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Episodes
Tuesday Apr 11, 2017
Tuesday Apr 11, 2017
Tuesday – Jesus’ Last Teaching
“But now I am going back to the Father who sent me, and none of you asks me where I am going. You are very sad from hearing all of this. But I tell you that I am going to do what is best for you. That is why I am going away. The Holy Spirit cannot come to help you until I leave. But after I am gone, I will send the Spirit to you.” (John 16:5-7)
In these last few chapters before He is crucified, Jesus is saying goodbye to His disciples and giving them some final teaching before He departs. Several times He has told them He is going away (John 13:33; John 14:3-4, 19, 28). Today we are going to go quickly through John 15-16 and reflect upon this section of his final teaching sessions before He is arrested, betrayed, condemned and crucified. Of course, everything Jesus did in his earthly ministry was a lesson to be learnt and there are other events such as Peter’s denials and subsequent repentance, where we can also learn lessons. But this chapter is Jesus’ final active session of teaching His disciples. So what does he teach them?
1. Disciples must bear fruit for the kingdom! (John 15:1-16)
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:1-2)
As usual Jesus uses Old Testament language, for in the Old Testament, the nation of Israel is often seen as a vine (Jeremiah 2:21; Psalm 80). However as a vine, Israel had not produced fruit that God had expected as explained in Isaiah 5:1-2 “I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit.”
With Jesus describing Himself as the true Vine, the implication is clear that the nation of Israel was but an imperfect precursor to His perfect self. With Jesus as the vine, all believers are the branches, and all believers draw spiritual nourishment from Him. As part of this nourishment, sometimes pruning is required (John 15:2). Cleansing is also required in order that fruit be borne from the Christian Disciple. This cleansing is through regular confession of sin and partaking of Holy Communion as explained in the foot-washing scene of John 13. To prove to others they are His followers and His disciples, Jesus tells them they are to continue loving Him and also to sacrificially love others joyfully (John 15:12-14). By doing these things, which is now their mission statement, they will bear much good fruit for God’s greater glory (John 15:8). The same is true of us today, if we are Christian Disciples.
2. Disciples will suffer for the kingdom (John 15:18-27)
John 15:18: "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”
Having spoken of love and bearing fruit, Jesus now declares a warning and the context into which He is sending them. We learn from this passage that opposition to Jesus’ message is unavoidable. The first opposition is that of the old nature attacking the new nature. Christian Disciples, Jesus said, were called out from the world (John 15:19). Christian Disciples upon conversion belong to a different place and are heading for a different place .
Secondly, opposition is to be expected simply because of who Jesus is (John 15:21). Christian Disciples share in the life of Jesus and the way the world treats Jesus is the way the world treats all His disciples (John 15:20-21).
Thirdly, opposition comes through revealing evil. Jesus, as the Light of the World, exposed evil and sin through His words (John 15:22) and works (John 15:24). At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus commanded all those who follow Him, to also be “lights of the world” (Matthew 5:14-16). This is done by consistently ensuring that our works and words match our lifestyle and that no hypocrisy will be found. Opposition brings persecution, and regularly throughout history, Christian believers have been persecuted for their faith in Jesus. In our own time, perhaps the most persecuted century of all. Being a Christian is not an easy decision, but it is worth it. It is also endurable because of three things: God still remains Lord God despite all; .we share in Jesus’ own sufferings and therefore have fellowship with Him (Philippians 3:10) and by being persecuted, it shows we belong to Him (John 15:19).
The main reason all opposition can be endured is because the Christian Disciple is not alone. God the Holy Spirit witnesses with the Christian Disciple (John 15:26). Not as a supplementary person filling a perfunctory role, but rather as the pioneer going out to testify about Jesus ahead (John 15:26) of the Christian Disciple (John 15:27).
3. Disciples will have resources in the Kingdom (John 16)
The first resource that Christian Disciples have is, as we have already seen, the Holy Spirit. After all, He is the real evangelist. In conjunction with Him, the Christian Disciple has three resources to use: proclaiming, counselling and discipling.
Proclaiming (John 16:1-7): this is the proclaiming and elucidating work about Jesus that the Spirit performs. The Holy Spirit testifies about Jesus’ death on the cross and subsequent resurrection (John 16:14). If Jesus did not go back to glory, and the Holy Spirit was not sent, then the pioneering work of the Holy Spirit would be missing from evangelism and mission. Not only does the Holy Spirit direct people to Jesus, but take them to Him.
Counselling (John 16:8-11): As well as proclaiming about Jesus, the Holy Spirit speaks to people’s hearts personally – one to one. This signifies the intimacy between the holy God and the believer. The Holy Spirit, convinces people hearing of God’s Word of three things: their own sin (John 16:8); their separation from a holy & righteous God (John 16:10) and also in regards to the judgement of Satan and all who follow him (John 16:11). In these three things, a person is led to the Cross of Christ, in order to confess their sin and their need of Jesus Christ and the salvation only
Discipling (John 16:12-16): Once bought to faith, the Holy Spirit performs several tasks for the Twelve Disciples: He will guide them into all truth and develop what is coming in the future (John 16:13). The New Testament is the product of this work and that through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For the Christian Disciple today, the Holy Spirit helps them to apply the Bible to their life in order that Jesus Christ be glorified (John 16:14).
b. The second resource available to the Christian Disciple is Jesus Himself! Jesus presence, provision and position.
Presence (John 16:16-33): Yes, His very presence! The twelve disciples will experience sorrow and loss when Jesus is crucified and dead. But after the resurrection, their sorrow will turn to great joy – similar to the exceeding joy after the pains of childbirth! Christian Disciples today also have Jesus’ presence with them, particularly when engaged in doing the work of an evangelist!
Provision: Not only His presence, but also His provision! Through answered prayer, joy abounds (John 16:24)! Prayer is going to be of prime importance for the twelve disciples as it is a way to ensure unabated joy – joy even amidst suffering and trouble!
Position: Finally, not only His presence, His provision but also look at His position! Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33) and nothing can prevail against Him! If you are with Jesus, nothing will prevail against Him and He will protect you, provide for you and be with you in all you do, as you submit yourself to Him. Whether in the bad times or the good times, Jesus will be with you – but you need to ask Him to be with you and rely on Him fully. If you are going through bad times now, and don’t know this Jesus yet, then ask Him to be with you – what have you got to lose?
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Monday Apr 10, 2017
Monday Apr 10, 2017
Monday – Jesus’ Mission and Identity
As we know from a previous study, Luke 9:51 tells us that Jesus set his face towards Jerusalem. He knew that was where he was going to die. He knew that is where his mission would be accomplished and that his true identity would finally be revealed. But what was Jesus’ mission and what was his identity, apart from being the son of a carpenter from Nazareth. So tonight, we start our Easter series by looking back and seeing together what his mission and identity are.
Mission
Luke writes in Luke 4:42-44: “At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.”
This is the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry on earth! These verses at the end of Luke 4 tell us that His mission is to preach God’s Kingdom. A reluctant John the Baptist baptized him and the crowds heard God the Father speaking to Him. He underwent temptations by the arch-seducer, satan and emerged victorious from that ordeal. Now Jesus, led by the Holy Spirit, has returned home to Galilee (Luke 4:14).
Jesus at home (Luke 4:14-30)
Jesus is back in home territory and because of the power of His teaching, He is becoming known as a great teacher (Luke 4:15). Jesus spent some time in Galilee, become known and is arousing the interest, curiosity and excitement of people.
Worshipping (Luke 4:14-18) – It was Jesus’ habit to attend public worship wherever he was. He would have worshipped as any Jewish man would have.
A typical synagogue service
- Opened with a prayer for God’s blessing
- Traditional Hebrew confession of faith (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21)
- Prayer and readings from the Law and the Prophets
- Brief talk given by one of the men or a visiting rabbi (Acts 13:14-16)
- Benediction or prayer
Because of His growing renown as a teacher, it is no surprise that he should be asked to read the Scripture and give a short teaching session regarding it. Here in Nazareth, Jesus declared that the day for demonstrating God’s salvation had arrived and the day the prophets looked forward to, was going to be fulfilled in Jesus Himself (Luke 4:20). He was the Servant Isaiah had talked about long ago (Isaiah 61:1-2). His ministry was divinely directed; it was a ministry of hope for all people and a ministry to free the spiritually oppressed (Luke 4:18).
Acceptable Year of the Lord (Luke 4:19)
When Jesus said in Luke 4:19 “to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour”, Jesus was referring to the “Year of Jubilee” (Leviticus 25). Every fiftieth year, this special year was the balancing of the economic system.
- Slaves were set free and returned to their families
- Property that was sold back to the original owners
- All debts were cancelled
- Lands lay bare to rest and rejoice in the Lord
The local reaction was at first one of astonishment (Luke 4:22) and telling each other he was the son of Joseph! But Jesus was not the son of Joseph, but rather the Son of God, the new Adam and the founder of a new humanity as he goes on to explain.
Rejected (Luke 4:20-30)
They saw Him as the son of Joseph. Admiration turned to anger, because Jesus began to remind them of God’s goodness to the Gentiles.
- The prophet Elijah bypassed all the Jewish widows and helped a Gentile widow in Sidon (1 Kings 17:8-16)
- Elisha healed a Gentile leper from Syria (2 Kings 5:1-15)
Whilst those in Nazareth could only see Jesus in the local setting, He told them His mission was for all Israel! And if Israel rejected this message of Good News, then the Gentiles would be blessed by it (Luke 4:25-27). Upon hearing this, the astonished admiration turned to furious anger (Luke 4:28-30)! Salvation is no longer restricted to Israel but for every child of Adam – every human. Jesus’ mission was not to be Israel’s saviour but the world’s saviour.
When Jesus quoted the proverb “no prophet is accepted in his hometown”, he revealed his knowledge of Old Testament history. He knew that God’s messengers often were rejected, and even as God’s Son, he was rejected as well.
Jesus’ mission was to be the saviour of the world as God’s Son (John 3:16) and the Servant of the Lord. His mission was to give a message of hope for the spiritually poor and spiritually oppressed people. Not only people in his hometown, nor only in Israel, but rather for the whole world. People have two choices when faced with this fact: accept or reject. There is no other option.
Identity
And what of his identity? In Mark 8:27-33: Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do people say I am?"
This section of the Bible contains the verse, when Peter calls Jesus the Christ or Messiah or Saviour (Mark 8:29), this divulges Jesus’ true identity, In the preceding few verses Jesus and the disciples were in Bethsaida and there is the incident where Jesus healed the blind man. When the man is healed, Jesus instructs the man not to tell anybody! Why did Jesus stipulate that? Because Jesus didn’t want to be seen as only a healer and miracle worker.
Confess who Jesus is
Now we come back to that climactic part of the Gospels when Jesus asked His disciples: “Who do people say that I am?
Some say John the Baptist
- Jesus and John had been seen together in public and they were different in personality and ministry
- John came ‘in the spirit and power of Elijah’ (Luke 1:17), in a ministry of judgement, whereas Jesus came in a spirit of meekness and service.
- John performed no miracles (John 10:41), but Jesus was a miracle worker.
- John even dressed like the Prophet Elijah (2 Kings 1:8; Mark 1:6)
Others say Jeremiah (Matthew 16:14)
- Jeremiah was the ‘weeping prophet’, and Jesus was the ‘man of sorrows’
- Jeremiah called the people to true repentance from the heart, and so did Jesus.
- Both men were misunderstood and rejected by their own people.
- Both men condemned the false religious leaders and the hypocritical worship in the temple.
- Those in authority persecuted both men.
In both His works and words, Jesus gave evidence to the people that He was the Son of God, the Messiah, and yet they did not get the message. The disciples had much to learn about Him and what it meant to follow Him. The Jews were expecting a victorious Messiah (Isaiah 11:1-5). But they had forgotten that the Messiah must also suffer and die (Isaiah 53:1-12; Luke 24:26). The Jewish people thought that the Messiah would set up an earthly political kingdom, but Jesus came to set up a spiritual kingdom that would last forever (Isaiah 9:7; Daniel 7:13-14; Luke 1:33; Revelation 11:15)
What was the purpose of the Messiah? (Mark 10:45)
Jesus’ mission was to be the Servant of the Lord, and therefore, the saviour of the world as God’s Son (John 3:16). His purpose as the Messiah was neither that He be served nor that He will lead a political overthrow of the Roman government as some had hoped. Rather, His purpose as the Messiah was to be God’s servant and give a message of hope for the spiritually poor and spiritually oppressed people.
Follow who Jesus is
When Jesus rebuked Peter, he was also telling off the other disciples (Mark 8:33). Remember that they did not yet understand the relationship between suffering and glory. By the time Peter had written his epistle 1 Peter, he did (1 Peter1:6-8, 1 Peter 4:13-5:10).
Some Jewish leaders taught of 2 Messiahs – one to suffer and one who would reign (1Peter 1:10-12)
There is a price to pay for true followers:
- Surrender completely to Him.
- Identify with Him in His suffering and death.
- Follow Him obediently, wherever He leads.
What is the reward for the true disciple of Jesus?
- Satan promises glory now, but in the end suffering comes.
- God promises suffering now, but the suffering turns to glory.
Spiritually, at this time, the disciples were still blind to who Jesus was, just as the man who was physically blind. Our confession of Jesus is a matter of life and death (John 8:21;1 John 4:1-3). Confession of Jesus as Lord is necessary for salvation (1 Corinthians 12:1-3), when that confession is from the heart (Romans 10:9-10). Christians are called to follow Jesus, to take up their cross and this could mean nothing less than being ready to suffer and die for Jesus. If we are ashamed of Him on earth, He will be ashamed of us when the end of the world has come. He will reward those deserving the reward, and deny those who deny Him.
Finally, who do you say this Jesus is? What have you done with this Jesus – accepted or rejected Him?
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Sunday Apr 09, 2017
Sunday Apr 09, 2017
Palm Sunday – Jesus enters Jerusalem
Luke 19:36-44
36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” (New International Version)
______________
The history of His last approach to Jerusalem and intercourse with it now commences (v. 35). Here then He presents Himself anew as the Son of David, and for the last time; laying on the conscience of the nation His pretensions to that title, while displaying the consequences of His rejection. Near Jericho, the place of malediction, He gives sight to a blind man who believes in His title of Son of David. In Luke the coming to Jericho is stated as a general fact, in contrast with His general journey which is in view from chapter 9:51. In point of fact it was on going out of Jericho He saw the blind man.
The general fact is all we have here, to give the whole history, Zacchaeus and all, Its moral place. So indeed those who possessed that faith did receive their sight to follow Him, and they saw yet greater things than these. In Jericho (Luke 19) He sets forth grace, in spite of the pharisaic spirit. Nevertheless it is as a son of Abraham that He points out Zacchaeus, who-in a false position indeed as such-had a tender conscience and a generous heart by grace. I doubt not that Zacchaeus sets before Jesus that which he did habitually, before the Lord came to him. Nevertheless salvation came that day to his house. His position did not, in the eyes of Jesus, take from him the character of son of Abraham (if it had that effect, who could have been blessed?) and did not bar the way to that salvation which was come to save the lost. It entered with Jesus into the house of this son of Abraham. He brought salvation, whoever might be heir to it.
Nevertheless He does not conceal from them His departure, and the character which the kingdom would assume, owing to His absence. As for them, Jerusalem, and the expectation of the coming kingdom, filled their minds. The Lord therefore explains to them what would take place. He goes away to receive a kingdom and to return. Meanwhile He commits some of His goods (the gifts of the Spirit) to His servants to trade with during His absence.
The difference between this parable and that in the Gospel by Matthew is this: Matthew presents the sovereignty and the wisdom of the giver, who varies His gifts according to the aptitude of His servants; in Luke it is more particularly the responsibility of the servants, who each receive the same sum, and the one gains by it, in his master's interest, more than the other. Accordingly it is not said, as in Matthew, "Enter into the joy of your Lord," the same thing to all, and the more excellent thing; but to the one it is authority over ten cities that is given; to the other, over five (that is to say, a share in the kingdom according to their labour). The servant does not lose that which he has gained, although it was for his master. He enjoys it. Not so with the servant who made no use of his talent; that which had been committed to him is given to the one who had gained ten.
That which we gain spiritually here, in spiritual intelligence and in the knowledge of God in power, is not lost in the other world. On the contrary we receive more, and the glory of the inheritance is given us in proportion to our work. All is grace.
But there was yet another element in the history of the kingdom. The citizens (the Jews) not only reject the king, but, when he is gone away to receive the kingdom, send a messenger after him to say that they will not have him to reign over them. Thus the Jews, when Peter sets their sin before them, and declares to them that if they repent, Jesus would return, and with Him the times of refreshing, reject the testimony, and, so to say, send Stephen after Jesus to testify that they would have nothing to do with Him. When He returns in glory, the perverse nation is judged before His eyes. The avowed enemies of Christ, they receive the reward of their rebellion.
He had declared that which the kingdom was-that which it should be. He now comes to present it for the last time in His own Person to the inhabitants of Jerusalem according to the prophecy of Zechariah. This remarkable scene has been considered in its general aspect when studying Matthew and Mark; but some particular circumstances require notice here. All is gathered round His entrance. The disciples and the Pharisees are in contrast. Jerusalem is in the day of her visitation, and she knows it not.
Some remarkable expressions are uttered by His disciples, moved by the Spirit of God, on this occasion. Had they been silent, the stones would have broken out in proclamation of the glory of the rejected One. The kingdom, in their triumphant acclamations, is not simply the kingdom in its earthly aspect. In Matthew it was, "Hosanna to the Son of David," and "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest." That was indeed true; but here we have something more. The Son of David disappears. He is indeed the King, who comes in the name of the Lord; but it is no longer the remnant of Israel who seek salvation in the name of the Son of David, acknowledging His title. It is "peace in heaven and glory in the highest."
The kingdom depends on peace being established in the heavenly places. The Son of man, exalted on high, and victorious over Satan, has reconciled the heavens. The glory of grace in His Person is established for the everlasting and supreme glory of the God of love. The kingdom on earth is but a consequence of this glory which grace has established. The power that cast out Satan has established peace in heaven. At the beginning, in Luke 2:14, we have, in the manifested grace, Glory to God in the highest; peace on earth; the good pleasure [of God] in men. To establish the kingdom, peace is made in heaven; the glory of God is fully established in the highest.
The commentary here is taken from from John Darby’s Synopsis Of The New Testament originally published in the 19th century.
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Saturday Apr 08, 2017
Saturday Apr 08, 2017
Saturday – Eyes Set On Jerusalem
Luke 9:51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
The commentary here is taken from from John Darby’s Synopsis Of The New Testament originally published in the 19th century.
From verse 46, the Gospel gives us the different features of selfishness and of the flesh that are in contrast with the grace and devotedness manifested in Christ, and that tend to prevent the believer from walking in His steps. Verses 46-48; 49, 50; 51-56, respectively, present examples of this. These three passages point out, each in succession, a more subtle selfishness less easily detected by man: gross personal selfishness, corporate selfishness, and the selfishness that clothes itself with the appearance of zeal for the Lord, but which is not likeness to Him.
From 57 to 62, the contrast between the illusive will of man and the efficacious call of grace; the discovery of the repugnance of the flesh, when there is a true call; and the absolute renunciation of all things, in order to obey it, are set before us by the Spirit of God. Observe that, when the will of man acts, he does not feel the difficulties, but he is not qualified for the work. When there is a true call, the hindrances are felt.
The Lord (in reply to the spirit that sought the aggrandisement of their own company on earth, forgetful of the cross) expresses to the disciples that which He did not conceal from Himself, the truth of God, that all were in such wise against them that, if any one were not so, he was even thereby for them. So thoroughly did the presence of Christ test the heart. The other reason, given elsewhere, is not repeated here. The Spirit, in this connection, confines Himself to the point of view we are considering. Thus rejected, the Lord judges no one. He does not avenge Himself; He was come to save men's lives. That a Samaritan should repulse the Messiah was, to the disciples, worthy of destruction. Christ came to save the lives of men. He submits to the insult, and goes elsewhere. There were some who wished to serve Him here below. He had no home to which He could take them.
Meantime, for this very reason, the preaching of the kingdom was the only thing to His unwearying love; the dead (to God) might bury the dead. He who was called, who was alive, must be occupied with one thing, with the kingdom, to bear testimony to it; and that without looking back, the urgency of the matter lifting him above all other thoughts. He who had put his hand to the plough must not look back. The kingdom, in presence of the enmity-the ruin-of man, of all that opposed it, required the soul to be wholly absorbed in its interests by the power of God. The work of God, in the presence of Christ's rejection, demanded entire consecration.
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Friday Apr 07, 2017
Friday Apr 07, 2017
Partakers Friday Prayers!
7th April 2017
We pray together and when Christians pray together, from different nations, different churches and different denominations - that reveals Church unity! Come! Let us pray together!
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please You
does in fact please You.
And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this
You will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust You always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear,
for You are ever with me,
and You will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Amen
From Thoughts In Solitude by Thomas Merton
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Monday Apr 03, 2017
Monday Apr 03, 2017
Think Spot - 3rd April 2017
G’day and welcome to Partake! Welcome also to Monday and our Think Spot together!
Obedient Life
As a Christian you are to be a little Jesus! In your local communities, wherever you happen to live, work, study or be! You are to live a life of obedience, of and to, Jesus Christ! For you are being transformed by the Holy Spirit who lives inside you! You are to be totally and willingly obedient to Him! Obedience, not out of some kind of slavish duty or ritual, but obedience borne from willingly loving God and loving others.
Imagine
People will know you are a follower of Jesus, if you are obedient to Him, practically showing love to all! Imagine the community where you are transformed for Jesus Christ! Imagine your community filled with people seeking to know about our Jesus, because you and other Christians were sacrificing their time and possessions! Imagine the communities you are involved with wanting to give Jesus the glory and honour in every aspect of life!
Transformation
Transformed communities of people devoted to Jesus and experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit in bringing people back to God the Father! Loving God and loving each other as He commanded would help do this in your local community!
Be Obedient! Be bold! Be strong! Be courageous! But you need to be lovingly obedient to Jesus Christ in both small and large things. Jesus said in John 14:21 “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them."
You will face pressure to disobey Him, even sometimes from those within your church. But if He has commanded you to do something for Him, you are to obey Him. It is far better to obey God and disappoint people than to obey people and disobey God.
Go into this week, lovingly willing to be obedient to God! Trust in Him and ask Him for the strength to be lovingly obedient to Him. He will help as you ask! It can sometimes be very difficult to be obedient to God, particularly as some people, even other Christians, will try to get you to disobey. Be strong in the Lord! Be bold! Be courageous! Need help? Then ask somebody to pray with you! Then be prepared for opportunities to be lovingly obedient to Jesus – in small and big things!
A prayer to help you this week.
Father, help us to live obediently to you. May the Holy Spirit encourage us as we seek to live worthily of Jesus Christ, in loving obedience to Him. Father, it is in His name we pray and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Saturday Apr 01, 2017
Saturday Apr 01, 2017
Part 93 - John 21:17
Loving for discipling
John continues to instruct us by telling us about things that Jesus did and said in those brief few days between his resurrection and his return to his Father’s side. This next episode is what was said, or part of what was said, between Jesus and Peter. The last of the three challenges of Jesus to Peter is ‘The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” (21: 17) followed by, in the last phrase of that verse, by his charge to Peter, ‘Feed my sheep.”. (the variations in the wording in these verse between lambs and sheep and feeding and taking care of are of no great significance.) Peter must have been expecting a right telling off after his three denials, though it is possible he had already received that in Jerusalem. Again this comes with two main emphases: that what we do is always to be done in an atmosphere of love and that the main work to be done by his disciples is discipling - making more spiritually strong and devout Christian believers.
First then in this study (the discipling we will think about in the next one): our action in love. Love is a difficult word because it has so many meanings. I may properly say ‘I love my wife’ and ‘I love my iPad’ though those two statements don’t really have the same meaning. Love has two main components: an emotional attitudinal meaning and an active, practical part.
When I talk about loving my iPad there is no emotional part in that love; it is purely that I greatly like what I can do with it and what it enables me to do. When I talk about loving my wife there is a great deal of emotion and attitude in what I mean and I will also have to live with, work with her, and do many things with her: that is the practical part.
All that we do in Jesus, every contact we make with other people is to occur in an atmosphere of love; that is an atmosphere containing both a good emotional atmosphere and a willingness to do things for the other person: both the two main aspects of love. This is all made very clear to us in this first epistle John wrote. He says things like: “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” in 4:7-12. And “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.” which is from 3:21,22.
And what were his commands? They were quite simple, ‘love your neighbour’! By simple I mean that they are very simple and easy to state but they are horrendously difficult to obey in practice! (Because of the particular circumstance to which he was writing John speaks almost exclusively here about our attitude to our fellow believers. Jesus cast his net wider - to all the world, following the example of his Father in the well known verse 3:16 “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
That is how we are to approach all that we endeavour to do in the work of the kingdom.
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Friday Mar 31, 2017
Friday Mar 31, 2017
Partakers Friday Prayers
31 March 2017
for the Persecuted Church Worldwide
We pray together and when Christians pray together, from different nations, different churches and different denominations - that reveals Church unity! Come! Let us pray together!
God of all comfort, for those who are tortured both in body and mind, give them the grace to endure and to see their suffering as part of following in Christ’s footsteps. Merciful God, for those asked to pay the ultimate price; who are martyred because of their love for you, may they truly know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. Amen
Father God, for those who are widowed and orphaned may they know the comfort that comes from your promised presence even when they walk through the valley. May they be strengthened by your Spirit, enabling them to rejoice with the psalmist as they proclaim that the LORD will not abandon them in death. Amen
Heavenly Father, we ask that you would make us ever mindful of our brothers and sisters around the world who need us to stand with them as they suffer in your name. Teach us what it means to overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony; we pray that we would not love our lives so much as to shrink from death.
We ask these things O Father, through the name of Your Son, Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us.
Amen
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Monday Mar 27, 2017
Monday Mar 27, 2017
Think Spot - 27th March 2017
God's love in the Bible is seen as unfailing, everlasting, intimate, sacrificial, unbreakable, all-conquering, personal, great, immeasurable and all-knowing. This is seen supremely in the Cross of Jesus Christ, when He died for the sins of the world. Supreme love overcoming all that is not love. Even when great acts of evil are committed in the world, such as the slaughter of innocents this past week in parts of the world where terrorism and genocide are rife, love is all around. Love continues despite such acts. How are Christians to respond to this love of God?
The apostle John writes in 1 John 4v15-16 - "If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them."
Our motivation as Christians is to love and to be love. This is a love, which is sacrificial and self-less. It is tough love which is of service to other people. Loving and serving others, are the primary ways of showing you love God! It is easiest to love your friends. But Jesus commanded that his followers also love their enemies (Matthew 5:43-45)! Now that is very radical and can be difficult! We see constantly in the media and elsewhere, that regards our enemies, we are to be confrontational or at best to just ignore them!
How is it possible to love our enemies? It is only with the help of God and His abundant grace towards us! We depend on the Holy Spirit who lives inside all Christians to empower and guide! To only love those who love you is what is expected by people everywhere as normal behaviour. But as a Christian, you are to do more! You are to be seen to love more than other people. You don’t have to like others as friends, but you do have to love them as fellow human beings!
Go into this week, being prepared to show your love of Jesus Christ, remaining close to Him and serving other people generously with abundant grace-filled love! By loving and serving others, you become God’s arms and legs in a physical world. One of the greatest limitations you face in loving and serving other people is a severe lack of imagination!
So as you go into this week, ask God to expand your imagination to love and serve; as well as asking for the opportunities to do them. Loving and serving are hallmarks of an authentic Christian life. Love continues even amidst chaos and turmoil all around. Go and be part of the continuing of love.
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Saturday Mar 25, 2017
Saturday Mar 25, 2017
Part 92 - John 21:13
Eating with Jesus
In it all we need to take note that he had sat down to eat with his people, and even to be their cook, their food provider. This time it was fish and bread - and presumably something to wash it down, water or wine. This was just one of the three recorded meals Jesus ate with his disciple after he had risen from the dead. They were not special sacramental meals, but rather simple ones eating the food that was available.
The hint could not be clearer - we too, are to eat with Jesus very frequently in the meal we know as the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist, the communion service etc. Those churches which restrict the communion service to once every 3, 6 or 12 months, from good motives to be sure, do their people a grave disservice - and do not follow the clear intent of scripture. So does any church that does not hold a service because there is no officially ordained person, usually male in many cases, to lead the service; or no proper building in which to observe it; or particular liquid to drink. No, by his example, we are to eat with him whenever we can without any particular need to be ‘posh’ in the way we do it. Meeting him is far more important than any detail of how or where.
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