cunning and craftiness of men in their
deceitful scheming.
· Two Greek words here PLANE = Wandering and PLANOS meaning deceiver.
· Two examples here and they are not aimed at people here.
· In Brazil I was asked to preach at another church. A young new Christian came to me and pleaded with me Pastor please talk to this older mature Christian for me because this person has just finished pointing out all the bad points of our pastor, why is she telling me a new Christian these things?
· In another Church in Scotland this woman came to me and was very complementary to my preaching and of me as a person. She later told me she only visited tonight because her own pastor was not preaching – she did not like him – she complained about his preaching – in fact she could not look at him and she came home from church always distressed.
· Satan was deceiving her – Satan used her immaturity to look at the man and not look at Jesus. Do not let this happen here, look to Jesus.
Paul is saying here grow up! Come into the fullness of Christ.
·
Be childlike –
not childish.
· Remember Jesus appreciated the insight of children he quoted Psalm 8:2 From the lips of children, (NEPIOS) and infants you have ordained praise.
· Through childlike faith, the simplest of Christians receive spiritual revelation, which are often missed by more complex minds.
· Jesus praised his Father for hiding the truth from the wise but showing it to babes. (NEPIOS)
However Baby believers can have a negative side 1 Corinthians 3:1-7
(read)
·
Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but
as worldly--mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you
were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still
worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not
worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says "I follow
Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you
came to believe--as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed,
Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who
waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
·
Today people have superficial tastes – they want
milk not meat.
· They are still attached to the world – In its Ways and practices.
· Look at Temper – quarreling & jealously in some of our Churches today.
· Its like Following the leader – The Figurehead rather than Christ.
· Friends Be childlike not childish.
Paul says here. Grow up, grow into Christ, into His body the Church
taking your place, doing your part, using your gifts.
Where is your place? What is your part? Brothers and Sisters Ask God HE
will tell you!
Work for unity, don’t let Satan destroy Our Unity. Our Life, Our
Beliefs, or Our Gifts, but let us use them for the growth of the church of
Jesus Christ and for our own Spiritual Growth.
If Portslade Baptist Church is to survive another 5 year’s or 10 years
or until the Lord's Return, then I believe that we need to let go and let God
united us.
· Remember United we stand divided we fall.
An old quotation that has helped me is from Mrs. CE Cowan from her Book
of daily devotions "Streams in the Desert" she wrote:
Remember we may wait till Jesus explains, because we know that Jesus
reigns.
May he Reign and Unite our hearts forever. Amen.
16/04/2021This month we are thinking about unity. BUGB has the banner “Baptist
Together” and even though we are an individual congregation we are as a Baptist
Church all joined together, we are joined with the BMS in our World Mission
Activates but today their is nowhere better to start thinking about unity than
Ephesians 4:1-16 which talks about Unity in the Church.
Ephesians 4:1-16 Unity in the Church. ¶ As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why God says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men. What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service. So that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
The first three chapters we remember consist of several important doctrinal truths. Here in chapter four, we have the most weighty and serious exhortations that can be given to Christians to unite.
Remember the Grace of God is necessary to keep the unity of the body. We
are looking at how Paul explains these four areas that God's people need to
work on to ensure this unity is effective and true.
1.
Unity through our life. Vs 1-3.
2. Unity through what we believe. Vs 4-6. Which we looked at last time. Lets look at now.
3. Unity through our gifts. Vs 7-12
4. Unity through our growth. Vs 13-16.
Ephesians 4:7-12. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ
apportioned it. This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led
captives in his train and gave gifts to men." What does "he
ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly
regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the
heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. It was he who gave some to be apostles,
some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and
teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service. So that the body of
Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the
knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure
of the fullness of Christ.
From Scripture, we have three main passage concerning gifts.
In Romans 12:3-8 (Gifts of God)
· We are all born with certain natural gifts – he we see that a Christian is born again with Spiritual Gifts.
· What gifts do you have? ( read list)
(Read) For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think
of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober
judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as
each of us has one body with many members and these members do not all have the
same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member
belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace
given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to
his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;
if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of
others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern
diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Love must be
sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in
brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (Gifts of
the Spirit)
·
These gifts are available for the common good. But
there are gifts we are encouraged to also seek.
(Read) There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There
are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of
working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the
Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the
Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of
the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of
healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy,
to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds
of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All
these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one,
just as he determines. The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts;
and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
Ephesians 4:7-13 (Gifts of the Spirit)
Gifted people are given to the church. I want us all to remember the
gifts we have, both natural and spiritual. But also please remember the Gifts
that we have to seek for, and then please realize the gifted people that normal
Christians often become, because of the fact that we have been Born Again.
· Gifts are recognized and developed through prayer and a spiritual life, but they also become aware through discernment of the Body i.e. His People know what gifts we have.
· Gifted people in Church praying in tongues etc yet in the home they blaspheme God with the same tongue. They are soon found out.
We should always seek to develop our Christian life. And its through this constant development that you and I will serve Christ through His Body the Local Church here in Portslade or wherever the Lord takes us.
· Always remember seek the best spiritual gifts that will supplement and express the gifts that you already have.
· I can think of nothing better as a Pastor, than to think of the potential of what a new Christian can become within the Body of Jesus.
· The same can be said for older Christians who are still developing their gifts.
· Remember God calls, He provides and He empowers the believer.
· BUT. God also gives him to the Church to serve and maintain Unity.
I would be lacking in my ministry if we did not look at what Practical examples we can have here to follow:
Lets say for example that you as a believer discover that you have a gift from Romans 12, such as teaching or Stimulating, you would then need to seek from 1 Corinthians 12 Wisdom and Knowledge to compliment this gift. Then from Ephesians 4 we see that you can take your place in the Body the Church as a teacher.
· Today we see from our passage in Ephesians 4 that God’s Gifts are to his church, for Unity/ Service/ and for growing in Maturity.
· Apostle – Prophet – Pastor – Evangelist – Pastor – Teacher.
We need to understand here though the difference between – Office – and
Gift.
·
An Apostle for example is one sent forth.
· Christ was an Apostle, and his disciples were Apostles, Paul was an Apostle to the Gentiles. Remember we had 12 Apostles therefore our foundation is without question Christ and the Apostles teaching. Through Holy Scripture.
· The Office – Gifts – Evidence. Anyone God sends out or the church sends out is today called an Apostle = Missionary.
·
A Prophet.
· Originally inspired by the Holy Spirit.
· For Encouragement, correction, foretelling the future.
· Today it could be accepted as someone Forth telling of the Word of God. An example would be applying the Word of God in a given situation.
· An Evangelist.
· The ability to tell others and convince them of the truth of the Gospel.
·
Pastor.
· Shepherd, to care, to protect, to support, to nurture, to feed and to flock.
· Teacher.
· To open up and explain the Scriptures, for the general well being of the body.
People of old saw that the Minister was all of these, Apostle, prophet,
evangelist, pastor, teacher, and some quite possibly were, but not all.
But Friends in conclusion we can see that the Church of Jesus Christ
grows as a unified body through its Life, its Beliefs and through His Gifts.
Next time I want to look at Unity in Growth.
09/04/2021This month we are thinking about unity. BUGB has the banner “Baptist Together” and even though we are an individual congregation we are as a Baptist Church all joined together, we are joined with the BMS in our World Mission Activates but today their is nowhere better to start thinking about unity than Ephesians 4:1-16 which talks about Unity in the Church.
Ephesians 4:1-16 Unity in the Church. ¶ As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why God says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men. What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service. So that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
The first three chapters consist of several important doctrinal truths. We enter now on chapter four, in which we have the most weighty and serious exhortations that can be given to us as the body of Christ.
Remember friends the Grace of God is necessary to keep the unity of the body. We see how Paul explains of four areas that we need to work on to ensure this unity is effective, true and sincere.
1. Unity through our life. Vs 1-3. Which we looked at last time. Today lets look at,
2. Unity through what we believe. Vs 4-6
3. Unity through our gifts. Vs 7-12
4. Unity through our growth. Vs 13-16
Ephesians 4:4-6 says” There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
I could speak on each of these points, but today I want to continue with my theme of unity.
Unity is big business today. In Geneva World Council Churches keeping minutes and losing hours. Baptist Union Assembly in Blackpool. The BMS rally had invited Cardinal Hume to speak, and there had been terrible protests outside because of this catholic Bishop speaking at an Evangelical rally. It seemed that The Bishop had been asked to by the BMS to intervene in some crisis situation abroad and they asked him if he could intervene, if so it would help save these people and he did. He had a marvellous effect on the government and this was the BMS way of saying thank you. By addressing the Assembly.
A Lecturer at the Faith Mission College (Ken Buchanan) said that any Doctrine that shackles you from winning souls should be thrown away.
I remember a brethren man and his Timothy, this man was so angry and so one sided in his thinking and theology, that it was causing a harmful situation to arise for the student, thankfully by the Grace of God Timothy came through it, but we need to be careful. (Nothing of self.)
Brother’s in Christ. We cannot have unity at any cost though. It may be politically correct to unite with others today BUT is it Spiritually correct.
In the Old Testament we had two enemies – murder – mixture – If we
cannot kill them, then we will bread them out.
The New Testament we have leaven and the New Wine. A little leaven spoils the whole loaf, and new wine in old wineskins.
Paul gives seven basic realities that unite every true believer. There is one Body and one Spirit, one Hope, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism; one God.
I would like with the Lords permission to change these in order to help me and us picture these truths.
One Father, One Lord, One Spirit, One Body, One faith, One Hope, One Baptism.
The Trinity, Father - Son – Spirit.
· One Father, not my father, He is more than a creator, he is a King, and Judge. He is also a loving Father. It is here we have Unity, the oneness of believers is that we are part of the family of God.
· One Lord, The Lordship of Christ is the first step in unity. Can two believers claim to obey the same Lord and not walk in unity.
· One Spirit, the same Holy Spirit indwells every believer. 1 Corinthians 12:13 says “ For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body”
· The word used here is breath, and without breath the body is dead.
The Church the body of Christ.
· Christ is still alive and working on earth through his earthly Church.
· With every believer having the responsibility to keep the unity of the body. By:
One Hope, one Faith, one Baptism.
· One Hope. The Second Coming of Christ is our hope and our certainty, we shall all see this Glory and perfection only in Christ.
· We will have the same resurrection from the dead.
· God will perfect what he has started in us.
· God will finish what he has planned for us.
· We know that we will be together for all eternity.
· So we had better start practicing this unity here and now.
· One Faith. The Body of fundamental truth which all Christians hold to.
· To depart from this is to break the unity, to break the faith.
· The faith is that we every one of us accept the Lordship of Christ Jesus.
· One Baptism. A public confession of faith in Christ Jesus that unites us to this local Church.
· Water baptism – I am a true Baptist – but remember we are commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
· We are never commanded to be baptized.
· Representatives of the Body the Church baptize with water, but only the Holy Spirit of God can baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
We should express freely our feelings about. What Unity means to us as individuals and as a congregation.
Speaks about Our Saviour.
About God THE FATHER.
Our LORD Jesus Christ.
God’s HOLY SPIRIT.
His BODY OR CHURCH
Our HOPE our FAITH our BAPTISM
5. Next week lets look at Unity through our gifts. Vs 7-12
This month I am thinking about unity. BUGB has the banner “Baptist Together” and even though we are an individual congregation we are as a Baptist Church all joined together, by faith in the same Lord, we are joined with the BMS in our World Mission Activates but today their is nowhere better to start thinking about unity than Ephesians 4:1-16 which talks about Unity in the Church.
The first three chapters consist of several important doctrinal truths, which as Baptist we hold dear, but I want us to look at chapter four, over my next few sermons. In which we will see that we have the weightiest and serious exhortations that can be given to us as Gods people to strive for Unity of the Body of Christ.
¶ As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why God says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men. What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service. So that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Vs 1-3 Says that we should walk in the wealth of our calling, which is a worthy life.
Vs 4-6 talks again about our walk with one Lord, one faith, and one baptism;
Here we have a Principle to Practice, and a Doctrine to Live by.
· God has made provision for us to live by obedience to His Word. He also shows us how we can work together in unity, and most importantly help us to grow in maturity and in Love.
Unity we must remember depends on the Grace of God. Uniformity however is fitting a set of rules and practices.
Ephesians 3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles. Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, Paul is a prisoner and here he brings every experience into subjection to Christ. He urges us through his example, his teaching, his letters and his prayers.
He says live, a life worthy of your calling. It should be a planned life, not haphazard or careless. It should be a deliberate life, inside out not outside in, it should be a chosen life, remember he say’s: “ Choose this day whom you will serve”.
Friends the Grace of God is necessary to keep the unity of the body. Paul explains four areas that we need to work on to ensure this unity is effective, and true. It is these thoughts that I want us to look at.
1. Unity through our life. Vs 1-3
2. Unity through what we believe. Vs 4-6
3. Unity through our gifts. Vs 7-12
4. Unity through our growth. Vs 13-16
First of all we have; Unity through our life.
In Galatians
· But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Five fruits of the Spirit are used here to indicate the kind of life we need to live. (Apple illustration)
· Humility:
· I remember an old master said, When you know that you have it you have lost it.
· God first, other’s second, self last is an old standard to life by.
· Knowing and accepting and believing and being yourself for God.
· Not thinking more highly of yourself than you ought.
Do you know that in the Greek culture humility was not acceptable, it meant cowering, and cringing, being servile, shameful, yet we see that Christianity adopted humility as a necessary virtue.
· Humility comes from comparing yourself to Christ.
· Self-satisfaction comes from the standard with which we compare ourselves to others.
· Comparing ourselves to Christ though we are without doubt humbled.
· Meekness:
Power under control.
· Moses, remember was meek yet powerful. Numbers 12:3 Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.
·
Jesus meek and humble in heart. Matthew
· Colt that had been broken, meek yet powerful.
· Greek: virtue for example was between two extremes. Too angry or never angry, meekness is never angry at the wrong time, but always angry at the right time.
· Longsuffering:
Never gives up, but neither does it give in. Because it endures to the end it gains its reward. Longsuffering never retaliates, it has power to take revenge but never does. Poor analogy is the pup and the big dog. Young man old man.
· A spirit that bears insult and injury without bitterness or complaint.
· Suffers unpleasant people with graciousness and fools without irritation.
· Romans 2:4 So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you towards repentance? Paul asks the sinner if he despises God’s longsuffering. Peter calls God’s longsuffering an opportunity for Salvation.
· Love:
· The Christian church invented this word. In the Greek we have Agape, Eros, Philia and Storge. Agape meant charity. Giving for the sake of giving.The Church has taken it further though to mean godly love.
· Remember nothing a person can do will make us seek anything but their highest good. Not emotional love from the heart, but from the will.
· 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says; Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
· Loves the unlovable. It is of Gods Grace.
Peace:
· These four virtues together bring forth another. Peace.
· Right with God and right with man = We will have Peace
· I believe it all depends on the obliteration of self, of self-denial.
· In a self-centered life, there is little unity and peace.
· In a self-centered society there is a collection of individualistic opposing units.
· When a person can not get on with God, how then can we expect them to get on with others.
To end we must remember that our lives must be Christ like with His Humility, His Meekness, His longsuffering, His Love and His Peace.
This will allow each one of us to maintain the unity of the body the Church known as Portslade Baptist Church.
Amen. Next time we come to this text we will look at unity through the Work of the Faithful
I want to remind the church and those watching that our Easter Celebrations have not ended, because every Sunday in our church we have an encounter with the Risen Lord Jesus and we Behold His Majesty todays reading in Matthew 17:1-24 – I want to begin by showing you the Historical outline of this text:
What a blessing it must have been, spending time with Christ during His earthly ministry. To hear His teaching, spoken with the voice of authority. Think about being there and able to witness His miracles and all that was going on.
Among
those who were blessed to be with Jesus, were three men Peter, James and John.
Here they accompanied Jesus on the mount of transfiguration where we read in Mt
17:1-2 Peter would later write of that experience on the mount - he said in 2
Peter 1:16-18 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you
about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eye-witnesses
of his majesty. For he received honour and glory from God the Father when the
voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I
love; with him I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice that came
from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
He
says they were "eyewitnesses of His majesty" That Jesus received
"honor and glory" from God the Father. What an experience this must
have been for these three fishermen from Galilee!
What
happened on the mount? Put Simply They Beheld His Majesty.
I.
THEY BEHELD THE MAJESTY OF HIS PERSON
A. WHICH WAS EVIDENCED BY HIS
TRANSFIGURATION...
1. He was "transfigured" - Mt 17:2; Mk 9:2 the greek word used her, met-am-or-fo'-o. Meaning to change, transfigure, transform
B.
THIS WAS EVIDENCED BY THE PRESENCE OF MOSES AND ELIJAH...
1.
They were talking with Jesus - Mt 17:3; Mk 9:4
a. They also appeared in glory - Lk 9:31and the following verses tells us that!
b. They were discussing with Jesus about His coming death in Jerusalem - Lk 9:31b
c. Peter, James, and John had been sleeping, but awoke to see Jesus in His glory, and talking with Moses and Elijah
d. Moses and Elijah then began to depart - Lk 9:33
[But
Peter was soon to learn that Jesus was above Moses and Elijah, especially in
regards to His authority! As we
continue, to read, you will notice that...]
THEY BEHELD THE MAJESTY OF HIS COMING KINGDOM
A. THIS WAS EVIDENCED BY THE VOICE FROM
HEAVEN... "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, Hear
Him!" - Mt 17:5; This terrified the disciples vs. 6 then vs. 7 Jesus then
sought to comfort them.
The
command, "Hear Him!" Implies that God would begin to speak through
His Son, not the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah). That is why we have
these powerfull words in Hebrews 1:1-2 In the past God spoke to our forefathers
through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days
he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and
through whom he made the universe.
b.
That means that the rule and reign of God would be exercised through His Son,
as He would be given all authority in heaven and Earth.
B. EVIDENCED BY THE ABSENCE OF MOSES AND ELIJAH...
After hearing the voice, and lifting up their eyes, only Jesus was present - Mt 17:8;
Perhaps symbolizing what the voice clearly declared: That Jesus was the one they were to hear, not Moses and Elijah who likely represented the Law and the Prophets.
What does God desire of us today?
Not to build tabernacles or temples erected in the memory of His Son
But for us to simply to obey what God said at the mount: "Hear Him!" the bible says, are you listening:
If
we desire to add to the honor and glory that Jesus so richly deserves, and to
one day behold His majesty in heaven, then let us be careful to take heed of
what He himself said regarding His authority:
"All authority has been given to Me in
heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, even to the end of the age." - Mt 28:18-20
That
is the historical content but:Matthew
17 talks to me though of the Greatest Hindrances to our faith.
Faith so important to us, faith in the future, faith in your government faith in your marriage, faith in your parents, faith in yourself. We all live by faith in some form or other, faith in God though is for us as Christians the most important faith we can have. Look at the experience of your own soul. What would it gain man to win the world, and lose his soul.
Here
I can see Three experiences, which are common to us all.
Mountain
top experience = a type of faith where we loved it could have stayed there
forever type of experience.
The Plain experience = our daily grind – places were we have found it hard to cope.
In the Valley experience = perhaps in our time of grief = This for many is an unacceptable burden.
The
lesson for us is in the way these disciples felt about things.
They
were ecstatic one moment, on the mount, then they were impotent in the plain where they could do nothing, in
the valley they were full of grief.
Their
Faith was affected by what they felt.
Jesus though, through His Glory, and His power was steadfast. His
feelings were always controlled by faith.
The
Mountain top was always Christ’s ideal for us
– Look at the early Christian life, it was all experience they grew in
their faith daily and it took over their lives.
What Mountain top experience can we have today in our – church – communion – worship – Remember we are the body of Christ His People.
We can have these Mountain Top experiences and therefore should always put ourselves in the way of blessing, but remember Christ must lead you and I to the mountain top, because there is a real danger when we go looking for it ourselves we will fail because we have no roots and our faith fails us.
That’s
what many people want mountain experiences no plane and definitely no valley
experience.But getting to the top of a mountain requires effort and discipline.
Have you seen his glory = if not then get to know Christ more.
Have you confirmed difficult teaching = then get to know his Word more.
Have you felt encouragement and rest = then get to know yourself more.
The
Experience in your soul doesn’t change does it?
We often confuse our spiritual condition with our feelings. We should have no different feelings either on the mountain top, the plain or valley, however for some reason how we are feeling can hinder our faith. Don’t let your feelings destroy your confidence, and ultimately your Faith in God.
The
Plain = Think about the day to day living. Here we have an Emergency - Man and
his child, here was a need the disciples could not meet. Here was an Enemy they
could not conquer, they needed help to deal with this. Their faith diminished
as they came down the mountain top. Jesus said why do You have so little faith.
They
needed help: Prayer of faith was needed = not feelings. Jesus did not feel good
He said “ How long”
Rebuke the enemy = remember speaking out demonstrates your faith.
Someone once said to me don’t Sanctify a fast = only if necessary and only for prayer.
Speaking in faith = vs 20 say to this mountain move and it will. Great faith the size of a mustad seed.
Use the word of God as the authority that we all have = Jesus did this, and so must we.
Jesus
did not run back up the mountain, for a mountain top experience to handle this
= he acted in faith.
The
Valley = Here the disciples were filled with grief, things were not going the
way they wanted or what they had hoped for!
Feelings
took over and there faith withered. Remember Faith comes from having deep
roots:
Church Attendance = Hearing and reading and obeying the Word of God = Being steadfast in Prayer.
Build
up your faith and If we desire to add to the honor and glory that Jesus so
richly deserves, and to one day behold His majesty in heaven, then lets be
careful to heed what He himself said regarding regarding His authority:
"All
authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have
commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
- Mt 28:18-20
Is More faith needed by you? Remember
then these words of Jesus: " I am
with you always, even to the end of the age. No matter what you are going
through I am with you always, even to the end of the age". AMEN!
ECCLESIASTES 1:1 – 11 - THERE MUST BE MORE TO LIFE THAN THIS!
The book of Ecclesiastes is about facing life with all its obstacles. As I read from the opening verses of Ecclesiastes you would probably have sensed for yourself that the writer, has a pretty pessimistic outlook on life. You may find it strange to find such a hopeless word in such a hopeful book as the bible. Frances Schaeffer a well-known Christian and writer said "There is a time, and ours is such a time, when a negative message is needed before anything positive can begin...
People often say to me, How do you evangelise as a
christian and with so little time to speak to people today. If I am invited to
share the gospel, I would spend 45 or 50
minutes on the negative, to show him his real dilemma - to show him that he is
more dead than even he thinks he is...Then I would take 10 to 15 minutes to
tell him the gospel..
Because unless he understands what is wrong, he will not
be ready to listen to or understand the positive." We need to make people
understand the negative before they can embrace the positive - that is the
thrust of Ecclesiastes.
I want to say of course that life, even for the
non-Christian, is not all negatives. Life has many good moments in it, but what
I am saying is that even if you add up all the good moments life by itself is
meaningless and does not satisfy us.
1:1 tells us that these are "the words of the Teacher, son of David, King of Jerusalem."
What we have before us in this strange book is his spiritual journal, a record
of his spiritual pilgrimage. He was a man who had everything that he could
want, but still he felt empty, so he started out on a journey to find
satisfaction. I should tell you now that this journey left him deflated,
depressed and disillusioned. His usual conclusion about life you find in v.2 "everything is meaningless" or
"all is vanity" or "life is empty."
This is the way that Solomon felt before he began his
journey, while he endured it and after it was over. Nothing satisfied him. He
tried to drain life of all that it could give him and found that even after he
had experienced everything he felt empty and hollow.
However, at the end of his journey Solomon made the
following conclusions about life with which he begins his book:
1. Life is boring (v.3): "What does a man gain from all his labour at which he toils under
the sun?" The idea here is that life is a grind, it is boring, it is
as repetitive as the mouse in the wheel of its cage - an endless cycle going
nowhere. Most people go through life on the treadwheel of the same routines.
Many of us are prisoners to our routines. We are all in
routines and we often wonder "what's the point" and we have fantasies
about breaking out of the routine, of going down to the Porsche showroom buying
a fast car, I am not saying that all routines are bad, we could not survive
without them, but I am sure that we all catch the sense of the writers heartfelt cry - what is the point of this
endless cycle of work and routine, what is it achieving, where's it leading to,
what's the point, it's boring!
The bottom line is that work is not fulfilling by itself.
You do not find perfect fulfilment in work.
2. Life is fragile (v.4): "Generations come, and generations go, but the earth remains
forever." The writers negative conclusion about life is in fact an
accurate one - people don't last. Think of all the months in preparation before
a baby is born, think of all the years that our youngsters go through in
preparing for adult life and responsibility, all those years at school,
college, etc.. think of all the time spent in chasing after a marriage partner,
planning for our homes and then think how easily it can all be swept away.
You can walk across a road, be hit by a car and that's
the end of you. You can be sitting in a plane and then be sucked out as the
terrorist's bomb explodes. You can be crossing the channel in a car ferry only
to have it roll over on you. You can contract a virus, not one of us knows how
soon life will end for us. You might even live a long life, ninety or more
years but there will come a time when you too will be forgotten.
Human beings come and go. In terms of eternity we are
like those flies who are born have a short buzz round the place and then die.
We are but a blip on the radar screen, we are but dust only to return to dust.
Life itself, wonderful gift though it may be, cannot satisfy by itself, there
has to be more to life than simply existing.
3. Life is repetitive (vv 5 - 7): "The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries
back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north;
round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into
the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there
they return again."
To Solomon the rising of the sun was only the start of
another boring day. Do you ever feel like that - that your life is as
monotonous as the swirling wind or the rolling river? Have you ever felt that
your life is on a boring cycle like the sun and have you ever wondered why you
feel like that? You feel like that because it is like that.
The sun, wind and water only mirror our own experience.
Many people find their lives boringly repetitive and so they seek ways of
escape. Some people try the way of novelty, they change their jobs, move their
houses, buy the latest gadgets (today it is tablets and cellfones - who knows
what it will be next.) Some give up on their marriages and swap their wives. Most
marriages break down not because the partners are hostile towards each other
but because they are bored with each other and the dull routine of their lives.
Ordinary life is a dull reality which has to be faced, and God it seems has
made it that way. It is not God's plan that we be fulfilled by life itself.
Why? I will explain in a few minutes.
4. Life can not be satisfied (v.8): "All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing."
Life has an appetite which can never be satisfied. We get
the thing that we've been seeking, whether it be that pay rise, that promotion,
that new house, that gadget and yet we find that it does not satisfy us, we
still want more. Our whole society is geared to make us want more, yesterday's
gadgets must be replaced with new toys, but it will not satisfy you.
The worst thing about life is that by itself it leaves us
unsatisfied. We get what we think we want only to find that it's not good
enough and that we want something else. Who can make sense of all of this?
5. Life does not get better (vv 9 and 10): "What has been will be again, what has
been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there
anything of which one can say, 'Look this is something new!'? It was here
already, long ago, it was here before our time." (Old clothes seem to
come back into fashion)
We try and improve things in life only to find ourselves back with the same old problems. In glasgow
we tried to improve the social problems of the tenements by building high rise
flats to find that we have only created a new set of social problems.
They are now spending tens of millions pulling down high
rise estates more than it cost less to put up in the sixties. We find the cure for
one dreadful disease only to find this new variant sweeping humanity. We find
that when peace breaks out between one contry another a new threat comes along
and it starts all over again.
If you are hoping that life by itself will improve and
get better then don't hold your breath waiting for it to happen because it's
not going to happen. Human beings have proved that they do not learn from
history, that by themselves they can not bring heaven on earth. Life by itself
will not improve. If you are waiting for this new product to come along which
will make life better you are in for a long wait. No wonder so many turn to
drugs, alcohol, anything which blurrs out life.
6. Life is forgettable (v.11): "There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are
yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow."
Solomon in effect says "I'd like to forget about
life, after all everybody who contributes to life will in time be
forgotten." Have you ever felt that at the end of the day "I'd like
to forget about this day." Have you ever felt at the end of school exams
"I'd like to forget about all of this now." The truth is that at the
end of the day most if not all of what we have struggled for can be easily
forgotten and put aside. The bottom line is that people can live without us and
our contribution, we can be forgotten. The bottom line here is "who
cares?"
So this is life as it is. We know that it is for all of
us who are right in the middle of it right now. God has allowed life to become
like this so that life will not satisfy us by itself. If life satisfied we
would not want more than life itself, so God has made life so that we are
forced to cry out "There must be more to life than this!" Have you
thought that thought? Is that your cry too?
Is there to more to life than this? The answer is
"Yes, a thousand times yes, THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN THIS!"
The key to understanding Solomon's condition and our own
is to note that phrase which appears twice in our reading in vv 3 and 9, the
words "under the sun." Under the sun, that is in this life
itself, all is meaningless, there is nothing new, nothing can satisfy.
As long as you look for satisfaction in things which are "under the sun" you will
never be satisfied. If you want to make sense of life, if you want fulfilment
in life, then you must stop looking horizontally at things of the world and
look vertically beyond the sun, to God himself.
Life only makes sense, life only satisfies when God is
brought into it. This is the conclusion that the writer will reach in 2:26
"to the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and
happiness." Life only makes sense when God is brought into it.
Life's problems go all the way back to the beginnings of
man's history, to what the bible calls the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 1 and 2
God created man as a spiritual being, that is what the bible means when it says
in Gen 1:27 that we were created in the "image of God." As spiritual
beings we are meant to have a personal relationship with God, and it is this vertical
relationship with God which makes the horizontal dimension of life make sense.
Sadly the story is told in Gen 3 of how the first men and women disobeyed God
and the disease of sin came into their lives which we have all inherited and which has cut us off from
God. That is why life is meaningless - because it IS meaningless without God.
So God has decided to change all of that. God has come to
our world in the person of Jesus Christ and offers us the return of the full
life if we will return to him. We read these exciting words in John 10:7 - 11
where Jesus says:
"I tell you
the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were
thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them." [If you
have listened to other voices before the voice of Jesus then these voices will
have robbed you of your life. They will have made you do things that you did
not really want to do. They will have driven you to waste your time, your
money, your life on things that will not have satisfied you. They will have
driven you to team up with people who were wrong for you. Have you been robbed
of your life?] Jesus goes on to say "I
am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go
out and find pasture. The thief only comes to kill and destroy; I have come
that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd, the
good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."
Jesus has laid down his life for you, so that the sin
which has spoiled your life and separated you from God can be judged, cleansed
and forgiven.
Jesus has come to forgive us for the fact that we have
lived this life horizontally, without the vertical dimension of loving and
worshipping the God who gave us life in the first place.
If you will come to God seeking to turn from your sins
and be forgiven then God will restore that spiritual dimension to your life and
give you life to the full and in abundance.
God wants you to be free from a meaningless life. He
wants to give you life and give it to the full.
You will not get a full life by seeking the things of
this world, you must look up and seek the things of God. Jesus said in Matthew
6:19f "Do not store up for
yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves
break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth
and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where
your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Life does not make sense when your heart is in this world
and in worldly things alone. You need to place your heart in heaven in order to
live fulfilled, knowing that your life is more than this life. If you want life
like that, then you can receive it right now by praying and asking Jesus to
give you life. Will you join me in prayer now:
Revd. David M Meikle