498. How Deep The Father’s Love For Us. Luke 11:1-4.

Posted on September 16, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

It is perhaps true to say that many of the social problems in society stem from the distorted images of God that people have when thinking about God. That is particularly true in societies where human fathers have not played a positive role in their children’s upbringing. When Jesus encouraged His disciples to pray, He taught them to begin their prayers with the words, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.” It would have been mind-blowing to the people of Jesus’ time on earth that He encouraged His disciples to pray to God using those words. To address God in such personal terms must have shocked many who heard Jesus speak. Not only could believers call God “Father” but they were to see themselves as being His children, adopted into His family as they put their trust in Christ.  

1.         THE PROBLEM OF UNDERSTANDING GOD AS FATHER

Why is it then that many believers find it hard to relate to God as their Father in heaven when Jesus Himself encouraged us to pray to Him as their Father in heaven? We think we know what fatherhood is like, because most of us have experienced some segment of life with a human father. The concept of God as a Father in heaven may seem to be abstract, whereas our own experience of our fathers was more concrete. Most of us saw our fathers or heard them, and when we hear the word “father,” we’ve got something we can identify with. But does our experience of earthly fathers help or hinder our appreciation of God as a Heavenly Father?

2.         HOW WE LEARN. From the familiar to the unknown.

In our understanding, we normally move from the known to the unknown. We begin with simple maths and then we learn advanced maths as we build on the concepts we have learned. We move from the concrete to the abstract, from the familiar to the unknown. But we may get it terribly wrong if we take our experience of our earthly father, and expand or extrapolate that into a much greater version, to try to understand what God is like as father. As we do that we can quite easily attribute to God the good qualities we have seen in human fathers. But the danger is that we may even unconsciously attribute to Him many of the negative things we experienced in childhood if we see God simply as a bigger version of our own fathers.

3.         SOME FATHERS ARE GOOD PATTERNS OF FATHERHOOD.

Our earthly fathers may have been good, and kind and loving. As we think about our earthly fathers there may be a sense of warmth and love and acceptance, so that the very word “father” brings a sense of security. Yet we need to realise that at their very best, the best human fathers are only very pale reflections of what God is like as Father. None of us is perfect. No father is ever perfect, and even extremely good fathers will often need to be forgiven. God as Father never needs to be forgiven, for He never does anything wrong. His heart is always pure.

4.         SOME FATHERS ARE NOT GOOD PATTERNS OF FATHERHOOD

I discovered in counselling hundreds of people over 50 years that many of them had a distorted view of what true fatherhood is all about. A minority of them had been brought up with a loving father who was loving and just in his dealings with them and so they could easily understand God as being a loving Heavenly Father who was always there for them. However, the vast majority of them had fathers who had a mixture of attitudes and behaviours that were difficult for them to relate to. Sometimes their fathers were loving and approachable and at other times they thought it was safer to keep a distance from them. These are some of the examples of fathers who did not show forth an example of true fatherhood.

i.          A father geographically present but emotionally absent. For some people as they think about their earthly fathers, it’s not warmth and love, acceptance, forgiveness, and security that they think of. In fact they may feel nothing because their father was never really there for them. If he was there in body, geographically, he certainly may not have been there to bring emotional or physical comfort or strength. There may have been times when the cry of the child was for reassurance, for affirmation and love. But the father didn’t pick up the signals, and the child felt cheated and disappointed. Such fathers didn’t batter or beat their children; they just were indifferent to the cries of the child. Perhaps in their own sense of inadequacy, they felt they didn’t know how to cope, so they did nothing. Sins of omission hurt just like sins of commission.

I recall one farmer telling me that he had never seen any love being displayed in his home not even between his parents. He was never conscious of any affection being shown towards him or his sister. As he thought about his background he could only remember one incident where there was any sign of affection. It was during a thunderstorm and he saw his father lean across and give his mother a peck on the cheek. He thought to himself that he must be wrong to have only that one incident of affection to remember so he rang his sister and asked if she could remember any time there was any affection being shown in the home. After a while his sister replied. “Yes, there one time during a thunderstorm that Dad lent across and gave Mum a peck on the cheek. That’s the only thing I remember”. The farmer eventually came to realise that God as a Father expressed His love in the gift of His Son for him. Receiving that love in Jesus he began to be the husband to his wife and the father to his children that he could be and wanted to be by the grace of God.

Unless we’re careful we can transpose our experience of a geographically and emotionally absent father into our thinking about God the Father, and we subconsciously think that He will be indifferent to our cries for help.

ii.        A Father Who was geographically AND emotionally absent.

Some people may feel nothing about the concept of “father,”because their own fathers weren’t even there geographically, at the times it mattered. It’s true that there were many fathers who of necessity had to work long hours for the sake of the family and poured their love into their children in the limited quality times they had together. But for others, their fathers may have been too busy building up a business to have time for their family. Family life was not a priority. The struggle for success left no time for the children. Some people now as adults have no fond lasting childhood memory of times when their father played with them or hugged them or affirmed them or told them he loved them.

For others, as they think about God, it’s with the subconscious thought that fathers are supposed to be there but fail to be there when you need them most. Their fathers said they would be there for the school play or the sports carnival but they never turned up. Now as adults they ask God for help, but don’t really believe deep down He’ll show up to answer the prayer. That’s their experience of fatherhood. Fathers are those people who promise a lot but seldom deliver. Deep down they think God is like that.

iii.       Some fathers may have been terrible, terrible, misleading distortions of what fathers should have been. For them the word “father” brings a sense of revulsion, pain and shame. Where it should have been acceptance, it was rejection. Where it should have been security, it was danger. Where it was meant to be love and warmth, it was hatred and cruelty and cold paralysing fear. Where it was meant to be a loving self-giving response from the child to the self-giving love of the father, instead the child was given no choice but terrible things happened contrary to what the child wanted. It is amazing how some fathers dealt so unhealthily with their own children and made their experience of fatherhood so fearful.

The true pattern of fatherhood is seen in Eph 3:15 as God as the Father “from whom all fatherhood derives.”  But these human fathers distorted their roles, did not fulfil their responsibilities, and emotionally and perhaps physically damaged their children. That’s unfortunately what has happened throughout history with many, many human fathers.

In brief if we want to understand what fatherhood is all about, we look at the scriptures and see the perfect pattern in God the Father. We should not take our earthly father as our pattern, and make a bigger version of him with all his good points and bad points, and think that God is like that. Otherwise we finish up with a picture of God in our minds that is a distortion of the truth.

Instead we get the true picture of fatherhood from the way God describes Himself in His word as a Father. He is the “How much more” father. Then we look at our human fathers in the light of that perfect pattern and thank God for the good, and by the grace of God, begin to forgive the bad.

There will be many people who have trouble relating to God as “Father.”  It may be that their own experience of a human father has made them confused about God as father.

Or the feeling they have deep down towards their earthly fathers, may be the feeling they deep down have to God. It’s no wonder then that for some people to sing “Heavenly Father I appreciate You,” is a joyous affirmation of what they feel. For others, because of their bad or unhelpful experience of human fathers, it’s difficult for them to combine together in the one sentence, the words “father” and “love”. That wasn’t their experience.

5.                    THE GOD WHO WAITS FOR US TO CALL HIM “FATHER.”

I’m sure that when Jesus encouraged His disciples to pray “Our Father in heaven,” He knew there would be those who might find it difficult because of their personal history. But He still taught them to address God in this personal way, because He knew they needed to relate to God as the TRUE Father whose fatherhood is perfect in every way. Some people for their own healing will need to ask God for grace to help them to choose to forgive their human fathers for the ways they misused their role as fathers, and caused confusion and harm.

But let’s think about our own relationship with God and see to what extent our past has held us back from really appreciating His Father’s love to us. If we are still holding on to painful memories of our earthly fathers it will become difficult to relate to God as our Heavenly Father. The more we learn to thank God for the good in our earthly fathers and to forgive the not-so-good and even the terrible attitude and behaviours they showed towards us, the more we will be released to see God as our loving Heavenly Father who wants us to receive His love and to love Him as we are meant to do.

I want to close with the story Jesus told His disciples to get them to understand just how much God loves those who come to Him in repentance and faith. It’s the story in Luke 15 of the 2 Prodigal sons, or perhaps more aptly, the story of the Waiting Father.

It’s the story of one son who didn’t really appreciate his father and put himself at a distance from him. But there came a time when he mucked up his life, then realised that his father did care for him, and he determined to go back to get into fellowship with Him once again. He started back on his journey home. Imagine his surprise and his joy when he saw his father who ran to him and embraced him and welcomed him back as a beloved son.

It’s also the story of another son who never related to his father in a loving way, but who worked for his father like a servant serving a master, rather than as a son delighting to work lovingly for his father. When he saw how his father accepted the prodigal son he was upset. The father’s response could be very like God’s response to us 31… ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ Luke 15:31-32.

The first son recognised the father’s love for him and experienced the father’s love. The second son didn’t recognise the father’s love. He missed out on experiencing his father’s love because of his continuing wrong attitude to his father. 

Some of you may recognise that you are like the younger son who needs to come home to the Father God. He has made it possible through what Jesus did for us on the cross for you to come home and receive His love, acceptance and forgiveness. Add to experience His ongoing presence in your lives.

Others of you may recognise that you’re a bit like the older brother and your relationship with Father God is pretty impersonal, and you are judgmental and critical of Him. He invites you to come home to Him as a waiting father to also experience His love, acceptance and forgiveness through what Jesus has done for us humans in His death and resurrection.  Praise God, you and I can choose to come home to Him and receive the blessings He has given us freely in Him as His beloved children.

For some of you, it’s time to come home. As the hymn “Softly and Tenderly” puts it

“Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, Calling for you and for me;
Patiently Jesus is waiting and watching— Watching for you and for me!”

“Come home! come home!
Ye who are weary, come home!
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!”

Blog No.498 posted on Saturday 16 September 2023

Posted in Forgiveness | Leave a comment

497. Getting Rid Of Unhelpful Thoughts. 2 Corinthians 10:5

Posted on September 8, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

There are millions of people in our world today who have the same problem. They are bothered with thoughts that are unhelpful and sometimes emotionally paralysing. The Mayo Clinic on its website states, “Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) features a pattern of unwanted thoughts and fears (obsessions) that lead you to do repetitive behaviors (compulsions). These obsessions and compulsions interfere with daily activities and cause significant distress.” However there may be many people who do not have that degree of compulsion but for whom unwanted thoughts spoil their peace. How can they be helped?

There is a short phrase in God’s word that when acted on, can bring freedom. It is the phrase, “….take every thought captive to obey Christ.” We look at that phrase in its context. It is from 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4  For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5  We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6  being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” St Paul has been urging his readers in Corinth to understand that they could have victory over the pressures of the unbelieving world around them which pressurised them to live like the rest of the world and not in a Christian way. That pressure could be seen to be like a war against believers. 

Paul then goes on to say that believers have weapons they can use which are different to worldly weapons. These weapons have divine power to demolish strongholds, to demolish arguments and every lofty opinion that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. “Weapons” is from [hoplon; ὅπλον] meaning an instrument or an implement for making ready, for example, for war. Paul had already used the word in chapter 6 verse 7, to describe the victories he and other servants of God had accomplished “by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 7  by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left.” 6:6-7.  Their righteous lives had enabled them to draw upon the power of God to be victorious against ungodly pressures. 

The word for ”strongholds” is from [ochyrōma; ὀχύρωμα ] which means a castle or fort or anything that a person relies on. They are like fixed bodies of belief that are hard to overthrow. “Lofty opinion” is from [hypsōma; ὕψωμα] meaning a height or a high barrier that is “raised against the knowledge of God.” It is found only once more in the New Testament where it  is translated as “height” in Romans 8:39, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” St Paul is saying that no matter how strong the arguments may be nor how high the barriers erected against the knowledge of God, the believer has weapons to demolish them.  As we saw above, righteous people are able to draw upon the power of God to overcome enemies or beliefs that are contrary to the truth in God. 

1]. THE  NEED TO TAKE EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE. 10:5

Humans are responsible for what they think about in their minds. We may appreciate beauty but the mind must not let the thoughts turn to lust, as Jesus warned, “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28). We are responsible for what we do with our thoughts. We can let them go off in wrong directions which may be unhelpful or even sinful. Somehow we have to learn to control what goes on in our minds. 

St Paul has the answer given by God. “….take every thought captive to obey Christ.” 

“Take captive” is from [aichmalōtizō; αἰχμαλωτίζω] meaning to lead away captive or to make captive. Paul used the word to describe the battle  in the minds of humans due to the power of their old nature within them, “but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.” Romans 7:23. This makes him exclaim, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Romans 7:24. But he has an answer, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” Romans7:25. The answer is to serve God with our mind and to look to Him to help us overcome the power of our flesh nature.

St Paul when he wrote to Timothy, used the same word when warning about false teachers“who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions. 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” 2Timothy 3:6-7. They were captured because they were weak, carrying the burden of sins and being under the influence of their passions. They could never grasp the truth which would have set them free.

What is needed then for all humans, is the ability to get their thoughts in order by taking them captive and not allowing them to roam without direction. But there is another aspect to this truth.

2]. The Need To Take Every Thought Captive [TO OBEY CHRIST.] 10:5

It is not just enough for people to get hold of their thoughts. They also need to bring their thoughts captive to Christ. When Jesus was asked “What is the great commandment in the Law?” He replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37. To love God “with all the mind” means to let our thoughts dwell on Him; on the perfection of  His character and on all the truths He taught and on the work He did. Jesus had said that He would send His Holy Spirit to lead His disciples into all truth. Joh 16:13. That is why St Paul makes this observation “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.” Romans 8:5. It is necessary for all humans to learn to live according to the Spirit as part of loving God with all their minds. Only then can they know the truth and live out the implications of it.

We see how easy it is for humans to think naturally instead of seeing things as God describes them. There was a time in Jesus’ ministry when He told His disciples that He would shortly be killed and on the third day be raised. However Peter objected, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” It was natural for Peter to try to prevent Jesus from being put to death. However what he was saying was against the plan and purpose of God for Christ, whom God had destined to die for sinners. Jesus had to rebuke Peter and said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Matthew 16:23. Peter had to gain control over his thoughts and feelings and bring them into obedience to what Christ had said. 

It is easy for humans to be conformed to the world’s way of thinking and miss out on what God wants to do in His world. That’s why Paul encouraged his readers in Rome, “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.” Romans 12:2. What God wants is for humans not to be conformed to the world but to be transformed by having their minds renewed. Then they will be able to, by testing, “discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. “Romans 12:3.  It is impossible for unbelievers to fully understand the will of God  for as Paul wrote to Titus, “To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.” Titus 1:15. A defiled mind and conscience cannot comprehend the perfection of God and His ways.

We have said above that it’s not enough just to take our thoughts captive but we also have to bring them into obedience to Christ. How do we go about doing that?

Taking our thoughts captive to Christ

When we become conscious of a re-occurring thought, we need to ask the Lord, “Is this from You or does it come from my fallen nature?“ 

“Is there any biblical principle to guide me here?”

If the thought is of a conversation where we were belittled or made to feel terrible, we can choose to forgive the person who said it and we can ask the Lord to break the power of that thought in our minds. If the thought re-occurs we can thank the Lord that He has heard our prayer and is breaking its power in our minds. We can also think of some biblical truth that affirms who we are in Christ and bring that truth into our minds whenever a similar thought occurs.  

For example, the Bible tells us that as believers we are raised with Christ and made to sit with Him in the heavenly places. “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— 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. 8  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. 10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.“ Ephesians 2:4-10.

Reflecting on such a passage reminds us of God’s incredible grace towards us and that our salvation is by His grace alone. This should humble us and make us determined to live for the Lord so that He can do in and through us what pleases Him.

So having a picture of us sitting with Christ at the right hand of God should be an encouraging but humbling picture to hold in our minds whenever we feel down or pressurised.

There may be times when we feel deserted and alone and think there is no one around us to help us. Instead of the “Poor little me!” thought that comes to mind we can affirm this truth, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Heb13:5. We will never be forsaken by the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep. We can picture ourselves as a sheep lying safely across the shoulders of a rejoicing Good Shepherd as He brings us home.

Whenever we feel unappreciated or unloved we can affirm this truth, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39  nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39.

His love is there for us. Always! Everywhere! For ever! Nothing and no one can ever separate us from His love!

I’m sure there is great value in counsellors encouraging their clients to take control of their thoughts. We all need to do that lest we lose control of our minds and we suffer from mental breakdowns. But we can’t empty our minds. We have to fill them with something. The best thing we can do is to fill our minds with truths from God’s Word or with pictures inspired by those truths. As Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you hold to my teaching, [taking your thoughts captive to Christ] you are really my disciples. 32  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32. 

Blog No.497 posted on Friday 08 September 2023.

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

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

Posted on September 5, 2023 by Jim Holbeck


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


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


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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on August 22, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3.     OUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS “A SINNER”?

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

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

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

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

Let me give some suggestions for you to pray about. 

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

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

Blog No.495 posted on Tuesday 22 August 2023

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

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

Posted on August 21, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

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

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

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

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

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

Blog No.494 posted on Monday 21 August 2023

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

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

Posted on August 14, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blog No.493 posted on Monday 14 August 2023.

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

492. The Freedom of Forgiveness. Psalm 103.

Posted on August 6, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blog No.492 posted on Sunday 06 August 2023

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on July 24, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Faith in Jesus to do the impossible

Then follows one of the greatest moments in human history. 

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

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

He looked away from the solution, away from Jesus. 

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

Faith in Jesus when things go wrong

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

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

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

3.   WE CAN HAVE “GREATER” FAITH

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

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

4.   WE ARE CHALLENGED TO EXERCISE OUR FAITH

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

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

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

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

Posted on Monday 24 July 2023

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

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

Posted on July 17, 2023 by Jim Holbeck

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blog No.489 posted on Monday 17 July 2023

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