496. John Wrote His Gospel To Enable People To Trust In Jesus. John 20:30-31

Posted on September 5, 2023 by Jim Holbeck


St John wrote his gospel for a particular purpose. He chose to comment on 7 of the signs that Jesus had performed during his ministry. It was to get people to trust in Jesus as the Christ and as the Son of God. As he wrote, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:30-31. “Sign” in the Greek is [sēmeion; σημεῖον] meaning a sign which pointed beyond itself to a truth about the person who performed it. So the 7 signs are recorded by John to show that Jesus is the Christ and also the Son of God. We look briefly at the seven signs.


1]. John 2:1-11. Jesus Turned Water Into Wine
No one ever wants to be seen as being inhospitable. Yet that was the situation the bridegroom faced at his own wedding reception. When His mother told Jesus they had run out of wine He told the servants to fill the jars with water and to take some to the master of the banquet. The latter told the bridegroom that he seemed to have saved the best wine to the end. An embarrassing situation was averted, and John wrote, “This was the first of the signs through which He [Jesus] revealed His glory and his disciples believed in Him.” 20:30.
This sign revealed a truth about Jesus, namely His glory. The transformation of the water into wine showed Jesus’ power over nature and pointed to the glory of His divine being. It was a step in the disciples’ faith journey even though they may not have fully realised just who Jesus was.


2]. John 4:46-54 – The Healing Of The Nobleman’s Son
John records that an official in Capernaum went to Jesus and asked him to come down and heal his son. John 4:46 So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was at the point of death. It seems that Jesus tested him by saying to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” 4:48. However the official was not put off by this and said to Jesus, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Somehow, he believed that Jesus could heal his son. Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. His servants met him on the way and told him that his son had begun to recover the day before at the seventh hour. He realised that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” He and his whole household trusted in Jesus.
We see here Jesus’ power in healing at a distance through the power of His spoken word. No wonder the father and his household put their trust in Jesus. This was beyond human resources or power.

3]. John 5:1-15 – Healing At The Pool Of Bethesda.
When Jesus was going up to Jerusalem He passed by a pool called Bethesda where many invalids lay, who were blind, lame and paralysed. One man there had been an invalid for 38 years. “When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?’” John 5:6. One might wonder why Jesus asked such a question seeing the man’s need was so obvious. However the sick man replied, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going, another steps down before me.” He had been proactive in seeking healing but had always been unsuccessful. Then came the words from Jesus’ lips which would transform his life, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” The man was immediately healed, took up his bed and walked.
Some of the Jews said to him, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” John 5:10. So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” He answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” When they asked him who it was who had said these words to him, he was unable to answer, for he did not know who Jesus was. Later Jesus found the man in the temple and said to him “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” John 5:14. The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.
John recorded that was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. Jesus told them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” 5:17. God could heal people whenever He wanted to and Jesus had broken the restrictions of the man-made laws about the sabbath and had healed too.
Jesus showed in what He did that he had divine power to bring healing. His words also indicated that they had seen God acting through Him. It was a sign that they ignored.


4]. John 6:1-14 – Feeding The 5,000.
Jesus’ ability to heal the sick had attracted a crowd which followed Him as He crossed to the far shore of the sea of Galilee. When Jesus saw a great crowd coming towards Him He asked Phillip “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” Phillip’s reply indicated that he saw the situation as impossible. However Andrew spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” When the crowd had sat down Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks and distributed to those seated who received as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. Jesus commanded His disciples to gather up what was left over and they filled 12 baskets.
John wrote, “When the people saw the sign that He had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” John 6:14. The crowd recognised it as a sign but interpreted it incorrectly. Jesus recognised that they wanted to make Him king by force, so He withdrew from their midst.

5]. John 6:15-21 – Jesus Walks On Water.
Jesus’ disciples have gotten into a boat to cross the lake, when a strong wind arose and the waters became rough. They saw Jesus walking towards them on the water and they became frightened. He told them “It is I, don’t be afraid.” They took Him aboard the boat and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading. There were two parts to this sign. One was the picture of Jesus walking on the surface of the water which was beyond any human ability. The other was that when He got into the boat immediately they arrived at their destination. Both parts of the sign indicated the divine power behind His actions.

6]. John 9:1-12 – Healing Of The Man Born Blind.
When Jesus’ disciples were walking along with Him they saw a man who had been born blind. They asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
It was unfortunate as we see, as the story continues, that the Pharisees could not accept that Jesus had healed the man. When they spoke evil of Jesus, the man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” The blind man recognised that his healing was a sign from God that Jesus was God’s instrument in bringing him his sight. We see the utter blindness of the Pharisees who answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” Then they cast him out. They had physical sight but their spiritual eyes were blinded to the sign Jesus had performed.

7]. John 11:1-44 – Lazarus Raised From The Dead.
Lazarus who was the brother of Mary and Martha became seriously ill. When the sisters told Jesus about Lazarus He told them that the sickness would not end in death. However, Lazarus did die and when Jesus came to the tomb He said “Take away the stone.” Martha protested but Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they rolled away the stone. Jesus prayed, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” Then he cried out, “Lazarus, come out.” Lazarus did come out with his hands and feet still bound with linen strips and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus then said, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
This was indeed another sign and it led many of the Jews to believe in Jesus. The Pharisees also recognised what had happened as being a sign but they were threatened by it, saying, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” John 11:47-48. How sad to read what followed, “So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.”

SUMMING UP
How tragic that people can see the signs of God at work among His people in His healings and miracles with some choosing to believe in Him and others turning their backs to the truths revealed in those signs.
People today as they read the scriptures or hear them expounded [especially these seven signs in John’s gospel] have to choose whether to see them as signs pointing to the truth about Jesus, or choose to ignore their meaning. Ignoring the truths behind the signs means rejecting the Christ [the Messiah] who is THE way and THE truth and THE life and THE only way to the Father. John14:6.
Blog No.496 posted on Tuesday 05 September 2023

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Evangelism, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Glorification, Healing, Holy Spirit, Justification, Mental Health, Mini Reflections, Prayer, Salvation, Sanctification, Temptations, TOPICS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

495. Sermon on Matthew 18:15-20.  “How to prevent hurt and how to heal hurting people.” Gospel reading for Sunday 10 September 2023

Posted on August 22, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

[A reprint of a sermon preached at the 6pm Healing Service in St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney  by Canon Jim Holbeck on Wednesday 27th Feb 2002]

In this passage Jesus spoke about attitudes to be adopted by the people of God that would enable them to keep in good spiritual (and thus good physical and emotional) health. These attitudes would prevent unnecessary stress and provide guidance for the healing of relationships. They provide good “Preventative and Curative ‘Medicine.” 

Tonight we’re going to look at what we might need to do if we have acted wrongly (adopted wrong attitudes) to other people. We may be living with guilt because of our unwise words or actions towards particular people. They may be living with deep hurt needing us to express our apologies to them for causing the hurt we caused. Jesus gave us some guidelines for how they and we can know more healing. 

  1. GOD WANTS HIS PEOPLE TO BE ONE IN LOVE.

Paul wrote in Eph 4:3. “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” The unity between Christians exists and is to be maintained not created. He told us what our Christian speech is meant to be like later in the chapter, (Eph 4:29)  “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. (30)  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. (31)  Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, (32) and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.”

 God wants His people to be one. He abhors anything that would be a danger to that unity. Jesus went on to speak about one of those dangers in the body of believers. It was in the context of what to do if one of the members of the body of Christ had sinned in a way that affected other people. 

2.  THE DANGER OF DISUNITY. How to (correctly) correct an erring brother or sister. Mat 18:15-20.  Jesus here in Mat 18:15ff showed us 3 things about relationships in the body of Christ. 

i….Love demands that we don’t ignore the sin we think we see in another person. Sin destroys people, and we need to address it in love. But we are to speak to them first about the fault we think we see. Let’s say the sinning brother is Tom. As I talk over the problem with Tom he may admit his error and repent of it. Or I might find that I had prematurely judged Tom as guilty and talking with him showed that I was wrong. I might need to apologise to him for thinking evil of him. Healing has taken place and no one else has become involved. The over-riding principle is that we should speak to Tom about the sin I think I see in him before I speak to anyone else about Tom’s sin.

This is one of the commandments from the lips of Jesus that is broken every day by thousands of Christians throughout the world and they have little idea how serious it is. We may never have realised the difficulties we caused in the lives of other people or the damage we did to them or to their families by speaking about them rather than to them first. 

God wants us to get it right so that we don’t hurt people and so that healing can come to people who are already hurting because of things we said about them to others. 

In seminars in the last couple of weeks I mentioned the story I once read of an older minister who had been criticised behind his back by a young Christian. He had distorted the truth about the older man and had influenced people’s attitude towards him. The young man eventually saw the sinfulness of what he had done and came and asked the older man to forgive him of talking about him behind his back. 

The minister assured him that he forgave him but he asked the young man to accompany him up to the top of the belltower. He had taken up with him a pillow containing hundreds of small feathers. As the young man watched he tore open the pillow and hoisted its contents into the strong wind. The feathers went in many directions in the swirling wind and many of them went on and on into the distance. He then asked the young man to take the pillow and to pick up all the feathers and place them back in the pillowcase. 

The young man protested that it would be impossible to retrieve all the feathers. Then he realised that it was like an acted parable. The feathers were like the lies and untruths he had broadcast far and wide. Though he had repented of his sin and been assured of the minister’s forgiveness, he could not retrieve all the lies he had told. 

That’s when he really repented as he saw the damage his words could have already caused in many people’s attitudes. He would not be able to go to every person he influenced by his criticism and take back the destructive words he had uttered. What we sow will be reaped by us or by other people. 

Some months ago I was thinking about and praying through a number of situations. I was hanging clothes out on the line to dry at the time. Suddenly these words came into my mind. “Criticism is the Devil’s way of suggesting improvements.” I’d never read or heard those words before but I thought how deep they were. Criticism comes naturally to us but it does a lot of harm to those who criticise and to those who are criticised. What Jesus is saying here is the opposite of criticism. It means recognising sin or fault in Tom but speaking personally to Tom about his faults rather than to other people about them. 

ii.  If our personal individual approach in love and concern is rejected we need to ask another couple of people to be involved in the situation. It may be that we have overreacted and are out of line. If so, the other couple can help the truth about the situation be clarified. If Tom is at fault, then there are now three people expressing their concern to him about aspects of his life to encourage him to get right with God. If he rejects the combined approach in love of the 3 people then they take it to the whole group of disciples. 

iii.  If Tom is not willing to listen to the whole group of believers then it means that I personally might have to withdraw fellowship from him as a means of waking him up to the danger of his sin. The “you” of verse 18 is singular. If you (thou) the individual find that your erring brother will not accept your rebuke then treat him as a gentile and as a tax collector. No longer treat him as a loyal beloved brother in Christ but treat him as someone who is outside the Christian family and needs to be brought into fellowship once again when he heeds the correction. This is what you (thou) do, not what every member of the church decides to do. You have in love taken your personal stand against Tom’s evil as a means of bringing about Tom’s restoration. What the other members of the Christian group decide to do is up to them. 

It is in this context that the following words are spoke by Jesus, “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.“   Mt 18:18. There are a number of interpretations but the simplest one in this context is that Peter (to whom similar words were previously addressed by Jesus) and the whole body of believers have the task of pointing out what God in heaven has forbidden (bound) and what He permits (looses) on earth. The church has the authority to declare some things to be right and other things to be wrong according to God’s revelation of Himself in His word. Peter and the whole church can only declare what God says in His word about any word, or action. 

(Some people go further and see this as referring to binding the powers of darkness and loosing people from their power. That’s not the main meaning in this passage, but it’s true in the sense that Christ overcame the powers of darkness on the cross, and people can be set free from their power through His victory in the heavenlies.) 

3.     OUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS “A SINNER”?

Did I follow the guidelines Jesus taught? Did I talk with Tom about the problem I thought I saw in him before I talked to other people about his problem. If I did talk to other people then I sinned against Tom and need to repent of it and may need to ask his forgiveness. 

I also need to ask forgiveness of those to whom I spoke about Tom when I was out of the will of God. I involved them in my sin. See the principle in Leviticus  24 where a man was going around blaspheming God. God tells the people who heard him speak, Lev 24:14  “Take the blasphemer outside the camp; and let all who were within hearing lay their hands on his head, and let the whole congregation stone him.” Those who might have been contaminated by what the man said were to show their allegiance to God by identifying with God in laying their hands on the blasphemer. This would show that they were transferring back the words the blasphemer had said and no longer accepting them. In this way they were showing that they wanted no part of this man’s sin and guilt. 

Does it really matter? Isn’t it all water under the bridge anyway? Isn’t it too late to do anything about it? Not if we see the meaning of Jesus’ words. There are people out there who may be still hurting because we broke Jesus’ commandment and caused them damage by the things we said about them. Either we say it doesn’t matter or else we do something about it. 

I’m not trying to send anyone on a guilt trip. I just know how broken many people are through being betrayed by friends and other Christians. There’s a lot of healing to take place in lots of Christian relationships. 

Let me give some suggestions for you to pray about. 

1.    Don’t dig around in your past but pray the words of Psalm139:23-24 in all sincerity. It’s an invitation to God to let Him show you if you have been guilty of any offensive behaviour in His sight. Eg., saying things about other people that has damaged them (and you as well). (Psalm 139:23-24) “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked (offensive) way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

  • When you recognise times you may have broken Jesus’ commandment in Mat 18:15, ask Him for His forgiveness for those times. Then thank Him that you have His forgiveness in Christ. 
  • Pray that the power of your words is broken in the minds of those other people to whom you spoke. 
  • Pray for those whom you criticised behind their backs that any damage you caused them is healed. Only God knows the extent of that damage and He knows what healing to bring. 
  • Let God show you what you might need to do about that person if God wants you to be part of the healing process. (It may involve asking their forgiveness.) But God will help you to do what He sees as the loving and necessary things for you to do. 
  • Ask God to help you speak Christianly in the future, as in Eph 4:29-32 in words that will build people up, be appropriate and “give grace to those who hear.”

Blog No.495 posted on Tuesday 22 August 2023

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Healing, Holy Spirit, Judgement, Mental Health, Prayer, Salvation, Sanctification, spiritual warfare, Temptations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

494. MARVELLING AT THE LORD’S PLANS FOR OUR LIVES. PSALM 139

Posted on August 21, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

Tonight my Bible Study group will be studying that magnificent Psalm 139. I am reminded that the Lord who created each one of us knows exactly the number of days we will live and in His love has a wonderful plan for every individual’s life. But it is up to us to commit our way to the Lord so that His plan for our lives is actually known and achieved by us. These words are part of the Psalm.

Psalm 139:13-16. “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 14  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16  Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

Little did I realise as an eight year old lad living in Gympie in Queensland that the Lord was forming another human being in the body of  a woman living in Kharagpur in India who would come to Australia with her parents as a 4 year old girl and come to live in an adjacent suburb near where I then lived in Ipswich. Nor did I realise that the Lord had planned for us to meet in Christian circles, to fall deeply in love and to marry on the 22 January 1966. We both believed that God had planned for us to meet and eventually marry in His plans for both of us. His plan also involved serving the Lord in full-time ministry for over 50 years in Australia and the United States. How wonderful knowing all this was in the plan and eternal purpose of God. 

Tomorrow brings the 59th anniversary of the day I proposed to Carole and she said, ”Yes!” What a marvellous memorable day that was! It set us on a path that led to great joy and satisfaction in our lives together that still fill me with gratitude to God for His blessing on our lives over all those years. Soon it will be 4 years since the Lord promoted Carole to glory and though I miss her terribly I am left with wonderful memories of our life together. 

If you have a bit of romance in your soul you might like to read more of our life and ministry together in a couple of my previous blogs, numbers 364 and 417 on this site. These were also written on the anniversaries of our engagement in 1964. In addition, article number 380 has a record of how we met in the church at Booval in Qld and how our lives progressed. To His glory!

Blog No.494 posted on Monday 21 August 2023

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Creation, Evangelism, Faithfulness, Glorification, Healing, Holy Spirit, Mental Health, Prayer, Real Life Stories, Salvation, Sanctification, Studies in Psalm 139, TOPICS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

493. HOW IS THE BIBLE THE “INSPIRED“ WORD OF GOD?

Posted on August 14, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

Most Christian believers believe that the Holy Bible is the inspired word of God. So they are willing for the scriptures to be their main guide in life throughout their lives. We see even in the Old Testament many verses that describe the preciousness of the scriptures for those who trusted in God. For example, the writer of Psalm 119 wrote of the value of God’s revelation to humans through His word. He saw that acting on the word of God enabled one to refrain from sin, Psalm 119:9 “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. 10  With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 11  I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”He also saw that God’s word provided guidance for his journey in life, like light illuminating the path he was meant to tread, Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

In Deuteronomy 8 we read that Moses was preparing the people of Israel to enter the Promised land. He reminded them of God’s faithfulness to them in rescuing them from Egypt and caring for them during their wilderness wanderings. But he added words that reminded them that they were to continue to live by God’s words to them,  Deuteronomy 8:3 “And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” Victory in living as God’s people would come from obeying the word of God. 

When Jesus was beginning His public ministry, Satan came  to tempt Him to ignore the word of God and to do something dramatic to prove He was the Son of God. However Jesus saw this as a temptation to do what Satan wanted and so He countered with the word of God as He answered, quoting the words of Deuteronomy 8:3,  Mat 4:3 “And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4  But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

The scriptures come from the mouth of God, by His divine revelation to humans.

St Paul’s understanding of the “inspired” word of God

This important truth was later taken up by St Paul in writing to Timothy in 2Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17  that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”  The Greek word for “breathed out “is [theopneustos] where theos = God and pneustos is from pneō to breathe. God has breathed out His word. It is from Him and thus has ultimate eternal authority.  We note too that the noun [pneuma] is derived from this verb “to breathe” and is used to describe the Holy Spirit [pnéuma hagios] as well as meaning breeze or wind.

One could say that all Scripture is given by the ex-piration [breathed out] of God to Bible writers who were in-spired by the Holy Spirit to write what they did. However we need to recognise the New Testament does not use the word “inspire” of the Scriptures except in a few translations of 2 Timothy 3:16 to translate “God breathed.” But similar concepts are used in the Bible to convey that meaning. The following  are some examples. 

St Peter wrote about prophecy in 2 Peter 1:20 “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21  For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.“ The prophets were “carried along “by the Holy Spirit as they spoke their prophecies. “Carried along” translates the Greek word [phero ] which is to be moved physically or mentally. It is used of a ship in Acts 27:15 “And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along.” It is as though the prophets raised their sails to the breath of the Holy Spirit to go in the direction God wanted them to go and to say the things God wanted them to say. 

In another epistle of St Peter he wrote, 1 Peter 1:10-11, “Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11  inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.”  12  It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you … .”

We note 3 things in verse 11. The first is that the Holy Spirit is described as being in them. The second is that the word for “indicating” which is [dēloō ]  means to make evident; to make known, to bring to light. That is, the Holy Spirit in them was active in making known or bringing to light what was to happen at a future time. The third is the word “he.” It was “he” [the Holy Spirit Himself] who was predicting the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories, but through human prophets. There was a divine origin behind their prophecies.

There was also a divine origin behind the words of Jesus as we see in John 14:10  “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.” The origin of the words He spoke and of  the signs he performed, was His Heavenly Father. 

Jesus said of His own ministry, that He had shared God’s word with His disciples, John 17:14  “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” Jesus’ ministry involved sharing God’s word with humans.

St Paul praised God for the fact that the believers in Thessalonica had received and acted on the word of God they had preached, as though it had come from God, 1Thessalonians 2:13 “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”

It is no wonder that Anglican churches worldwide are still willingly to be subject to the 6thArticle of the 39 Articles of Religion which states, “Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation…. .”

If the Bible is the “breathed out” words of God into the minds of human prophets and writers to speak and to record, then it is incumbent on humans in every age to receive them and to live by them. Then we will be achieving His purpose for us in His world! To His glory!

Blog No.493 posted on Monday 14 August 2023.

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Evangelism, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Glorification, Healing, Holy Spirit, Justification, Mental Health, Prayer, Salvation, Sanctification, spiritual warfare, Temptations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

492. The Freedom of Forgiveness. Psalm 103.

Posted on August 6, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

I will soon lead a Bible Study on Psalm 103 but remembered I had written on that several years ago. In that article, I recalled the liberating experience of a full-time pastoral worker who had acted on the truths of this Psalm during a counselling situation over 30 years ago. I share it again. [[A reposting of article No.16 on this site in 2011.]

“I can’t forgive him for what he did!” Wendy said these words very emphatically. She was at a live-in conference on counselling. She was a pastor to women at a large city church. During the conference it was expected that all participants would be willing to be counselled as part of their learning experience. It turned out that I had been chosen to be the leader of the three people (one man and two women) to hear her story and to pray with her.

She shared much of her life with us. Perhaps the most traumatic incident in her life occurred when she was eighteen years of age. She had been on a tourist coach tour which stopped overnight at several towns.  One night the Tour Director came uninvited into her room and tried to sexually molest her. Her screams brought other people in the hotel rushing to her door. By that time the man had gone but her clothing was in disarray, she was almost hysterical, and extremely embarrassed.

One result of that incident was that she didn’t trust men and especially men in authority.  Perhaps for that reason she had never been able to enter into a relationship with a man. At the time of the conference she was in her late 30’s. It helped explain why she was not really at ease when the counselling began with me as the male lead counsellor. However after she shared what had happened to her as a teenager we began to work through the process of forgiveness. It was obvious that she needed to move on for her own health sake. We knew that if she was willing to forgive the man, she could become more free as a result. (The man had never asked for her forgiveness). Forgiveness is never ever about condoning sin. Rather it was recognising that the man had harmed her and she needed to deal with the resultant effects. This was not a time for us to be extending sympathy to her. She’d had plenty of that in the past. Rather we sought to bring her healing.

When we suggested that it would help her to forgive the man for HER sake, she became quite angry. “I can’t forgive him for what he did!” she cried out. We tried to be gentle in what followed. Eventually it seemed right to ask her, “Why don’t you want to forgive him?” I think we were all a little bit startled when she retorted, “Well I don’t know if he has suffered enough yet for what he did!” It took some time before  I could reply. I knew she had a very wonderful ministry and wanted to be in the centre of God’s will. I asked, “Wendy, when you came to the Lord asking God to forgive you, did He say, ‘No you haven’t suffered enough yet?’”  After a short pause she answered, “No, He forgave me immediately!” We kept praying silently. Then she said, “I know I need to forgive that fellow but I never wanted to.  It has been affecting me and my ministry. But now I’m ready to forgive him.” In our presence she verbalised her forgiveness towards the man. What a difference it made to Wendy. She left the conference a different woman. Within two years she fell in love and was married.

Forgiveness involves forgiving everyone who may have hurt us. It means forgiving everything they ever said or did that brought us harm. Forgiving sets US free as we will see in future articles. Wendy discovered this truth in a wonderful way.

“Who forgives all your iniquity.” Psalm 103:3. What sort of person would be willing to forgive ALL our iniquity?” The Lord Himself. The word for “forgives” is “salach” which we saw in my post No.7, also means to “pardon” or to “spare”.  It is always used of God as the One Who forgives.  The word for “iniquity” is “avon” which denotes deliberate evil or conscious rebellion, a deeper form of sin. It is not normally in the nature of humans to forgive or to pardon those who deliberately rebel against us. We by nature want to hit back or to seek revenge. But it is in the nature of God to offer forgiveness and pardon to those who rebel against Him.  Why does He do it? Because it is His character to love and to forgive!

David wrote of that later in the Psalm in verses 8 to 12. He wrote in verse 8, The LORD is merciful (rachum). This word is only used of God.  It refers to His compassion and to the mercy He extends to those who don’t deserve it. He is gracious. (channun). This is another word used only of God and also used often with the previous word rachum. One example is in 2 Chronicles 30:9 where His graciousness is seen in His promise not to turn His face away from those who turn to Him,  “…  For the LORD your God is gracious (channun) and merciful (rachum) and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.”

 He is slow to anger, Psalm 103:8.  This phrase contains 2 Hebrew words which are used together at least 13 times in the Bible to describe the Lord’s patience or His longsuffering.  He abounds in steadfast love. Here the word is (chesed) which is used more than 250 times in the Bible to refer to God’s faithfulness, kindness and His covenant love. It occurs 26 times in Psalm 136 and portrays God’s faithfulness, love and protection from creation to eternity, especially in His dealings with His people.

David wanted people to understand how great is that steadfast love (chesed). He describes it in verse 12, as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him. In other words humans do not have the capacity to understand how great is God’s love for His people. It is beyond measure.

What effect does that (chesed) love have in God’s forgiveness of those who love Him? He tells us in verse 12, “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us”. That is a very long way. When God forgives us He removes those sins totally from us. He no longer sees the sinner as guilty of those sins. They are taken away to infinity and are no longer attributed to the penitent sinner.

These words have brought immense freedom to those who felt that they were full of guilt and who wondered if they could ever be free of it. The good news is that no matter how far they may have strayed away from God and from His laws (like the prodigal son) as they confessed their sin, God removed it even further away from them than any prodigal could ever stray.

Wendy had experienced that love of God for herself when she asked the Lord for forgiveness of all her iniquity.  She also knew that she had to forgive everyone in the same way she had been forgiven by God. In that way she would become free of the effects of the sin committed against her on that coach tour. But the freedom and the healing come as one acts on that knowledge and chooses to forgive. Wendy took a long time to come to the point of deciding to forgive.  But when she did, and forgave the man, God worked a miracle in her life.  She was the recipient of the peace and love that the Lord poured into her heart. I was the recipient of a great hug from her when the counselling time came to an end.  In one prayer ministry session the Lord had changed her incredibly. And especially her attitude towards men.

Doing what God says and forgiving those we need to forgive, opens us up to the grace and power of God to change us. It enables us to receive and experience His love for ourselves. It also enables us to love others with His forgiving love as Wendy found to her great delight.

(This is a true story but the name “Wendy” is not the real name of the person mentioned in the story)

Blog No.492 posted on Sunday 06 August 2023

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Evangelism, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Healing, Holy Spirit, Judgement, Justification, Mental Health, Prayer, Real Life Stories, Salvation, Sanctification, Temptations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

491. Sermon on Matthew 15:21-28. Title: “Great is Your Faith.” [Based On Lectionary Reading In Many Churches On Sunday 20 August 2023.]

Posted on July 25, 2023 by Jim Holbeck
[Sermon at the 6pm Healing Service in St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney by Canon Jim Holbeck. Wed 13th Feb 2002]
St Paul once wrote to the Thessalonian Christians praising God for the increase in their faith and love  (2 Th 1:3)  We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing.   So faith can grow. What would make Jesus say to one woman “Great is your faith!”  Tonight we look at some of the features of her faith so that we might learn what great faith is all about. 
 
She was a gentile (non-Jew) woman whose daughter had an evil spirit. The daughter was suffering terribly from its influence on her life. As soon as the mother heard that Jesus had gone into a local house, she came and fell at Jesus’ feet, begging that Jesus might heal her daughter. We look at the seeming obstacles she had to overcome to receive healing for her daughter and how her “great faith” persevered in spite of them. 
 
1.        The Obstacle Of Belonging To A Despised People.  
This woman was a Greek, born in this gentile territory where Jesus now was resting. 
In approaching Jesus was she going to suffer the antagonism and the rejection that had always characterised the relationships between the Jews and the people of this area? Rejection is never easy to face up to, but she was willing to be rejected in her quest for healing for her daughter. 
(Some of us may feel that we are despised. We may have terrible problems with our negative self-images. They may have developed as a result of the rejection by other people as we or our family were not accepted by those whom we hoped would accept us. The wonder of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is that God accepts those who accept Him.  “It was while we were yet sinners that Christ died for us.” Rom 5:8. The cross of Christ tells me that none of us need ever feel despised, when we realise that Jesus, the Son of God, died upon that cross for you and for me. He wants us to turn from our sins in repentance and ask Him to come into our lives that we might become the children of God. Jesus is only a prayer away, for it’s through prayer we ask Him into our lives to be our Saviour and our Lord.
 
2.        The Obstacle Of Being A Woman In The World Of That Day.
In that day, women had no rights, no privileges. The scene of a gentile woman approaching a Jewish teacher like Jesus to ask for help, would have scandalised many of the Jews, and shocked many of her own people. Perhaps throughout history women have been more discriminated against than any other group in society. But discrimination is any form against anyone is ugly and unjust and hurtful. Those discriminated against can feel resentful and rejected. But that resentment can turn inward and do nasty things to our health if it gets out of control. Here was a woman who pressed on in faith in spite of any rejection she might face. If God accepts us all equally in Christ then we need to accept one another and not put some into the category of unacceptable so that we reject them. It does them and us no good at all.  
 
3.        The Obstacle Of Having A Daughter With A Problem.  
There was a way of thinking in the world of that time that said that if someone was ill, or had some physical problem, then it was due to sin in that person, or in the parents of that person. 
If some people had known that the woman had a little daughter with an unclean spirit, they would have blamed the mother for sinning in such a way that the child was afflicted.  She made herself the possible target of misunderstanding, even abuse and ridicule, by coming publicly and asking for her daughter to be healed. But she was more concerned with the welfare of her daughter, than with her own reputation. 
We need to be reminded that having a family member with some problem or other does not disqualify us from receiving the grace of God in our lives. We don’t have to live with unnecessary guilt about decisions that others have made for themselves. We just need forgiveness for our own sins. 
If it’s through the wrong behaviour or attitude of the family member that they have misused the opportunities they had, or have opened themselves to illness or to the powers of darkness, then we don’t need to carry the guilt of that. They are responsible. They need to repent and to ask for God’s forgiveness and for His healing. Our responsibility is to keep on praying for them, that they may come to the Lord, and experience His grace and healing.
 
4.        The Obstacle Of Facing 3 Seeming Setbacks From Jesus.  
Jesus gave no reply when she asked Him to cast out the demon from her daughter. 
The disciples’ solution was to get rid of the problem by getting rid of the woman with the problem.  “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”  They had wrongly prejudged Jesus’ attitude. There are times when it seems that the Lord has not heard our prayers. But He has. His ears are always wide open to the cries of His children or to the cries of those who want to become His children. John wrote in 1 Jn 5:14-15  This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.15  And if we know that he hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of him. He did hear and we have those things we asked of Him in prayer but they will be released in His way and in His time, not ours.  
 
Jesus spoke what could have been seen as a racially motivated remark,  {24} He  answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel”(meaning the Jews.) But she wasn’t put off by His reply. She came and knelt before Him, asking “Lord, help me!” She may not have understood all that was happening, but she was desperate enough to continue to ask Jesus to help her. Her request for help had turned into worship and prayer.  There are times when we think that we have to be someone special in the eyes of God or of other people, before God will answer our prayers. But the promises of God are for all those who will accept them in Christ regardless of their background. He hears the prayer uttered in a beautiful cathedral by a faithful servant of God who has loved God and served Him faithfully for decades in His church. He also hears the prayer of a destitute alcoholic crying out to Him for help in the gutter in some undeveloped nation. 
 
Jesus’ response to her could have been off putting. “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” He meant that His ministry on earth was to be mainly aimed at His own people, the Jews, and not aimed primarily at the Gentiles, who were called the “dogs ” by the Jews. This was a challenge to her faith. If she had been a prejudiced person she could have been anti men, anti-Jews. But we see her faith in the way she responded to this seemingly hard saying of Jesus. She could see His words as a test to her own faith. She believed that He could and that He would help her. Her reply shows her faith and her expectation that He would heal her child.  “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
She recognised that His love and compassion weren’t going to be for the Jews only.  It was a wide embracing love that must reach out to those gentiles like herself. It could reach out to her daughter. 
It wouldn’t run out in ministering to the Jews, there would be plenty left over (like crumbs from the bread that fell from the children’s table), for the needs of those in other nations as well. She believed He could and would heal her daughter! 
You and I need to recognise that God has blessings for all those who need them. When we ask for His healing or His blessing we are not depriving someone else of blessing. He has enough for everyone. Never think your needs are too small or insignificant for Him to deal with. 
He loves to bestow His blessing on those who will receive them. 
 
The Answer To Prayer
Then came the wonderful ending to the story, as Jesus said to her,  “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” We read, “And her daughter was healed from that very hour.” Great faith had overcome the obstacles and brought the healing. 
What then are the elements of “great” faith? Put briefly they include the following:- 
i. A persevering faith in Jesus’ ability to heal; faith in His power. 
ii. A persevering faith in Jesus’ willingness to heal; faith in His love. 
iii. A persevering faith in God’s promises, which enables us to look beyond the obstacles, to expect and to see the power of God being released in answer to believing prayer. 

The greatness of faith ultimately derives from simply trusting in the greatness of the Person in whom we have faith, the incomparable Lord Jesus Christ.
Blog No.491 posted on Tuesday 25 July 2023
Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Coping With Personal Grief, Evangelism, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Healing, Holy Spirit, Justification, Lectionary Readings Year A [All Years], Mental Health, Prayer, Salvation, Sanctification, Temptations, TOPICS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

490. Matthew 14:22-31. Title: “Reach out to Jesus for Healing.” [Lectionary Reading for Sunday 13August 2023]

Posted on July 24, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

[A sermon I preached at the Healing Service in St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney in 2005]

  • How do you cope with pressure and the stress of living? None of us can escape many of the pressures that come upon us. None of us is exempt from stress. 
  • How can one learn to cope better? We get some clues in this passage. 
  • The disciples had just witnessed a mighty miracle in the feeding of the 5,000. Now we read (Mat 14:22-23) Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
  • I suppose as they set out in the boat they were thinking about the power of Jesus they had just witnessed and wondering what He might do next. They were to experience something that night that would impact on them for the rest of their lives. We can learn from what happened:-

1.   WE ARE TO “TAKE COURAGE” IN DIFFICULT TIMES. 14:22-26

  • Here were good men, followers of Jesus and yet they came into a very difficult situation. (Christians are not exempt from hard times. We all have to face them. But the believer is promised God’s help in facing the difficulties.) 
  • Jesus had sent his disciples in a boat across the lake while He went up on a mountain to pray. We read what happened, 23… When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. No wonder they were afraid.
  •  For one thing the storm looked like claiming their lives, as they appeared helpless in its fury. It might have been only be a matter of time till they drowned. 
  • The second thing that really added to their fear was seeing a figure walking on the water towards them. They were terrified it was a ghost. 
  • Can you blame them? How often have you been in a small boat in Sydney Harbour and someone walks past you on the water and says “Hi!” and you calmly reply “Lovely night for a walk isn’t it?” If you have had some occurrences like that then I would encourage you to get some prayer tonight! 
  • This was something supernatural. They were freaking out. Jesus was aware of their distress, so He called out to them, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
  • There was every reason in the world why they might be afraid. But in the presence of Jesus, fear was no longer necessary. 

On many occasions, Jesus saw people in trouble and comforted them with those same words, 

  • a man who might never walk again; Mat 9:2, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” Later Jesus healed him. 
  • a poor destitute sick woman beyond human help for healing; Mat 9:22, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.”
  • disciples who felt that the evil of the world would overwhelm them; Jn 16:33 …  In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
  • St Paul almost certain to be murdered by an angry mob. Acts 23:11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
  • In all these references, it was as though the Lord was saying to these people in their difficult situations, “Don’t be afraid, trust Me” and He moved to help them.
  • He says the same to you and me in our own difficult situations, “Take heart! Trust Me.”” 

2.   WE ARE TO TRUST HIM TO DO WHAT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE

  • Peter was almost sure that the figure walking on the water, and speaking to them, was Jesus. He put his faith in Jesus to the test. 28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 
  • Here is incredible faith in action. Fancy anyone believing that they could get out of a boat in a storm and walk on the surface of the tossing waves. 
  • But Peter wasn’t being a fool. If it was Jesus out there, and if Jesus told Him to walk to Him on the water, then and only then would he get out of the boat and walk to Jesus. 
  • This wasn’t presumption on Peter’s part. He was going to trust Jesus if Jesus told him to come to Him. He heard the reply from Jesus, “Come. “

Faith in Jesus to do the impossible

Then follows one of the greatest moments in human history. 

  • It may have been a great moment in human history when Neil Armstrong on the Apollo 11 mission stepped onto the surface of the moon and said,  “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. 
  • But perhaps one of the greatest steps of faith in human history took place as Peter obeyed the invitation from Jesus, got out of the boat and began to walk on the water to Jesus. 
  • I don’t think we realise just what a step of faith that was. We think more about Peter’s ultimate later failure than we do about his initial success. 
  • For the first time in history, a human (in addition to Jesus) actually walked on the surface of a lake. 
  • Unfortunately the part we remember about Peter is that he allowed fear to enter in. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”

He began to focus on the problem, the force of the wind and the waves. 

He looked away from the solution, away from Jesus. 

  • He began to sink as we all do when we take our eyes off the Lord and focus on the problems around us.
  • How often do you and I keep focussing on the problem we face and keep thinking about the implications of the danger we face. 
  • How often do we leave the Lord out of our calculations? 

Faith in Jesus when things go wrong

Things were going terribly wrong for Peter. His faith was challenged as he began to sink. 

  • But again he exercised his faith in the midst of his dangerous situation, and looked to Jesus for help,  and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”
  • We read what happened, Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 
  • The impression is given by Jesus’ words that if Peter had continued to look to Jesus in faith and trust, he would have been given the power to continue to walk on water to Jesus. 
  • Peter’s little faith had allowed him to take some steps on the water. 
  • Peter’s little faith enabled Jesus to get him out of trouble as Peter sank. 
  • At times we may step out in faith trusting the Lord to uphold us. 
  • At times we may need to cry out in faith when we begin to sink in the difficulties around us. 
  • It’s good to know He is there for us when we are walking in victory.
  • It’s good to know that He is there for us when we are facing defeat. 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

The incident also records a rebuke and an encouragement from Jesus. 

3.   WE CAN HAVE “GREATER” FAITH

We would have seen Peter’s step as coming from great faith. What did Jesus say? “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

  • Jesus had seen Peter walking on the water and yet He rebuked him for having little faith. 
  • I would have thought it was great faith, tremendous faith to walk on water. 
  • But obviously, my understanding of faith needs to be broadened and deepened. 
  • Can a deeper faith open the door to more of God’s power? 
  • There were several times when Jesus challenged his followers, by saying they had little faith. 
    • We see it in Mat 6:30, where Jesus told his followers that they could trust Him to provide for their material needs. There was no need for them to be anxious.
    • Sometime after the feeding of the 5,000 and then the 4,000, the disciples went on a journey and they became anxious because they had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus reminded them that he had fed both the 5,000 and the 4,000, and then he added, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread?  
    • He rebuked His followers when they failed to cast an evil spirit out of a boy.  When He cast out the evil spirit they asked Jesus why they couldn’t do it. He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. ” Mt 17:20. 
  • You and I may have seen some wonderful answers to prayer but I’m sure that for all of us, our faith can grow. 
  • Paul prayed for his readers in 1 Thess 3:10, that their faith might grow,  we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith. 
  • His prayer was answered as we see when he wrote another letter to them saying, 2 Thess 1:3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly 

4.   WE ARE CHALLENGED TO EXERCISE OUR FAITH

The religious leaders of that day would not put their trust in Jesus. But some people did. 14:34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick 36 and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

  • The religious leaders who were meant to be the shepherds of the people of Israel rejected Him and rejected what He had come to offer to His people. They mocked Jesus and rejected His help. 
  • By contrast, the lowly men of Gennesaret were like the shepherds the leaders should have been. 
    • They recognised Jesus. They spread the message of Jesus’ coming to that region. They gathered up all the sick and brought them to Jesus. They implored Jesus to allow them to touch the fringe of His garment. 
    • Those who reached out to Jesus in faith were healed. 
  • Peter had reached out in faith as he began to sink and was restored. 
  • The sick in Gennesaret reached out to Jesus and were healed. 

There have been hundreds of people over the last 45 years who have come to the healing service in this Cathedral with the attitude that their situation was hopeless. As they heard the word of God and the promises of God they were able to take their focus off the sheer impossibility of their problem and to look to the Lord for His blessing and healing. He brought them the blessing and healing they needed.

Tonight would you do as they did and reach out to Him for that which you need, whether it be peace in the midst of the difficulties you are facing at this moment or His healing power on your life?   

Posted on Monday 24 July 2023

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Coping With Personal Grief, Creation, Evangelism, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Healing, Holy Spirit, Justification, Lectionary Readings Year A [All Years], Mental Health, Prayer, Questions and Answers, Salvation, Sanctification, Temptations, TOPICS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

489.  The Meaning Of The Word “Appropriate.” Food For Thought!

Posted on July 17, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

My Facebook site reminded me that on this day 3 years ago, some 9 months after my wife’s death, I posted this brief article. I thought it might be helpful for someone today in the wider world to understand.

As I reflect daily on the life and ministry of my late beloved wife Carole, I realise that it was the truth contained in this article that made her to be appropriate in every setting, whether as a clergy wife or as a Senior Head Teacher in a demanding educational setting. She was also the appropriate choice of our Lord for me to become her adoring husband for the 54 years we were married. 

“Appropriate.” Is it a verb or an adjective? Yes, you’re right. It can be both, even though they are spelt exactly the same, but pronounced differently! 

The verb “to appropriate” means to take hold of something. 

The adjective “appropriate” means to be correct, to be fitting. I can remember teaching in seminars that the only way to be appropriate in everything we say and do in life, is to appropriate the fullness of the Holy Spirit of God. It is of course a command to the people of God in Ephesians 5:!8, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”

I once noted these words of David Guzik in a commentary, “Much of the weakness, defeat and lethargy in our spiritual life can be attributed to the fact that we are not constantly being filled with the Holy Spirit. … The ancient Greek grammar for be filled also indicates two other important things. First, the verb is passive, so this is not a manufactured experience. Second, it is imperative, so this is not an optional experience.” God can do it in every believer! If they desire it and ask to be filled!

Only as we take hold of [appropriate]the fullness of the Holy Spirit will we learn to be appropriate [correct, suitable, fitting] in our behaviour. 

In brief, those who have the appropriate belief should be those who display the appropriate behaviour.

Blog No.489 posted on Monday 17 July 2023

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Coping With Personal Grief, Evangelism, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Glorification, Healing, Holy Spirit, Mental Health, Mini Reflections, Prayer, Real Life Stories, Salvation, Sanctification, TOPICS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

488. Whom Do We Need To Fear? “Fear Him!”

Posted on July 6, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

In my previous article I addressed the topic “Fear not!” I gave many reasons from the Bible why believers as the children of God do not have to be fearful in God’s world. However there is a place for the right  kind of fear in our lives as believers. The Bible not only has the phrase “Fear not!“ but also has “Fear Him!” referring to God. What does it mean to “fear Him?”

1]. Those Who “Fear Him” Are Those Who Trust In God 

Deu 13:4  “You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.” What is involved in fearing God, is to keep His commandments, to obey His voice, serve Him and hold fast to Him. It is a commitment by humans to love God and to faithfully keep on serving Him.

Job 37:23 -24, “The Almighty—we cannot find him; he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate. 24 Therefore men fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.” The fear of God derives from the recognition of the greatness of God both in His almighty power and in His justice. Such people  are not conceited in their  own limited wisdom.

Psa 25:14  “The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” God becomes a friend to those who accept His friendship and He helps them understand the covenant He has formed with His people.

Psa 33:18  “Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love.” Here we see that hoping in God’s steadfast love is equated with having the fear of God. God watches over those who look to Him in faith. 

Psa 22:25  From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. The Psalmist’s praise to God stems from his faith in Him and this faith encourages him to perform his vows before others who likewise fear God.

Psa 147:11  but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. The Psalmist adds another truth about the character of God when he describes God as taking pleasure in those who fear Him. 

Rev 19:5  And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.” An unidentified voice addresses all God’s servants who fear Him and commands them to praise their God. 

2]. God Promises To Protect And Bless Those Who Fear Him

Psalm 34:7  The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. God through this unnamed representative protects believers in the same way as an army encamped around a city protects the city.

Psa 34:9  Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! God’s saints [hoi hagioi autou] [οι  αγιοι αυτου]  are those set apart to God. As such He provides for them so that they do not lack.

Psa 85:9  Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. God’s presence among His people is their salvation and thus they are able to live to His glory. 

Psa 103:11  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him. Believers are assured of God’s steadfast love for them because it is immeasurable. 

Psa 103:13  As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.  Compassion [oikteirō; οἰκτείρω] is an understanding love,characteristic of a father’s love for his children. But human compassion is only a faint shadow of the great compassion God has for His children.

Psa 103:17  But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children. God’s steadfast love [Greek eleos; ἔλεος] can mean the tender mercy coming from God’s deep understanding of us. It is eternal, for He never changes. But as the next verse reminds us, those who fear him are those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.

Psa 111:5  He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. The Israelites knew of God’s provision of food for His people as He led them from Egypt towards the promised land. He would continue to provide for those who feared Him because He was faithful to His covenant people.

Psa 145:19  “He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.” God knows the desires of His people whether they are expressed in prayer or hidden in their hearts. He fulfils their desires and saves them.

Luk 1:50 “And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.” Mary the mother of Jesus expressed these words in the Magnificat as she gave glory to God. She had been the recipient of God’s mercy and realised that His mercy would extend to all generations, on those who feared Him.

3]. “Fear Him!” Used As A Command

Psa 67:7  ‘God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!”  The Psalmist had been writing of the goodness of the Lord and how He had blessed His people. He wanted everyone to share in God’s blessings so he wrote in verses 3 and 5 , “Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!” He finished the Psalm with the same desire, “let all the ends of the earth fear Him!” The fear the Psalmist is referring to is the reverential respect for the loving and faithful God who blesses His people.

Mat 10:28  “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear himwho can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Jesus was teaching His disciples that they had no need to fear the humans who might seek to kill them. The worst they could do would be to kill the body but they were unable to kill the soul. The right sort of fear is the reverential fear of God who has the ability to destroy both body and soul in hell.   It is interesting that Jesus followed these seemingly harsh words with these comforting words, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30  But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31  Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Mat 10:29-31. 

Luk 12:4  “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5  But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

This is similar to the Mat 10:28 reference above with its emphasis on the fact that the worst humans can do is to kill another human. Only God has the authority to cast someone into hell. 

SUMMING UP

In most of these verses where the words “fear him” are used it is mainly to show that those who fear God are in a  right relationship with Him. As such He has pity on them, protects them, saves them, and blesses them. It also shows that those who fear him don’t need to fear their fellow humans. They may kill the body but have no jurisdiction on  what happens to the soul.

However, we have challenging words in Matthew 10:28 and Luke 12:4 where the  disciples are told by Jesus that they need to have a reverential fear of God because He alone has the authority to cast people into hell.

It is interesting though that the emphasis in the Bible is on the grace of God in wooing people to have faith in Himself. Consider the case of the two thieves who were crucified at the same time as Jesus. One of them had a mocking attitude to Jesus, as he cried out, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” He had no recognition of who Jesus was. But the other somehow recognised that the battered body of the man crucified next to him was a king who would somehow survive his crucifixion and take up his kingdom. He addressed Jesus with a request, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Luke 23:42.

Who looked less than a king than Jesus as He hung on the cross in utter weakness? But this second thief saw beyond the natural and recognised that Jesus was about to become a king and asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom. He recognised that he himself was a sinner and pleaded with Jesus for mercy as He established His kingdom. He had learned to “Fear Him!” How reassuring it must have been for him to hear Jesus‘ reply to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43. 

How reassuring it is for believers today to know that when they learn to “Fear Him,” from the moment of their death they will be with Jesus in paradise. Or the promise in the words of St Paul, that to be “absent from the body,” through death means to be “present with the Lord!” 2 Corinthians 5:8.

Blog No.488 posted on Thursday 06 July 2023.

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Creation, Evangelism, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Healing, Holy Spirit, Judgement, Justification, Mental Health, New Covenant, Prayer, Questions and Answers, Salvation, Sanctification, spiritual warfare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

487. “Fear Not!”  Why Believers Have No Need To Fear

Posted on July 3, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

The phrase, “Fear not!” is found 33 times in the ESV Bible. When fear is so prevalent in today’s world it would help us to understand why God in His word tells us not to be afraid. Let’s see in the Bible the reasons why believers do not need to be afraid as they live for God in His world. 

1]. “Fear Not, For I Am With You!” The Lord Promises To Be With His People At All Times

Gen 26:24  And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.”

Isa 41:10  fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isa 41:13  For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

Isa 43:5  Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.

Jer 46:28  Fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the LORD, for I am with you. I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have driven you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”

Hag 2:5  according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.

In all these verses we note that the Lord wants to be with His people in all situations. While they continue to trust Him, they have no need to fear. However that does not mean that they are exempt from His chastisement. As God spoke through the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews, “Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10  For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11  For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:9-11. 

Even when God has to chastise His people, [and He will for none of us live perfect lives] it is for their good, that they might share the holiness of God. The end result is that they might enjoy “the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” God chastises His people in His love, not in anger. He wants the very best for His people.

2]. “Fear Not!” The Lord Promises To Redeem, Save And Protect His People

Gen 15:1  After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”

Isa 41:14  Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the LORD; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

Isa 43:1  But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

Jer 30:10  “Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the LORD, nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid.

Jer 46:27  “But fear not, O Jacob my servant, nor be dismayed, O Israel, for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid.

The Lord is not only the Creator of His people, He is also the One who redeems them and protects them as they live for Him.  We see the privilege of belonging to the Lord as His people in the words in Isaiah 43:1  “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” We know we have a great responsibility to live lives that bring glory to Christ, but we often overlook the privilege we have in being called by His name as Christians, those who belong to Christ. We belong to Him not because we chose Him to be our Saviour and Lord but because Christ took the initiative and chose us to be His, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” John 15:16

In 1Peter 2:9 we see both our privilege and our responsibility as Christ’s chosen ones being entwined in the same verse, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” We have the privilege of belonging to Him by His initiative and grace, and our responsibility is to live for Him by proclaiming His excellencies. “Called” reminds us of our being called out of the world to belong to Him.  Indeed that is the meaning of the word “church” which in the Greek is “ekklesia” or the “called out ones.”[From ek meaning out of and klesia a calling.]

3]. “Fear Not!” The Lord Promises To Hear The Cries Of His People

Gen 21:17  And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.

Dan 10:12  Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.

God’s ears are always open to hear the cries of His children. John asserted that in the twofold confidence he expressed in 1 John 5:14-15,  “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” The double confidence that God hears prayers uttered in accord with His will, and the confidence that such prayers will be answered. 

4]. “Fear Not!” The Lord Promises To Be With His People As He Sets Them  Free From Their Enemies

Exo 14:13  And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 

God spoke these words through Moses when the Israelites were facing an impossible situation. A sea lay before them and the Egyptian army was closing on them. There was no way of escape. But God told them not to be afraid. He was going to save them, so there was no need for them to be fearful. The Egyptian army would be totally destroyed. God would prove to be their Saviour. 

5]. “Fear Not!” The Lord Wants His People To Be Strong So As Not To Be Afraid

1Ch 22:13  Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the LORD commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed.

Isa 35:4  Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

Isa 40:9  Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

Dan 10:19  And he said, “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”

Zep 3:16  On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak.

Zec 8:13  And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.”

In these verses we see the need for God’s people to be strong and also the promise that God will strengthen those who trust in Him. Daniel experienced both  these things as he determined to be strong and in the process found that he was strengthened by God, ‘And he said, “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”’ Daniel10:19. 

6]. “Fear Not!” The Lord has formed and chosen His people to  be His forever

Isa 44:2  Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

Isa 44:8  Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”

Mat 10:31  Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Luk 12:7  Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Luk 12:32  “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Rev 1:17  When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last.

As we saw in 2] above, God has chosen believers to belong to Him. He created them, and they are precious to him. In His intimate knowledge of them and care for them, He knows even the number of hairs on their head. They are very precious to Him. He wants them to know and experience the benefits of His kingdom. He was there at the beginning and He will be there at the end, for He is eternal. They will never be a time when He is not available to help His people.

7].  ”Fear Not!” There  Is No Need To Fear Our Fellow Humans

Isa 51:7  “Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their revilings.” In The Life Application Notes we read these encouraging words on this verse,  “We need not fear when people insult us for our faith because God is with us and truth will prevail. If people make fun of you or dislike you because you believe in God, remember that they are not against you personally but against God. God will deal with them; you should concentrate on loving and obeying him.” As St Paul wrote in Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” We need to be  concerned with how He sees us and not worry about others may think of us. 

8]. “Fear Not!” The Lord Will Make Life Better For You In The Future

Isa 54:4  “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

Zec 8:15  so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not.

Luk 2:10  And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

Joh 12:15  “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

St Paul wrote, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.“ Romans 8:28. It is true that God desires to keep blessing His people. He can deal with the negative things of our past so that they no longer affect us and He works all things for good for those who continue to love Him.

9]. “Fear Not!” Even Non-Human Nature Has No Need To Fear

Joe 2:21  “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things!

Joe 2:22  Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and vine give their full yield.

The promise of the Lord through Jonah to His people was also a promise to God’s blessing on the land so it would become fertile and upon the beasts who would have plenty to eat. When God’s people walk in humble obedience, His blessing remains on them and on their environment. 

Summing up

These 33 occurrences of the words “Fear not!” indicate that it is unnecessary for believers to fear their future. God chose them before the foundation of the world to belong to Him and promises to be with them in every situation throughout their lives. He is sovereign in His world and He does continue to work all things for good for those who love Him.

John writes that “perfect love casts out fear.” It is the responsibility of every believer to love God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength. This is a grateful response to His sovereign grace, love and power. Whenever fear comes into our lives, it is an indication that we have not yet been perfected in love, 1John 4:18 “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” But how can that sort of love be perfected in us? John gives us the answer, 1Jn 4:11 “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another 12  No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.13  By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.”

As we abide in Christ, God is able to pour His perfect love into our hearts. His perfect agape love in us allows fears to dissipate as we look at others with the love of God. We see them as potential candidates to come into the kingdom of God and not simply as enemies who will never change.

We need to be strengthened as we look at God’s promises in His word and act on them. Or in the words of St Paul which keep reverberating in my mind, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13  for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:12-13. We have to work out in practice what God is working inwardly in our hearts.

Praise God that by working in us, He gives us both the willingness and the ability to do what pleases Him. And that includes trusting Him in all circumstances and not allowing fear to control our beings.

Blog No.478 posted on Monday 03 July 2023.

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Creation, Evangelism, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Glorification, Healing, Holy Spirit, Judgement, Justification, Mental Health, New Covenant, Prayer, Salvation, Sanctification, Temptations, TOPICS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment