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

486. RECONCILIATION. What Does It Mean For Today?

Posted on July 1, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

There are many nations in our present day world where the word “Reconciliation” is being used widely. However it is not easy to ascertain what people mean when they  use the term. Over all it appears to mean the situation where 2 groups of people put aside their differences and come to some form of agreement. 

But how do more expert people define the term? 

Some definitions

reconciliation (n.)

mid-14c., reconciliacioun, “renewal of friendship after disagreement or enmity, action of reaching accord with an adversary or one estranged” (originally especially of God and sinners), from Old French reconciliacion (14c.) and directly from Latin reconciliationem (nominative reconciliatio) “a re-establishing, a reconciling,” noun of action from past-participle stem of reconciliare (see reconcile).

From 1729 as “act of harmonizing or making consistent.” Other early noun forms included reconcilement (mid-15c.), reconciling (late 14c.).also from mid-14c.

  • Dictionary.cambridge.org

a situation in which two people or groups of people become friendly again after they have argued:

  • dictionary.com

an act of reconciling, as when former enemies agree to an amicable truce.

the state of being reconciled, as when someone becomes resigned to something not desired.

1a : to restore to friendship or harmony

b: Settle, Resolve reconcile differences

2: to make consistent or congruous. reconcile an ideal with reality

3: to cause to submit to or accept something unpleasant

4a: to check (a financial account) against another for accuracy

b: to account for

  • Oxford Languages
  • the restoration of friendly relations.
  • the action of making one view or belief compatible with another.

So the term can have a variety of meanings ranging from the concept of restoring previous friendships to that of learning to submit or accept something unpleasant.  

However the term has been in use in the world for centuries. We see its use in the Old Testament in describing situations going back over 3000 years. We will now look at all of the uses in the Bible of the terms reconcile, reconciled, reconciling and reconciliation. 

1]. Reconcile

1 Samuel 29:4. G1259  [diallassō; διαλλάσσω]. [NOTE 1.]

David had fled from Saul who had planned to kill him and joined with Achish, the king of Gath. David planned to go into battle alongside Achish but the commanders of the Philistines became angry as they thought that David might turn against them in battle. This was their reasoning, “He shall not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For how could this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of the men here?” They thought that if David turned against them in battle and killed many of the Palestinian troops,  it could be a way of bringing reconciliation with Saul. So the word  is used here to describe bringing about a better relationship by doing something that would please Saul who was angry with David.

 Acts 7:23-26.  G.4871,  [synallassō;  συναλλάσσω].

“When he was forty years old, it came into his [Moses’] heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24  And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25  He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26  And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarrelling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?” Moses tried to bring about reconciliation between 2 of his own countrymen by bringing to an end  the quarrel between them. The proposed reconciliation was based on the fact that they belonged to the same group of people and it was wrong for them to be quarrelling. 

Eph 2:13-16. G604  [apokatallassō; ἀποκαταλλάσσω]

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14  For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15  by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” Here the reconciliation is between Jews and Gentiles whom Christ has brought together through His death on the cross. He made them into one new man who could live together in peace. But there was another aspect to this reconciliation. He reconciled them both to Himself through that same death on the cross, thereby killing the hostility. We see that it is the shed blood of Jesus that brings about reconciliation between humans and reconciliation with God. 

2]. Reconciled. 

Mat 5:23 -24. G1259 [diallassō; διαλλάσσω]

“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24  leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” The Christian family are one in Christ and should show that unity in all they do. That means that if someone is coming to worship God and remembers that another believer has something against them, they should first attempt to get right with the Christian brother before offering their gift to God. That is our Christian responsibility to our reconciled fellow believers.

Rom. 5:10 – G2644 [katallassō; καταλλάσσω]

“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.“ This is another passage which attributes reconciliation to God as being due to the death of Jesus on the cross. He died for us while we were still enemies of God. However now as God’s reconciled people we are being saved by His life within us. 

1 Cor. 7:11 G2644 [katallassō; καταλλάσσω]” “To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband 11  (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.”  Because true Christian marriage should be seen as the bringing together by God of 2 people in love, that bond should remain permanent. A temporary separation should lead to a reconciliation with the husband or else they remain single. 

2 Cor. 5:18  G2644 [katallassō; καταλλάσσω] “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”[G2644]. Believers have been reconciled to God through Christ and have been given the ministry of reconciliation. That means sharing the good news that God reconciles sinners to Himself in His love.

2Cor 5:19  G2644 [katallassō; καταλλάσσω]” “that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” [G2644]. In the previous verse it was the ministry of reconciliation that believers received. Here it is the message of reconciliation they are to share faithfully. That message is about Jesus through whom God reconciled the world to Himself, because in trusting Him, their sins would no longer be counted against them.

2Cor 5:20  G2644. [katallassō; καταλλάσσω]  “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” This is the third time in 3 verses that Paul states that believers have a message to share and as such we are His ambassadors. It  is as though God is making His appeal through His people.  

Col 1:20  – G0604 [apokatallassō; ἀποκαταλλάσσω] 

“and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” Here is the reminder that reconciliation comes from the initiative of God who has made it possible for guilty sinners to be reconciled to Himself. Humans cannot reconcile themselves to God. They can only accept by faith the reconciliation that God offers them in Christ. In receiving Him as Saviour and Lord they are receiving the reconciliation that is to be found  in Christ alone. 

Col. 1:22 – G0604 [apokatallassō; ἀποκαταλλάσσω]

“he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.” There are two important truths to be found in this verse. The first is that reconciliation in their case was already an accomplished fact. Before their conversion, the Colossians had been Gentile sinners, alienated from God. Now through their faith in Christ, they had been brought into a relationship with God by His grace to them in Christ. The second truth shows that the privilege in being reconciled also brought a responsibility to live for God from that time on. Though they were once guilty sinners in His sight, God reconciled them to Himself so that they might live holy and blameless lives before him.

3]. Reconciliation. 

Rom. 5:11.  G2643  [katallagē; καταλλαγή]

“More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” The Believers Bible has this commentary on verse 11, “Reconciliation refers to the establishment of harmony between God and man through the sacrificial work of the Saviour. The entrance of sin had brought estrangement, alienation, and enmity between man and God. By putting away sin, which had caused the alienation, the Lord Jesus restored those who believe on Him to a state of harmony with God. We should note, in passing, that God did not need to be reconciled. It was man who needed it, because he was at enmity with God.”

Rom. 11:15 – G2643  [katallagē; καταλλαγή]

“For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?” Because Israel as a nation had hardened their hearts against God, it gave an opportunity for the Gentiles to hear and respond to the gospel. Many responded and were reconciled to God. But later when Israelites would eventually accept the gospel and receive Christ as their Messiah, it would be like being raised from the dead to life for those Israelites.

2 Cor. 5:18 G2643  [katallagē; καταλλαγή]

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled [G2644] us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” As we saw above believers have been reconciled to God through Christ and have been given the ministry of reconciliation. That means sharing the good news that God reconciles sinners to Himself in His love.

2 Cor. 5:19 – G2644 [καταλλάσσω; katallassō] and G2643 [katallagē; καταλλαγή]

“that is, in Christ God was reconciling [G2644] the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” [G2643]. God is seen as the author of reconciliation, and ii was through Christ that he achieved the reconciliation with sinners. Because Christ died to take away the sins of the world, it meant that God no longer held their trespasses against them.

4]. Reconciling

2 Cor. 5:19 – G2644  [katallassō; καταλλάσσω]

“that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” God planned for reconciliation to take place through Christ and because He died to take away sin, it that He no longer held sin against them. In fact believers were entrusted by God to share the reconciliation message with other people.

Summing up

What is seen as common in all these Bible verses, is that reconciliation between a holy God and imperfect sinners was accomplished through the death of Jesus on the cross. In every case God is seen as bringing about reconciliation. So we see that reconciliation consists of having a right relationship between God and sinful humans who respond in faith to Him. 

All this could not have been accomplished in any way by human initiative. It needed the grace of God working through Christ’s death on the cross to bring about the reconciliation that was needed between sinful  humans and a holy God. And it was through their reconciled lives as believers that they recognised that they had been reconciled to one another in Christ. So the message of reconciliation they were to share was not a demand, “Be reconciled to me” but “Be reconciled to God.” True reconciliation can only come about when both parties are both reconciled to God.

So it must be asked of the nations of the world what they mean when they demand reconciliation. Are they demanding, “Be reconciled to me by meeting my demands!” or do they mean, “Let’s both be reconciled to God, so that true love [God’s agape love] flows between us.” The first option is not really an option because even God Himself does not make demands for people to be reconciled to Him. His reconciliation is based on grace [His undeserved favour] in which says to us, “I want you to be reconciled to me and in my self-giving love I have made that possible for you through the death of My Son. Receive my gift to you in receiving Him and we will be reconciled. Not only that but you will be reconciled to everyone else who has received My Son as Saviour and you will be one in Him!” Oh that the peoples of the world have that in the minds when they speak about reconciliation!

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[NOTE 1]. The letter [G]  following  the Greek word refers to the Greek words in the Greek versions of both the Old  and New Testaments. The number is the number of the entry of a word in Strong’s Concordance.

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

485. Changing The Upside Down, Back to Front World In Which We Live.

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

As many people look at what is happening in many countries of the world and even in our own country they believe that the world is becoming upside down with a reversal of values where good is being called evil and evil is being called good. They believe the focus is changing from considering the rights and needs of the individual and turning to the interests of communities both large and small. The problem with that approach is that the rights and privileges of individuals are overlooked. It means too that the responsibilities of individuals are also overlooked with disastrous results.

Take just one area of concern in today’s world. It is true that domestic violence is a major problem in many communities around the world. And there seems to be no real answer in how to prevent or lessen the problem. Often glib answers are given to try to explain the problem. For example often the reason given for its occurrence is a broad categorisation such as “toxic masculinity” or even “masculinity.” It is apportioning the blame to the male section of the human race. Yet research has shown that often females are the initiators of domestic violence so it can’t be isolated to “toxic masculinity.” In most communities in our western world, families are stable and domestic violence is foreign to them. It seems as though certain individuals in communities lose control and become violent to those close to them. As such it is not the toxic masculinity of the male section of the community acting badly but individuals who act wrongly in this way. Somehow such individuals are the ones who need help.

As I thought about this problem I was reminded of an article No255 I had written over 5 years ago which sought to give some clues as to why humans act badly and what we can do to help them.

The article is reproduced below.

255. DOING WHAT WE CAN TO CHANGE THE WORLD FOR GOOD.

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Jim Holbeck

There is a major problem with this world. It’s called “people”.

Sometimes we have idealised pictures in our minds of the good that humans may be capable of being and doing. However the Charles Schulz’ Peanuts cartoon expressed a significant truth. The cartoon had Linus observing this of humans, “I love mankind! It’s people I can’t stand!” Many other people have expressed a similar truth about humans. Great as a concept. Difficult in practice.

It reminds me of a conversation I had with a cleaner who was cleaning our home in Sydney. It had been raining a great deal in recent days and I asked how she was managing the wet weather. I was a little surprised but amused by her answer, “I don’t have any problem with the concept of rain. It’s the practicalities I have difficulties with!” It was a great response and I have used it in teaching especially on the need for people to forgive others. Forgiveness is a great concept but we all have difficulties with forgiving in practice.  Probably because humans can be so …. human! Them! And Us!

There is a reason why people are difficult. Well, actually there are many reasons. Paul reminds us of many of those reasons in Ephesians 2. What he wrote of humans back then, still applies to all humans today. It is genetic in origin [as well as often pathetic in practice.]

A). THE WORLD’S PROBLEM. PROBLEM PEOPLE

It seems that the thinkers in the early days of the Church of England knew about humans when they placed these words in the Baptism service “For Those Of Riper Years.”

Question:- Dost thou renounce the devil and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the carnal desires of the flesh; so that thou wilt not follow nor be led by them?  Answer:- I renounce them all.

They recognised that the 3 enemies of the human race are the “world”, the “flesh” and the “devil”. All of them need to be renounced in order to live a faithful life while trusting in Christ.

No doubt those early thinkers drew upon these following concepts in the writings of St Paul as they drew up the Baptismal services. We look especially at Ephesians 2.

1). The Enemy Around Humans. [The World]. Humans are spiritually dead in sin. Eph 2:1 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world … ” The “world” [kosmos, κόσμοs] can mean all the world and all its peoples. It can also mean the world in opposition to God and to His purposes for the world.   That is seen in John 1:10 where Jesus is seen as the Creator of the world but was rejected by the people of the world when He came into the world in His incarnation. “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.”

The “course” [aiōn, αἰών meaning the age or the ways] of the world can mean the world’s systems of belief and behaviour. Humans were doing their own thing rather than God’s. They had been “following the crowd” as it were! Conforming to the spirit of the age!  Doin’ what comes naturally! They still do today!

It is certainly true that the world [meaning the people and their ideas] can impact us or influence us greatly. That was why St Paul suggested a solution in Romans 12. Conformity to the world could be overcome by being transformed by the renewing of our minds, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Rom 12:2.

2). The Enemy Against Humans. [Satan, the Devil.] “… following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—”. The enemy against humans revealed himself in the Garden of Eden as being anti-God, a tempter, a deceiver and a liar.

He is a “prince” [archōn,  ἄρχων = first in rank or power] in being the chief among evil spirits.

He has “power “[authority, influence, exousía, ἐξουσία] but he stole it from humans.

Humans were characterised by disobedience because they were under the power of evil spirits “the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.” Humans were disobeying but they were under the influence of evil.  They were conforming to evil presence and influence.

There are many in our world today who suggest that evil is rampant throughout the world. What was once called “evil” is being called “good” and what was once called “good” is being called “evil”. It is a time when Christian believers are being unjustly persecuted throughout the world and very few people seem to care or even see the injustice being done. 

3).  The Enemy Within Humans. [The flesh, the “old man,” fallen human nature.]

Eph 2:3 “among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind … .”  Paul is including himself and his readers among the problem people of the world. It has been a universal problem everywhere and throughout the ages.

The “flesh” [sarx, σάρξ] can have various meanings. It can mean all the people of the world, our skin which covers our bones etc, and our fallen human nature opposed to the Holy Spirit and to God.

Paul described that fallen human nature and how it behaves in Gal 5:19 “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” That covers a lot of negative human experience in the areas of sex, religion, social behaviour and self-control. That is, inappropriate sex, inappropriate religious expression, inappropriate social behaviour and inappropriate personal behaviour.

Paul did give an answer here as well. If people could learn to walk by the Spirit they would not engage in inappropriate behaviour, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” Galatians 5:16-17. But if they failed to be born of the Spirit and to be empowered by the Spirit then they were accountable to God for their failure to do so.

 The Outcome of the Problem of Problem People. “and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

These are challenging words indeed. Many folk find it easier to ignore them than to take them seriously. What do they actually mean?

“By nature children of wrath.”  Well, that is not a very popular concept in the eyes of many people!

It means that we were born with a nature that has a bias towards evil. The Church of England and Anglican churches loyal to the Bible and to the Book of Common Prayer have always taught that truth. [NOTE 1.]

If we continue to live under the dictates of our fallen human nature then we are accountable to God who has made it possible for humans to live under His influence [if they were to repent of sin and believe in Him.]

  • “Wrath?” [The word is orgḗ, ὀργή meaning God’s settled disposition towards sin, rather than an out of control human outburst.] Many will say, “Surely you can’t associate wrath with a God of love!” Of course not! Unless of course He has described Himself in that way! And He has, in His word! The same word is used in the Greek Septuagint [LXX] version and underlined in these verses.
  • Exodus 4:14, “Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses… .” 
  • In Moses’ Song, Moses warns the people, “You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth. The LORD saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters.” Deut 32:18-19. 
  • The leaders of Israel vowed to fufil their promise before the Lord to avert His wrath, ” This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that God’s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them.” Joshua 9:20. 
  • Exodus 32:11, ‘But Moses implored the LORD his God and said, “O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?”’
  • Deut 29:20, “The LORD will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the LORD and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven.”
  • Isaiah 10:25, “For in a very little while my fury [orgḗ, ὀργή] will come to an end, and my anger [thumos, θυμός] will be directed to their destruction.” 

There are other verses in the New Testament that refer to the wrath of God. However I found a good summary of the use of “wrath” in the New Testament in a commentary on Romans 1:18 by John MacArthur. “God has various kinds of wrath: (1) eternal wrath, which is hell; (2) eschatological wrath, which is the final Day of the Lord; (3) cataclysmic wrath like the flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; (4) consequential wrath, which is the principle of sowing and reaping; and (5) the wrath of abandonment, which is removing restraint and letting people go to their sins (for examples of this wrath, see Psa 81:11-12; Pro 1:23-31; see note on Hos 4:17). Here, it is that fifth form, God’s abandoning the wicked continually through history to pursue their sin and its consequences (Rom 1:24-32).” [NOTE 2]

So the “wrath of God” is a reality whether people believe it or not. How unwise it would be to trifle with verses such as the following,

  • Rom 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth”.
  • Rom 2:5 “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed”.
  • Rom 2:8 “but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.”

It would be especially unwise to ignore the concept of the wrath of God considering that He has gone to great lengths to make it possible for people to avert His wrath. Joh 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” Every human who believes in Jesus and obeys Him, will miss out on the wrath of God that remains on those who don’t. [See also Rom 5:9, 13:5, Eph 5:6, Col 3:6, 1 Thess 1:10, 5:9, Heb 4:3].

“like the rest of mankind.”  The “Fall of Man” in Genesis 3 affected every human ever born into this world. Paul described this fact in Romans 5, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned…  14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.” Rom 5:12-14. 

Think of the person you dislike the most in this world. Unless they repent and turn to Christ, the wrath of God remains on them.  Think of the person you most admire and love the most in the world. Unless they repent and turn to Christ they too remain under the wrath of God until they do. However whenever anyone from any background rich or poor, good or bad, turns in repentance and faith to Christ, they belong to Him from that moment. They become part of His family. They are declared righteous in the sight of a Holy God. So sad about all the others who will not repent and turn to Christ. They have turned their backs on the love of God and on the God of love. They have spurned the precious blood of Jesus that was shed to enable them to be forgiven. They have rejected the grace and mercy of God. Those who have rejected Him, will in turn be rejected by Him! So unnecessary when God Himself made it possible for everyone to be forgiven and to have a vital loving relationship with Him.

B). GOD’S REMEDY FOR THE PROBLEM OF PROBLEM PEOPLE

The wrath of God is a reality! But praise God, so is His love! In His love for humans He has done for them what they could never do for themselves. In Eph 2:4-10 we read truths about His nature and about what He had done for humans in His love. He is described as being “rich in mercy”, loving us with a “great love”, “making us alive together in Christ”, saving us by “His grace”, believers are “raised” and “seated “with Christ in the heavenlies, having “immeasurable riches of grace in kindness” and re-creating humans for the good works He has planned for them to do.

1). God is able to make humans spiritually alive by His mercy, love and grace.He makes the spiritually dead become spiritually alive. Eph 2:4 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—”. 

“But God”” What a wonderful phrase. It marks the distinction between what is seen to be reality at the present and what could become reality by the grace and power of God. The reality at present is that humans by nature are spiritually dead. BUT God did something about it in Christ. He did it because He is rich in mercy. He did it because He has great love which was manifest in His making it possible for humans to become alive in Him. He did it to save humans by His grace.

Made alive “together with Christ”. It is the result of our faith union with Christ. What happened to Him is what happened to us as we are joined to Him in the sight of God. We were “buried with” Him in baptism, Rom 6:4,  Col 2:12. We were raised with Him,  Eph 2:6 and Col 2:12. We were seated with Him in the heavenlies, Eph 2:6.

2).  God is able to raise humans up above the powers of the air that were against them. Eph 2:6 “and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”  Seated with Christ in the heavenlies by His grace. Seated there in the place of acceptance. Seated there in the place of honour. Seated there in the place of authority. Why” because God accepts all those who accept His Son. God honours those who honour His Son. God delegates authority to those who place themselves under the authority of the Son.

Those who were once living under the control of Satan and his cohorts [ “… following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—” Eph  2:2.] now have authority over him and over them.

3). God is able to work His work within humans by His grace and power. Humans may have been under the influence of the evil powers at work in them in their disobedience, but no longer when they repent and believe in Christ. Their faith in Christ opens them to the grace of salvation. They didn’t have to work for their salvation. It was a gift to them in Christ, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Eph 2:8.

The great blessing for those in Christ is that God helps them to know what He wants them to do. Then He gives them the help they need to do it. As Paul put it in Eph 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” [“Workmanship” translates the Greek word poíēma, ποίημα which has been translated in simple terms as “product” and in more exotic terms as “masterpiece”.]

A caution! Before we go racing off to a mirror to admire this “masterpiece’ for the next day or so, we need to humble ourselves by realising that this masterpiece is not meant to be admired assiduously like a Rembrandt on the wall. Rather, as Paul reminds us, we are a product produced for a purpose. This “product” has been created by God to do something. That is, to do the good works that God has already planned for us to do. We are to “walk” in them, meaning that they should become the central part of our existence. What a privilege to be doing the works of God. What a responsibility!

It is a similar concept to that in Philippians 2 where Paul writes that we are to “work out” our salvation with fear and trembling knowing a certain fact. That is, that God is already at work in us by His Spirit to give us the willingness and the ability to do His will. We see the connection in the original language in Philippians 2:12-13,  “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out [katergázomai, κατεργάζομαι = accomplish,  in the sense of working out the implications of our gift of salvation,. Certainly not working for our salvation] your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works [energéō, ἐνεργέω] in you, both to will [thélō, θέλω] and to work [energéō, ἐνεργέω] for his good pleasure.” In simple terms, we are to work out in practice what God is inwardly working in us while giving us the willingness and ability to do so. [Clever engineers will have already noted that some of these Greek word are based on “erg” which is a unit of work or energy. For example, katergázomai, energeo.]

SUMMING UP:- [“Houston, we have a problem!”] With the world! But in Christ it is fixable!

The problem of problem people can only be fixed by having them respond to the gospel of Christ. He is the only One who can bring them alive spiritually so that they can open up to His amazing grace. Only then can they know and do the will of God for them. Only then can they work out in practice what He is inwardly working within them.

While people ignore the gospel message [or more accurately ignore the Christ of the gospel message] they will remain a problem people.

What a glorious world it would be if everyone in it opened their lives to the living Christ and allowed Him to make them what He wanted them to be and allowed Him to motivate and empower them to do the things He wanted them to do! The problem of problem people is fixable but only as problem people submit to Christ as Saviour and Lord!

A SUGGESTED PRAYER. (In words similar to the prayer I prayed just before midnight on New Year’s Eve 1958 which led to a radical transformation in my life.) The A,B,C and D of becoming a Christian as suggested by the late Rev John Stott a former Chaplain to the Queen and former Rector of All Souls Langham Place, London.)

“Almighty God, I Admit that I am a sinner in your sight and I repent of all my sins. I Believe Jesus died on the cross for sinners and that He died for me and for my sin. 

I Consider the cost of becoming a Christian knowing that my forgiveness and salvation is free, but because He died for me I know I should now live for Him. 

I want to Do something about it, so I now invite You Jesus into my life to be my Saviour from sin and to be the Lord and Master of every part of my life. Please do in me and through me what You wish, for the rest of my life, that I might live for Your glory. AMEN.”

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[NOTE 1.)  From Article 9 of the 39 Articles of Religion.  “Original Sin standeth not in the following of Adam, (as the Pelagians do vainly talk), but it is the fault and corruption of the Nature of every man, that naturally is ingendered of the offspring of Adam; whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always contrary to the spirit; and therefore in every person born into this world, it deserveth God’s wrath and damnation.”

[NOTE 2.) From his treatment of ‘wrath” in Romans 1:18 in his “MacArthur Bible Commentary”.

Blog No.485 posted on Wednesday 28 June 2023.

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

484 Guidelines For Praying For People At Church Services

Posted on June 23, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

NOTE: In what follows the term “pray-er” is used for those who pray for people at church services.

It is so easy to think we are proficient in praying for people when we think we have had some success in praying for people in the past. We can then unconsciously begin to try to steer the conversation into a way of approach we have used previously that ignores the input of the person we are praying for.

The following slide provides a scenario of what can happen when we fail to listen to the person we are trying to help. The pray-er thinks he has had some success while the person wanting help sees that the pray-er has lost the plot and is resigned to follow the pray-er’s approach, even though it is not covering their concerns.

Mat 18:19 “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Often the person wanting prayer support may be unknown to us. We can’t as pray-ers become their best friend in a matter of minutes. But as we treat them and their concerns seriously, their trust in us can grow. It may be that eventually they say something like, “Look, the real reason I came for prayer is this.” Then they begin to share with us their deeper need.

In 2.3.3 the best question to ask may be the third question, “What do you want the Lord to do for you?” It immediately reminds the pray-ers and the person wanting prayer support that it is the Lord Himself who is the healer. As James 5:15 puts it, “And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.” It is the Lord who answers believing prayer.

In 3.1we note that sometimes we notice changes in the way those coming to us for prayer speak about certain people. It may be that we notice their speech becomes quite bitter as they mention a certain person. It is not wise to say to them, ‘We noticed you became quite bitter when you mentioned that person’s name. Do you want us to pray for that bitterness to leave you?” They haven’t asked you to pray about bitterness and may feel that you are prematurely judging them. That doesn’t help when the person feels as though the pray-ers are being critical of them. Far better for the pray-ers to say at the end of the prayer time, “Is there anything else we can pray for you?” It may be that they then say, “Look, I have a real problem with bitterness. Would you pray for it to go from me?”

In 3.3 we realise that not every church congregation is familiar with audible tongues in prayer. Some ministers have inferred that tongues are not for today and may be demonic. The person who has come for prayer support may have been taught that untruth. So to pray in tongues audibly over such a person may invoke fear in them so that they want to get out of the building as soon as possible. As such it is counter-productive.

Posted in anointing, BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Evangelism, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Glorification, Healing, Holy Spirit, Justification, Mental Health, New Covenant, Prayer, Questions and Answers, Salvation, Sanctification, spiritual warfare, Temptations, TOPICS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

483. The Good News Of A New Beginning. Joel chapter2

Posted on June 3, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

It is always great to get good news. Imagine how the people of Judah felt when they heard the message of Joel at the beginning of chapter 2. They were faced with really bad news about the devastation they were to face. But there was good news if they were to repent of their sins and turn back to God. Not only that but there was the promise of a future day of the Lord that would bring an incredible newness to the people of God.

The Bad News for Judah. A Day Of Disaster.

Their land was about to be invaded by a swarm of locusts which would bring terrible destruction on the land, “Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near, 2  a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations. 3  Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them.” Joel 2:1-3. Bad news indeed!

The Good News for Judah

But there was good news as well in Joel’s message. If the people were to repent of their sin and turn back to God then calamity might be averted. But their repentance needed to be sincere, from the heart,  “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.” 2:12-13

To Turn Back To The Gracious God Would Bring His Blessing 

“Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. 14  Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God?” 2:13-14. A wonderful description of God’s character is given in these verses which echo those in Exodus 34:6-7 “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands.”

The Good News Of Future Prosperity

God in His grace would be merciful to His people and would provide plentiful abundance for them and protection from their enemies,  “Then the LORD became jealous for his land and had pity on his people. 19  The LORD answered and said to his people, “Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations. 20  “I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land, his vanguard into the eastern sea, and his rear guard into the western sea; the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for he has done great things. 21  “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things!” 2:18-21.

Restoration Of Missed Blessings And Prosperity

Human sin restricts the fulness of the blessings God wants to bestow on His people. But here God promises the restoration of those blessings,  “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. 26  “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. 27  You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame.” 2:25-27. How wonderful it is to know that our God can restore to us what we have lost in the past. He can even deal with the shame we have felt from our past!

A Prophecy Of God’s Blessing That Would Transform Peoples Of All Nations

The book of Joel may not have been quoted much in the rest of the Bible but in its single mention it was highly significant. St Peter quoted the words which follow in chapter 2, to describe the momentous event on the Day of Pentecost as the Holy Spirit was poured out on the infant church, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29  Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.”  2:28-29.  

On that most significant day St Peter explained what God had done in pouring out His Spirit on all the believers. It was a fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel given several hundred years before. Let’s see how St Peter described it in Acts 2, “But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15  For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16  But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: 17  “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18  even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. 19  And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke; 20  the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 21  And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Acts 2:14-21. St Peter in his address quoted almost the whole of the prophecy from Joel chapter 2 and St Luke [who wrote The Acts Of The Apostles] recorded Peter’s words in his book. 

We may wonder today if Joel understood the magnitude of the prophecy he had written. St Peter wrote generally about the understanding the prophets had of their messages, “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 through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.” 1 Peter 1:10-12. 

What is amazing about this prophecy of Joel’s in chapter 2 is the description of the exact nature of the events of Pentecost, some several hundred years in the future. He prophesied that the Holy Spirit would be “poured out” and significantly, it would be upon all flesh, not just upon prophets, priests and kings and a few others as what happened in the Old Testament time in which he lived. “Poured out” in the Greek Old Testament is [ekcheō, ἐκχέω] and St Luke uses the same word in Acts 2:33, “He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.“

The final part of Joel’s prophecy in chapter 2 was quoted exactly by St Peter on the day of Pentecost, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Acts 2:21. It is interesting that Joel and St Peter both see those who receive the Holy Spirit as those whom the Lord calls to Himself. Joel expresses it as, “For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.” 2:32. St Peter expressed it as, “For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” Acts 2:39. The verb used in both verses in the Greek translations is the word [proskaleomai, προσκαλέομαι] meaning to call to oneself. It is humbling to realise that those who call upon the Lord are those whom the Lord has been calling to Himself. No wonder that salvation is from the grace of God.

Blog No.483 posted on Saturday 03 June 2023.

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

482. Difficulties Should Lead Us To Repentance. Joel chapter 1

Posted on May 26, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

Joel received the word of the Lord and shared it with all the people of Judah. In verses 1:1-4 he addressed the elders and all the people of the land and intimated that the destruction wrought by successive waves of locusts had been allowed to happen by their God. 

He then warned those associated with wine, such as the drunkards and those who drank wine, that they needed to become awake. “Awake, you drunkards, and weep, and wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.” 1:5.

The locusts had come like a hostile nation and had invaded the land and destroyed the vegetation, “For a nation has come up against my land, powerful and beyond number; its teeth are lions’ teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness. 7  It has laid waste my vine and splintered my fig tree; it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down; their branches are made white.” 1:6-7.

His advice was for them to be sorrowful “Lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth for the bridegroom of her youth.” 1:8. They were to be filled with a deep sense of loss. 

The priests and the ministers of the LORD were to mourn because no more offerings could be made, “The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of the LORD. 10  The fields are destroyed, the ground mourns, because the grain is destroyed, the wine dries up, the oil languishes.”  1:9-10.

The tillers of the soil; and the vinedressers were to be ashamed and to wail, for everything from which they could expect a harvest had dried up and perished. Joel adds, “and gladness dries up from the children of man.” The picture is of utter devastation and the loss of any joy in the situation. 1:11-12. 

A Call to Repentance

Joel went on to explain that God was behind the disasters so the people had to repent. It is interesting though that Joel does not express the nature of their sin.  He just urges the priests and ministers of the altar to put on sackcloth and lament, for grain and drink offerings had been withheld from the house of their God. They were also to consecrate a feast and to call a solemn assembly. The elders and all the inhabitants of the land were to gather to the house of the LORD and cry out to the LORD. 1:14.

There was a need for the nation to repent, for something worse was to happen. Joel expresses it in 1:15  “Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.” The day of the Lord is a major theme in Joel and was seen as a day of destruction. He reminds them of their present plight, “Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God? 17  The seed shrivels under the clods; the storehouses are desolate; the granaries are torn down because the grain has dried up. 18  How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are perplexed because there is no pasture for them; even the flocks of sheep suffer.” 1:16-18. The devastation affected not only the land, but even the animals used to grazing on the land were distressed because there was no pasture for them. The coming day of the Lord would bring even greater disaster so repentance was needed.

Joel then joins in crying out to the Lord, “To you, O LORD, I call. For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and flame has burned all the trees of the field. 20  Even the beasts of the field pant for you because the water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.” There was utter devastation in the land and even the animals panted for God in their thirst. 

The whole of chapter 1 is a description of what God had allowed to happen to the nation and contained warnings to all the people to cry out to the Lord for mercy before the coming day of the Lord arrived. 

What lessons can we learn from Joel chapter 1?

It reminds us that God’s people need to be living in the way He wants them to live and not simply doing their own thing in life. God has placed Himself in a covenant with His people to protect and bless them but they need to remain faithful to Him. If they begin to stray and fail to live up to their commitment to Him and to His will, He may have to bring correction. 

This is not His punishment as such but His concerned discipline. His discipline has a purpose. As the writer to the Hebrews put it, “… 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 12:10-11. God’s discipline always has a positive purpose. It is to help His people return to Him to become more like Him by His grace.

WE also learn that God wants all His people to be open to Him and to repent when they stray from His ways. When they are not cognisant that they are living apart from His blessing, He may have to exercise greater discipline to get them to realise their sin and to return to Him in repentance.  

St Paul saw the value of the stories in the Old Testament [such as Joel chapter 1] as being instructive for believers in all ages, “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.” 1 Corinthians 10:11.

May we learn the lessons from Joel chapter 1 so that we maintain a close relationship with our heavenly Father and not have to endure His discipline. 

Blog No.482 posted on Friday 26 May 2023. 

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