The thought that Jesus was to die and suffer perplexed Peter as he walked with Him. But later in life he was able to look back on these things and see the wonderful things that God wrought through this, and realise that Jesus was set as our example.
I’ve been thinking about the life of Peter and what it was like for him to walk with Jesus. Every so often things happened which he could look back on and recognise the magnitude of what had happened. It’s the account of someone walking alongside Jesus and figuring out as the days progressed just who He was. This morning I want to attempt to convey to you the revelation to Peter of who Jesus was.
Matthew 16:13-20
By revelation, Peter rightly ascribed to Jesus “Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God.” He’d seen enough already to be able to say that. He knew.
Matthew 16:21
After Peter said what he believed Jesus to be, it was as though this triggered Jesus’ explanation of what would happen.
Matthew 16:22-23
Peter had been jolted. He’d got it right, and now Jesus began to talk about suffering and being killed and being raised from the dead, and it was all a new thing.
And now, a week later, this happens ...
Matthew 17:1-5
That got to Peter, because he was involved with Jesus, witnessing Him talking to Elijah and Moses. Peter didn’t really know what he was saying – “Let me build tabernacles.” And as Peter spoke, God cut across Him – “This is my beloved son. Hear ye Him.” Those three words were placed in Peter’s heart. “Hear ye Him.”
Matthew 17:6-9
They were to keep quiet about things for the time being.
Matthew 17:10-12
That had happened just before this time :-
Matthew 14:3
Matthew 14:11
Peter, James and John would have linked up with that :-
Matthew 17:11-13
Thou art the Christ. And then He began to share how He would suffer, be killed, be raised from the dead. And then a week later He takes them up the mountain. His face shines like the sun. His clothes were whiter than white. Moses and Elijah talked to Jesus about the death that was to come. And now Peter hears “Likewise shall also the Son of Man suffer.” Understandably this had a huge impact on Peter. In his second letter he refers to it.
2 Peter 1:16-21
He refers back to the time when he was on the mountain. He knew what it was like to hear the Word of God. And he says that the prophecies of the Old Testament weren’t from men. The prophets heard from God. And as everything was confirmed to Peter’s heart – all about the Old Testament and the prophecies – so he thought back to the prophecies concerning what would happen to Jesus.
Isaiah 53:1-7
What Peter now shares is the fundamental of the revelation of what he knew of Jesus Christ. He talks of Jesus as our example.
1 Peter 2:18-21
He was writing to people who would suffer for their faith. He knew what would come. If you do something right and you are persecuted for it, how will you react?
Who are we trusting? In your life this morning, your trust is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Is it that way? I trust it is, because what these verses reveal is that Christ as our example was the one who laid Himself down. He was guiltless and became guilty. He had committed no sin, but He became the one who took upon Himself our sin so that we would not have to be killed, not have to end our lives as a failure before God’s law. The whole theme of this morning is to do with the example of Christ and what He has done for you and me.
On Friday we looked at :-
1 Peter 2:15
Now we see :-
1 Peter 2:20
What’s your reaction when someone has a go at you for doing what is right? Do you want to attack the person? What is your reaction? Do you know you have committed your life to God, and no matter what the circumstances, your trust is in Him? No matter what is thrown at you against your stand, you’re trusting Him and your life is hid with Him in God. He’s my loving heavenly father. He loves me and gave Himself for me.
1 Peter 2:21
Peter had been aghast at the idea that Jesus would be put to death. But now he sees how Jesus went through the whole thing – suffering on the Cross and being reviled :-
Matthew 27:39-44
If ever there was a temptation to react against people, this was it. It’s strange – our minds, our intellect, our mature way of working things out, find it difficult to accept what all this is about. In fact, Paul said :-
1 Corinthians 1:25
It really is foolish in man’s eyes that everything is focused upon what happened in Jerusalem those many years ago. God chose that part of the world for this to happen in. God arranged for Jesus to grow up there, for Peter to be alongside Him, for Jesus to go about working miracles and speaking truth, the greatest teacher the world has ever known. It’s foolish. How can someone who grew up in Nazareth and ended up hanging on a cross be the very thing which sorted things out for us forever? It’s daft. It seems as though we must be kidding ourselves. But Paul was right – the foolishness of God is so much better than the wisdom of man. And as Peter thought back over his time with Jesus, he then remembered denying Him, remembered meeting Him when He came back from the dead, and Jesus told him to feed His lambs.
And now, from the perspective of time, he can see Jesus as our example.
1 Peter 2:21-25
You can see the echo of Isaiah. Getting rid of the penalty of sin is like bodily healing. And Peter likens things to a sheep being lost and found. What was meant to be for us a divine curse, because we went against His law, became His favour because of Jesus Christ. He was the one who became answerable for your sin – not you.
What’s it like to be a sheep astray? It’s lonely, perplexing, full of dissatisfaction. There’s no promise of improvement. That’s what it’s like to be a sheep astray. Before anyone becomes a Christian, that’s their life. There’s a lot of façade. But in the depths of a person – and I know because I was there myself – before a person becomes a Christian, it’s a lonely life, a dissatisfied life. There are things which fill the life, but only temporarily. That’s why with any addiction, there has to be more and more of it, because you can’t fill up your life. You can try. You can construct a whole intellectual argument about things, but inside you know, in your heart of hearts. There’s something about this foolishness of God, and the way He sorted things out through the death of His son.
What does it mean to be dead to sins? The guilt in your life goes. The condemnation in your life, which bugs you to death, goes. The penalty of our sins goes because Jesus Christ took the penalty. But the other side of it ... we are alive unto righteousness.
As Peter wrote, so Paul wrote :-
Colossians 1:10-14
It’s 100% different – the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His Dear Son, the kingdom of light.
To some of you my words will have struck a chord, because God by His Holy Spirit wants you to release your need to. You need to return to the shepherd and overseer of your soul.
It’s not a complicated mechanism. It’s not like a carrot which is dangled but may or may not happen. You won’t be blinded physically as Paul was. Quite simply, you recognise who Jesus is and what He did for you. And God by His Holy Spirit brings that recognition. If you realise your need of Him, it’s God who is bringing that about. He loves you. By nature, we don’t seek after God, but He has a way of bringing to light our need of Him.
Sunday 29 March 2009
Friday 27 March 2009
Stand Fast in the Freedom in God
1 Peter 2:9
This letter was sent around a number of areas, and the whole point was the persecution that was arising from Nero in Rome. There were tough times ahead for these people.
1 Peter 2:11
Verse 11 is extremely clear cut. Fleshly lusts, or desires, definitely do war against the soul. If you give in to fleshly desires, that war will intensify. Freedom in God is the freedom not to sin. That’s one way of expressing it. You’ve been set free from the power of sin. You’ve been set free from the penalty of sin. Prior to being a Christian you cannot but sin. That is the nature. If we’re free not to sin, that freedom can be exercised in the wrong way. That is why Peter says to be careful not to give in to fleshly lusts.
Judges 16:18
James 4:1
There’s a submission, and these few verses in 1 Peter are all to do with who you are submitting your mind to. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you.
1 Peter 2:11
1 Peter 2:13
There is a way of living as a Christian where you abide by the rules.
Acts 5:17
The angel had told Peter to go and teach. But when he said you ought to obey God rather than men, that doesn’t mean to cut across man’s law entirely. When God specifically wanted him to do something, that overrode everything else, but in the normal course of life we should obey the law.
1 Peter 2:13
Actions speak louder than words. The way we go about things and the way we treat people and talk to people is important. God is not unaware of the stand you are making. Keep making that stand. You are who you are before God.
1 Peter 2:16
Freedom in Christ is to be cherished. I am free to be the person God wants me to be. I’m free as a result of what he has done inside me to walk in the spirit.
Galatians 4:31
We need to stand fast in that liberty. I’ve talked to a number of people who have rediscovered that freedom in God. There’s been an excitement that’s growing. You know that you are walking to things that God has prepared for you that are miraculous. God is working out his purposes in reaching out through you to other people.
1 Peter 2:13
Our only agenda is lifting up the name of Jesus Christ, loving each other, and preaching the Gospel to help those outside who need it.
This letter was sent around a number of areas, and the whole point was the persecution that was arising from Nero in Rome. There were tough times ahead for these people.
1 Peter 2:11
Verse 11 is extremely clear cut. Fleshly lusts, or desires, definitely do war against the soul. If you give in to fleshly desires, that war will intensify. Freedom in God is the freedom not to sin. That’s one way of expressing it. You’ve been set free from the power of sin. You’ve been set free from the penalty of sin. Prior to being a Christian you cannot but sin. That is the nature. If we’re free not to sin, that freedom can be exercised in the wrong way. That is why Peter says to be careful not to give in to fleshly lusts.
Judges 16:18
James 4:1
There’s a submission, and these few verses in 1 Peter are all to do with who you are submitting your mind to. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you.
1 Peter 2:11
1 Peter 2:13
There is a way of living as a Christian where you abide by the rules.
Acts 5:17
The angel had told Peter to go and teach. But when he said you ought to obey God rather than men, that doesn’t mean to cut across man’s law entirely. When God specifically wanted him to do something, that overrode everything else, but in the normal course of life we should obey the law.
1 Peter 2:13
Actions speak louder than words. The way we go about things and the way we treat people and talk to people is important. God is not unaware of the stand you are making. Keep making that stand. You are who you are before God.
1 Peter 2:16
Freedom in Christ is to be cherished. I am free to be the person God wants me to be. I’m free as a result of what he has done inside me to walk in the spirit.
Galatians 4:31
We need to stand fast in that liberty. I’ve talked to a number of people who have rediscovered that freedom in God. There’s been an excitement that’s growing. You know that you are walking to things that God has prepared for you that are miraculous. God is working out his purposes in reaching out through you to other people.
1 Peter 2:13
Our only agenda is lifting up the name of Jesus Christ, loving each other, and preaching the Gospel to help those outside who need it.
Sunday 22 March 2009
Spiritual Sacrifices to God
The Apostle Peter reminds us that Jesus Christ is the cornerstone, the foundation of our faith. And secure in that knowledge, we are called to offer up spiritual sacrifices which are acceptable to God.
Church is all about people. The church is the people. I want to talk about the fact that the foundation of the church is Jesus Christ, and the foundation of your life is Jesus Christ, if you’re a Christian. Maybe somebody here is rediscovering the orientation of what their lives should be.
1 Peter was written at a time of severe persecution. Peter wrote the letter to a variety of people in different towns around Turkey, and the letter was read out to different groups of believers.
Just like a young baby, we are to desire the sincere milk of the word. Everything else in life apart from Jesus Christ is transient. In v4, Peter talks about who Jesus is in the context of the church.
There isn’t one prayer He hasn’t heard. And He doesn’t just hear prayers, but He answers them too.
1 Peter 2:4-6
I want to look at what is a spiritual sacrifice, because if that’s acceptable to God, I want to be involved in it. We aren’t looking at Old Testament sacrifices. But there’s a spiritual house now.
1 Peter 2:6-11
There’s a total difference between being part of the people of God, and not being a part. There are people again this week who have heard news about employment problems, losing jobs, and so on. One common denominator is that as a Christian, there is no doubt whatsoever that God is more involved with your life than you realise. The circumstances of your life are there because He loves you.
You may say that there are things going in your life which don’t seem to stack up against that. But God is proving Himself as your provider in your life. I can react either by throwing in the towel and ask what this life is about. Or I can face the circumstances of life head on and accept the fact that Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone, loves me and gave Himself for me, and the relationship I now have by God’s Holy Spirit is real. It’s not a haphazard hope.
Peter was keen to encourage people not to forget what it said in the Old Testament – Jesus was chosen before the foundation of the world, and provided as the solution to your life. Even before this world was made, He knew you’d be here in your situation this morning. And the words you are hearing this morning by His Holy Spirit are a direct result of Him wanting to communicate with you. He loves you.
He makes Himself known to us through different routes. He’ll make Himself known.
Isaiah 28:16-18
“He that believeth shall not make haste” has nothing to do with speed. It’s communicating that he who believes is not anxious, not in a panic. I am not going to be anxious. There’s a sure foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.
When the same information comes to me in my work place, the impact of that information on me as a believer in God is received in a totally different way from someone who does not know God. He is your loving heavenly father, and knows what He’s doing.
The progression of your life involves you knowing God inside as your provider, and the one bang in the centre of your life.
There have been quite a few times in my own life where the only solution could be God because I’d run out of ideas. And every time that has happened in my life, He’s done something.
And if you think about the answers you’ve received, and work things back, you realise that God must have set things in motion years ago, and they’ve come to fruition at exactly the right time. Many of you could stand up and give a testimony like that.
Peter was very keen that these new believers should realise their foundation.
Jesus referred to the same idea Himself. At the end of the parable of the vineyard, we have the following:
Mark 12:10-13
Jesus knew what He was about. He knew He was talking about Himself here. And when He hung on the cross, taking into Himself your sin, He knew about you. He was there to break the power of sin in your life. He knows all about you. And even if you think He hasn’t heard, He has heard, and the answer is coming, because He is not deaf to His children.
We see the concept of Jesus as the cornerstone repeated in Acts 4. This is Peter soon after Jesus had died and risen from the dead.
Acts 4:8-15
The Jewish people rejected Him, and in time the Gospel went out from Jerusalem to the uttermost parts of the earth. That’s why you’re here this morning.
Peter was concerned that these people should be aware of their situation and their relationship to Jesus Christ.
We have Paul talking about the concept of the cornerstone as well:
Ephesians 2:19-23
This church building is not where it’s at. The church is you and me – a group of people. The bride of Christ is the church – the group of people. And over this year and onwards, more and more will be added to the church as God’s Holy Spirit speaks to them. There will be a different foundation – Jesus Christ and what He wants to do in their life.
So when I am a Christian, I want to please my Father who is in heaven. I want to fulfil His purposes for my life. You knew that once, but you’ve let it go and drifted. And this morning God is pulling you back lovingly, saying that He is your foundation. You know that without Him you can do nothing.
I’d love to be able to talk to each of you individually, to ask after your circumstances and what impossibilities you are facing. Because I know that the impossibility people recount – that impossibility is a possibility in God. The foundation of your life is Jesus Christ. In no way will He let you down. He loves you. And your reaction to your circumstances will either be one of bitterness, or it will give you pause to consider who is the foundation of your life. Can He change things in your life? Of course! What do I want to do? The answer is that I want to do what is pleasing to Him. I want those spiritual sacrifices to which Peter refers in my own life.
Hebrews 13:15
That is a spiritual sacrifice. What does that mean in practical terms? My mindset needs to be that I am totally aware of what God has done in my life. At a moment’s notice, I could make a list of what I can thank God for. It wouldn’t be difficult, because the spiritual sacrifice of each of us is that we’re aware all the time of what we can be thankful for. That tends to cut across any moaning, any “poor me”. Everyone here can thank God for something.
There are things you have to deal with, I know. But what is your overriding frame of mind when you go about the day? Do you rejoice when you hear what God does for other people, or do you just wish it could happen to you?
Hebrews 13:16
“Communicate” is often in terms of giving and helping financially.
2 Corinthians 9:7-12
Giving thanks, giving to help others, being liberal – a cheerful giver, not tight-fisted, not “me and mine”, not working things out so that it destroys a heart of liberality. Be careful that you don’t work things out the wrong way.
Romans 12:1-3
There’s a spiritual sacrifice of continually giving thanks, of giving, and putting one’s whole life in line, proving what is that acceptable will of God.
Romans 12:2-4
As you think about practical things, what are spiritual sacrifices? What are those things which are pleasing to God? We’ve looked at some. Your prayers are a sacrifice to God.
Revelation 5:8
Revelation 8:3-4
It matters that you pray. God delights for you to become a co-worker with Him in prayer. You get alongside Him and become a co-worker. When you pray, He hears your prayer. He delights to hear. You’re praying because you know you need the answer from God. And those prayers which you pray are like sacrifices in that in the end time, the prayers of all the saints will be there.
Philippians 2:14-17
In the face of impossibilities, hold forth the word of life. And that’s a theme running through today. Peter said Jesus was the cornerstone. Take away the central stone, and the arch won’t be there any more. But with Jesus Christ immovable in the centre of the arch, He is building His church. And bang in the middle of your thinking, your aims and ambitions ... “I want to please you. What do you want me to do?” He’ll make it clear. If you’re trying to sort things out, try different doors. He will guide you. But be on the move – God can’t guide someone who stays put. And there is no way that God will let you down. He loves you. He’s a wonderful heavenly father.
The main message for you today is to live right, offering up spiritual sacrifice, holding forth the word of life, knowing what is the foundation of your life, going forward this week.
Church is all about people. The church is the people. I want to talk about the fact that the foundation of the church is Jesus Christ, and the foundation of your life is Jesus Christ, if you’re a Christian. Maybe somebody here is rediscovering the orientation of what their lives should be.
1 Peter was written at a time of severe persecution. Peter wrote the letter to a variety of people in different towns around Turkey, and the letter was read out to different groups of believers.
Just like a young baby, we are to desire the sincere milk of the word. Everything else in life apart from Jesus Christ is transient. In v4, Peter talks about who Jesus is in the context of the church.
There isn’t one prayer He hasn’t heard. And He doesn’t just hear prayers, but He answers them too.
1 Peter 2:4-6
I want to look at what is a spiritual sacrifice, because if that’s acceptable to God, I want to be involved in it. We aren’t looking at Old Testament sacrifices. But there’s a spiritual house now.
1 Peter 2:6-11
There’s a total difference between being part of the people of God, and not being a part. There are people again this week who have heard news about employment problems, losing jobs, and so on. One common denominator is that as a Christian, there is no doubt whatsoever that God is more involved with your life than you realise. The circumstances of your life are there because He loves you.
You may say that there are things going in your life which don’t seem to stack up against that. But God is proving Himself as your provider in your life. I can react either by throwing in the towel and ask what this life is about. Or I can face the circumstances of life head on and accept the fact that Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone, loves me and gave Himself for me, and the relationship I now have by God’s Holy Spirit is real. It’s not a haphazard hope.
Peter was keen to encourage people not to forget what it said in the Old Testament – Jesus was chosen before the foundation of the world, and provided as the solution to your life. Even before this world was made, He knew you’d be here in your situation this morning. And the words you are hearing this morning by His Holy Spirit are a direct result of Him wanting to communicate with you. He loves you.
He makes Himself known to us through different routes. He’ll make Himself known.
Isaiah 28:16-18
“He that believeth shall not make haste” has nothing to do with speed. It’s communicating that he who believes is not anxious, not in a panic. I am not going to be anxious. There’s a sure foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.
When the same information comes to me in my work place, the impact of that information on me as a believer in God is received in a totally different way from someone who does not know God. He is your loving heavenly father, and knows what He’s doing.
The progression of your life involves you knowing God inside as your provider, and the one bang in the centre of your life.
There have been quite a few times in my own life where the only solution could be God because I’d run out of ideas. And every time that has happened in my life, He’s done something.
And if you think about the answers you’ve received, and work things back, you realise that God must have set things in motion years ago, and they’ve come to fruition at exactly the right time. Many of you could stand up and give a testimony like that.
Peter was very keen that these new believers should realise their foundation.
Jesus referred to the same idea Himself. At the end of the parable of the vineyard, we have the following:
Mark 12:10-13
Jesus knew what He was about. He knew He was talking about Himself here. And when He hung on the cross, taking into Himself your sin, He knew about you. He was there to break the power of sin in your life. He knows all about you. And even if you think He hasn’t heard, He has heard, and the answer is coming, because He is not deaf to His children.
We see the concept of Jesus as the cornerstone repeated in Acts 4. This is Peter soon after Jesus had died and risen from the dead.
Acts 4:8-15
The Jewish people rejected Him, and in time the Gospel went out from Jerusalem to the uttermost parts of the earth. That’s why you’re here this morning.
Peter was concerned that these people should be aware of their situation and their relationship to Jesus Christ.
We have Paul talking about the concept of the cornerstone as well:
Ephesians 2:19-23
This church building is not where it’s at. The church is you and me – a group of people. The bride of Christ is the church – the group of people. And over this year and onwards, more and more will be added to the church as God’s Holy Spirit speaks to them. There will be a different foundation – Jesus Christ and what He wants to do in their life.
So when I am a Christian, I want to please my Father who is in heaven. I want to fulfil His purposes for my life. You knew that once, but you’ve let it go and drifted. And this morning God is pulling you back lovingly, saying that He is your foundation. You know that without Him you can do nothing.
I’d love to be able to talk to each of you individually, to ask after your circumstances and what impossibilities you are facing. Because I know that the impossibility people recount – that impossibility is a possibility in God. The foundation of your life is Jesus Christ. In no way will He let you down. He loves you. And your reaction to your circumstances will either be one of bitterness, or it will give you pause to consider who is the foundation of your life. Can He change things in your life? Of course! What do I want to do? The answer is that I want to do what is pleasing to Him. I want those spiritual sacrifices to which Peter refers in my own life.
Hebrews 13:15
That is a spiritual sacrifice. What does that mean in practical terms? My mindset needs to be that I am totally aware of what God has done in my life. At a moment’s notice, I could make a list of what I can thank God for. It wouldn’t be difficult, because the spiritual sacrifice of each of us is that we’re aware all the time of what we can be thankful for. That tends to cut across any moaning, any “poor me”. Everyone here can thank God for something.
There are things you have to deal with, I know. But what is your overriding frame of mind when you go about the day? Do you rejoice when you hear what God does for other people, or do you just wish it could happen to you?
Hebrews 13:16
“Communicate” is often in terms of giving and helping financially.
2 Corinthians 9:7-12
Giving thanks, giving to help others, being liberal – a cheerful giver, not tight-fisted, not “me and mine”, not working things out so that it destroys a heart of liberality. Be careful that you don’t work things out the wrong way.
Romans 12:1-3
There’s a spiritual sacrifice of continually giving thanks, of giving, and putting one’s whole life in line, proving what is that acceptable will of God.
Romans 12:2-4
As you think about practical things, what are spiritual sacrifices? What are those things which are pleasing to God? We’ve looked at some. Your prayers are a sacrifice to God.
Revelation 5:8
Revelation 8:3-4
It matters that you pray. God delights for you to become a co-worker with Him in prayer. You get alongside Him and become a co-worker. When you pray, He hears your prayer. He delights to hear. You’re praying because you know you need the answer from God. And those prayers which you pray are like sacrifices in that in the end time, the prayers of all the saints will be there.
Philippians 2:14-17
In the face of impossibilities, hold forth the word of life. And that’s a theme running through today. Peter said Jesus was the cornerstone. Take away the central stone, and the arch won’t be there any more. But with Jesus Christ immovable in the centre of the arch, He is building His church. And bang in the middle of your thinking, your aims and ambitions ... “I want to please you. What do you want me to do?” He’ll make it clear. If you’re trying to sort things out, try different doors. He will guide you. But be on the move – God can’t guide someone who stays put. And there is no way that God will let you down. He loves you. He’s a wonderful heavenly father.
The main message for you today is to live right, offering up spiritual sacrifice, holding forth the word of life, knowing what is the foundation of your life, going forward this week.
Friday 20 March 2009
Do What You Can
By Dr Jerry Horner
Mark 14:3-10
You’ll notice in here, that Jesus was being anointed. We have a way among us of highly esteeming things that God thinks are abominable. We value things totally opposite to how God evaluate things. We think something good is something big, like a big church. We need to look at what Jesus says is good, not what man says is good. That which is abomination to God is that which is highly esteemed unto men.
When this woman broke this alabaster box, it was an extreme sin. She does this thing so out of the ordinary, such a social no-no, so that the people murmured against her. She breaks this bottle and pours the contents on the head of Jesus. They were saying it was such a waste; she could have given the money to the poor. If you think about it, it was a stupid thing to do. Of what use was it? She wasted that costly perfume; it was useless. They were right to criticise her; but what does Jesus says about it.
He says something that we can hardly believe: ‘Let her alone. I think so highly of what she has done, I’m never going to forget it. Wherever the gospel is spoken, this story will be spoken of as a memorial to her.’ This just shows that Jesus is always surprising us.
John 12:1-8
Sometimes I want to ask the Lord, "What did you think about the sermon today?” We may think it was a wonderful message but he might think differently.
The criteria by which our lives are judged, it’s not what you think about it or what others say about it; it’s what Jesus says about it, how he evaluates it? I would like him to say about me “he has done a good work”.
I want to talk to you about how you can have these kind of commendations from God.
What do I have to do to make Jesus say what he said about this woman? How big a sacrifice to I have to make for the Lord to say “I'm pleased for what you’ve done.”
There’s three simple statements that Jesus made and in these, we are told the necessary requirements for having our Lord’s approval and commendation.
1) Do what you can
What is it that constitutes good service? What is a good preacher, church member? Jesus says ‘do what you can’. He was pleased with what this woman did. “She has done a good work in me, leave her alone".
Mark 14:8
She did what she could. That’s all it took! No one else was impressed; they all thought it was a waste of time and money. Jesus said, I do not judge people by how much or what they do, I judge them about the opportunity that is placed in their hands.
It was easy for Martha to express what God had done in her life; she was very efficient. But Mary was the younger sister, her heart filled with love and gratitude just like Martha’s was. She sees Lazarus raised from the dead and the man who did it.
Love has to express itself. Service for the Lord is nothing more than a heart overfilled with gratitude for him. Suddenly Martha remembers the alabaster box. Maybe she was saving it for her marriage or for some financial security. But it’s all she’s got, her treasure. She takes it out and she is commiting a social error but this doesn’t occur to her; she’s totally oblivious. All she sees is Jesus having raised her brother from the dead. Then she anoints Jesus’ hands and feet and he liked this, knowing she did what she could.
All he demanded from her was what he had given her in the first place. He demands nothing more than what he has already given you. I know that in this contemprorary Christianity, we lift up those with many talents. But if we aren’t careful, that will rule the church. The majority of Christians sit in the congregation and think, “But what is there that I could do”. The only thing God expects from you is, “Do what you can.” If you wait to try and do what someone else has achieved, you won’t ever get there.
As it says in 1 Corinthians 12, the body of Christ is made up of all the different parts: the members. Not everyone has the same role to play, but all are just as important.
All Christian service is simply giving back to God what he has already given you. What God has placed in your hands, that’s all that he demands! God will never demand more than he provides. And he will always provide what he demands. You do what you can, even if it may not seem much to you.
2) You do that much
Jesus said, ‘This woman has done what she could’. She had not only done what she could, but ALL that she could. Make sure you do that much. She broke that box. That’s significant. When she broke it, she had to pour it all out. She didn’t come out with a measuring spoon. Love is extravagant. Not a drop left in the alabaster box. I want to ask you, are there any drops left in your alabaster box?
You say, I’ve prayed...but have you done all that you know to do? I am convinced that God judges me on what I could and should have done, not on just what I have done. I believe that the greatest sin is that I have not done all that I can do. It’s easy to settle for just a little bit, as long as the people are satisfied. No that is not enough, if Jesus is not satisfied.
Don’t be content with being mediocre, which is settling for less that the best. The failure to do all that we can do and develop our abilities. A mediocre person is one who has searchlight ability but is shining like a penlight. It’s one who just gets by. Don’t be feeble when you can be strong. Don’t be content with paddling when there is a whole ocean to explore. Do all that you can do. Everyone wants to be successful, but what is success? It’s not a comparison of what we have done to what someone else has done. It’s coming up to the level of our best and making the most of our abilities and possibilities. We don’t compare ourselves with ourselves. Do all that you can.
3) Do it now
Jesus said, “Let her alone, she did what she could.” Then he said, ‘she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.’ Why would he say that when he isn’t even dead yet?
If Mary had not anointed his body a week ahead of time, the body would never have been anointed for burial. Whatever you do, do it now. Next week may be too late.
Mary was surprised at what he said. She didn’t know he was going to die in a week’s time.
It teaches me, that sometimes, if we do what God does asks us to do, we don’t have the complete idea of what we are doing. Mary had no idea of what she doing and yet far beyond that simple act of obedience was a meaning known only to God. And someday when we stand in his presence, we are going to be highly surprised at the significance and thne outcome of the simple things we did.
There may be some things you do in the service of God, that you may never know the results of. Some life that you touched, you don’t even know about it. Something that God uses. Now, you notice that Mark says, that Mary anointed the head of Jesus; John says she anointed his feet. I want you to notice this...John gives another detail: that she wiped his feet with her hair and the place was filled with the scent. What she had poured out on Jesus, came back on her. Whatever you pour on Jesus will always come back on you. You can tell when you are around someone who has poured out their life to Jesus, because there is a certain perfume on their life. Jesus says, ‘you do what you can, do that much and do it right now’.
Amen
Mark 14:3-10
You’ll notice in here, that Jesus was being anointed. We have a way among us of highly esteeming things that God thinks are abominable. We value things totally opposite to how God evaluate things. We think something good is something big, like a big church. We need to look at what Jesus says is good, not what man says is good. That which is abomination to God is that which is highly esteemed unto men.
When this woman broke this alabaster box, it was an extreme sin. She does this thing so out of the ordinary, such a social no-no, so that the people murmured against her. She breaks this bottle and pours the contents on the head of Jesus. They were saying it was such a waste; she could have given the money to the poor. If you think about it, it was a stupid thing to do. Of what use was it? She wasted that costly perfume; it was useless. They were right to criticise her; but what does Jesus says about it.
He says something that we can hardly believe: ‘Let her alone. I think so highly of what she has done, I’m never going to forget it. Wherever the gospel is spoken, this story will be spoken of as a memorial to her.’ This just shows that Jesus is always surprising us.
John 12:1-8
Sometimes I want to ask the Lord, "What did you think about the sermon today?” We may think it was a wonderful message but he might think differently.
The criteria by which our lives are judged, it’s not what you think about it or what others say about it; it’s what Jesus says about it, how he evaluates it? I would like him to say about me “he has done a good work”.
I want to talk to you about how you can have these kind of commendations from God.
What do I have to do to make Jesus say what he said about this woman? How big a sacrifice to I have to make for the Lord to say “I'm pleased for what you’ve done.”
There’s three simple statements that Jesus made and in these, we are told the necessary requirements for having our Lord’s approval and commendation.
1) Do what you can
What is it that constitutes good service? What is a good preacher, church member? Jesus says ‘do what you can’. He was pleased with what this woman did. “She has done a good work in me, leave her alone".
Mark 14:8
She did what she could. That’s all it took! No one else was impressed; they all thought it was a waste of time and money. Jesus said, I do not judge people by how much or what they do, I judge them about the opportunity that is placed in their hands.
It was easy for Martha to express what God had done in her life; she was very efficient. But Mary was the younger sister, her heart filled with love and gratitude just like Martha’s was. She sees Lazarus raised from the dead and the man who did it.
Love has to express itself. Service for the Lord is nothing more than a heart overfilled with gratitude for him. Suddenly Martha remembers the alabaster box. Maybe she was saving it for her marriage or for some financial security. But it’s all she’s got, her treasure. She takes it out and she is commiting a social error but this doesn’t occur to her; she’s totally oblivious. All she sees is Jesus having raised her brother from the dead. Then she anoints Jesus’ hands and feet and he liked this, knowing she did what she could.
All he demanded from her was what he had given her in the first place. He demands nothing more than what he has already given you. I know that in this contemprorary Christianity, we lift up those with many talents. But if we aren’t careful, that will rule the church. The majority of Christians sit in the congregation and think, “But what is there that I could do”. The only thing God expects from you is, “Do what you can.” If you wait to try and do what someone else has achieved, you won’t ever get there.
As it says in 1 Corinthians 12, the body of Christ is made up of all the different parts: the members. Not everyone has the same role to play, but all are just as important.
All Christian service is simply giving back to God what he has already given you. What God has placed in your hands, that’s all that he demands! God will never demand more than he provides. And he will always provide what he demands. You do what you can, even if it may not seem much to you.
2) You do that much
Jesus said, ‘This woman has done what she could’. She had not only done what she could, but ALL that she could. Make sure you do that much. She broke that box. That’s significant. When she broke it, she had to pour it all out. She didn’t come out with a measuring spoon. Love is extravagant. Not a drop left in the alabaster box. I want to ask you, are there any drops left in your alabaster box?
You say, I’ve prayed...but have you done all that you know to do? I am convinced that God judges me on what I could and should have done, not on just what I have done. I believe that the greatest sin is that I have not done all that I can do. It’s easy to settle for just a little bit, as long as the people are satisfied. No that is not enough, if Jesus is not satisfied.
Don’t be content with being mediocre, which is settling for less that the best. The failure to do all that we can do and develop our abilities. A mediocre person is one who has searchlight ability but is shining like a penlight. It’s one who just gets by. Don’t be feeble when you can be strong. Don’t be content with paddling when there is a whole ocean to explore. Do all that you can do. Everyone wants to be successful, but what is success? It’s not a comparison of what we have done to what someone else has done. It’s coming up to the level of our best and making the most of our abilities and possibilities. We don’t compare ourselves with ourselves. Do all that you can.
3) Do it now
Jesus said, “Let her alone, she did what she could.” Then he said, ‘she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.’ Why would he say that when he isn’t even dead yet?
If Mary had not anointed his body a week ahead of time, the body would never have been anointed for burial. Whatever you do, do it now. Next week may be too late.
Mary was surprised at what he said. She didn’t know he was going to die in a week’s time.
It teaches me, that sometimes, if we do what God does asks us to do, we don’t have the complete idea of what we are doing. Mary had no idea of what she doing and yet far beyond that simple act of obedience was a meaning known only to God. And someday when we stand in his presence, we are going to be highly surprised at the significance and thne outcome of the simple things we did.
There may be some things you do in the service of God, that you may never know the results of. Some life that you touched, you don’t even know about it. Something that God uses. Now, you notice that Mark says, that Mary anointed the head of Jesus; John says she anointed his feet. I want you to notice this...John gives another detail: that she wiped his feet with her hair and the place was filled with the scent. What she had poured out on Jesus, came back on her. Whatever you pour on Jesus will always come back on you. You can tell when you are around someone who has poured out their life to Jesus, because there is a certain perfume on their life. Jesus says, ‘you do what you can, do that much and do it right now’.
Amen
Sunday 15 March 2009
Be Ye Holy as He is Holy
We are told to be holy as God is holy. That’s not some impossible requirement – we are called to be holy, because God has made it possible for us to be holy.
On Friday we set the scene for 1 Peter. The letter was written to churches in modern Turkey. At the time the letter was written, people were becoming aware of Nero’s persecution in Rome.
1 Peter 1:7
There was no doubt that at the time they received this letter – or certainly soon after – the persecution was very apparent and very real.
I mentioned how things happen in life and it’s our response to those happenings ... when something happens, the resulting pressure – the need for healing, for finance, for finding a particular solution – that pressure is something much more precious than gold.
I said that Peter knew the pressure there was when he denied Christ. He wasn’t in the best frame of mind at that point. But Jesus returned to speak to Peter – “Do you love me? Do you love me?” And Jesus drew out the guilt. And Peter was aware of the trial when Jesus gave His life – and for Peter, Jesus’ resurrection was specifically for Him, Peter.
Jesus returned also specifically for Thomas so that his faith would be unshakeable.
This morning we’ll look at how God is involved with you. It doesn’t matter what frame of mind you came in here with, the prompting of that frame of mind is a result of God already speaking to you. God makes us aware of our heart condition, of our need of Him. He causes us to realise that without Him there is no way forward. That realisation comes specifically to you this morning from a God of love.
We’ll look at some very practical things we can be doing to make sure we go forward in the right way.
1 Peter 1:1-16
The holiness of God – he mentions now. The quote “Be ye holy” comes from Leviticus. When it says that, it’s not some impossibility, that God casts down as a requirement. When Peter refers to this, it doesn’t say that we should be omnipotent like God, or omniscient. It’s that we should be holy as He is holy. What does that mean?
We also have the idea of being sanctified, set apart, different. God isn’t telling us to do our best, and we might hit it or not. Through God’s, mercy and the death of Jesus Christ, imputing to you the satisfaction that a holy God can now see through the sacrifice of the Lamb of God the resolution of the requirements of the law.
“Be ye holy” states that God is holy; and He gives you the capability of being holy. Each day we become more and more like Him, until we see Him face to face. There’s a sense in which it has all been done: sin has been dealt with, the price paid, the Lamb sacrificed. But there’s still a progressive aspect – we’re changed from glory to glory. We’re perfected as each day passes.
Maybe you’ve come wishing that God would do something, and believing it has to come from Him because you can’t do anything. These verses will help you. Peter points out that there is something you can do. You’re hearing this word this morning because God is working things out. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God.
1 Peter 1:13
We need to be ready to run. We need to be serious.
1 Peter 1:14
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
His prayer for them was that the God of peace would make them holy as individuals.
For some people who are trying to sort things out – perhaps finding it difficult – you can think back to the time when perhaps your parents dedicated you as a baby to God. The prayers of your parents were valid. God heard them. And faithful is He who calls you now who also will do it. You’re not here by accident. The stirring in your heart which may have made you realise there’s an emptiness inside, something which needs to be sorted out ... that realisation is God working in you.
I said to the school children that perhaps they were waiting for God to write their name in the sky, waiting for some cataclysmal event. But your realisation that something has to change ... that in itself is God working in an individual. That’s valid.
I referred to God the Holy Spirit working in you. Why is He called holy? Holiness matters. There’s a way of life where we have choices ... ally that to the working of God’s Holy Spirit working inside, and there’s an irresistible force going forward through the nature change on the inside, as God outworks His purposes inside you.
1 Peter 1:17
“Call on the father” – maybe you’ve prayed, calling out for help.
“Fear” means reverence, not some cowering thing.
1 Peter 1:18
“Vain tradition” means empty way of life.
1 Peter 1:19-21
It’s good to call on the Father. And in this whole passage ... Peter has in mind what happened at the Passover, when they were led out of Egypt, were led out of the land, and entered a land flowing with milk and honey. In the same way, as God outworks His purposes in your life, He’s calling you out of the old empty way of life which does not work, and He’s saying we should desire the sincere milk of the word.
1 Corinthians 5:7-8
With the young people, it was apparent that under God’s direction, there was the ability and security of folk being honest, sincere, coming to the truth.
The light now coming into the hall is symptomatic of what God is doing, bringing to light His truth by His Holy Spirit – unearthing things, not to condemn or point the finger, but because faithful is He who called you, who also will do it. He’s working on your life. You say you have quite a few questions still. He knows that, and He has started answering those questions.
“Purge out the old leaven” means there’s a way of life we can adhere to, and as God reveals things which need changing, it will be because those things will change.
Ephesians 1:6
It’s all to do with His love for you. He’s holy. He can’t abide sin. There is no sin in heaven, no darkness. God Himself never changes and He is holy.
The more I’ve thought about this, the more it’s come home – the impact which it must have had on God when the sin of the world was put on to His Son. And that was the only way that you and I could become accepted into the beloved – that we could stand in front of a holy God.
But it’s not just that God has done that. There are things that you can I could be doing. Maybe you couldn’t quote a day when you were born again. All the same, God is at work in you – even here this morning. And He doesn’t want to try to shoehorn each one of us into the same experience. We don’t have to be blinded on a donkey on the way to Damascus – otherwise Paul would have promoted the idea.
God is at work in your heart this morning. Sometimes we get so caught up trying to pinpoint things. Have I been born yet? Am I one year old yet? You get caught up with these things and lose sight of the fact that it’s God we’re involved with, and that Jesus gave His life so that you might be free.
Our liberty in Christ is our freedom not to sin. The work of Christ on the cross has made you free not to sin. Before that you can’t but sin. The whole book of Galatians is about how we use that freedom and whether we allow licence or legalism to come in. But God puts in us the power to live right.
1 Peter 1:19-22
No hidden agenda, no secret whispers.
1 Peter 1:23
It is the Word of God which lives and abides forever.
In verse 24, he compares the eternal Word of God with where things are in this world.
1 Peter 1:24-25
Isaiah 40:3-8
It’s great that at every level, the aim is for every age group to be studying the Word of God. That’s what we want to do. We want the Word of God to be central to what we’re about. We want to be excited by studying God’s word. If anyone feels we could do better in this, please tell me. That’s the aim. Because everything else will fade. His Word is where it’s at. And thank God for the freedom we have to study His word. And through His Holy Spirit, God speaks to us – in the beginning was the Word.
1 Peter 2:1-3
Have you tasted that the Lord is gracious? Are you aware that maybe there is an answer for you? It just needs a taste as it were. This is where the milk and honey of the Promised Land comes in. Just as a baby desires milk, you desire the sincere milk of the word so that you can grow.
Psalms 34:1-8
There’s a testimony! David is rejoicing. “I sought the Lord. He heard me and delivered me.” Those fears you’ve had have to go. Perfect love casts out fear. Jesus Christ has become your life, and perfect love casts out fear. That’s not mind over matter.
Fears – be gone!
God knows what He is doing in your life, and the trial of your faith is more precious than gold.
Peter really wanted people to know that relationship with God, to know that they need not fear.
1 Peter 2:1
We’re one in Christ. There’s something He’s called us to, and the outworking of that is that you love one another fervently, and you lay aside all this other stuff, because, like a baby, we desire the sincere milk of the word – if so be you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
I’m excited by what God is revealing in each person’s life. I think it’s a time when there is not only a reassessment of the foundation of life. There’s more. There’s a realisation from God by His Holy Spirit that you as an individual ... He’s more concerned about you than you are. He loves you.
We’re talking here about sincerity, about truth, about His Holy Spirit – who He is.
“Gird up, be sober, be ye holy, call on the Father, lay aside, desire the milk.” Peter wasn’t going to leave them in any doubt. It was practical stuff. You weren’t to sit back and wait for God to do something. You were to get on with things and trust to Him that He would do what He had called you for.
He’s wonderful!
Encourage one another. If someone is in trouble, look to see what you can do to help. Pray. Pray that the right person will speak to them, that they will become dissatisfied with a way which they know to be wrong but have become trapped in, so that God in His mercy and love will become their solution.
On Friday we set the scene for 1 Peter. The letter was written to churches in modern Turkey. At the time the letter was written, people were becoming aware of Nero’s persecution in Rome.
1 Peter 1:7
There was no doubt that at the time they received this letter – or certainly soon after – the persecution was very apparent and very real.
I mentioned how things happen in life and it’s our response to those happenings ... when something happens, the resulting pressure – the need for healing, for finance, for finding a particular solution – that pressure is something much more precious than gold.
I said that Peter knew the pressure there was when he denied Christ. He wasn’t in the best frame of mind at that point. But Jesus returned to speak to Peter – “Do you love me? Do you love me?” And Jesus drew out the guilt. And Peter was aware of the trial when Jesus gave His life – and for Peter, Jesus’ resurrection was specifically for Him, Peter.
Jesus returned also specifically for Thomas so that his faith would be unshakeable.
This morning we’ll look at how God is involved with you. It doesn’t matter what frame of mind you came in here with, the prompting of that frame of mind is a result of God already speaking to you. God makes us aware of our heart condition, of our need of Him. He causes us to realise that without Him there is no way forward. That realisation comes specifically to you this morning from a God of love.
We’ll look at some very practical things we can be doing to make sure we go forward in the right way.
1 Peter 1:1-16
The holiness of God – he mentions now. The quote “Be ye holy” comes from Leviticus. When it says that, it’s not some impossibility, that God casts down as a requirement. When Peter refers to this, it doesn’t say that we should be omnipotent like God, or omniscient. It’s that we should be holy as He is holy. What does that mean?
We also have the idea of being sanctified, set apart, different. God isn’t telling us to do our best, and we might hit it or not. Through God’s, mercy and the death of Jesus Christ, imputing to you the satisfaction that a holy God can now see through the sacrifice of the Lamb of God the resolution of the requirements of the law.
“Be ye holy” states that God is holy; and He gives you the capability of being holy. Each day we become more and more like Him, until we see Him face to face. There’s a sense in which it has all been done: sin has been dealt with, the price paid, the Lamb sacrificed. But there’s still a progressive aspect – we’re changed from glory to glory. We’re perfected as each day passes.
Maybe you’ve come wishing that God would do something, and believing it has to come from Him because you can’t do anything. These verses will help you. Peter points out that there is something you can do. You’re hearing this word this morning because God is working things out. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God.
1 Peter 1:13
We need to be ready to run. We need to be serious.
1 Peter 1:14
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
His prayer for them was that the God of peace would make them holy as individuals.
For some people who are trying to sort things out – perhaps finding it difficult – you can think back to the time when perhaps your parents dedicated you as a baby to God. The prayers of your parents were valid. God heard them. And faithful is He who calls you now who also will do it. You’re not here by accident. The stirring in your heart which may have made you realise there’s an emptiness inside, something which needs to be sorted out ... that realisation is God working in you.
I said to the school children that perhaps they were waiting for God to write their name in the sky, waiting for some cataclysmal event. But your realisation that something has to change ... that in itself is God working in an individual. That’s valid.
I referred to God the Holy Spirit working in you. Why is He called holy? Holiness matters. There’s a way of life where we have choices ... ally that to the working of God’s Holy Spirit working inside, and there’s an irresistible force going forward through the nature change on the inside, as God outworks His purposes inside you.
1 Peter 1:17
“Call on the father” – maybe you’ve prayed, calling out for help.
“Fear” means reverence, not some cowering thing.
1 Peter 1:18
“Vain tradition” means empty way of life.
1 Peter 1:19-21
It’s good to call on the Father. And in this whole passage ... Peter has in mind what happened at the Passover, when they were led out of Egypt, were led out of the land, and entered a land flowing with milk and honey. In the same way, as God outworks His purposes in your life, He’s calling you out of the old empty way of life which does not work, and He’s saying we should desire the sincere milk of the word.
1 Corinthians 5:7-8
With the young people, it was apparent that under God’s direction, there was the ability and security of folk being honest, sincere, coming to the truth.
The light now coming into the hall is symptomatic of what God is doing, bringing to light His truth by His Holy Spirit – unearthing things, not to condemn or point the finger, but because faithful is He who called you, who also will do it. He’s working on your life. You say you have quite a few questions still. He knows that, and He has started answering those questions.
“Purge out the old leaven” means there’s a way of life we can adhere to, and as God reveals things which need changing, it will be because those things will change.
Ephesians 1:6
It’s all to do with His love for you. He’s holy. He can’t abide sin. There is no sin in heaven, no darkness. God Himself never changes and He is holy.
The more I’ve thought about this, the more it’s come home – the impact which it must have had on God when the sin of the world was put on to His Son. And that was the only way that you and I could become accepted into the beloved – that we could stand in front of a holy God.
But it’s not just that God has done that. There are things that you can I could be doing. Maybe you couldn’t quote a day when you were born again. All the same, God is at work in you – even here this morning. And He doesn’t want to try to shoehorn each one of us into the same experience. We don’t have to be blinded on a donkey on the way to Damascus – otherwise Paul would have promoted the idea.
God is at work in your heart this morning. Sometimes we get so caught up trying to pinpoint things. Have I been born yet? Am I one year old yet? You get caught up with these things and lose sight of the fact that it’s God we’re involved with, and that Jesus gave His life so that you might be free.
Our liberty in Christ is our freedom not to sin. The work of Christ on the cross has made you free not to sin. Before that you can’t but sin. The whole book of Galatians is about how we use that freedom and whether we allow licence or legalism to come in. But God puts in us the power to live right.
1 Peter 1:19-22
No hidden agenda, no secret whispers.
1 Peter 1:23
It is the Word of God which lives and abides forever.
In verse 24, he compares the eternal Word of God with where things are in this world.
1 Peter 1:24-25
Isaiah 40:3-8
It’s great that at every level, the aim is for every age group to be studying the Word of God. That’s what we want to do. We want the Word of God to be central to what we’re about. We want to be excited by studying God’s word. If anyone feels we could do better in this, please tell me. That’s the aim. Because everything else will fade. His Word is where it’s at. And thank God for the freedom we have to study His word. And through His Holy Spirit, God speaks to us – in the beginning was the Word.
1 Peter 2:1-3
Have you tasted that the Lord is gracious? Are you aware that maybe there is an answer for you? It just needs a taste as it were. This is where the milk and honey of the Promised Land comes in. Just as a baby desires milk, you desire the sincere milk of the word so that you can grow.
Psalms 34:1-8
There’s a testimony! David is rejoicing. “I sought the Lord. He heard me and delivered me.” Those fears you’ve had have to go. Perfect love casts out fear. Jesus Christ has become your life, and perfect love casts out fear. That’s not mind over matter.
Fears – be gone!
God knows what He is doing in your life, and the trial of your faith is more precious than gold.
Peter really wanted people to know that relationship with God, to know that they need not fear.
1 Peter 2:1
We’re one in Christ. There’s something He’s called us to, and the outworking of that is that you love one another fervently, and you lay aside all this other stuff, because, like a baby, we desire the sincere milk of the word – if so be you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
I’m excited by what God is revealing in each person’s life. I think it’s a time when there is not only a reassessment of the foundation of life. There’s more. There’s a realisation from God by His Holy Spirit that you as an individual ... He’s more concerned about you than you are. He loves you.
We’re talking here about sincerity, about truth, about His Holy Spirit – who He is.
“Gird up, be sober, be ye holy, call on the Father, lay aside, desire the milk.” Peter wasn’t going to leave them in any doubt. It was practical stuff. You weren’t to sit back and wait for God to do something. You were to get on with things and trust to Him that He would do what He had called you for.
He’s wonderful!
Encourage one another. If someone is in trouble, look to see what you can do to help. Pray. Pray that the right person will speak to them, that they will become dissatisfied with a way which they know to be wrong but have become trapped in, so that God in His mercy and love will become their solution.
Friday 13 March 2009
God Comes to the Individual
God orchestrates the circumstances in our lives so that, as we go through life, we are perfected, so that when we see Jesus we will be like Him. Life is a constant discovery of the love of God and His goodness to us; it is trials that reveal this to us.
If you can imagine the Great Fire of London which destroyed about 90 churches and displaced hundreds of people. The scapegoat for that fire was the fact that it was put out that French Catholics had started it. A similar effect of a fire was felt in Rome in the year 64 AD. The Roman Emperor, Nero, was blamed for it because he had said that he wanted to rebuild many of the buildings in Rome. He in turn passed the blame of the fire to the Christians. It was this that started the persecution of the Christians. It was incredibly barbaric. When news of what Nero was doing percolated out throughout the Roman Empire it reached areas of what we now call Turkey. Peter wrote this letter about this time, so at the very time that there was the news of the persecution of the Christians, Peter’s letter was written that was going to include messages that would be of incredible value for that time.
1 Peter 1:1
1 Peter 5:12
We have here a time when things were really happening as far as being a Christian was concerned. That’s why in these twelve verse Peter refers to a trial of your faith.
1 Peter 1:1-2
There’s a wonderful explanation there, in verse two, of who does what in the Trinity. When we did the series on Acts it was to do with the fact that God the Spirit was very active when the church was first launched.
1 Peter 1:3-5
He establishes right at the start where those people stood in Jesus Christ, what it was that Jesus had done for them, what it was that the gift of the spirit was still doing in them. In these verses eleven things are confirmed that they can be thankful for. In the midst of difficult circumstances it’s good to remember the foundation on which you stand and what God has done for you.
Peter had walked with Jesus; he was an apostle. Here this apostle gives thanks to the Father for Jesus Christ. We are thankful for his mercy, for the fact that He has caused us to be born from above. It is His mercy that has reached out to you and me. What does it mean to be a Christian? What does it mean for God to reach out to an individual to draw them to His love? It is His mercy that does that. God is interested in us. Our hope is this: when we see Him we will be like Him. This means that as we go through life we are being perfected through the circumstances that we’re going through. Peter had witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion and had also talked with Him. As Jesus took out that guilt of when Peter denied Him, gently withdrew, and Peter could look up. Now, via the letter of Peter, he in turn is communicating to people who are going to encounter things they would never have imagined. We have an incorruptible inheritance, undefiled, that is kept in heaven for us. Our hope is built on certainty. It is built on the confirmed faith that God has given to you and me that as we go through life, when we see Him we shall be like Him. That does not make life a drudgery. The things that God has prepared for those who love Him are wonderful. We are shielded by faith for that salvation to be revealed in the last time. We are talking about the ultimate salvation, when we will see Him.
He paints the picture of their picture in God, and then in verse 3 – 5 he states all the things we can be grateful for.
1 Peter 1:6-7
The circumstances of life right now have relevance. The outworking of the trial is specifically marked for me when I am to presented before God at the end of my life. There is going to be praise, honour, glory to God from you, as it were, as you’ve witnessed how God has brought you through the trial that you are now in. We must consider how we are approaching the circumstances in our life? We must be in the situation where we are confirming what He has done for us, and are resting on that foundation. We must not look at the circumstances; this will only bring fear. The trial of your faith is more precious than gold.
1 Peter 1:8-9
John 20:24-28
God reaches people in different ways. Rather than try and shoehorn into an experience like we had, what God does is come to an individual in such a way that they know Him. When Thomas said that he probably was ridiculed slightly by the other disciples. When he spoke he didn’t know that Jesus had heard him. A week went by and Jesus came to him. He didn’t chide Thomas for not believing, He simply told him to thrust his hand in his side. There was a tailor-made encounter with the living God. In your life when God is moving it isn’t that He’s trying to make you into an experience of someone else. He is meeting you at your point inside exactly. The fact that you have that awareness of emptiness within is God working in you. You think that way because God is working in you. Woe betide us if we try to make everyone have the same experience.
John 20:29
Peter knew that he was writing to people who had not seen Jesus physically. He knew the love in Jesus’ words that He spoke to Thomas: “blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”
1 Peter 1:9-12
I am confirming to you tonight that the circumstances you are going through are tailor-made so that you can encounter the love of God. Through the circumstances that we go through it is a constant discovery, more and more, despite all the pressure and seeming impossibilities, a constant discovery of God’s love for you. You are in the palm of His hand; no man can take you from the palm of His hand. He is a wonderful, living God.
If you can imagine the Great Fire of London which destroyed about 90 churches and displaced hundreds of people. The scapegoat for that fire was the fact that it was put out that French Catholics had started it. A similar effect of a fire was felt in Rome in the year 64 AD. The Roman Emperor, Nero, was blamed for it because he had said that he wanted to rebuild many of the buildings in Rome. He in turn passed the blame of the fire to the Christians. It was this that started the persecution of the Christians. It was incredibly barbaric. When news of what Nero was doing percolated out throughout the Roman Empire it reached areas of what we now call Turkey. Peter wrote this letter about this time, so at the very time that there was the news of the persecution of the Christians, Peter’s letter was written that was going to include messages that would be of incredible value for that time.
1 Peter 1:1
1 Peter 5:12
We have here a time when things were really happening as far as being a Christian was concerned. That’s why in these twelve verse Peter refers to a trial of your faith.
1 Peter 1:1-2
There’s a wonderful explanation there, in verse two, of who does what in the Trinity. When we did the series on Acts it was to do with the fact that God the Spirit was very active when the church was first launched.
1 Peter 1:3-5
He establishes right at the start where those people stood in Jesus Christ, what it was that Jesus had done for them, what it was that the gift of the spirit was still doing in them. In these verses eleven things are confirmed that they can be thankful for. In the midst of difficult circumstances it’s good to remember the foundation on which you stand and what God has done for you.
Peter had walked with Jesus; he was an apostle. Here this apostle gives thanks to the Father for Jesus Christ. We are thankful for his mercy, for the fact that He has caused us to be born from above. It is His mercy that has reached out to you and me. What does it mean to be a Christian? What does it mean for God to reach out to an individual to draw them to His love? It is His mercy that does that. God is interested in us. Our hope is this: when we see Him we will be like Him. This means that as we go through life we are being perfected through the circumstances that we’re going through. Peter had witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion and had also talked with Him. As Jesus took out that guilt of when Peter denied Him, gently withdrew, and Peter could look up. Now, via the letter of Peter, he in turn is communicating to people who are going to encounter things they would never have imagined. We have an incorruptible inheritance, undefiled, that is kept in heaven for us. Our hope is built on certainty. It is built on the confirmed faith that God has given to you and me that as we go through life, when we see Him we shall be like Him. That does not make life a drudgery. The things that God has prepared for those who love Him are wonderful. We are shielded by faith for that salvation to be revealed in the last time. We are talking about the ultimate salvation, when we will see Him.
He paints the picture of their picture in God, and then in verse 3 – 5 he states all the things we can be grateful for.
1 Peter 1:6-7
The circumstances of life right now have relevance. The outworking of the trial is specifically marked for me when I am to presented before God at the end of my life. There is going to be praise, honour, glory to God from you, as it were, as you’ve witnessed how God has brought you through the trial that you are now in. We must consider how we are approaching the circumstances in our life? We must be in the situation where we are confirming what He has done for us, and are resting on that foundation. We must not look at the circumstances; this will only bring fear. The trial of your faith is more precious than gold.
1 Peter 1:8-9
John 20:24-28
God reaches people in different ways. Rather than try and shoehorn into an experience like we had, what God does is come to an individual in such a way that they know Him. When Thomas said that he probably was ridiculed slightly by the other disciples. When he spoke he didn’t know that Jesus had heard him. A week went by and Jesus came to him. He didn’t chide Thomas for not believing, He simply told him to thrust his hand in his side. There was a tailor-made encounter with the living God. In your life when God is moving it isn’t that He’s trying to make you into an experience of someone else. He is meeting you at your point inside exactly. The fact that you have that awareness of emptiness within is God working in you. You think that way because God is working in you. Woe betide us if we try to make everyone have the same experience.
John 20:29
Peter knew that he was writing to people who had not seen Jesus physically. He knew the love in Jesus’ words that He spoke to Thomas: “blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”
1 Peter 1:9-12
I am confirming to you tonight that the circumstances you are going through are tailor-made so that you can encounter the love of God. Through the circumstances that we go through it is a constant discovery, more and more, despite all the pressure and seeming impossibilities, a constant discovery of God’s love for you. You are in the palm of His hand; no man can take you from the palm of His hand. He is a wonderful, living God.
Friday 6 March 2009
Fulfilling God's Purpose
I want to look at you and me fulfilling God’s will. In the same way as Jesus said in the garden of Gethsemane, “Nevertheless not my will, but your will.” He led the way fulfilling his Father’s will.
It’s so important that you and I fulfil what God wants us to do on this planet. There’s no point doing anything else because in the end, we will be judged and it’s going to be looked at: “Was it your will that governed your life or God’s will?”
Matthew 7:15-20
The fruit of a life stems from the nature of that life. What is fruit? I think, as we’ll go on to see in verses 21-23, the fruit of a good life is the one that fulfils Father’s will.
Matthew 7:21-23
So the iniquity is not some list of horrendous sins, it’s the problem of when someone doesn’t fulfil Father’s will for their life, because at birth, our will is contrary to him. The transition in a life, when Jesus Christ comes into that life, is that the iniquity of self-will is replaced by the desire and the fulfilment of doing the will of the Father which is in heaven.
Never underestimate the significance of you on your knees, but in your heart, what I want to do in my life is your will. It’s the most significant thing that an individual can do and it’s a wonderful thing that an individual like you and me can be open and say “Lord, all I want to do in my life, the life you’ve given me, is to fulfil your will in my life. That’s what I want.” And I know there are certain decisions that have to be made. Will God make his will clear for you? Yes 150% he will.
How will he do that? He makes it clear through the preaching of his word possibly, or through what someone else says. Is it the case that you will know inside that you are doing God’s will? Yes you will. What if I have a niggle about something, where I’m weighing something up but I’m not sure; don’t go that way. God is a faithful witness.
Matthew 22:1-3
So we’ve got those who know that they have already been invited to the wedding. This was an important feast; this was the king, it was his son, “you’re invited”. Incredibly, they would not come.
Matthew 22:4-6
So we’re in a situation here where the invitation is repeated yet again. I know the parallel here, that it’s first to the Jewish nation, they rejected them and then he went to the Gentiles. But then it’s also you and me in our lives. There’s an invitation from the king to the feast. “I’ve got everything ready.” But they made light of it. They didn’t care. They went their ways and the rest of them killed off the servants (the prophets of old, as it were).
Matthew 22:7-10
The extension to the Gentiles is paralleled here. “My wedding feast is ready. There’s no way that aren’t going to be people not to enjoy this feast. As many as you can find, get them in”. So they all came. This is the interesting bit.
Matthew 22:11-12
He couldn’t say anything. It was a shock. Somehow, this man had come into the gathering; he wasn’t wearing a wedding garment, but there was some way that the king immediately noted who this man was. He stood out from the crowd. Often robes speak of manner of life. There was something about this man’s heart who wanted the benefits of the meal, but inside he was doing his own thing. He came to the wedding feast for the food, not to witness the bride and the groom.
What does that mean for you and me? It means that when push comes to shove in our lives, it matters what our relationship is between the King and his will. It matters. Father’s will is where it’s at as far as our futures are concerned. His will is paramount, it’s perfect and what we need to do is to prove that acceptable will of God in our lives. It’s a wonderful thing to prove the outworking of God’s will in your life.
That man didn’t come to celebrate what was going on. This whole parable is to do with the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is the church of God.
With some of you, there’s been a realisation that you, on your own, end speechless. You’ve been surprised at that self will that God has revealed. And for some of you also, it’s been a case of clearing out “rubble” to get to the point of “ok, what’s the foundation of my life” and you know it has to be God.
Some of you have been weighing up careers and projects for God. Why the hesitation? I don’t want to be there in that day where I can quote the phraseology of church and the Bible and He says to me “that’s good but did you fulfil what I wanted in your life or was it a talking away of the convictions of what you know to be right in your life?”
This guy stood out a mile. Look how important verse 13 is.
Matthew 22:13-14
We still have the freedom to preach and we have the opportunity to be able to fulfil both individually and together corporately what God has for us. Everyone is happy and wants to have a good time at a wedding; there is not a ripple of discontent in heaven or a wondering about the future. In heaven, the king reigns supreme; our father who art in heaven THY WILL be done on earth as it is in heaven, because that’s where it’s at. He loves you and me to open our hearts to let him reign supreme in our lives.
Romans 12:1-2
Why is God transforming your mind? So that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. These verses accentuate completely what God is prepared, is doing, loves to do in your life. We present our bodies a living sacrifice, our reasonable service. He’s put in our hearts that we don’t want to be conformed to this world. And he’s transforming our minds so that we can prove what is good, acceptable and the perfect will of God.
Ephesians 5:8-11
Don’t get involved with people who are going to take you the wrong way.
Ephesians 5:12-17
The will of God for your life will never go contrary to this word. His will is the most significant thing you can focus on. Walk circumspectly, redeeming the time.
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
There is no way God won’t equip you and me to do his will in our lives. And by his Holy Spirit in our lives, that you and I can fulfil God’s will for our lives, if so be we remain sensitive, walking the path and keeping the principles that are laid before us but most of all allowing him to live through us. It’s a wonderful thing to mirror the kingdom of heaven with a wedding feast. And you and me are the bride of Christ.
Don’t do your own thing and then cover it up by saying “oh that’s God’s will”. Don’t be like that. I know you don’t want to be speechless at a wedding speech. God is faithful. Fulfil his will for your life and for your family.
It’s so important that you and I fulfil what God wants us to do on this planet. There’s no point doing anything else because in the end, we will be judged and it’s going to be looked at: “Was it your will that governed your life or God’s will?”
Matthew 7:15-20
The fruit of a life stems from the nature of that life. What is fruit? I think, as we’ll go on to see in verses 21-23, the fruit of a good life is the one that fulfils Father’s will.
Matthew 7:21-23
So the iniquity is not some list of horrendous sins, it’s the problem of when someone doesn’t fulfil Father’s will for their life, because at birth, our will is contrary to him. The transition in a life, when Jesus Christ comes into that life, is that the iniquity of self-will is replaced by the desire and the fulfilment of doing the will of the Father which is in heaven.
Never underestimate the significance of you on your knees, but in your heart, what I want to do in my life is your will. It’s the most significant thing that an individual can do and it’s a wonderful thing that an individual like you and me can be open and say “Lord, all I want to do in my life, the life you’ve given me, is to fulfil your will in my life. That’s what I want.” And I know there are certain decisions that have to be made. Will God make his will clear for you? Yes 150% he will.
How will he do that? He makes it clear through the preaching of his word possibly, or through what someone else says. Is it the case that you will know inside that you are doing God’s will? Yes you will. What if I have a niggle about something, where I’m weighing something up but I’m not sure; don’t go that way. God is a faithful witness.
Matthew 22:1-3
So we’ve got those who know that they have already been invited to the wedding. This was an important feast; this was the king, it was his son, “you’re invited”. Incredibly, they would not come.
Matthew 22:4-6
So we’re in a situation here where the invitation is repeated yet again. I know the parallel here, that it’s first to the Jewish nation, they rejected them and then he went to the Gentiles. But then it’s also you and me in our lives. There’s an invitation from the king to the feast. “I’ve got everything ready.” But they made light of it. They didn’t care. They went their ways and the rest of them killed off the servants (the prophets of old, as it were).
Matthew 22:7-10
The extension to the Gentiles is paralleled here. “My wedding feast is ready. There’s no way that aren’t going to be people not to enjoy this feast. As many as you can find, get them in”. So they all came. This is the interesting bit.
Matthew 22:11-12
He couldn’t say anything. It was a shock. Somehow, this man had come into the gathering; he wasn’t wearing a wedding garment, but there was some way that the king immediately noted who this man was. He stood out from the crowd. Often robes speak of manner of life. There was something about this man’s heart who wanted the benefits of the meal, but inside he was doing his own thing. He came to the wedding feast for the food, not to witness the bride and the groom.
What does that mean for you and me? It means that when push comes to shove in our lives, it matters what our relationship is between the King and his will. It matters. Father’s will is where it’s at as far as our futures are concerned. His will is paramount, it’s perfect and what we need to do is to prove that acceptable will of God in our lives. It’s a wonderful thing to prove the outworking of God’s will in your life.
That man didn’t come to celebrate what was going on. This whole parable is to do with the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is the church of God.
With some of you, there’s been a realisation that you, on your own, end speechless. You’ve been surprised at that self will that God has revealed. And for some of you also, it’s been a case of clearing out “rubble” to get to the point of “ok, what’s the foundation of my life” and you know it has to be God.
Some of you have been weighing up careers and projects for God. Why the hesitation? I don’t want to be there in that day where I can quote the phraseology of church and the Bible and He says to me “that’s good but did you fulfil what I wanted in your life or was it a talking away of the convictions of what you know to be right in your life?”
This guy stood out a mile. Look how important verse 13 is.
Matthew 22:13-14
We still have the freedom to preach and we have the opportunity to be able to fulfil both individually and together corporately what God has for us. Everyone is happy and wants to have a good time at a wedding; there is not a ripple of discontent in heaven or a wondering about the future. In heaven, the king reigns supreme; our father who art in heaven THY WILL be done on earth as it is in heaven, because that’s where it’s at. He loves you and me to open our hearts to let him reign supreme in our lives.
Romans 12:1-2
Why is God transforming your mind? So that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. These verses accentuate completely what God is prepared, is doing, loves to do in your life. We present our bodies a living sacrifice, our reasonable service. He’s put in our hearts that we don’t want to be conformed to this world. And he’s transforming our minds so that we can prove what is good, acceptable and the perfect will of God.
Ephesians 5:8-11
Don’t get involved with people who are going to take you the wrong way.
Ephesians 5:12-17
The will of God for your life will never go contrary to this word. His will is the most significant thing you can focus on. Walk circumspectly, redeeming the time.
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
There is no way God won’t equip you and me to do his will in our lives. And by his Holy Spirit in our lives, that you and I can fulfil God’s will for our lives, if so be we remain sensitive, walking the path and keeping the principles that are laid before us but most of all allowing him to live through us. It’s a wonderful thing to mirror the kingdom of heaven with a wedding feast. And you and me are the bride of Christ.
Don’t do your own thing and then cover it up by saying “oh that’s God’s will”. Don’t be like that. I know you don’t want to be speechless at a wedding speech. God is faithful. Fulfil his will for your life and for your family.
Tuesday 3 March 2009
Acts (Part 4 of 4) - The Holy Spirit
We’re going to look at the Holy Spirit. This will be quite simple. You’ll have heard much of it before. But sometimes it’s good to revisit old truths. The whole topic is confused in many Christians’ minds. Everyone has a different analysis.
The old Pentecostal teaching was that the Holy Spirit came as a separate experience. You got yourself saved, discovered you weren’t doing too well, and tried to get baptised in the Holy Spirit. Your Christian life seemed to be dull and ineffective and so you tried to get baptised in the Holy Spirit.
I was brought up in a church where I was taught that the Holy Spirit had gone back to heaven after Pentecost. The charismatic renewal of the 20th century changed people’s ideas. There were errors and excesses, but it changed ideas.
So far we’ve seen this propulsion of the Gospel. We’ve seen God didn’t intend it to stay in Jerusalem, and in each stage as it went out, there is a description of what happens in the lives of new believers.
I want to try to make this personal to you.
John 1:12
That’s one of my favourite verses. With whatever background, whatever right or wrong beliefs ... to those who will receive Him, He gives the power to become the sons of God.
Jesus said to the disciples, “I don’t call you servants any more but friends.” But that wasn’t the final status for His church. He doesn’t want us to be servants or friends, but sons. He gives the power which translates you form one kingdom to another and brings you into new birth.
In our study we are seeing with group after group that He gave the power to become the sons of God, to be different, to have a relationship with God and call God their Father, and express things in how they lived and related to other people.
Some very important basic principles ...
Exegesis is where we draw the meaning out of the Word. Isogesis is the opposite, and it is dangerous – it’s where I bring my interpretation and try to make it fit. There is a cardinal principle – you move from the general to the specific rather than the other way round. The other way is to use it as a proof text, and that will get you into trouble.
The Bible records the whole concept of salvation, as the gift of the Holy Spirit being transmitted to the early church.
The following is a prophetic word made in Old Testament times, looking forward to what was going to happen in the New Testament.
Ezekiel 36:24-27
John 14:15-17
Luke 24:49
Acts 1:4-5
The Holy Spirit is the promise of the Father. I’d never really picked that up before. When we look at anything in the Bible, we look beyond the actual words and to the nature of God. And when we bring the nature of God into our understanding, things become clearer. I know the promise flows from the God of love, who doesn’t change. It’s a promise which will be kept.
I wish someone had told me that the Holy Spirit is the promise of the Father in the early years when I was trying Old Testament methods be a Christian, to get to the place where I could be baptised in the Holy Spirit. I was aware of the problems in my life, that I didn’t match up, that I was ineffective. Struggling for the baptism, and I didn’t know He was the promise of the Father. It gives a tremendous security.
This is a word which can’t be broken or altered, and it’s for everyone. There is no two-tier system, where some people have some elevated experience which makes them better Christians than others. It’s not conditional, not something which is the privilege of an exclusive group. I can rely on the promise because it comes form a divine source. It’s not something I engender, attain to by living a perfect Christian life. It’s something which comes from a divine source, and it’s a promise.
In each of the major passages through Acts which refer to the baptism, that concept of a promise is very clear.
The first one was pre-Pentecost – Acts 1:4. We’ve looked at that.
Acts 2:32-33
Jesus has received the promise of the Father and sent it to us.
Now post-Pentecost.
Acts 2:38-39
We’re going from Jerusalem out to Samaria. This is the time when Simon the Sorcerer tries to buy the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 8:20
Now to the Gentiles.
Acts 10:44-45
He is the promise of the Father and comes as a gift to every believer.
Now how does the promise come?
Acts 1:5
An active verb requires you to do the doing. A passive is when something is done to you. So here we have both passive verbs. This isn’t something you do to yourself – God does it to you. You can’t do it yourself. What I find incredible is that no one in all the events through Acts was excluded. There weren’t 60 of the 120 at Pentecost who didn’t receive. The same happened at Caesarea. The same with the 12 at Ephesus. They were all filled. It was inclusive, non-conditional, a promise, and a promise which God fulfilled. And that promise brought a power. And the power for mission is a lot of the emphasis we see, because of the nature of the book and its concern with the Gospel going out.
We are to be witnesses to Him. it’s not a power to be consumed on ourselves, to grow us, to elevate us above others. It’s a power to be witnesses to Him.
Bruenner: “To be baptised in the spirit is to become Christ’s. The power of the Holy Spirit is His ability to join men to the risen Christ so they are able to represent Him. There is no higher calling.”
“We are the message.” What we express is what we live. We become the message. We have the power to represent Him, to know His mind and will, to speak as He speaks, to represent Him not just in terms of a pulpit or a specific message, but every minute in the way we live. We need a power beyond us to do that. But the promise is there. Some people say that was just for the apostles. Does it apply to other people?
Despite the fact that the disciples lived with Jesus, saw His compassion, His authority, His signs and wonders ... despite this, it was only when the Holy Spirit came that they were joined with Him in understanding what it was all about, to represent Him and reach out and let Him work through them to touch people’s lives, with the Word, with healing power. It was the Holy Spirit which represented them.
I want to pick out the word wind. It’s used only in one other place – also in Acts, where it means breath. It refers to the breath of life. Man was made and God breathed into him and he became living soul. There’s a life which has come. These people are being enlifed with God. We have it also in Psalms 150 – let everything that has breath praise the Lord. What happened on the Day of Pentecost was that that breath of life came inside people and changed them.
Bruenner: “Wherever the Holy Spirit comes to a man, He comes to fill, not only to affect, to dwell not simply to visit. The Holy Spirit is a person, and therefore where He is, He is fully.” When He comes He comes in fullness, without partiality. He comes to give us the power to become the sons of God and to live as sons of God in the world.
They all spoke in tongues. They didn’t seek it as an experience, but it came.
Acts 5:32
People have suggested this is evidence that you have to be special. You have to have obedience or you won’t get baptised. But we have a difference in tenses here. The obedience isn’t the cause of the coming – it’s the result. The Holy Spirit whom God gave (past) to those who are obeying (present) Him. It’s the empowerment of the Holy Spirit which leads to the obedience, not the other way round.
Acts 8:14-17
That scripture has been used to argue that the coming of the Holy Spirit is a separate experience from new birth. There is a delay factor. The Samaritans were the natural enemies of the Jews. They were rejected by the Jews. And here what is happening within this group of despised people is exactly the same as had happened with the Gentiles at Jerusalem.
I think we have to see the significance of this event. The Gospel is going out from the Jewish enclave and it’s going to the Samaritans. It seems God wanted the Apostles to know the same was happening here as at Jerusalem. They were believing and receiving the Holy Spirit.
If we’d had the Apostles at Jerusalem and then a separate group with no Apostolic involvement, you might have had differences springing up. So there was apostolic involvement, but it was the same experience. They didn’t receive the Holy Spirit to start with, but then the Apostles came and prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit. Same experience over a longer period of time.
Acts 10:44-45
The Gentiles are brought in in the same way. And to show there was no difference, there was the gift of tongues. They praised God in exactly the same way as the Jews had done. This is clearly a time of conversion. Peter came for a specific purpose.
Acts 11:14
When Peter tells the whole story to the Apostles at Jerusalem, he stresses the fact that it was the same for the Gentiles as for the Jews.
Acts 11:18
What are we saying? We’ve looked at Pentecost, we’ve looked in Samaria, in Caesarea. And we’ve seen that this is a promise. The Holy Spirit comes as a promise, and He comes at new birth. This isn’t a separate experience I have to struggle to get – it comes as a free gift when I am born again. And it comes completely by faith, by grace.
Let’s return to Simon the Sorcerer.
Acts 8:17-19
His motivation was wrong. He wanted something He didn’t have. He didn’t realise this was a gift of grace. He was seeking outside of faith for something which was only God’s to give. He goes down as the father of heresy. The problem was he through he could earn it. He didn’t see it was a gift of faith.
We have a similar problem in the Jerusalem conference. This was bound to happen. It was part of the reason that God made sure Peter was there when the Gentiles first received the Holy Spirit. We have certain people thinking that circumcision is a prerequisite for being a Christian.
Acts 15:1
Faith isn’t enough. Something else has to be involved. This was a tremendous conflict which the early church had to resolve.
Acts 15:7-11
The gift is by grace through faith. God is showing there is only one basis for salvation. It’s a gift which comes in the power of the Holy Spirit – nothing to be added, no conditions to be fulfilled, no need for anyone to be excluded.
Acts 15:11
Thankfully the decision of the Jerusalem council was to set at naught the notions of the people who wanted elements of Judaism brought into Christianity – it was all of faith.
Acts 18:24-26
This was a man who appeared to have so much. But there was a limit to what he knew. He had the Bible knowledge, the facts, but he only had the baptism of John. I can look back in my own life to a place where I had a lot of Bible knowledge, to a place where I took positions of leadership in Christian Unions and helped in the church. But I only had the baptism of John. This man could only take people so far. He couldn’t bring them into the reality of new birth, because he didn’t know the Holy Spirit. He was conscientious and thorough, but one thing was lacking – he hadn’t come to a new birth experience himself through the power of the Holy Spirit.
In my own experience there were times when I had so much and yet had nothing, because no one told me that I needed the promise of the Father, that there was a supernatural life I could live. I believed the teaching, and the teaching was good up to a point. But the only thing which changes you on the inside is when you are born by the spirit of God and you become not a servant, not a child, but a son of God. In this book, this is what we see the Holy Spirit doing – bringing people into relationship with God.
We have a similar problem in the next chapter. This is interesting ...
Acts 19:1-6
Paul took them back to basics. He taught faith in Jesus Christ, and when that faith became a reality they were baptised in the Holy Spirit. He didn’t go on to high things, but to the fundamental. It’s at the beginning that every believer receives the Holy Spirit. We are baptised by one spirit into one body.
I can see that very much when I look back. I knew I had to repent. I knew I needed a relationship with God. I was baptised in water. But there was something missing. And when true faith in Jesus Christ came, I was baptised in the Holy Spirit. The two went together. No one in the whole of the New Testament do we have any teaching of a two stage Christian experience. In Acts, there was no two-tier experience – just one experience.
There’s no such thing as baptism in the Holy Spirit. It’s not ever expressed like that in the Bible. It talks about baptising in the Holy Spirit, but not baptism. And there is a difference. In many places, when you talk about baptism in the Holy Spirit it sounds like an event. Baptising produces a different concept. The same type of understanding which sees baptism as an event also talks about the conditions needed to underpin it. Some people require you to have many different experiences before you’re ready. You have to do and be so many things before you attain to where you ought to be.
Bruenner: The whole teaching of a second experience involves a denial of grace. It says the Gospel is ok for the beginning but not for the continuation of the Christian life ...
The Holy Spirit comes when we first believe. He baptises us into one body, empowers us. He is there when we are born from above, and He doesn’t go away. That’s not to say there aren’t times in our lives when we need to know again.
In Acts 4 after they had encountered the Sanhedrin, the disciples needed to know God was with them, and it was almost as though they were baptised.
People like Whitfield saw that the Holy Spirit empowers us form the moment of new birth. But they also saw this as an ongoing experience. It isn’t just one event, but a continuous one. You are baptised – it’s continuous.
Sometimes we try to get all our doctrine in neat boxes. We try to understand everything. But we know only in part. God is an awful lot bigger than our understanding and doctrine. Why did a God who in a sense dismissed the Moabites, include Ruth? He reaches out beyond our concepts in ways we don’t understand.
We can’t lose the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t come to visit, but to remain. He will be with you, dwell with you, and shall be in you.
Looking at the whole of this book, we see that whenever new birth came to a different group of people, the Holy Spirit is there, moves, empowers them, gifts them. He is the promise of the Father. At new birth we are all made to drink of one spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:13
Don’t we see that in this book? Regardless of people’s background, all received faith in the same way, with the coming of the Holy Spirit.
How do you know the Holy Spirit as come? How do you know you’ve been born?
He brings us into relationship with God. He gives us the assurance that we actually do belong to God.
Romans 8:15-17
This was the assurance which came to person after person in place after place as the Gospel moved forward with power, the whole thing orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. And it’s a promise – to you and to your children. At new birth we are sealed with that Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 1:12
The Holy Spirit is the seal, Jesus the sealer. The seal denoted possession and protection.
Acts 1:8
We tend to think of that in terms of preaching, sharing the Gospel, evangelism. But there are other areas, other ways in which we are witnesses to Him. We are witnesses in the values we have, the books we read, the TV programmes we watch ... in every single area of our lives.
I was struck when Peter referred to the verse about the children in Nehemiah (Nehemiah 13). The children could not speak the Jews’ language. These were children of people who were no longer witnesses to God, children who had paid a price, who didn’t know who or where they were. They didn’t know their relationship with God, didn’t know the law, couldn’t speak the language. Where there is mixture there is always confusion.
We are called to be witnesses to Him in our families, in how we speak, in what we expect of our children, how we expect them to behave, in the values in their lives. We are called to transmit the faith to our children and we need the power of the Holy Spirit to do it.
To as many as received Him gave He power to become the sons of God. He gives us the power and we need it. He gives us the power to live a which is different, which pleases Him. And that power is in the person of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the one who strengthens us, seals us, empowers us. He is the one who comes when we are born into the kingdom of God and He never leaves.
Called to be witnesses unto Him. We don’t think of ourselves as anything special. We aren’t Peter or Paul or John or Philip. But our calling is to be witnesses to Him.
There are times when you know that power is there, times you know when you’re facing something you can’t handle on your own. There are times when you know God gives you wisdom, and afterwards you ask yourself where it came from. The reason we can do this is that the Comforter never leaves. He strengthens, equips, empowers. He is what we need every minute of every day.
Peter Linnecar: This takes the pressure off. The gift of tongues is totally valid. But when we reach the gates of heaven, we shan’t be asked “Do you speak in tongues?” God knows what we need, and He equips us accordingly. There are some who value that gift particularly. Brilliant. But what came over tonight was the whole aspect of the promise of the Father, and the Holy Spirit 100%.
Sunday 1 March 2009
Nehemiah (Part 9 of 9) - Keep Things in Order
In the final chapters of Nehemiah, we see Nehemiah’s determination that the achievements of the people should not be wasted. We need that same determination. We need to stand for what God wants in our lives and families.
Ezra / Nehemiah really is one book. Often is was bound as such. The two men were both involved with what was going on in rebuilding the walls and the gates of Jerusalem.
I’ll look at something relevant to us in our situation in what we do as a Christian, or as a Christian parent. There were three returns from the Babylonian captivity. The first was under Zerubbabel when 50,000 returned and the Temple was rebuilt. Eighty years later, Ezra came back with about 1,800 people, and he was involved in reforms of the people, one of which we’ll look at today. And then fourteen years later, Nehemiah came, inspired by God, and as you know, he rebuilt the walls and the gates of Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 8:1
We saw that Ezra read out the law. He was on a platform – everyone could see him, and everyone realised the significance that now the walls and gates had been rebuilt, the law of God would become central once again.
Nehemiah 8:10
This is a phrase you may know.
We saw how Jesus talked to the disciples about fulfilling joy was an encouragement or command – “Ask and you shall receive and your joy will be full.”
I mentioned that perhaps there are things you’ve been asking about over the last weeks and months. God has heard your prayer. Ask, and you shall receive that your joy may be full.
We saw in James that joy can result from our reaction to experiences and pressures in our lives, to circumstances where things seem to be going against – or indeed are going against. That circumstance, that pressure can result in patience – let patience have her perfect work; count it all joy when you meet pressures – not in a masochistic way, but the in the fact that God will provide the solution.
In the following chapters there are various lists, and the people listened to the law …
Nehemiah 10:28-29
There was an oath. At the end of this chapter they sealed their names to the oath – an oath which involved keeping the law of God; not marrying outside; not mixing the marriages; keeping things right; keeping the Sabbath, the holy day; not forsaking the house of our God; keeping to the rules of the Temple; and making sure the Levites were catered for.
In chapter 11 there is a list of those who sealed their names.
Nehemiah 12:27-35
Nehemiah was organising two companies to walk round the walls and then they came into the city and gathered in front of the Temple. There was a rejoicing going on. The work had been completed.
Asaph appears in the Psalms. He wrote ten of them, and this Asaph was his son. Everyone was involved.
Nehemiah 12:36-38
One company was led round by Nehemiah, and the other by Ezra. They came together. Ezra’s name meant help. Nehemiah’s was comfort, emboldening, with strength. They were a good team. Ezra was very conscious of the law and laid it on the line for all of the people., Nehemiah was very practical – good project leader. Now the people are rejoicing with the two companies going round to meet each other.
Nehemiah 12:40-43
In vv 44-47, he speaks of the singers and porters and the maintenance of the right structure for the Temple.
Nehemiah 13:1-3
We have the situation where the work is finished, the rejoicing has happened. The law has been distinctly read. There were thirteen people alongside Ezra who explained the law to the people so they understood it and knew what they had to do.
There was an instant outworking – they were to separate themselves from the Ammonite and the Moabite.
Then Nehehmiah went back to the king Artaxerxes and reported what had happened in Jerusalem. Some time elapsed before he returned to the city to see how things were getting on. Unfortunately, despite the sealing of the oath, despite the reading of the law, things had drifted. All that work had been done to rebuild the walls and gates, and now he returns.
Nehemiah 13:4-5
Eliashib was a priest. He was in charge of the rooms of the Temple. When Nehemiah was away, Eliashib had allowed Tobiah to move in. You may recall Tobiah :-
Nehemiah 4:3
Totally opposite to what Nehemiah was about. We see him again:-
Nehemiah 6:19
This is the person who had been mocking, sending the letters, and now Eliashib had let out a room to Tobiah in the Temple. There was some mixing going on. Incredible!
Nehemiah 13:4-6
This happened while he was away. Now he comes to Jerusalem, and learns of the evil Eliashib had done.
Nehemiah 13:7-9
He couldn’t believe it. Tobiah had been invited in. His household stuff was in the room in the Temple of God, and he was totally contrary to what they were about.
John 2:13-17
Sounds familiar! There was something where there as a mixture going on, even in the use of the Temple. In John, Jesus cleared them out. This isn’t what the Temple is for. You can’t use church as a cover for malpractice, for hidden works of darkness. You can’t use church as a cover for business. And when Tobiah was in the room, Nehemiah was incredulous. How on earth could you have allowed him into this place? And when the disciples witnessed Jesus cleansing the Temple, there was a zeal, fixed, certain, direct – this Temple is not for that purpose.
I know God is faithful – particularly in cleansing and protecting His people. And also He is more than keen for us to treat the Word of God and the things of God seriously.
There’s something about respect for what we come in here to do and to be.
Tobiah’s stuff was just thrown out. And God in His faithfulness will sort things out and bring to light where things need to be brought to light, and there’s a safety, a knowledge that it’s His church and He is sorting things out in His way. But He used Nehemiah in this way.
Nehemiah 13:9-14
What was meant to have happened was that there was as structure and the gifts and tithes were given in, and the Levites, as full-time workers, were to be fed using the money. But people had stopped giving. The result was that the Levites were out working in the fields. As far as Nehemiah was concerned, this flew in the face of all the oaths taken by the people.
First he had come across Tobiah in the Temple. He sorted that out. Now he comes across the fact that the Levites were out working in the fields. So there was a reform – instant reform – which had to happen. There was a structure, a way of life in terms of giving and what should be happening.
In this financial situation we face as a nation, as a world; and in your financial situation, keep your priorities right. Keep the structure right which God has laid down.
After each reform, Nehemiah, said, “Remember me God.” That was the structure he was in.
Nehemiah 13:15-22
Sabbath-keeping. Even people from Tyre brought mouldy fish and were selling it at the gates. There was trade, laxity, drift. They knew the law, what they had signed up to.
This is an old covenant. It refers to the Jewish people. How does it relate to us and our Sunday? What’s your attitude to coming to church on a Sunday? You get to work on time. Sunday? I’ve tried to keep it – this might sound pedantic – I’ve tried to keep it that we start at 10 o’clock. Otherwise people wouldn’t know when things would start. Some of you live within 500 yards of here.
There’s a seriousness about this whole rebuilding of the walls and gates which as far as God was concerned, there was something which then needed tightening up. Not in an overbearing sense, not in the sense of the “thou shalt” with God trying to do someone in. But there’s a way of doing things. There’s a way of having respect for the things of God.
Nehemiah was very practical – he shut the gates so as to stop people going in and out.
Nehemiah 13:23-25
This was tricky. They had been in captivity in Babylon and had got to know the ways of the people there. The law had been submerged to some extent. But now in the reforms of Nehemiah and Ezra, they were dealing with intermarriage of the Jews with the tribes of the land. The parallel for us is … if you’re a parent and your children … if there is the situation where there is something developing where your offspring as a Christian is planning to link up with someone who isn’t a Christian, that won’t work. It won’t. You say, “God is over all. He is love. He’ll sort things out.” There’s a situation where things are clear cut. This is one of them. I’m not trying to dredge the Old Covenant into the New. Light and darkness won’t dwell together. That’s from the New. Be not unequally yoked. That’s from the New – quoted in the New. In a liberalised sense, the walls had been built, and the gates. Tobiah had been sorted out. But there was a drift, and in their liberalised way, it was as though they felt it didn’t really matter.
Probably Nehemiah was talking to children just outside the city, and they were only half Jewish. They couldn’t speak in the language of the Jews, but according to the language of each people. The children were in the world and yet the children were in the church. Specifically he refers to not marrying the outside tribes. If you have offspring who are thinking of getting married, the key question is, will that partner for life be … or is that perspective for life … a Christian? Yes, or no? You may ask who you are to judge. You can’t mess about when it comes to this significant event in a person’s life. And the mixing of marriages was a problem. There were specific rules in the law about the children of mixed marriages. They were to be readmitted after the tenth generation – or in certain cases, after three generations. We’re not into that. What we are into is being aware of what God requires, of what He, in His wisdom and mercy, recommends. Why does He recommend that when it comes to marriage? Because you can’t share your life with someone who does not believe what you believe. You can’t. You can’t manage your money if the one you’re marrying is not involved in the church, doesn’t consider the things of God. So I’m talking particularly about anyone who is thinking of getting married, or any parent whose children are thinking of getting married. You can’t mix it up. You can’t. And as surely as night follows day, the result of that linking up will be a life of compromise. As far as Nehemiah was concerned, there were those who had married wives outside of Israel and it grieved him. What got to him more was what he was with the children – unable to speak in the language of the Jews.
Let’s think about your children. What does this mean where you are half speaking a Jewish language and half the language of a foreign tribe? I think it means that when it comes to our children, it is totally necessary for us to oversee everything. I mean in our homes. It may sound obvious to you. But it really struck me how Nehemiah was struck by this. Where do you draw the line when it comes to the media, to owning the latest phone, when there is such intense pressure to keep up with the latest this and that. I’ll tell you. You draw the line as a Christian, and that line will not budge. I’m not going to try and put that line into hundreds of different circumstances of life. I’m talking about the principle. You can’t mix things up. Probably Nehemiah couldn’t believe it – here were children unable to speak in the language of the Jews. It was half and half. And with your children at home, which is your main area of influence, is it a worldly or a Christian home? Are the pervasive influences from the world, or are they as a Christian home? I know it’s more difficult now to keep track of things – the opportunities to find out about things are more readily available via the internet and so on. Should a young child be able to access the internet from their own bedroom? Should I need to ask that question? It’s not as if there’s a sort of ... “OK if the computer is in the bedroom, I’ll be ok, because I can trust that child.” There are things coming through that computer which are trying to get hold of your child.
Nehemiah 13:23-25
Nehemiah 13:26
That’s quite a sobering passage to refer back to.
1 Kings 11:1-8
That had a direct impact on Rehoboam, Solomon’s son. You can’t muck about, Solomon. At the end of his life, this occurred. Why did Nehemiah quote that? It says that no matter how old we are, we need to be vigilant. No matter how old we are, there are principles we have to adhere to. We need to be open with our God. We need fellowship with God. We need to be reading His word, meeting with other Christians, praying. We need fellowship right the way until He calls us and we see Him face to face. You can’t build up a track record of Christianity and then live on the interest from what you have built up. Day by day until we no longer draw breath, until we are called to glory. No let up.
Is that a gruelling, dismal life? Absolutely not. It’s a wonderful life. But don’t take your foot off the brake or accelerator (!). If you’re driving a car, and that’s your life, you have to keep your eyes open, know where you are going, have petrol in the tank. But if you think that the journey you did yesterday is sufficient to get you through today, you’re going nowhere.
God brought to Nehemiah’s attention various aspects of the way the people were living. He had only been away a short time.
Nehemiah 13:26
Nehemiah 13:27-28
Eliashib had a real problem. He had let Tobiah into the Temple. And his grandson was son-in-law Sanballat, who was the other person who had caused trouble to Nehemiah. Enough was enough.
“But we’re meant to love everyone aren’t we.” We’re a Christian, and the love of God in our hearts reaches out to those in need of Him. I want people to move from darkness to light. But there are ways of living, where the liberalisation of our thinking, where opting out of the rat race results in drift. Little by little, an explanation is made for that, for that. “Ah but you have to remember …” “Ah but look at him – see what he did …” There’s a plethora, a whole load of explanations.
It’s interesting that when Nehemiah got going he said,
Nehemiah 13:25
Compare this with :-
Ezra 9:1-4
They were different. When Nehemiah got upset, he plucked the hair of other people. When Ezra got upset he plucked his own hair! The common denominator between the two was – “What are you playing at? Come on – there’s a way of life you have to live as a Christian.”
The good news is that God knows our hearts, and knows and will honour someone as a parent who wants to get it right for their children. He will honour that. He will protect them. I know some people who, through financial difficulties are having to sort things out for their children away from our school. Let me just confirm to you that the door is open to come back as soon as you like. The bursary scheme is there so we can help in some way. Is the school going to close because of people withdrawing children? Absolutely not. It’s not bravado. God gave us the school. And I anticipate a year from now handing out more certificates to the children.
God knows your heart. He knows the situation with your children, and the situation of your children in your home. And it’s that which I’m zeroing in on. What are you communicating with your children at home? Because what we don’t want is a half way position.
Romans 12:2
Each of you, going forward, myself included, we are to prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. How? By not being conformed to this world. Transformed, by the renewing of our mind.
So it doesn’t matter what the external pressures are in my home, it doesn’t matter what the media would promote, what the internet would beckon with. There is a line drawn and I will not budge from that as a parent.
Romans 12:2
I read on Friday the verses where it talks about the New Jerusalem, the church. No need to repair gates or walls there. He is fashioning His church by the washing of water by the word. He is sorting things out. He is bringing people into that wonderful relationship with God, away from the dark paths of sin, away from living a wrong way to living a right way, to having God by His Holy Spirit inside. And there will be more that will come to His church.
Is this the only church? Not at all. We’re a part of His church worldwide. Transformed by the renewing of your mind, the cleansing, washing of His word.
Overall, the Book of Nehemiah is one of triumph. But it underlines in the last chapter, how significant it is for you and me to live right. Don’t respond to that by saying you can’t live right. You can. I’m not trying to force the idea on you. It is God within you which causes you to live of His good pleasure. He is preparing good things for you to walk into. It’s His strength. The joy of the Lord is your strength. That joy for Jesus was the church. Because of that He gave His life for you and me. Are we partakers of that joy here this morning? Yes we are. Is there a way forward for you in the pressures of our life at the moment? Of course!
Nehemiah 13:29-31
Ezra / Nehemiah really is one book. Often is was bound as such. The two men were both involved with what was going on in rebuilding the walls and the gates of Jerusalem.
I’ll look at something relevant to us in our situation in what we do as a Christian, or as a Christian parent. There were three returns from the Babylonian captivity. The first was under Zerubbabel when 50,000 returned and the Temple was rebuilt. Eighty years later, Ezra came back with about 1,800 people, and he was involved in reforms of the people, one of which we’ll look at today. And then fourteen years later, Nehemiah came, inspired by God, and as you know, he rebuilt the walls and the gates of Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 8:1
We saw that Ezra read out the law. He was on a platform – everyone could see him, and everyone realised the significance that now the walls and gates had been rebuilt, the law of God would become central once again.
Nehemiah 8:10
This is a phrase you may know.
We saw how Jesus talked to the disciples about fulfilling joy was an encouragement or command – “Ask and you shall receive and your joy will be full.”
I mentioned that perhaps there are things you’ve been asking about over the last weeks and months. God has heard your prayer. Ask, and you shall receive that your joy may be full.
We saw in James that joy can result from our reaction to experiences and pressures in our lives, to circumstances where things seem to be going against – or indeed are going against. That circumstance, that pressure can result in patience – let patience have her perfect work; count it all joy when you meet pressures – not in a masochistic way, but the in the fact that God will provide the solution.
In the following chapters there are various lists, and the people listened to the law …
Nehemiah 10:28-29
There was an oath. At the end of this chapter they sealed their names to the oath – an oath which involved keeping the law of God; not marrying outside; not mixing the marriages; keeping things right; keeping the Sabbath, the holy day; not forsaking the house of our God; keeping to the rules of the Temple; and making sure the Levites were catered for.
In chapter 11 there is a list of those who sealed their names.
Nehemiah 12:27-35
Nehemiah was organising two companies to walk round the walls and then they came into the city and gathered in front of the Temple. There was a rejoicing going on. The work had been completed.
Asaph appears in the Psalms. He wrote ten of them, and this Asaph was his son. Everyone was involved.
Nehemiah 12:36-38
One company was led round by Nehemiah, and the other by Ezra. They came together. Ezra’s name meant help. Nehemiah’s was comfort, emboldening, with strength. They were a good team. Ezra was very conscious of the law and laid it on the line for all of the people., Nehemiah was very practical – good project leader. Now the people are rejoicing with the two companies going round to meet each other.
Nehemiah 12:40-43
In vv 44-47, he speaks of the singers and porters and the maintenance of the right structure for the Temple.
Nehemiah 13:1-3
We have the situation where the work is finished, the rejoicing has happened. The law has been distinctly read. There were thirteen people alongside Ezra who explained the law to the people so they understood it and knew what they had to do.
There was an instant outworking – they were to separate themselves from the Ammonite and the Moabite.
Then Nehehmiah went back to the king Artaxerxes and reported what had happened in Jerusalem. Some time elapsed before he returned to the city to see how things were getting on. Unfortunately, despite the sealing of the oath, despite the reading of the law, things had drifted. All that work had been done to rebuild the walls and gates, and now he returns.
Nehemiah 13:4-5
Eliashib was a priest. He was in charge of the rooms of the Temple. When Nehemiah was away, Eliashib had allowed Tobiah to move in. You may recall Tobiah :-
Nehemiah 4:3
Totally opposite to what Nehemiah was about. We see him again:-
Nehemiah 6:19
This is the person who had been mocking, sending the letters, and now Eliashib had let out a room to Tobiah in the Temple. There was some mixing going on. Incredible!
Nehemiah 13:4-6
This happened while he was away. Now he comes to Jerusalem, and learns of the evil Eliashib had done.
Nehemiah 13:7-9
He couldn’t believe it. Tobiah had been invited in. His household stuff was in the room in the Temple of God, and he was totally contrary to what they were about.
John 2:13-17
Sounds familiar! There was something where there as a mixture going on, even in the use of the Temple. In John, Jesus cleared them out. This isn’t what the Temple is for. You can’t use church as a cover for malpractice, for hidden works of darkness. You can’t use church as a cover for business. And when Tobiah was in the room, Nehemiah was incredulous. How on earth could you have allowed him into this place? And when the disciples witnessed Jesus cleansing the Temple, there was a zeal, fixed, certain, direct – this Temple is not for that purpose.
I know God is faithful – particularly in cleansing and protecting His people. And also He is more than keen for us to treat the Word of God and the things of God seriously.
There’s something about respect for what we come in here to do and to be.
Tobiah’s stuff was just thrown out. And God in His faithfulness will sort things out and bring to light where things need to be brought to light, and there’s a safety, a knowledge that it’s His church and He is sorting things out in His way. But He used Nehemiah in this way.
Nehemiah 13:9-14
What was meant to have happened was that there was as structure and the gifts and tithes were given in, and the Levites, as full-time workers, were to be fed using the money. But people had stopped giving. The result was that the Levites were out working in the fields. As far as Nehemiah was concerned, this flew in the face of all the oaths taken by the people.
First he had come across Tobiah in the Temple. He sorted that out. Now he comes across the fact that the Levites were out working in the fields. So there was a reform – instant reform – which had to happen. There was a structure, a way of life in terms of giving and what should be happening.
In this financial situation we face as a nation, as a world; and in your financial situation, keep your priorities right. Keep the structure right which God has laid down.
After each reform, Nehemiah, said, “Remember me God.” That was the structure he was in.
Nehemiah 13:15-22
Sabbath-keeping. Even people from Tyre brought mouldy fish and were selling it at the gates. There was trade, laxity, drift. They knew the law, what they had signed up to.
This is an old covenant. It refers to the Jewish people. How does it relate to us and our Sunday? What’s your attitude to coming to church on a Sunday? You get to work on time. Sunday? I’ve tried to keep it – this might sound pedantic – I’ve tried to keep it that we start at 10 o’clock. Otherwise people wouldn’t know when things would start. Some of you live within 500 yards of here.
There’s a seriousness about this whole rebuilding of the walls and gates which as far as God was concerned, there was something which then needed tightening up. Not in an overbearing sense, not in the sense of the “thou shalt” with God trying to do someone in. But there’s a way of doing things. There’s a way of having respect for the things of God.
Nehemiah was very practical – he shut the gates so as to stop people going in and out.
Nehemiah 13:23-25
This was tricky. They had been in captivity in Babylon and had got to know the ways of the people there. The law had been submerged to some extent. But now in the reforms of Nehemiah and Ezra, they were dealing with intermarriage of the Jews with the tribes of the land. The parallel for us is … if you’re a parent and your children … if there is the situation where there is something developing where your offspring as a Christian is planning to link up with someone who isn’t a Christian, that won’t work. It won’t. You say, “God is over all. He is love. He’ll sort things out.” There’s a situation where things are clear cut. This is one of them. I’m not trying to dredge the Old Covenant into the New. Light and darkness won’t dwell together. That’s from the New. Be not unequally yoked. That’s from the New – quoted in the New. In a liberalised sense, the walls had been built, and the gates. Tobiah had been sorted out. But there was a drift, and in their liberalised way, it was as though they felt it didn’t really matter.
Probably Nehemiah was talking to children just outside the city, and they were only half Jewish. They couldn’t speak in the language of the Jews, but according to the language of each people. The children were in the world and yet the children were in the church. Specifically he refers to not marrying the outside tribes. If you have offspring who are thinking of getting married, the key question is, will that partner for life be … or is that perspective for life … a Christian? Yes, or no? You may ask who you are to judge. You can’t mess about when it comes to this significant event in a person’s life. And the mixing of marriages was a problem. There were specific rules in the law about the children of mixed marriages. They were to be readmitted after the tenth generation – or in certain cases, after three generations. We’re not into that. What we are into is being aware of what God requires, of what He, in His wisdom and mercy, recommends. Why does He recommend that when it comes to marriage? Because you can’t share your life with someone who does not believe what you believe. You can’t. You can’t manage your money if the one you’re marrying is not involved in the church, doesn’t consider the things of God. So I’m talking particularly about anyone who is thinking of getting married, or any parent whose children are thinking of getting married. You can’t mix it up. You can’t. And as surely as night follows day, the result of that linking up will be a life of compromise. As far as Nehemiah was concerned, there were those who had married wives outside of Israel and it grieved him. What got to him more was what he was with the children – unable to speak in the language of the Jews.
Let’s think about your children. What does this mean where you are half speaking a Jewish language and half the language of a foreign tribe? I think it means that when it comes to our children, it is totally necessary for us to oversee everything. I mean in our homes. It may sound obvious to you. But it really struck me how Nehemiah was struck by this. Where do you draw the line when it comes to the media, to owning the latest phone, when there is such intense pressure to keep up with the latest this and that. I’ll tell you. You draw the line as a Christian, and that line will not budge. I’m not going to try and put that line into hundreds of different circumstances of life. I’m talking about the principle. You can’t mix things up. Probably Nehemiah couldn’t believe it – here were children unable to speak in the language of the Jews. It was half and half. And with your children at home, which is your main area of influence, is it a worldly or a Christian home? Are the pervasive influences from the world, or are they as a Christian home? I know it’s more difficult now to keep track of things – the opportunities to find out about things are more readily available via the internet and so on. Should a young child be able to access the internet from their own bedroom? Should I need to ask that question? It’s not as if there’s a sort of ... “OK if the computer is in the bedroom, I’ll be ok, because I can trust that child.” There are things coming through that computer which are trying to get hold of your child.
Nehemiah 13:23-25
Nehemiah 13:26
That’s quite a sobering passage to refer back to.
1 Kings 11:1-8
That had a direct impact on Rehoboam, Solomon’s son. You can’t muck about, Solomon. At the end of his life, this occurred. Why did Nehemiah quote that? It says that no matter how old we are, we need to be vigilant. No matter how old we are, there are principles we have to adhere to. We need to be open with our God. We need fellowship with God. We need to be reading His word, meeting with other Christians, praying. We need fellowship right the way until He calls us and we see Him face to face. You can’t build up a track record of Christianity and then live on the interest from what you have built up. Day by day until we no longer draw breath, until we are called to glory. No let up.
Is that a gruelling, dismal life? Absolutely not. It’s a wonderful life. But don’t take your foot off the brake or accelerator (!). If you’re driving a car, and that’s your life, you have to keep your eyes open, know where you are going, have petrol in the tank. But if you think that the journey you did yesterday is sufficient to get you through today, you’re going nowhere.
God brought to Nehemiah’s attention various aspects of the way the people were living. He had only been away a short time.
Nehemiah 13:26
Nehemiah 13:27-28
Eliashib had a real problem. He had let Tobiah into the Temple. And his grandson was son-in-law Sanballat, who was the other person who had caused trouble to Nehemiah. Enough was enough.
“But we’re meant to love everyone aren’t we.” We’re a Christian, and the love of God in our hearts reaches out to those in need of Him. I want people to move from darkness to light. But there are ways of living, where the liberalisation of our thinking, where opting out of the rat race results in drift. Little by little, an explanation is made for that, for that. “Ah but you have to remember …” “Ah but look at him – see what he did …” There’s a plethora, a whole load of explanations.
It’s interesting that when Nehemiah got going he said,
Nehemiah 13:25
Compare this with :-
Ezra 9:1-4
They were different. When Nehemiah got upset, he plucked the hair of other people. When Ezra got upset he plucked his own hair! The common denominator between the two was – “What are you playing at? Come on – there’s a way of life you have to live as a Christian.”
The good news is that God knows our hearts, and knows and will honour someone as a parent who wants to get it right for their children. He will honour that. He will protect them. I know some people who, through financial difficulties are having to sort things out for their children away from our school. Let me just confirm to you that the door is open to come back as soon as you like. The bursary scheme is there so we can help in some way. Is the school going to close because of people withdrawing children? Absolutely not. It’s not bravado. God gave us the school. And I anticipate a year from now handing out more certificates to the children.
God knows your heart. He knows the situation with your children, and the situation of your children in your home. And it’s that which I’m zeroing in on. What are you communicating with your children at home? Because what we don’t want is a half way position.
Romans 12:2
Each of you, going forward, myself included, we are to prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. How? By not being conformed to this world. Transformed, by the renewing of our mind.
So it doesn’t matter what the external pressures are in my home, it doesn’t matter what the media would promote, what the internet would beckon with. There is a line drawn and I will not budge from that as a parent.
Romans 12:2
I read on Friday the verses where it talks about the New Jerusalem, the church. No need to repair gates or walls there. He is fashioning His church by the washing of water by the word. He is sorting things out. He is bringing people into that wonderful relationship with God, away from the dark paths of sin, away from living a wrong way to living a right way, to having God by His Holy Spirit inside. And there will be more that will come to His church.
Is this the only church? Not at all. We’re a part of His church worldwide. Transformed by the renewing of your mind, the cleansing, washing of His word.
Overall, the Book of Nehemiah is one of triumph. But it underlines in the last chapter, how significant it is for you and me to live right. Don’t respond to that by saying you can’t live right. You can. I’m not trying to force the idea on you. It is God within you which causes you to live of His good pleasure. He is preparing good things for you to walk into. It’s His strength. The joy of the Lord is your strength. That joy for Jesus was the church. Because of that He gave His life for you and me. Are we partakers of that joy here this morning? Yes we are. Is there a way forward for you in the pressures of our life at the moment? Of course!
Nehemiah 13:29-31
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