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Episodes
Sunday Sep 01, 2024
Sunday Sep 01, 2024
Life Under the Apple Tree
(Song of Solomon 2:3-14)
Introduction
I of course don't know when you last read it, heard a talk about it or if you have ever read it or heard a talk about it! So, if you are in that category, it's a new thing for you! In my preparation, as I talked to other Christians about this book, I have found that some people are aghast at some of the very frank and provocative language used! But this should not stop us from reading it, studying it and learning from it. It is, after all, part of the Bible and therefore part of God's Written Word. Jesus Himself and the Disciples would have read this book at Passover time. It is a book that tells of the love of a woman (the Beloved) for a man, the man probably being Solomon. Different translations have different places where the beloved, the lover and others are actually speaking. But for ease of use tonight, we will use the guidelines of the church bibles, the New International Version. The Jews called it the Greatest Song of All Songs. Martin Luther called it the noblest of all songs! It is poetry that is full of love, romance and some say eroticism. Greater than Shakespeare's sonnets if you can believe that! Tonight, we are delving only into Chapter 2. Historically this book has been interpreted in 3 ways Firstly as a treatise on the joys of biblical sexual love; Secondly as an allegory for God's love for His people Israel; These two interpretations have great merit! However, some of you may be sad to know and others very happy to know, that I am going to concentrate principally on a third way that encompasses those two and that is seeing it as a picture of the immense love that exists between Jesus Christ for His church and its people, where the bridegroom is Jesus and His bride is the church. Paul highlights this relationship in his letter to the Ephesians. Before I forget, I should say that I am also aware of another difficulty, and that is that British men and Australian men have one thing in common - we are not very good at saying or doing things to do with love! We find it embarrassing and cumbersome. I don't know about South Africans or other nationalities though! So, hopefully with the help of the Holy Spirit, this may also make us become better men as well as feeding our minds and hearts about the love that exists between Jesus and the church!
The Beloved's Portrait of the Lover
(Song of Solomon 2:3-6)
This is the beloved's portrait of her lover, the bridegroom. He is an apple tree! Wives, have you ever called your husband an apple tree! And of course He is an apple tree, because this lover, this bridegroom provides her with shelter, protection and food. And she enjoys it. Delighting in being strengthened, refreshed and being in love. As he embraces her, she feels his compassion, his warmth, his love for her and his strength. How does that talk of Jesus and his love for the church, His people, His bride?
Jesus is the Bread of life
Three times in John 6, Jesus refers to Himself as the living bread. By this He meant that He was the only one who could satiate the appetite and yearning of every person's spirit. For those He was speaking to, bread was a basic staple food for living, just as it is for millions of people today. Jesus indicates when saying He is the bread of life, that He will supply all needs! Just as He said to the woman at the well in John 4v4, that whoever drinks His living water shall never again go spiritually thirsty. When Jesus referred to the manna in the desert (John 6v49) he talked of it being merely temporary, despite being a gift from God. He, however, as the true bread of life gives permanent satisfaction and life everlasting to all those who believe and follow Him (John 6v51)! But this bread He offers, has to be eaten; it has to be taken up by the person wanting spiritual life! If you are seeking spiritual nourishment, then ask! Have you eaten of this bread?
Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
Jesus is the great protector, the great Shepherd. It is through Jesus and Jesus Christ alone, that salvation and spiritual protection and is found and through Him alone as the door or the gate, that people are led safely and soundly into spiritual freedom, spiritual light and spiritual sustenance. Unlike others who come only to steal, kill and destroy, Jesus offers spiritual safety & nourishment. Jesus protects those whom He loves and who loves Him! Jesus does not just offer a way out, but also a way in! The security offered by Jesus is because He is always in close proximity to those who follow Him. Jesus calls all those who follow Him by name (John 10v3) and they know each other. Jesus is the great shepherd only through the sacrifice he must make for His sheep. Here Jesus is looking ahead to the sacrifice He makes on the Cross. The cross is referred to in the New Testament as the tree on which Jesus hung. His protective and nourishing love for all of humanity compels Him to make the ultimate sacrifice of His death on the tree. Just as all shepherds will endanger themselves for the protection and safety of their sheep, so too did Jesus endure the pain and suffering of the Cross, so that people can be led into the eternal safety of God's kingdom. It is in this role of shepherd, that Jesus exhibits true leadership, which is self-less and sacrificial. I saw this week an example of a shepherd protecting his flock. It was up near Crowe and I was driving back from Burley, and there were a flock of sheep on one side of the road and the shepherd on the other. He was on a bicycle and the sheep were looking at him for directions! His sheep knew him and were looking to him and he was protecting them from being run over by a maniac in a green Fiesta! Are you looking to the great shepherd, Jesus Christ for safety, protection and guidance? These are just two examples of Jesus himself saying He protects, nourishes, gives shelter and loves. Many more examples can be found in the Gospels. Just as there is only one lover for this woman, there is only one Saviour for the world. Jesus does not say I am a true vine; a way, a truth and a life. He does not say I am a door to life, just as He does not say I am a shepherd, a door, a light or a bread of life. No - Jesus is the only way, the only truth and the only life. Jesus is the one great shepherd and the only door to life. Jesus is the only light of the world and the only true bread of life. Jesus is the apple tree, and calls everyone to partake of the nourishment and shelter only He can provide.
The Beloved Encourages Others about the Lover
(Song of Solomon 2:7-9)
Read verses 7-9 Here now, the beloved addresses her friends and other people, not be impatient! These women were being persuaded by the beloved not to engage in sexual love until their marriage! Who were they? We don't know! But we do know from the rest of Scripture that sexual love is only for those in a committed monogamous marriage between a man and a woman. Sexual union, between a man and a woman in a committed married relationship, is a picture of the union of God and His people - that's why adultery and sexual immorality is also idolatry. Then the Beloved calls out "Listen! Look" Here he comes! She is expecting him to arrive at any time! The Beloved is waiting for her lover! She has a glimpse of Him but is waiting for His bodily presence with her. Is this not a picture of us, as the church awaiting Jesus Christ to come again? Before Jesus ascended into the clouds, He said He would be coming again! Not as a little baby next time, but coming from the clouds in great glory, honour, jubilation and exaltation! Nobody knows when that will be! There are hints in the Bible, but they are only hints! We are to wait expectantly and to live lives that are worthy of Him now, as we partake of righteousness and wait for Jesus to come again. When ever Youngmi and I go together to London, we meet up with old friends. Last time, it was a blast! We had a banquet, and there were 9 adults and 6 kids in our favourite Chinese Restaurant in Chinatown. We have all known each other for over 14 years now. One person wasn't there though. When we were walking and talker later on, two of my friends, individually of each other, told me about John. John has recently remarried and he and his new wife have been trying for the last few years for a baby. They showed me the messages they have received from him. It transpires he is giving up God, as he calls it, over this issue of not having the baby. My friends asked my advice. I said, to keep on encouraging, letting John know that while he may have let go of Jesus, Jesus has not let go of him or his wife. I also suggested that there are probably deeper issues as well, that John is not talking about. So my friends are going to continue encouraging John and uplifting him in prayer to the One who won't let go. So be encouraged! Don't give up! Encourage others who may be struggling. See and remember what the Lover is like! Be encouraged! Keep going! As Christians, if you are one here tonight, you are to bear fruit by remaining close to Jesus, as He is the vine and we are the branches. And why are we as Christians to bear fruit? As a means of bringing glory to God the Father (John 15v8). Be encouraged and be encouragers of others.
Lover is like no other and wants to hear your voice.
(Song of Solomon 2:10-15)
The beloved speaks of the lover's voice. (Read v10-13) Then finally we hear the voice of the lover! (Read v14-15) Ever felt like God is far away? Well you aren't alone! It is an experience that is common to all Christians, at some point or another. I know I have experienced that in the past. But I also know from personal experience, that Jesus always comes through in difficult times. Although He may not come in the time I think He should come, because He knows when I need Him most. This woman, the beloved, is so expectant of the Lover's arrival she can hear his voice, his tender words! He is calling her to Himself! Jesus Christ is also calling you, to Himself! He wants you to be a partaker of the good news about Him. He wants you to be part of His family, the church. He is ever calling, ever beckoning people to enter into relationship with Him. His love for the church is indicative of verse 13, where he calls the beloved His beautiful bride. That is the church - warts and all - is His bride! By faith, He will see you through - Remember in the Gospels, when the disciples were in the storm and Jesus came to them walking on the water. Remember Jesus saying "Come" and Peter went to Him. This must have encouraged the other disciples, for upon seeing Jesus' power they worshipped him. Whatever troubles you are undergoing are temporary, and Jesus will see you through. Jesus is praying for you, will come to you, grow you and help you through troubles. By being obedient to God, you are encouraging others by showing your salvation and showing that faith is not blind, but active! Jesus wants to hear your voice talking to him... Not just for half hour in the morning but all day long. We are to yearn to talk to Him and for Him to talk to us. Prayer is a 24 hour communication exercise. Prayer, according to the Church Father Augustine, is a constant yearning for assistance and strengthening of desire towards the ultimate goal - eternal happiness and worship and knowledge of God. God Himself assists as we pray: by correcting and strengthening the yearnings. Prayers express desires and thoughts in a contributory way to the journey we are on. That means tell Jesus how you are feeling, both in the good and the hard times. Tell Him of your wants, your needs and all your cares.. Let His arms surround you! To him your voice is sweet and dulcet. Your face to Him is a delight. Seek him! Ask him! Talk to him! This is how you are spiritually energized! When you talk to God, you strengthen your relationship with Him! When you and I ask others to pray for us, Church unity is strengthened!
Recap!
So, how do we recapitulate. In this chapter, we firstly saw together the Beloved's portrait of the lover and how He feeds, nourishes protects and shelters her. We see this as an encompassing picture of Jesus and His love for His people, the Church. Then we saw how the Beloved lady encouraged others to wait and see this tremendous Lover. That is why we encourage one another and spur one another on as we see the day approaching when our bridegroom, Jesus Christ comes again in glory! Then lastly we saw how the bridegroom loves to hear the voice of the Beloved and gaze into her face. Jesus Christ, the great lover and bridegroom, loves to hear our voices as we express our love, gratitude, cares, worries and feelings to Him.
Conclusion
And what, in conclusion, do we do with all this? Jesus is the only nourisher, protector and feeder. Jesus Christ, the apple tree, provides for all your needs, your nourishment, gives you strength, protects and comforts. I don't know what situation you are in at the moment. This credit crunch, this economic crisis is affecting everybody. I guess there are probably three kinds of people here tonight. Firstly, there will be those who do not know this Jesus Christ personally. Please, do not leave here tonight without asking one of the leaders or your friends here, about how you can get to know more about this Jesus. The time is short, the waiting for Jesus to come again grows ever shorter, and when He does come again, the time will be too late to change your mind. Secondly, if you are in need of some love, some protection, some nourishment, then don't leave without having prayed with somebody or letting one of the leaders know of your needs. As Jesus Himself said, "Ask, Seek and Knock!" Jesus Christ is making intercessions for you, as He knows. He feels your cares and your worries, and knows what you are going through. Finally, if you are not in either of those situations yourself, you will know somebody who is. Therefore go and encourage those you know who are struggling and are in need of protection and comfort. This week, go and tell the good news of Jesus Christ to somebody who doesn't know Jesus personally.
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Sunday Aug 04, 2024
Sunday Aug 04, 2024
God’s Whisperings n Roars
The Bible As A Basis Of Faith
Words are our prime means of communication. We think in words, reason in words, talk in words, joke in words, write in words and speak in words. We listen to words as they are spoken. We read words written. There are about 7000 different languages in use globally, as well as untold dead languages. Humans have always communicated to each other in some way with the use of words. It is part of being God’s creation! It is also part of how we are like God, for God is a communicator! Indeed, Jesus being the Word of God, is very how the apostle John starts off his gospel. As for myself, God has whispered His roaring love for me and that I am His beloved and adopted child. The Bible tells me so. The Bible!
Bible readings are from: Leviticus 20:22-26; Psalm 119:105-112; James 1:22-27; 2 Peter 1:16-21
Listen to the audio to discover more about the Bible and how and why it is a basis for our Christian faith! This is the whole Church service including songs, Bible readings, sermon and prayers.
Originally preached at Poulner Baptist Chapel
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Wednesday Apr 17, 2024
Wednesday Apr 17, 2024
Colossians 3v1-4
“Remember Who You Are!”
During last week, I attended the funeral of a friend, mentor and editor. This friend is now more alive than ever before! Why? That is explained here from Colossians 3:1-4.
If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)
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Saturday Apr 13, 2024
Saturday Apr 13, 2024
When Jesus comes back as King
Revelation 21-22
Introduction
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After His ascension, Jesus is at the right hand of God the Father! He is King and what a King. Jesus is coming again, not as a baby this time, but as King and judge. Both ideas are affirmed by Jeremiah and John. We will do two things today. Firstly, to give a very brief overview of Revelation 11 and then progress to the end of Revelation and give just three brief vignettes into what the reward is that John writes about in verse 18.
Christ's reign
Prepared!
Purity (v.1-4)
Pearly gates (v.21)
Conclusion
Be encouraged, heaven is for you if you are trusting and obeying Jesus and have Him as Lord of your life! Remember. Whatever your attitude and how you judge Jesus now, is how He will judge you when He returns! Are you following Him and treating Him with respect and reverence? If you aren't, then it isn't too late to change your mind and then the reward of eternal living in heaven will be yours! Are you suffering? Suffering will soon be gone. When you sin against God, keep a short account and ask for forgiveness as soon as you recognise that you have sinned and the Holy Spirit has convicted you of it. We yearn to be with our King for ever and ever. Yet, we are to keep one part of our mind on Heaven and the other on the responsible work we have been set to do, here on earth. We are not to be so heavenly minded, that we are of no earthly use. Conversely, we are not to be so earth bound, that we are not tied to King Jesus in our eternal home. Go tell somebody. Won't you go tell somebody this week, this message. Heaven is a great big place, and there will be room for everybody in this town, this county, this nation and this world to enter through one of those twelve gates! Go and share this good news with somebody this very week, so that there may be somebody in that magnificent City, because you told them. Christ is our King of Righteousness. Trust Him and live a life worthy of Him. Look for His coming! Be expectant, the King is coming back for us soon! Critics of the church sneer "Where is your God?" and "The end of the Church is surely near". They are so impatient!! Well... our God will appear soon. He is coming back as King of Righteousness, judging evil and rejecting those who reject Him whilst rewarding those who patiently trust and obey Him.
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Friday Feb 09, 2024
Friday Feb 09, 2024
A Strategy to Cope (Hebrews 3)
How can we, as 21st century Christians, keep from falling away from our faith in God through Jesus Christ? It is a question I am often asked. I would call it the COPE strategy: Consider, Persevere and Encourage.
1. Keep Considering! (vs1-6)
Hebrews 3:1-6
The first thing we do is to consider Jesus or as the NIV here puts it "fix our thoughts". Now remember, that these are Hebrew believers. I guess we would call them Messianic Jews today. They believed that Jesus was their Messiah, Saviour and Lord. They were obviously coming under pressure from their Jewish friends and leaders to deny this Jesus and return to the fold. They would have been told how great Moses was. In the previous chapter we read how Jesus is greater than the angels, because He is God, but was made a little lower than the angels when he became a man.
Moses was cool!
In this chapter, we read a comparison between Jesus and Moses. Moses, to the Jews, was like a superhero. Moses was revered because it was to him that God revealed His will. Moses was the key figure in the establishment of Israel as a nation - God's chosen people! Moses suffered persecution and rejection from the rest of the family of Israel. He had great zeal for God and was willing to sacrifice everything for God. He had fellowship with God. Yet all this is merely a shadow and a prophetic sign of what was to come in Jesus. Moses, we read in Numbers 12:7, was faithful to God's house, God's people. The house of God is the people of God. It was this Moses who was held in such high regard by the Jews, that some might well have been tempted to renounce Jesus and go back to the old ways.
God's Messiah would need to be greater than Moses, and Jesus is and was this Messiah. Later on in the book of Hebrews, we discover that Jesus is greater than Aaron through whom the law was ministered; but here we see that Jesus is greater than Moses, the lawgiver, the servant of the house of God. Moses and Aaron represented God's house in Israel; Moses was the Apostle or Prophet and Aaron was the High Priest. Jesus, an Apostle and Prophet as well as being the High Priest, joined the two together. By Apostle, I mean as a Messenger - that's what an apostle is - a messenger or representative. As the Apostle of our faith, Jesus was faithful. Jesus was God's representative for us, making God known to us. Jesus was totally faithful, means to be both trusting and to be capable of being trusted. Moses was the one to whom the Law was given - the Mosaic covenant under which the Jewish people lived. This covenant with Moses commenced with the stipulation "Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me." (Exodus 19v5). This covenant was to Israel in order that those who believed God's promise to Abraham, could know how to live rightly in accordance with how God wanted them to live.
This covenant with Moses covered the three areas of life:
- The commandments were given so they would know how to relate socially to God (Exodus 20v1-6)
- The judgments were given in order that they could relate socially to each other (Exodus 21v1 -4v11)
- The decrees dictated their religious life so that God could be approached by humanity on His terms (Exodus 24v12 - 31v18).
This covenant that God made with Moses and the ancient nation of Israel was never meant to be as a means for providing salvation. It was given so that they could realize the helplessness and futility of their own efforts and their need of God's help. It was to serve only as a protective fence until the promised Messiah came; the long waited for Saviour of all humanity, so that the whole world, Jew and Gentile, could be made right with God through faith and faith alone.
In Comes Jesus
And that is where Jesus comes in. As their Messiah and Saviour, Jesus ushered in the New Covenant, which was promised by God through the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. What are the features of this New Covenant or promise?
Four features of this covenant are:
- Regeneration -God will write His law on the hearts of people.
- Restoration - God will be their God, and they will be His people.
- Promised Holy Spirit - God will indwell people and they will be led by Him
- Justification - Sins will be forgiven and removed eternally
This new covenant is sealed only through the perfect sacrifice of the God-Man Jesus on the cross. His blood ensures the truth of this New Covenant. His death pays the penalty for the sins of all people who say yes to God and are ready to run the race and travel the course. This New Covenant finalizes what the Mosaic Covenant could only point to: the follower of God living in a relationship with God conforming to God's holy character. That is one very specific way of Jesus being superior to Moses! The original readers of this letter being God-fearing Jews would be aware of all this.
They would also be aware that it is sin, which separates humans from God and as a consequence leads to both a spiritual and physical death (Romans 3v23, Romans 6v23, Isaiah 59v2). In the Old Testament, sins were dealt with by blood sacrifices of atonement as coverings for sin (Leviticus 17v11), for without the shedding of blood there could be no remission of sin (Hebrews 9v22). A blood sacrifice is God's way of dealing with sin. These blood sacrifices of the Old Testament signified several things:
- It provided a covering for sin.
- It showed the great cost of sin.
- It was an exchange or substitution.
- It was only always going to be a temporary measure, as it pointed forward to Jesus' death and it needed to be done over and over again.
How is Jesus better than Moses?
The answer lies in the solution to sin. The ultimate solution to sin lies not in the continuing animal sacrifice under the Covenant with Moses, because as the writer later in Hebrews 10v4 stipulates the blood of animals cannot take away sin but was only ever going to be a veneer or a covering. That was why it was necessary to repeat time and time again!
It is only through the victorious death of Jesus, that sin is permanently taken away (Hebrews 9:v11-15, 26-28), because Jesus is the permanent sacrificial substitute! It is as if the writer is saying give up on Jesus, stop considering Him and you would still be in your sins - that's the way the original readers would have understood it!
As for us?
As followers of Jesus Christ we are built together so that the Spirit of God may join us together in love. Both individually and as a group, we are the house of God. Jesus said, "We will come and make our home in you". We know Jesus has been faithful as a Son over God's people. We celebrate His faithfulness at Easter, when we acknowledge and rejoice at the sacrifice He made for us. We remember it in the act of Communion, which we will have later. Jesus suffered persecution and rejection from his peers. We know Jesus was godly and full of zeal for God, and was willing to sacrifice everything for God and his people. We are the house of God. And yet, do we not reject Jesus sometimes, or do we keep on considering? Do we give Him and trust in His faithfulness to complete the good work he has started in us?
This NIV translation has "fix your thoughts". Here is how the New King James Version puts verse 1 "Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus". I personally think that that is a better way of putting it. And not only because it has the word partakers in there! To "consider" has a much broader meaning than just "fixing your thoughts" as the NIV puts it. It means to seek, to fully understand or comprehend as well as fixing thoughtfully. To consider means to contemplate, to think about, to persevere with, to concentrate on and to fix eyes and thoughts upon.
We have to allow Jesus Christ to permeate every aspect of our life, if we are to be partakers of Him. To consider not just how Jesus would do something, but how Jesus would think. What attitude would Jesus take? What would Jesus not do? Just as the Hebrews receiving this letter were told to do, in their race of the life following Jesus, we too are to hold fast to our courage, but only by considering Jesus and trusting in Him relying on the Holy Spirit to help us as we ask Him. This phrase "to consider" is perhaps the central theme of the book of Hebrews. We are to consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. Jesus was faithful to the purpose of His Coming to be among people. His purpose in coming to earth, as a mere man, was to die for sins and be raised up on the third day so as to be victorious over death and sin. This Jesus perfected our human nature in His life of simplicity, suffering, devotion and obedience. He now lives at the right hand of the Father in heaven, to communicate to us His life and blessedness through the indwelling Holy Spirit. We must therefore consider Jesus in everything we do, every thought we think and in every attitude.
This is the aim of the writer to persuade these Hebrew Christians that if they knew Jesus to be the faithful, compassionate Almighty apostle and priest in Heaven, then they would find everything in Him that they needed for life. Moses couldn't help them, but Jesus could! Moses had died, they could perhaps visit his tomb if they wanted to. But Jesus, well, Jesus' tomb was empty! Jesus is alive! The life of these Hebrew Christians would be united with their faith, and united with the life of Jesus whom their faith would glorify God. To these Hebrew Christians their salvation was based on Jesus, but to renounce Jesus and go back to following Moses was apostasy. Moses couldn't offer salvation because the Law was not meant as a means of salvation! But what about you? Are you trusting in this Jesus for salvation or are you even subconsciously relying on your own good works or something else? That was what these believing Hebrews were to do - consider how vastly superior Jesus is to Moses. We also are to consider how superior Jesus is to all other things that would try to entangle us and allure us away with false promises.
2. Keep Persevering!
And then after considering Jesus, these Hebrew Christians were to do something! They were to persevere in believing. The writer now warns these Hebrew believers against the sin of unbelief, which is the hardening of their hearts. The writer quoting from Psalm 95 reminds them of the way Israel rebelled against God in the desert. He warns them not to be like their forefathers, who did not trust fully in the Lord their God. From Psalm 95, he proceeds to remind them of their ancestors' deeds of unbelief. The privilege of the house of God is in hearing God's voice. By choosing not to listen to God's voice, peoples' hearts grew hard and cold. These words are of course written to believing Christian Hebrews, not unbelieving Jews, and are as appropriate for us today, as it was for them when they received it. As the people of God today we need to be ready to listen to God's voice. As we see God working in us, our trust and belief in Him grows. If we do not believe in Him to help us, then of course our hearts will harden against him. As we grow and run the race, willingly sacrificing what needs to be sacrificed, we realize the glory and majesty of God, His holiness and perfection, His love and tenderness, and gladly listen to hear what He says to us, and willingly receive what He gives us.
When you pray, do you have your Bible open? When you read your Bible, do you do so prayerfully and considerately? Bible reading and prayer go together! Unbelief stops a person from holding fellowship with God. Our God is alive, not a dead idol on the shelf or in the bank. This church of Hebrew believers, for all their Christian profession and religious exercises, were in danger of falling away from God, due to their not believing totally in Him. God would not abandon them, but they would abandon God! We need to take care, in case we also fall into unbelief. Unbelief and falling away act upon and react to each other. If we have any unbelief in our hearts tonight, then let us ask God to give us a heart that believes in Him so that we may not fall away from Him. And what is one of the main ways we can stop from falling away or letting others fall away into unbelief?
3. Keep encouraging!
So we keep on considering Jesus. We persevere in our believing in Him. Now thirdly, to show we are considering Jesus and are persevering in our believing Him, we are to encourage and be encouraged! In verse 12, we read, "See to it, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God". This means, that we are not only to take care of our own hearts, but as verse 13 goes on to say, we are to encourage and ensure no one is in danger of falling away. We who are believers, have to make sure that each one of us is staying on the path that leads to life, that is, the race towards Jesus.
This group of Hebrew Christians were to help and encourage each other! And so are we! For us, maybe it is by phoning somebody you haven't seen in a while or to phone somebody you get a random thought about! If we see a brother or sister that we know is starting to fall out of the race, we need to do all we can to stop them falling away. We need to encourage them, to continue considering Jesus and believing in Him. We all know of people who are new believers, full of joy and zeal for God, that end up falling back into unbelief, unable to hold fast to the end. To some degree, it is because the Church body has failed to encourage them to continue on in the race. It is our duty, and our daily responsibility to encourage people on in the race or the journey.
However, to encourage is not just these easy things. To encourage can also mean to rebuke, to correct in love. I look back at my tutor, during my first stint of Bible College back in the 1980s. His name was Ed. Ed the head we called him. We had weekly tutorials then. Every week he would get me to read a chapter of Knowing God by JI Packer and a chapter of Mere Christianity by CS Lewis. Then during our tutorial I would have to try and explain what I learnt from both those chapters. It was a slog at times I tell you. Sometimes I would get a clip round the ear for being stubborn or just being plain thick! But it gave me a good grounding for my Christian thinking and life of discipleship to Jesus. Or I think back to my dear friend Rose, a kind and dear elderly lady from the church I used to attend back in the 80s. She would have us young adults back to her house overlooking the ocean for coffee after church on a Sunday evening. She would always be loving, caring and encouraging to all people - ready to lift them when they were down and eager to cheer from the sidelines. She was also a tough cookie at times and if we got out of line, she would say so in no uncertain terms! Not so much an arm around the shoulder then but a good swift kick! Both methods of encouragement when required!
When we see somebody sinning or contemplating sinning, our reaction should be to gently encourage him or her not to continue in pursuit of that sin. Therefore in considering Jesus, believe in Him and encourage others to do the same. That is the purpose of encouragement mentioned here..
Let all of us give ourselves to the service of Jesus to watch over other people: let all the fresh grace and deeper knowledge of Jesus we see, be for the service of those around us. Where will you and I be spiritually next year, in 10 years' time, in 25 years' time? Will you be able to honestly say to yourself at that time, I have grown spiritually and haven't fallen away?
If you are here tonight, would call yourself a Christian, and you are unsure where you are, then do this. Look back and remember what Jesus has done for you. Consider Him as you look back to your first profession of faith in Him. Consider that just as He died, you died in the waters of baptism. Consider that just as He rose to physical life, you rose from the waters of baptism and will also rise again when you physically die. Consider that just as Jesus will be glorified, so too will you be glorified before the Father - if you hold out until the end. Be assured of who you are - you are a child of the living God - hold out to the end. He has a firm grip on you, so maintain your grip on Him! Remember who you are! The way to cope with the rigors of 21st century life as a Christian believer is to keep considering, keep persevering and keep encouraging. Thank you...
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Thursday Feb 08, 2024
Thursday Feb 08, 2024
The WOW of Grace (Romans 8:38-39)
Romans 8:31-39 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Come and listen to discover more!
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Wednesday Feb 07, 2024
Wednesday Feb 07, 2024
Fly! Be Free!
Romans 6:1-23
Introduction
These Roman Christians were united with Jesus Christ, united in Jesus Christ and all because of Jesus Christ alone. How could this be? Entirely due to the twin wellsprings of God’s grace and mercy. And so do we, as all Christians do down through time! In these three chapters, Romans 5-8, Paul is explaining about life under grace – life for all those who claim Jesus to be their Master, their Lord and their God – having responded to God’s free offer! Here in Romans 5-8, Paul shows from 8 different angles or lenses about life for all those who claim to be a Christian disciple – somebody who has decided to follow Jesus. It’s like he is creating this fabulous stained glass window or a tapestry about life for the Christian believer who is now under grace and has Jesus as their master and Lord.
What’s going on?
What was happening here in Chapter 6? In this section of Romans, Paul wants the believers in Rome to know, understand, recognize and comprehend all that living under grace encompasses. Paul knows that right thinking leads to right living. Paul is writing basic doctrine to this group of believers in Rome. There are 3 possible scenarios in Paul’s thinking – 2 here in Romans 6 and another in Romans 7! Paul had obviously encountered this thinking before – perhaps even in his own life! So let’s look at these scenarios together… As Paul writes, he informs the readers
Two Scenarios!
Scenario 1 (v1)
- Informing them of what they were in the past!
- Informing them of what they are now!
- Informing them of what they are to do in the future!
- And why all this, Paul? Informing them about Jesus!
- Informing them of what they were in the past!
- Informing them of what they are now!
- Informing them of what they are to do in the future!
- And why all this, Paul? Informing them about Jesus!
Recapitulation
Conclusion
Application - What about us?
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Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Count Your Blessings, Christian!
Romans 5:1-11 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, let us have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
Not only so, but let us also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Introduction
Part 1
1. We have peace with God.
2. We have access to God.
3. We have a glorious hope.
Steve Testimony
Part 2
4. We develop Godly character.
5. We have God's love.
6. We have the Holy Spirit.
7. We have salvation from future wrath of God.
8. We have reconciliation with God.
Part 3 - Recap and Conclusion
What are we to do with these blessings? Download or listen to the mp3 now to discover!
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Monday Feb 05, 2024
Monday Feb 05, 2024
A God of Salvation
Introduction
1. The Problem
Justification is the transformation from a condemned criminal to that of an heir awaiting a majestic legacy. If God doesn't punish unrighteousness, then God would have to destroy not only us, but also Himself. Holiness is an absolute attribute of God, which requires the punishment of any impurity or unrighteousness (that is sin), and if unrighteousness remained unpunished, God would cease to be God and we would cease to be human. Ergo, since the first rebellion God has had a Gospel plan to restore righteousness to man.
2. Initial Questions
The Gospel is one, which Paul is separated to according to his own words in Romans.1:1. Paul announces it is the power of God for the salvation of all in Romans 1:16. The Gospel is the good news that God has provided the means for rebellious humanity to be rescued from His wrath and judgment.
The Gospel is a two-fold message: it is deliverance from the final judgment resulting from God's anger against sin and a crediting of righteousness upon sinful man. Not only will humanity be saved, but has been saved.This Gospel creates faith (Romans.1:16-17); brings life (Romans.1:16) and judgment (Romans.2:16)
2b. What is wrath? When we think of wrath, it is usually of an uncontrollable rage or temper tantrum. God's wrath does not portray the human weaknesses of vindictiveness, or an uncontrolled pique. We can dismiss such ideas, since due to His forbearance, God's anger and judgment has been smouldering since the first rebellion of Adam and Eve. God's wrath invokes justice (Romans.2:5).
2c. What is righteousness? There are three meanings to this key phrase of Paul's: "righteousness of God". Firstly, righteousness is an immutable characteristic of God, in that whether it is a righteousness that judges or a righteousness that saves, it is still God's righteousness. Secondly, that His righteousness demands God actively keeps the promises He has made. Thirdly, that His righteousness makes us righteous. So, who needs this righteousness?
3. God's Judgment
3a. Inescapable We are inherently self-righteously hypercritical of others. Paul tells us that this makes us hypocritical and we have no right to stand in condemnation over people, as what is common in all humanity is a universal sinfulness or separation from God (Romans.2:1). We set unachievable high standards for others and yet remarkably low standard for ourselves.
3b. Righteous God will judge according to what each person has done (Romans.2:6). While we may be justified and declared righteous by faith, we will be judged based on the works we do, to earn rewards. Our faith is to be supported by good works (Galatians.5:6; James.2:18). Paul here shows two destinies. Eternal life, glory, honour, peace and immortality for those who enduringly desire to perform good works (Romans.2:7,10). Juxtaposed to this are the self-indulgent and disobedient who shall incur God's indignation, wrath and righteous judgment (Romans.2:8-9).
3c. Impartial God shows no favouritism (Romans.2:11), so whether Jew or Gentile, both can be saved and be declared righteous. God is eternally just and righteous. It is a reflection of His mercy, that nobody can claim God is unfair.
4. All have sinned and need God's righteousness
4b. The Jew is in need Jews had the Law and boasted in it (Romans.2:23). However, possession of the Law was of no consequence to God and Paul claims it is practicing the Law, which matters. Their religion was an external action but not an internal attitude. Jesus' regular denunciation of the Pharisees reflects this. Adultery, robbery and idolatry (Romans.2:21) were perfectly possible for a Jew to commit secretly according to the Sermon on the Mount. Instead of being God's light to the nations, Jews were dishonouring God (Romans.2:24; Isaiah.52:5). Packer in his book "Knowing God" reflects: "The Law cannot save us, for its only effect is to stimulate sin and shows us how far short we fall from God's righteousness." If not the Law, then surely through circumcision a Jew will be declared righteous! After all, the circumcision is the mark of God's covenant with Israel (Genesis.17). Again, Paul says no. Circumcision avails nothing if the Law is not kept (Romans.2:25). An uncircumcised Gentile who keeps the law is more acceptable to God than a circumcised Jew who breaks the Law. A Jew is one who inwardly experiences God, not one who exhibits external worship alone (Romans.2:28-29). Paul continues. All humanity has rebelled against God, both Jew and Gentile. Paul cites Old Testament verses to back his claims that all men are unrighteous before God's wrath (Romans.3:10-18). There are no excuses. Just like the excuses we come up for when caught speeding in our cars.
5. Salvation for all
5b. God's Wrath Propitiated through Redemption. Redemption implies ransom. It is the purchase of a slave, simply to set that slave free. It involves a ransom payment. God's grace pays God's justice on our behalf so that righteousness can be declared. God's grace is the origin of our justification. This redemption, results from God the Father presenting Jesus Christ as a sacrifice to appease His wrath. Our redemption involved the death of Jesus as our payment. God's righteous wrath now averted and appeased through this act of propitiation, means we are therefore liberated as a demonstration of His righteousness (Romans.3:25-26). All humanity are slaves or prisoners to sin (Romans.3:9), and it is from this slavery the Gospel declares we have been delivered. The full consequences of this redemption will not be experienced until we have overcome and persevered to gain our eternal inheritance (Romans.8:23-25).
Conclusion
Is there any difference today? People are still blasé and ignorant of God, having suppressed the truth. People still declare that the existance of God cannot be proven by rational science and advanced knowledge. People are still both hypercritical of others and therefore hypocrites. It is to this world, we are to apply our theology. This gospel of salvation, which justifies us in order to declare us righteous, thus sparing us from God's condemnatory wrath, is the one we are to use to spread the good news, that God's righteousness is free by faith, to all who humble themselves, admit their guilt and ‘lost-ness' and ask God for forgiveness.
For those who would already call themselves a Christian, you are to tell others about this salvation and you are to serve Him, where ever you are and where ever you go! Jesus is the one you are following and its on His terms alone that you are His disciple. If you view Him as a superhero, somebody who you call upon only when you need something or even as your boyfriend, then beware: Jesus will not be mocked - He wants all aspects of your life to be submitted to Him! Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor who defied Hitler, wrote these words "When Jesus Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. Discipleship is not an offer that man makes to Jesus Christ, nor is it hero worship, but intimacy with Christ."
Want to be intimate with Jesus Christ? Worship him alone and exhibit your faith to all you come into contact with! Too often Christians and churches side with the rights of the powerful and elite, while forgetting the poor, oppressed and marginalised. Too often Christians and churches neglect to feed the hungry, seek justice for the oppressed and help the poor.
There are enough Christians and churches in the UK to make significant positive change to their local communities. Too often Christians sit around on their backsides discussing good theology while in that same community people die of loneliness & neglect. You say you have faith in Jesus Christ and are dedicated to Him! Good! Then show it and this community will be transformed to the glory and praise of Jesus Christ! Go tell somebody this good news of Jesus Christ. Won't you go tell somebody this very day, this week, this message of salvation? Salvation, as a free gift and available to all who ask, because nobody can earn it or buy it. The price has already been paid - by Jesus Christ alone on a Roman cross two thousand years ago. If you ever hear people say that I have died, tell them that is false. Tell them I am now more alive than ever before.
For those who would not yet call themselves Christian, you need to bow your knee before Almighty God. If you want to turn to God there is no need for delay. He is ready and willing to take you as His own right now. You only have to ask Him to forgive you and to give you help on the journey ahead. It is a partnership between God and yourself. When you place your faith in Jesus, becoming utterly dependent upon Him, you turn to God. You don't need to do or change anything to become a follower of Jesus! However once you have made that decision, you leave behind your spiritual isolation and rebellion against Him. As you live each day, becoming more involved with Jesus day by day, you will find yourself changing. You will stop doing those things that separated you from Him. You will find yourself doing things that please Jesus and develop your relationship with Him. God asks that you accept his guidance and management of your life. His point of view and His strength become your point of view and your source of strength. You turn your mind, will and heart to Him for all you do. If you want to become a Christian there are three simple steps to follow. Firstly, admit that you have done wrong against God and His ways. Secondly, believe and trust in Jesus. Call on Him, receive, trust, obey and worship Him, recognizing Him for who He is and what He has done. Lastly, confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. Once sin has been confessed, and Jesus is believed in and trusted as Saviour, then you are a Christian. Now you are ready as Peter writes in the Bible, "to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." 7 Welcome to the family of God. God has chosen you; Jesus has paid for you and has put His mark within you through His Spirit.
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Sunday Feb 04, 2024
Sunday Feb 04, 2024
Solomon the Wise prays to God, Dedicating the Temple!
2 Chronicles 6v1-21
What is the story so far?
History is important though, not only to learn the lessons from it but also as Christians, the Bible shows how God has acted in human history.
A brief recap of chapter 7.
From the first 3 verses of chapter 7, we read the Chronicler regaling one of the many great WOW moments of the Old Testament. The time when the glory of the Lord came down like fire and filled the temple to overflowing! The people fell down in worship of a great God, who was their God! This was followed by a great scene of abundantly joyful sacrificial worship to this God!
That must have been some prayer eh! Well, tonight as you may have gathered, we go back to looking at those prayers. Not in an exhaustive way, but to discover together what we can learn about God and His relationship with those who are His and seeing how this is relevant to us some 3 millennia later. During the intervening period, I wonder if Solomon had wrestled in his mind over what he prayed… Let us wrestle together now, in these prayers of his, albeit briefly. This is a key passage, a link if you like, between the Covenant that God made with Solomon’s father, David, including the building of a House for God, the Temple, and the glory of the Lord filling the Temple in 2 Chronicles 7. This reflects I think, the necessity and vitality of prayer in the unfolding of God’s will for humanity. The story is also regaled in 1 Kings 8 but with some nuance as you may expect.
A Covenant Making God
Down through history, the Bible reveals that God has made Covenants with humanity. A covenant is an important way to describe the progress of the relationship between God and humanity through the Biblical story. A covenant at the time of the Old Testament was a solemn commitment between the two covenanting parties to fulfil all the promises and obligations of the covenant. Covenants were common in all kinds of life, and not just between God and humanity. The idea comes from the sort of agreement commonly entered into in the ancient area round Israel between a high king, and a sub king or clan chief.
It is easy to see how a covenant is a good way to describe the relationship between God and humanity. God, who promises to protect and help the human with faithfulness, and the human who promises to worship and honour God with faith. The Covenants between God and humanity have several things about them regarding the relationship.
In these Covenants between God and humanity, God always took the initiative – sometimes by complete surprise. God has made certain commitments and has given His solemn promise to fulfil His end of the bargain. God waits for a response from humanity. God does not coerce or force but waits for humanity to take the responsibility of replying and acquiescing to God's covenantal promises through obedience, faithfulness and worship.
There are Covenants made in the Garden of Eden, Covenants made in history with Adam, Noah and Abraham, but we will fast forward to the Covenant between God and Moses before going onto His covenant with Solomon’s father, David.
The Mosaic Covenant
Why look at the Covenant made between God and Moses? We do so because there is a connection between that Covenant and the prayer of Solomon we are looking at tonight. Indeed the very Ark of the Covenant contained a gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and two tablets of stone on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed. Charles Spurgeon commented “One is struck, with the fact that the language of Solomon is far from new, and is full of quotations from the Pentateuch (where the Mosaic Covenant is fully explained), some of which are almost word for word.”
This covenant is between God and humanity, in this case with the particular nation of Israel. It commences with the stipulation “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine” (Exodus 19:5). This covenant was to Israel in order that those who believed God’s promise, could know how to live righteously. Israel’s task was to bring the knowledge of God to all the world so that blessing might come to all humanity. In this, however, they were to fail and only when Jesus came as the perfectly obedient Israelite was it to become possible that all the world should be blessed.
This Mosaic covenant covered the three areas of life:
- The commandments were given so they would know how to relate socially to God correctly (Exodus 20:1-17)
- The judgments were given in order that they could relate socially to each other properly (Exodus 21:1 - 24:11 and in Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy)
- The decrees dictate their religious life so that God could be approached by humanity on His terms (Exodus 24:12 - 31:18, and in Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy).
The Mosaic Covenant was never meant as a means by which humanity could achieve salvation with God. It was given so that they could realize the helplessness of their own efforts, and their need of God's help as well as expressing their devotion to the Lord. Yet they still failed to bring blessing to other peoples. Galatians 3:22-24 explains that the Law was only a protective fence until through the promised Messiah, when humanity could be made right with God through faith. That Messiah we know to be the man Jesus Christ. More later though.
The Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:4-17)
Now we fast forward to the Covenant which was in place as Solomon dedicates the Temple to God and is mentioned here. This covenant that God made with David, Solomon’s father. Three great things were promised:
- A land forever (2 Samuel 7:10);
- A dynasty without end (2 Samuel 7:11, 16)
- A perpetual kingdom (2 Samuel 7:13, 16)
Through the Covenants we see a God who is willing to interact with His creation and bless it. When first century Christians such as the Apostles Paul, Peter and John checked and thought over all the events surrounding the life of Jesus Christ, they searched their Scriptures (our Old Testament). It was as God the Holy Spirit illuminated their minds, that they wrote down and passed on the whole range of Old Testament promises which were fulfilled in God's Messiah and the world's hope - Jesus Christ and Him alone. That is why it is important for us as twenty-first century Christian Disciples to read our Old Testament as well as the New Testament. For by reading the Old Testament, new light is shed upon our own understanding of the New Testament. One of the fundamentals of understanding the Bible, is to let the Bible interpret the Bible.
There is one more Covenant of God which we are to look at tonight, but we will see that shortly! We press on with these prayers of Solomon.
There are 3 prayers here.
- v1-2 are opening words of praise to God
- v4-11 are the 2nd prayer
- v16-41 are the 3rd prayer.
We won’t go into any great detail tonight, you will no doubt be glad to know. We will get to about verse 21 I think. But with a very general overview, let’s look together and see what we can learn together from the wise man Solomon about God and about prayer. Charles Spurgeon said that “It is worthy of remark concerning this prayer that it is as full and comprehensive as if it were meant to be the summary of all future prayers offered in the temple.”
Part 1
1. Verses 1 & 2 - Solomon acknowledges God’s presence in the cloud
Here we see that Solomon acknowledges God’s presence in the cloud. The cloud of God’s glory has a long association with His presence. Solomon knew that the presence of the cloud meant that God dwelt in the temple in a special way. It was to be a special place to come and meet with God. It was symbolic of God living with His people.
2.Verses 3 to 9 – Solomon blessed the people and blesses God.
Here we see that Solomon blessed the people and blesses God. Solomon knew, affirmed and recognized that the completion of the Temple was the fulfilment of the plan of God and not of Solomon himself or indeed of his father David. God’s plan. David and Solomon were merely the human instruments, they were God’s arms and legs, but the work was affirmed to be God’s alone! God’s actions or work have confirmed His words, His promises! God’s hands were at work building the Temple as He guided and strengthened the human workers who contributed themselves to its construction.
Solomon recounts how their ancestors had escaped from Egypt in the Exodus 500 years hence. This shows its importance to the people of Israel at the time! Their minds were singing “If the Lord can bring us out of Egypt and rescue us, He will help us establish ourselves as a nation and build this Temple in order to worship Him. “
God is faithful to His promises. Down through the ages God has been faithful and keeping His part of the Covenant that He made with people. Later when we come to conclude we will see together briefly the promises of God for the Christian, including us today almost 3 millennia later.
Solomon now issues a statement concerning his father, David! Why David was not to build it. Though David, the mighty King had done extensive preparations for it, he didn’t actually complete it. The completion was left for his son, Solomon. Why? Because of God’s ideal of rest for his King and for his people. David had fought many wars and battles. It was part of his rest in God not to build the Temple. Solomon was spared the emotional turmoil of war, so could dedicate his energies to building the Temple – the House of God.
3. Verses 10-11 - Solomon presents the finished temple unto God.
And with verses 10 to 11, we see that Solomon presents the finished Temple to God. Solomon recognized that being the successor of his father David to the throne of Israel was significant. He then places the Ark of the Covenant, in its resting place in the Temple. The Ark of the Covenant was a physical representation of God’s promised presence with His people, the nation of Israel. It was a wooden chest clad with gold containing a gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. Solomon speaks of a God who fulfilled with His hands what He had spoken with His mouth. God had said what He was going to do, and then went and did it.
How are we doing at worshipping as we work for the Lord? Are we workers primarily and then click a switch to engage worship mode as we come here on a Sunday? Or do we consider ourselves God worshippers as we work? God wants worshippers before workers. In God’s mind, the only acceptable workers are those who have learnt the art of worship. Do you consider all you do as acts of worship to God? Everything you do as acts of worship to God? Because that is the kind of people God wants and desires, the kind of people who worship Him in Spirit and in truth and in all aspects of life – not just for a couple of hours on a Sunday. With those thoughts, let’s take a break now to sing to this amazing God we love, serve and are to keep our vision upon – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Part 2. Solomon’s prayer.
Verses 12-14 - Humility before and praise unto God.
.Here in verses 12 to 14 we see that Solomon stands before the altar of the Lord. Solomon did not dedicate the Temple from within the Temple itself because that would have been the wrong place. That was where only the Priest could go, so Solomon stands outside, raised up so that the throngs of people could see him. Before the altar, spreading out his hands in an act of symbolism - reaching out toward heaven in a gesture of surrender, openness, and ready reception.
Here Solomon recognizes that God was and is completely unique in all facets of being and expresses it. The false and pretend gods of the nations around Israel could not compare to Him in any way.
Verses 15-17 - Solomon recognizes God as the maker and keeper of promises.
Solomon commences now to thankfully praise God, because God has kept all His promises that He had mad in the past. Have you done that in your prayer life? Speaking out thanks for what God has done for you in the past?
He continues and calls upon God to keep the promises that He has now made. We are, as His people, to take on board God’s promises, take them to heart in faith, and then boldly and reverently call upon Him to fulfil the promises. Again, is that part of your prayer life? God promises and we are to appropriate, take hold of them and proclaim them, taking them on board in our life by faith, knowing that God fulfils the promises that He makes to people.
Verses 18-21 - Solomon asks God to dwell in this place and honour those who seek Him here.
Solomon now asks a question in this prayer! How often have you and I asked God questions as we pray, rather than just listing off our demands. God would reside in the Temple but not to the exclusion of other places. While God would have a special presence in the Temple, He would not be restricted to it. Solomon asks God to listen to His people as they pray and worship in this Temple dedicated to Him. When God hears the prayers made in the Tempe, Solomon implores that He would forgive His people and probably the greatest answer to prayer that they could expect.
Conclusion - Promises of God for the Christian
After such a prayer, how can we conclude? What are the challenges and comforts we have seen from this passage of Scripture? This Temple was destroyed about 400 years later by the Babylonians. It is long gone. What about David’s Covenant though? Was that ever fulfilled?
Remember David’s Covenant which we looked at briefly earlier on? Was that ever fulfilled? We can say that it has been! It was fulfilled gloriously in the coming of God, in the man Jesus Christ. When the great God did indeed come as a human being in the person we know as Jesus Christ. It is historical fact.
2 Samuel 7:12 predicted the birth of Solomon as David's successor to the throne, with his role being to establish David's throne forever (2 Samuel 7:13). We see this link to the man Jesus Christ, through the genealogies to both Joseph: who had a legal right to King David's throne (Matthew 1:1-17) and to Mary: who had a blood right to King David's throne (Luke 3:23-38). The land is the whole world, now potentially the sphere of the rule of Jesus (Romans 4:13); the dynasty was, through Solomon, eventually to be the eternal son, Jesus (Matthew 1:1, 6, 16; Luke 3:23, 31); the Kingdom is the kingdom of God, now established, and ever growing in the world in which we live. (Matthew 11:12)
All of which were fulfilled gloriously in the coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus the Messiah, the Saviour. Jesus Christ – fully God and fully human. Not just for the Jews but for all people of every race and language. Really that should make us go WOW in awe of our God. Our God is the God of history and has stepped into history as a human being.
The New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Luke 22:15-20)
We see all this in what is called the New Covenant. Four features of this covenant are:
- Regeneration – God will write His law on the hearts of people. (Jeremiah 31:33)
- Restoration - God will be their God, and they will be God's people. (Jeremiah 31:33)
- Promised Holy Spirit – God will indwell people and they will be led by Him (Jeremiah 31:34)
- Justification – Sins will be forgiven, removed and remembered no more (Jeremiah 31:34)
This new covenant is sealed only through the perfect sacrifice of the God-Man Jesus on the cross. His death ensures the truth of this New Covenant. His death pays the penalty for the sins of all people. That is why we are to say yes to God and His New Covenant. This New Covenant can be contrasted with the Old Covenant, the Mosaic covenant that we looked at earlier, (Jeremiah 31:32; Hebrews 8:6-13) because this New Covenant finalizes and makes possible what the Mosaic Covenant could only point to: the follower of God living in a righteous life conforming to God's holy character.
Solomon asks in verse 18 “But will God really dwell on earth with humans? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple that I have built!” In Solomon’s direct context, he was talking about the Temple which he was dedicating to God. In the overall context of the Bible, however, God did indeed come and dwell on earth. Not just with humans, but to be a human. Jesus Christ, the God-man. God keeps His promises and Jesus Christ is evidence of that. Oh that is so easy to forget when we are undergoing the trials of life. In what way does God keep His promises to us today?
Five quick statements.
- By faith, He is praying for us. God the Son, Jesus Christ is making intercessions for Christians (Romans 8:34). He knows our troubles and He feels our cares and knows what we are going through (Hebrews 4:14-16). Isn’t that simply amazing and oh how easily we forget.
- By faith - He will come to us. Have you ever felt like God is far away? Well you aren’t alone! Solomon’s father, David, often felt that God was far away and unconcerned with his life. Just a cursory look in the Psalms will reveal that. However he also knew that God would ultimately rescue him. Jesus always comes to us through difficult times. Although He may not come in the time we think He should come, because He knows when we need Him most.
- By faith - He will help us grow - Once, when His disciples were in the storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus came to them walking on the water (Matthew 14:22-33). The purpose of this incident was to show that Jesus would be leaving them soon, so they had to learn to trust in Him when He wasn’t physically present. One of those disciples, Peter, wrote later on in his life, “for the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers” (1 Peter 3:12). How are you growing as a follower of Jesus? Not only in your knowledge but also in your transformation and development? As we are being transformed by the power of God the Holy Spirit into the image of God the Son, Jesus Christ, it is to the praise and glory of God the Father. Our transformation reveals God at work.
- By faith, He will see us through - Again, when the disciples were in the storm, Jesus said “Come” and Peter went with Him. This must have encouraged the other disciples, for upon seeing Jesus’ power they worshipped him. Whatever troubles you are undergoing are temporary, and Jesus will see you through. For various reasons 2015 for Youngmi and I started out as if it could be our annus horribilus. Yet it became our annus mirabilis instead as we saw God at work each day throughout the year.
- By faith, you have salvation - if you are trusting in Jesus alone for your salvation. By faith Jesus is praying for you, will come to you, grow you and help you through troubles. By being obedient to God, you and I are showing others our salvation and showing that faith, is not blind, but active. We can be obedient to Him by relying on His strength and wisdom. We are to be faithful to God and show it by being obedient to Him and getting on with the work we have been given, just as Solomon was in getting the Temple competed. Is your work worship or your worship work?
As we go out tonight, let us remember that God keeps His promises, He is listening to your prayers and He wants us to be in a dynamic moment by moment relationship with Himself. This great God wants you and I to be actively obedient to Him in all facets of our lives – our work, our play, our conversations, our worship and our relationships. If you are struggling in a particular area, get trusted others to pray for you and to hold you accountable – that is part of discipleship – part of following and loving God.
Our verse for the year as a Church is Psalm 105:4 “Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.” That was what Solomon did in the building of the Temple. That is what we are to do as well, as I am sure you are aware. Not only the Church here as a whole, but as individual followers of Jesus Christ. If we try to do it in our own strength we will fail. If we do it in the strength of the God we proclaim to love, worship, serve and glorify then we can – because all glory and honour will go to Him and Him alone.
As we go, are we ready in some way to tell others about this great God we claim is great and sing here in this fabulous building of our love and service? Are we ready to enable and encourage each other in the faith, and not just our friends and favourites, in some way as we see need? Are we actively engaging with the great God throughout each day, worshipping Him in all aspects of life and letting Him have dominion over every aspect of our lives as we put our trust fully in Him and in all aspects of life?
We are to be faithful to God and show it by being obedient to Him and getting on with the work we have been given, just as Solomon was in getting the job done.
As a general observation, most of the Church is scared of that word evangelism. We are not all to be evangelists like the Billy Grahams or Bruce Kitchings of this world, but we are to tell and show others about the God we claim to love and are in covenant with. Let’s go WOW the world, all of it, including our little corner here for God with the news of our God – the God who is outside of time who stepped down into time, into human history, in order that humanity could choose to follow Him or not - to be His children or not. Let’s keep our eyes fixed firmly on our God as we seek to enable and encourage – not just as a church body but also as individuals to all others that we meet. We are the Church on the hill. Let us, both as a church and as individuals, “Look to the LORD and his strength; seeking his face always.” Let’s go WOW for God together, heeding His advice and worshipping Him alone in all facets of life.
Are you tired and in need of comfort from all the challenges you are having to endure? Keep your eyes on God and allow Him to embrace you, comfort and lift you up. Remember that He is for you, He lives within you and you are His child.
Are you too comfortable? In need of a challenge to stop you becoming complacent? Ask God to help you overcome, to empower you and seek His face and wisdom. Ask for His strength to help you do what He has asked you to do?
The God we have comforts us in our challenges and challenges us in our comfort. We have an amazingly glorious God!
Let’s have a minute or two to bring ourselves before God and ask God to help you as only He can. Then I will close with a prayer before we go on to have our final song together.