G’day and welcome to Partakers Christian Podcasts! Join us for uplifting Bible teaching, inspiring readings, heartfelt worship, powerful prayers, and fascinating church history. Whether you’re new to faith or growing deeper in your journey, we’re here to encourage and equip you. 🎧 Tune in, interact, and be inspired—wherever you are in the world.
Episodes
Saturday Feb 11, 2023
Saturday Feb 11, 2023
Exploring Romans
Part 2. Romans 6
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with im so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
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Friday Feb 10, 2023
Friday Feb 10, 2023
Exploring Romans
Part 1. 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.
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Thursday Jan 19, 2023
Thursday Jan 19, 2023
PulpTheology Book
Living Life Right
The book we are looking at today, is "Living Life Right".
Do you find that making decisions to follow God closely to live life right is sometimes like walking a tightrope - a balancing act? Well here is some good news! Here in chapter 12 of his magnificent letter of the Bible we know as Romans, the Apostle Paul gives some practical advice for Christians.
Christians who are to live whole lives worthy of following and belonging to God and showing this love of God by loving all others. This involves taking risks particularly in the world today where the existence of God is often denied and who is, at best, ignored.
This book contains 30 days of studies to help you live life right in the 21st century. Come inside and spend some time each day gleaning some clues about living life right as a Christian today and reflecting God's love to all those we come into contact with.
Available in paperback or Kindle, Amazon and all good bookstores: ISBN: 978-1507614174
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Sunday Jan 08, 2023
Sunday Jan 08, 2023
Psalm 140
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 O Lord, rescue me from evil people.
Protect me from those who are violent,
2 those who plot evil in their hearts
and stir up trouble all day long.
3 Their tongues sting like a snake;
the venom of a viper drips from their lips.
Interlude
4 O Lord, keep me out of the hands of the wicked.
Protect me from those who are violent, for they are plotting against me.
5 The proud have set a trap to catch me;
they have stretched out a net;
they have placed traps all along the way.
Interlude
6 I said to the Lord, "You are my God!"
Listen, O Lord, to my cries for mercy!
7 O Sovereign Lord, the strong one who rescued me,
you protected me on the day of battle.
8 Lord, do not let evil people have their way.
Do not let their evil schemes succeed,
or they will become proud.
Interlude
9 Let my enemies be destroyed
by the very evil they have planned for me.
10 Let burning coals fall down on their heads.
Let them be thrown into the fire or into watery pits from which they can't escape.
11 Don't let liars prosper here in our land.
Cause great disasters to fall on the violent.
12 But I know the Lord will help those they persecute;
he will give justice to the poor.
13 Surely righteous people are praising your name;
the godly will live in your presence.
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Monday Nov 28, 2022
Monday Nov 28, 2022
Method of Evangelism
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’
16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’ 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. 18 But I ask: did they not hear? Of course they did:
‘Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.’
19 Again I ask: did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,
‘I will make you envious by those who are not a nation;
I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.’
20 And Isaiah boldly says,
‘I was found by those who did not seek me;
I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.’
21 But concerning Israel he says,
‘All day long I have held out my hands
to a disobedient and obstinate people.’
(Romans 10:14-21)
Firstly, a question.
What is God’s responsibility in salvation and who decides who is saved?
I will quote John Calvin here from his commentary on Romans: “I shall not engage you long in reciting and disproving the opinions of others. Let everyone have his own view; and let me be allowed to bring forward what I think.”
With that in mind, as you are probably aware, there is a question which has been debated for centuries: Who decides who is saved? Is it God’s overarching and sovereign will that decides which person will be saved? Is it God’s permissive will, which allows a person’s freedom of choice to be saved or not? As I said, it is a question been asked for centuries! Is it just a small group of people of elect: those who are saved by God and nobody can do anything about it – whether they want to be saved or not? Or is everyone eventually just going to be saved – whether they want to be or not?
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Sunday Nov 27, 2022
Sunday Nov 27, 2022
The Message of Evangelism
1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
5 Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: ‘The person who does these things will live by them.’ 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: ‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?”’ (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 ‘or “Who will descend into the deep?”’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? ‘The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,’ that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 if you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.’ 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ Romans 10:1-13
In this part of Romans, from chapters 1 to 11, Paul has been drawing a word picture of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel which demonstrates that God gets his hands dirty. The Gospel, the Good News from God, which tells us that God has done all He could do, in order that all of humanity could be saved. The Gospel which claims all people can be in a living and dynamic relationship with God, if they choose to be so. All without favouritism. Paul then goes on to investigate in depth about this Gospel, the nation of Israel and the Gentiles. That is where we are in Romans 10 for the next two weeks. This week we are looking at the message of salvation. The who, what, why, where and wherefore. Next week we will look at what we are to do with that message of salvation.
Paul explains in his letter to the Church in Rome, that there cannot be salvation for anybody apart from the true salvation which is borne from faith in Jesus Christ alone, through the grace of God alone. That is our Gospel message, is it not? In chapters 9 to 11, Paul is elucidating that the Jewish people weren’t saved simply because they were Jewish. By no means, no! They were to be saved by faith, calling on God through their Messiah, the man of history known as Jesus Christ. That is what Abraham, Moses and all the Prophets down through the ages had told them to look for – a Messiah who was to come. But mostly those words had fallen on deaf ears and been ignored.
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Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
Universalism
Jesus talking about Himself John 14:2, 6: "Trust in God; trust also in me. I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 17:1-2 "O God, Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him."
Most modern societies, particularly in the West, are pluralistic with many cultures evident within any city and country. With the advent of pluralism, comes the widely held belief that all religions, creeds, beliefs and non-beliefs are equal, which all ultimately lead to God and that after death, every person will enter heaven and have everlasting life with God. That is universalism, and sadly, some Christian churches hold this belief. However, that is contradictory to what Jesus said in the bible passages I read earlier. That is not to say that each religion does not have an element of truth within it. But only one religion is ultimate and absolute truth and that is Christianity. As Christians in the twenty first century we are often informed that Christianity is wrong, and that Jesus Christ can't possibly be the only way to God, even if a God or Gods exist.
Just a scant look at each religion throws up the incompatibility between them. For instance the great monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam all profess that there is only one God. Contrast this against the religion of Hinduism, which has millions of God, or Buddhism where there may well be no God at all! So Universalism could really be just a form of functional religious atheism.
If we were all going to be with God anyway, why would God bother having a plan of salvation as revealed in the Bible? If Universalism is true, why bother with morals or ethics now during this life as each religion has differing codes of morality and behaviour. Now as soon as a Universalist says that morality is what defines the human (as some do), we can then say well which God, and therefore religion, decides what morality as different religions have different rules of morality!! Taking it even further we could say why would God bother interacting with His creation at all, if humanity is going to be spending eternity with Him anyway! Why would there even be a thing called death at all, if universalism is true! So why is Universalism wrong? Lets have a look very briefly together, how superior Christianity is to Universalism.
Universalism Denies Salvation by Grace
Universalism Denies Jesus' uniqueness being human & divine
But he was more than human, He was also fully God - He was fully divine! God's salvation plan for humans involved triumphant victory over sin, death and the grave. However no person could be found that was eligible or capable to do this. Because of this, God stepped into human history, so that this victory could be achieved. This God-man would be fully human, so as to live every feature of humanity, including suffering and death. This God-man would also need to remain fully God, so as to defeat sin, death and the grave. Jesus, being sinless, was this God-man, consisting as he did of two complete natures, the God nature and the human nature. That Jesus is both human and divine is what makes Christianity truly unique amongst the world's religions. It is why Jesus' claims to be the only way to God are true and make sense. It is why universalism is shown to be a fallacy. Universalism is wrong because it makes Jesus Christ out to be either a liar or a lunatic or worse - both.
Universalism Denies Jesus' cross
Universalism Denies Jesus' resurrection
The resurrection of Jesus Christ provided the central theme for the sermons and teaching in the early church (Acts 1:22; Acts 4:33, Acts 17:18). But what significance is there in Jesus' resurrection? The resurrection proved and vindicated all Jesus' teaching and claims as the suffering Servant and attested to his being fully God and the last Judge of all mankind (Isaiah 53:10-12; Acts 2:36; Acts 3:13-15; Romans 1:4). The resurrection declared God's approval of Jesus' obedient service and the fulfilment of all the Old Testament promises, resulting in forgiveness of sins and salvation being only found in and through Jesus Christ, Jesus' resurrection is a sign of the bodily resurrection for all believers in him, giving a new attitude to death and transforming hopes (1 Corinthians 15:12-58, Romans 8:10, 2 Corinthians 4:14; 1 Peter 1:3 & 21) As the resurrected King, Jesus now intercedes for us and has perfected the redemption of all those who choose to follow him (Romans 5:10; Hebrews 6:20, 1 Peter 1:21).
Universalism Denies Jesus' authority
Jesus has authority (Matthew 28:18) over all things, all people, all circumstances and happenings. has authority over all spiritual beings, whether angels or demons. Jesus has authority over all nations, governments and rulers. Jesus has authority over all earthly and spiritual authorities. Jesus has the authority. Over all religions, leaders and people - Jesus has the authority and supremacy. This means regardless of what ever the Christian Disciple faces, Jesus is in control.
Therefore, as Christian Disciples, we can obey him without fear of retribution from those who would seek to harm us. We have been given a free will, but as his Disciples, we should choose to exercise our free will to obey him and live a life worthy of him. As we grow to rely and depend on Jesus' authority, we continually gain wisdom, guidance, and power. Because of His authority, Jesus has authority and supremacy over all things - created, non-created, religious and non- religious.
Either Jesus was who he said he was - God - or he was a liar and a lunatic not to be trusted. Universalism and Christianity are non-compatible - the Jesus of the Bible and therefore Christianity, is uniquely superior to all other religions and beliefs encompassed in Universalism.
For more to think about please do read John 14:1-6. Ask yourself the following questions, writing them down if you can, and see how you respond or react to them. Why not share your answers with your spouse or a close friend, so that you can pray over any issues together.
Q1. How does my life of worship to Christ denounce Universalism?
Q2. How does the call for me to be a witness for Jesus affect views of Universalism?
Q3. How have I witnessed universalism in my community or country?
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Tuesday Nov 22, 2022
Tuesday Nov 22, 2022
Christians and culture
Cultures from around this world are individual, unique and diverse. At least 20 are represented here in this room. Have you ever noticed how people from different countries greet each other? Those from Latin America, will kiss each other on the cheeks. Australians will shake each other firmly by the hand, punch each other on the arm, say "G'day" and proceed to jokingly insult each other. English people, however, shake each other by the hand limply, take a step back, start to talk about the weather and look for the nearest queue to join! Americans greet each other with a hug, take a step back, talk to each other and once the other person has left, promptly forget the other person's name. Yet other people from other nations say hello by bowing or even by sucking mouths! All these are generalisations!
Now if you are offended by this, it is probably because of your upbringing in a culture, where at a wedding, which is not the done thing. Somehow I can't see this happening in a Japanese wedding, in case it was deemed offensive, particularly to the guests! But just because something is different from your own culture, does not necessarily mean that it is wrong. Our cultural heritage and upbringing affects our ethics, lifestyle, family values, and worldview and so on.Culture also has a place and a say in our religion. Some cultures insist that you follow a particularly religion out of respect for tradition, whether that is nominal Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism Islam, Zionism, Taoism, Shintoism, Spiritism or any other ‘ism' which is your cultural norm. Sometimes there are severe pressures and penalties to pay if you want to change your religion, say to Christianity from Islam.
Now I am a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ. I believe that Jesus, was, is and always will be God! So what does Jesus have to say about culture and cultural differences? Jesus kept all the cultural tradition, as a good Jewish man that did not affect his own personal holiness and offend those to whom he engaged in a cross-cultural exchange. Whether it was a Roman centurion; a Canaanite woman; Samaritans; Greeks or other cultures, Jesus was always sensitive to their particular problems regardless of his cultural traditions, taught to him about not touching or talking to foreigners, women, sick and poor people. He continually broke the traditional cultural religious taboos, by doing these things, and that is one of the reasons that Jewish authorities hated him and plotted to kill him.That is ok, you might be thinking if you are not a follower of Jesus. You may well be thinking that I am a Christian because I was bought up in a Christian country and it is your cultural tradition to follow this Jesus.
But if you are thinking that, then maybe you are also thinking that Jesus is only for Jews and those in the West where Christianity is the normal religion. You may also be thinking that Christianity is not for you because your tradition and culture say that you must follow another religion.I am a Christian because Jesus was pursuing me! True my upbringing in a country which at least is nominally Christian did pay a small part in my turning to follow Jesus Christ. But by becoming a Christian, I rebelled against my parents and against my culture. The main reason I am a Christian, is because Jesus Christ was chasing me. I have decided to follow him - will you follow him or reject him?
You may well reject Jesus Christ as your Saviour and the Son of God because you don't know enough about him yet. If that is your reason then read about him in the Bible. Or you may well reject him because you simply don't want to acknowledge him for who he is. That at least is honest! But please, don't reject him simply because your culture says to stick to your own cultural or national religion. That is just patronising nonsense. Jesus is for all people of all time, all nations and all cultures. Jesus, as we read in the Bible, crosses all cultural boundaries and welcomes all to his searching and outstretched arms. Don't let culture be the excuse for not accepting Him as your God and saviour. Jesus is and always will be the Son of God, the saviour for all people of all nations, languages and cultures for all time. In John 12v32, Jesus said that he will draw all people to himself. So, come. Come to Jesus and start to follow him right now! For those of us who are already followers of Jesus Christ, what does the Bible tell us about culture and following Him.
The Bible tells us to be holy, following Jesus Christ as Lord, and growing in righteousness. It is hard for us, because the Christian life is demanding and yet also exciting! We use all sorts of excuses for sinning; that is doing wrong against God and others.Sometimes we use the excuse that is part of our individual cultural identity to do that, so ergo, it can't be wrong! In some cultures, man can have more than one wife; in still others men treat women as a little lower than slaves or dogs. The Aussie culture is well known for its arrogance, insulting and being rude to all and sundry. Other cultures place emphasis on gross materialism & collecting possessions at all costs.
Yet other cultures and countries, allow indifference to the suffering of the poor and sick in their community, putting their low position in society down to bad luck, kismet or fate.Now we know that all these things are wrong because the Bible clearly tells us they are wrong. The Bible says only have one wife, love and respect each other. The Bible says love one another; don't be rude but be humble and not arrogant. The Bible says take care of the poor and sick in the community. The Bible says don't accumulate possessions for possessions sake. And yet we can use the cultural barrier excuse to try and justify our sins, time and time again.When our cultural traditions cross over the lines of sin, drawn out for us in the Bible, then we must at all costs to ourselves, stop doing them!
Now I am not saying do away with all our cultural traditions - just those that are clearly unbiblical and hinder our path to personally holiness and personal righteousness. Let us follow the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. Be prepared to sacrifice your cultural taboos at all cost to yourself and run the race set for you, whilst keeping your cultural differences.So, in conclusion, those of you who are not yet followers of Jesus, don't let your culture and traditions stop you from deciding to follow Jesus and running to those outstretched arms that are waiting for you.
For those of us who are already followers of Jesus and believe in him for our salvation, let us stop using our cultural traditions as excuses for sinning. Repent of any attitude, behaviour or action that causes you to sin.
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Monday Nov 21, 2022
Monday Nov 21, 2022
Partakers Bible Thought
Psalm 66 - A Life of Joy
Today we are going to look at Psalm 66, which I consider to be a prayerful song of ecstatic joy - describing a life of overwhelming joy that exists between an Almighty God and one of His followers... So please do turn to that Psalm in your bibles.
Charles Spurgeon said of this Psalm "it is a marvellous psalm just to read; but set to suitable music, it must have been one of the noblest strains ever heard by the Jewish people."
The first impression I get from this Psalm is that there is a sense of a deep intimacy between God and the Psalmist. Part of that intimacy and that relationship was joy, true joy. Let us see together from Psalm 66, where joy fitted into the life of the Psalmist. The author was probably King David and we have no reason to doubt that. Then we will go on to discover what I think joy actually is, before discussing what is one of the greatest barriers to joy. Then finally, we will see where joy is to fit into our life.
1. The Psalmist and Joy!
a. Joy and the Earth (vs. 1-4)
Throughout the history of Israel, the majority of scribes and leaders of Israel usually gave praise to God in silence, in meditation and solemnity. This was of course acceptable to God and proper to do so.
But here, on this occasion, first of all for the Psalmist, among a great number of people, the whole earth is encouraged to shout with exuberant joy to God. It is quite natural for great crowds of people to shout in harmony. If praise is to be widespread, it must be vocal; joyful sounds stir the soul and cause great thanksgiving spread throughout the people. Of course everybody is different and each person praises differently! Some people are naturally loud and others naturally quiet! Whatever your own style of praise, God is to be praised in all styles and with both the voice and the heart. The whole earth, everything and everyone, is encouraged to sing of the glory and power of God!
The psalmist encourages worshippers to turn their praises of joy to God alone! Turning in joy and admiration to a God who one day will cause all the earth to fear and tremble before him. For those who are enemies of God, who have never believed in him, never followed Jesus Christ, they too will be forced into submitting worship to Him before departing His presence forever. They will be forced to worship Him, due to His joyful magnificence and through forced submission, not because they choose to.
But their worship will not be like those who decided to follow Jesus Christ during their earthly life. The worship of all those who truly believe in Him, following Him intimately - their worship will be of truth, love, service and pure unadulterated joy. Their reward will be to praise God eternally.
b. Joy and the nation of Israel (vs. 5-12).
The psalmist now goes on to exhort great communal joy because of what God has done for Israel. He has done mighty works for his people. Did not God start the nation of Israel from Abraham in Genesis? Had not God led His people out of exile in Egypt by parting the Red Sea with His mighty hand so that his people could walk to freedom? Does not God rule forever by his mighty power and His outstretched hand? God watched over that nation of Israel, making covenants with Abraham and Moses, promising that He will be their God and they will be His people. The people of Israel were to be a people of joy, because they could look and see what God had done for them, and had a sure hope of what He would do for them in the future. They were His and He was theirs - a cause for great joy!
The psalmist continues to encourage the people to exhibit joyfully. God kept the feet of Israel from slipping. Even though Israel often turned their back on Him, God always kept a remnant of true believers for Himself. God sent Israel into exile under oppressive enemies, as punishment for their rebellious ways! Eventually He led them into the Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey. That is why Israel could have exultant joy because of the hope they had in their God and the testimony they could give as a nation under their God!.
Indeed, in the book of Leviticus, which is little read these days in Christian circles, in 9:24 we read, "Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown." How often have you heard joy linked with the book of Leviticus? WOW!! The Psalmist would certainly have been aware of that!
c. Joy and the Psalmist (vs. 13-20)
Thirdly, now after joy as a community, the Psalmist turns to himself and gets personal! His own joy starts with a sacrifice of vows and burnt offerings - a sacrifice, which costs him something. The psalmist has given promises to God and he wants to fulfil those promises before his God. Because of his great joy, the psalmist tells others of the source of his joy. He gives testimony to the love of God: how he confessed his sins to God, and how God had listened to him and heard his prayers. The Psalmist told the people to come and "Listen to what God has done for me." They had all seen God's work, but they also needed to hear that He was a gracious God! The psalmist has developed an intimate relationship with Almighty God, which is revealed in the joy of the psalmist through sacrifice, testimony and praise.
2. What is joy?
Now that is all very well you may be thinking, but just what is joy? Is joy merely a form of bloated happiness, or is it more? Joy is not going around everywhere and at all times with a silly grin on your face! That kind of joy is dependent upon circumstances and feelings! The type of joy the Psalmist was talking about, was to a certain degree dependent upon circumstances and feelings but he was also talking about a deeper, inner joy that is not! The source, object and target of the Psalmist's joy, was God and God alone! That kind of joy, however, is not to be confused with mere pleasure or feeling good! That joy was a way of life and it permeates every facet of the person and not just at an emotional level.
To enhance that thought, hear what C.S. Lewis once wrote: "Joy is never in our power, and pleasure is. I doubt whether anyone who has tasted true joy would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasure in the world." As Christians, we are all instruments in the orchestra of God's joy. Does that describe your experience of joy?
As humans, we feel happiness or pleasure depending on our circumstances, while true internal, biblical joy is always separated from our circumstances and is a heartfelt response that endures regardless of circumstances. The world says happiness is looking out for number one, look out for your own interests and negotiate your own personal good in all you do and at all times. The world says the greatest good is your own personal happiness! They also mistakenly call that joy. But that is not true joy! That kind of happiness or type of joy doesn't last long so the perpetual search for happiness continues in a circle - like a dog chasing its tail. Now I am not saying happiness is a bad thing, but in comparison to true joy - well there really is no comparison!
True joy as we have seen results from praise, testimony and sacrifice! Joy in the bible is more to do with peace and salvation rather than just an emotional state! Over and over again, joy is mentioned with peace and salvation. Joy is always for the good of others, not for our own selfish gain. When we give away our will, for the sake of others, we receive the joy that Jesus desired for us. Happiness and joy are radically different.
True joy is never an end in itself. It is only as we make Jesus Christ our overwhelming first priority, that true joy, almost without our knowing it, comes. The source, object and target of our joy as Christians, is to be Jesus Christ and Him alone! Where Jesus is glorified in the power of the Holy Spirit, so is the Father and this pure, unadulterated joy is released upon us and in us! If we seek joy for joy's sake alone, we will mislay it, because it cannot be caught. People of the world seek mere happiness, which is a form of anemic joy. The happiness industry is big business! "Me, me, me" they cry when in fact, true joy is "Jesus, Jesus and yet more Jesus!" True and unbridled joy, is given only by Jesus Christ and we receive it by serving Him and Him alone.
3. Joy and Suffering
I am aware that there are all sorts of barriers to having and exhibiting true joy. One of the principle things that will often hamper a life of joy is suffering. I am not that naïve and to say otherwise would be to deny human experience.
We all suffer in some way. I am sure some of you know very well from personal experience, just as I do. In the New Testament, joy is often associated with all kinds of suffering. One day soon though, we will have perfect bodies and full health. One day there will be no more persecution, terrorism, missiles, guns, wars or bombs. No more will humanity's inhumanity to humanity be allowed. No more pain. No more sickness. No more death. No more suffering. No more sin. No more evil of any kind!
Suffering of any kind leaves some sort of scar or mark. Do you have scars? Physical, emotional or mental scars due to sickness. Perhaps you are scarred because somebody else sinned against you or as a result of your own sins? Scars come as a result of human life and experiences. Much like a house that has been lived in. Scratches visible in the paintwork. Windows, which are broken or cracked. Dents and knocks in the walls. Our human bodies are the same. Yet... Yet... One glorious day all those things will be gone!! Vanished!! Perfection attained and with exultant joy, it is to the glory of God and His majestic doing, that this will occur. Do you believe it? Do you live it? Salvation is to be your joy, as you are an instrument in the orchestra of God's joy! If you keep forgetting, put Psalm 66v1-2 and tape it to the bathroom mirror!
4. Applying it to ourselves.
Now, finally, we come to ourselves and what does all this have to do with us! If the psalmist's intimate relationship with God and life of joy involved sacrifice, testimony and praise, so that is also the key to our own joy! Jesus prayed that his disciples would have joy: "I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them" (John 17:13). WOW! And not only for his 12 disciples, but also for all those who profess to follow Him!
As I look around in my daily life, I see faces and eyes devoid of joy. When I look into their eyes, I see a hunger and thirst for joy and imagine how they have searched in their journey of life for true joy. Whether that is through materialism, drugs, sex, alcohol, the search for true joy continues. Sadly that also includes people who would profess to be Christian.
If we are honest, sometimes we don't feel as if joy is part of us. We look around at the world we live in and see all the misery and injustice; we see human life being wasted by cancer and HIV Aids, and we don't feel very joyful. But when we do that, we are confusing happiness and true joy. If we have lost the joy of our Christian life, we need to put back into perspective just what God is calling us to do, remember what He has done for us, look ahead to the promises He has made us and consider if Jesus Christ is still truly first in our lives.
As Christians, we can never truly lose joy, but we can mislay it if our priorities get jumbled up. Once we make a conscious decision to claim the joy hidden in the midst of all kinds of suffering, life becomes a celebration. Joy never denies the sadness, but transforms it into a fertile soil for yet further joy. Joy unbounded if you like! Joy is a relationship - it is Jesus Over Yourself. True Joy is the result of being in an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ and Him alone. Joy stems from seeking to obey God in all things and through all facets of human experience! The joy of Jesus Christ is transferred to us as we enter into a personal relationship with him and go about the task of serving him in this world. Joy is to be a quality about us, just as it was a quality of the Lord Jesus Christ, the apostles and of the New Testament church. We are his disciples, his followers, and we are to practice joy! Salvation is your joy, and your joy is to be your salvation dancing in action! Joy was sacrifice, testimony and praise to the Psalmist. It was in the life of Jesus Christ and therefore it is to be for us as well if we call ourselves His followers.
a. Praise - Firstly, there is Praise! Praising God lifts the heart, soul and spirit when we are feeling down. The psalmist praised God, and there was great joy in his heart. He had many reasons to praise God, God listened to His prayers, took his sacrifices and worship and forgave him when he had confessed his sins. God had not withheld his love from him. Surely the praise of God's people should cause great joy to be spread amongst them. Now if you want to praise God quietly that is fine! If you want to praise God loudly, that also is fine! Let us not decry each other's way of praising God but be joyful simply that God is being praised!
Praising God is not simply to be going through the motions, because praising God is to be a sacrifice! It is to be done with effort and not complacency! Praising God the Father joyfully through Jesus Christ the Son, regardless of our feelings, emotions, situations and circumstances. As part of an intimate relationship with God, it can only be done through the comforting and encouraging power of the Holy Spirit who lives inside all Christians! Praise, is a reflection of the inner joy of both the individual believer and the community of believers!
b. Testimony, - Secondly there are testimonies! Testimonies and stories such as that given tonight by Andy! Testimonies telling people of what Almighty God has done should cause great joy in both them and us. Hearing people talk about what God has done for them should cause every one of us to have even greater joy. Telling others of God's mercy, grace and love is also to be part of our joy. The joy of God bubbling inside of us and demanding that we praise God the Father, through God the Son in the power of God the Holy Spirit. Joy is praise in action! Joy also comes from encouraging others, urging others on to grow in faith and being encouraged to do likewise!
c. Sacrifice - Then thirdly, there is sacrifice. The psalmist never presented a starving goat to God as a sacrifice, but always well fed and perfect animals of the very best fields. In the book of Leviticus, all sacrificial animals were to be perfect - without spot, stain or blemish! We are no longer required to make sacrifices and offerings in accordance with the book of Leviticus, because of the sacrificial work of Jesus on the cross.
But we are required to make sacrifices, indeed our whole lives as Christians is to be sacrificial! Making sacrifices takes effort, no room for complacency and shows gratitude to God in action. It means that we should always give our best to God - both as individuals and as a community. Joy derives from giving all things to God. It could be sacrifices of praise as commanded by the writer to the Hebrews. It could be a sacrifice of time and money given to serving! One of the hallmarks of the early church was true joy and members of the early church sacrificed time and material possessions. Where somebody was in need, they fulfilled that need as soon as they could. They were radical in their sacrificial giving of time and possessions. Are we? The New Testament church made sure that giving was done and that the poor, the oppressed, the lonely and the widows were taken care of. People gave sacrificially. When anybody was in need, another member of the church fulfilled that need: physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual needs. That is to be one of the hallmarks of a joyful church and not just at a local level but a statement about the global church!
Conclusion
In Hebrews 12v2 we read this "Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Jesus Christ, the Son of God and our saviour is now experiencing glorious joy in all senses of the word!
As I conclude, lets go to the end of the Bible and let me read to you Revelation 21:4 - "God will wipe away our tears. There will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying and no more pain, for former things have passed away." What a gloriously joyful day it will be for those of us who love Him now. Jesus Christ Himself, caressing our faces in His own hands, and wiping away our tears. We often think of tears as meaning sorrow. But tears can also be tears of overwhelming joy! WOW! What a day, that will be!! We will enter those gates with tremendous joy.
I finish with this quote from CS Lewis' last book of the Narnia Tales, "The Last Battle": "But for them it was only the beginning of the real story ... which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before." A life of pure, unadulterated and unending joy awaits you and I if we follow Jesus Christ alone and persevere to the end!
If you haven't that true joy because you don't know Jesus personally, come and see one of us after the service. But if you are a believer here tonight, go out into the week with joy, knowing and remembering that salvation is your joy resting in God and joy is your salvation dancing in communion with peace! Let us go, both as individuals and a community of believers, practising joy by showing joy in action, through obedient service to God by way of testimony, praise and sacrifice! Go and see where joyful praises, joyful testimonies about God and joyful sacrificing takes you! The secret to having true biblical joy is beginning and developing an intimate relationship with God, which involves praise, testimonies and sacrifice - all key elements in the life of all those who would call themselves followers of Jesus Christ. Go into this week, knowing you are indeed instruments in the orchestra of God's exultant joy.
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Saturday Nov 12, 2022
Saturday Nov 12, 2022
Bible Thought - Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus is alive! My master Jesus is alive. I am much older now as I recall for you about this Jesus. I remember the day that He called me to follow him. I had heard about him of course. The religious leaders were talking about him, as were the general population. People coming to my tax booth to pay their taxes and telling me about this man, Jesus. Telling me how he was doing all sorts of wonders, miracles and healings. Then one day Jesus came to me! Me! Levi, the son of Alpheus. I was sitting in my booth collecting taxes and he called me personally to follow him. People despised me as a tax collector, looked down upon me, as they considered me as a collaborator with the occupying Roman force. Some of my fellow tax collectors even fleeced our unsuspecting “customers”. We had the authority to do so. Why not?
Then Jesus called me. Called me to follow Him, with an authority that was far greater than my own or any other authority I had experienced. Greater that the authority of the Roman Occupying Forces! Jesus saw potential in me and called me authoritatively to give up everything and follow him.
So, I got up and started following him. I stopped collecting taxes for the Romans and started my new life. And what is a new life without a party to celebrate! I held a great banquet at my house for Jesus, which of course, got right up the noses of the Pharisees. Jesus also changed my name from Levi to Matthew.
It is almost 3 years since that time. I and his other close disciples, have learnt from this Jesus. He encouraged, comforted, rebuked, challenged, guided and taught us. He loved us. We loved Him. We had placed our hope in Him as the long waited for Messiah who would kick out the Romans and lead Israel into a glorious future. The Messiah was ‘the expected one’, who would come and lead Israel out of their state of subjection to Rome and into the full enjoyment of their own land. How wrong we were though. We had placed our hope in Jesus Messiah. There was his joyful entry into that great city of Jerusalem – riding on a donkey and we celebrated Him as a triumphant King!
Then it all seemed to go wrong. After that joyful entry into Jerusalem, Jesus, our Master, was found guilty at a mockery of a trial and was crucified. He is dead. Even though he had told us that he would rise again from the dead, we didn’t believe it. But it is true! Now He is alive again! He really is alive again, you know! The religious authorities even tried to say that we had stolen the body from the tomb. How ridiculous.
These religious authorities bribed the Roman guards to say, “His disciples came in the night and stole the body while we were sleeping.” Of course, that is ridiculous – beyond ridiculous. They hadn’t really thought it through, had they? I mean can you spot the immediate logical inconsistency. If the guards were awake, why would they let us steal the body of Jesus? If the guards were asleep, how did they know for sure that it was us that stole the body?
We were cowering in fear that we would be next to die such a death. Some women were brave though and had gone to see his body for themselves. Some of us afterwards had gone back to the life we had before we met Jesus. Then we received some final words of command from Jesus before He ascended back to the Father. We were to keep following Him, make disciples of others, baptize them and teach them all that Jesus had taught us! WOW!
What an amazing opportunity given to us by God! Not to make mere converts, but lifelong disciples and followers. What a privilege and an honour. This collection of my memories about Jesus is complete now. I, Matthew, present Jesus to you, as the long waited for Messiah, predicted over the centuries gone by. I have also recorded here Israel’s attitude towards this Jesus as the Messiah. I, Matthew, started out giving you Jesus’ genealogy and proceeded to tell you about Jesus authority and authentication as the Messiah. I related to you about Israel's opposition to and rejection to Jesus being the Messiah. This caused Jesus to reject Israel due to her unbelief.
Now finally, I have recorded the death and resurrection of the Christ, with Jesus’ final command for us to go do as he did - make disciples where ever we go and whatever we are doing, baptizing them, teaching them and seeing that they also go and do the same. I love my Jesus and I know he loves me. Do you love Him? I can tell you, with undoubted assuredness and certainty that He loves you.
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