196. Hebrews 13:8,  “Jesus Christ Is The Same Yesterday And Today And Forever.” (What that should mean for us today)

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

(From a sermon preached by Jim Holbeck at St Thomas’ Anglican Church Port Macquarie)

Jesus is the eternal Son of God who has never changed. Nor will He ever change in His character. We see in John chapter 1 and Hebrews chapter 1 these truths about Jesus.

Jesus was the Creator of the whole universe. Everything! John 1:3 “All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.”

  He is the heir, the owner of the whole universe. It belongs to Him. We belong to Him whether we realise it or not.  Heb 1:2 “but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”

  He is the Sustainer of the universe (the one who keeps it going). Heb 1:3 “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”

  He offered the one perfect sacrifice for sins before taking His seat once again in glory, “After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

He is the Creator. We are His creatures who are meant to live the way He wants us to live.   

1).   Jesus Is Present And He Wants To Come Into Every Area Of Our Lives. Heb 13:8

A). He is present for those who need Him. Jesus said in Mat 18:20 ,“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” His promise is that as His people gather together in their 2’s or 3’s or in their two or three thousands, He is present among them.  It doesn’t matter whether we feel His presence or not.  Reality is not what we feel. It is what God says in His word. As we gather in His name He is present. He knows everything about every person. He knows everything we have ever done or said. He knows the attitudes and motives of our hearts. He knows the thoughts that are going through our minds at any precise moment. He knows what our attitude to Him is at any time.

B).       He Wants To Come Into Every Part of Every Person. Into Every Area Of Our Lives. Revelation 3:20. In this verse there is a picture of Jesus standing at the door of every human heart and issuing an invitation to us as individuals, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”

Many of us have seen a wonderful painting by Holman Hunt called “The Light Of The World”. It is based on this verse from Revelation 3:20. It is a painting of the risen Christ standing at the door of the human heart holding a lantern representing Him as the Light of the World. He is knocking at the door of the human heart wanting to enter in and to bring light into where there was once only darkness. Someone once remarked to Holman Hunt that he had forgotten to paint a handle on the outside of the door. He replied that it was deliberate. He wanted to show that the handle to the door was on the inside of the door, on the inside of the human heart.  God respects the free-will He has given to humans. People need to open the door to Him before He can enter.

There is a wonderful little booklet with the title, “My Heart. Christ’s Home” by Robert Munger. The theme of it is that we need to allow Jesus to enter every room, every area of our personality, every facet of our life, the past and present. Including the cupboard under the stairs that we keep securely locked because of its unpleasant contents. Jesus asks us to allow Him to go in and clean out all the rubbish that is there. He goes in to clean and refresh it. We are cleansed and healed. We are so grateful to Jesus for cleansing us, renewing us, strengthening us that we willingly hand over the title deeds of our hearts to Him. Our heart is now His home and we live in it under His Lordship, His guidance, direction and protection.

Jesus wants us to show forth His presence in our lives in every way and in every relationship.  We look at the verses leading up to Heb 13:8 from verses 1 to 4. In brief it is this.

Verse 1. Loving one another as brothers and sisters.

Verse 2. Showing hospitality to strangers.

Verse 3. Remembering those in prison … and those who are mistreated.

Verse 4. Honouring Marriage.   (We look more deeply at this truth for a moment).

2). He Wants Us To Honour The Institution Of Marriage. 13:4

Heb 13:4  “Marriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”  What did Jesus think about marriage? He saw it the same way as God described it in Genesis. When asked about the nature of marriage, Jesus quoted what God said about it at creation. (And remembering that Jesus was the Agent God used to create the world).

A).       Gender. Mar 10:6-52,  “…  at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.‘ Jesus identified just 2 genders, because He created just 2 genders.  Today some folk have been deceived by atheistic Marxist philosophy which is trying to get rid of genders such as “male” and “female” and “boys” and “girls”. They say those terms have evolved over time, so let’s go back and get rid of genders. BUT Jesus takes us back to the beginning of creation. God made them “male” and” female”.

The American College of Paediatricians is a group of medical scientists who know about and care about children. In a recent report they wrote, ( ‘Transgender’ Conditioning Is ‘Child Abuse’. 2016) “The norm for human design is to be conceived either male or female. Human sexuality is binary by design with the obvious purpose being the reproduction and flourishing of our species,” They observe. “ … The exceedingly rare disorders of sexual differentiation …are all medically identifiable deviations from the sexual binary norm, and are rightly recognized as disorders of human design. … They do not constitute a third sex.”

They warn that trying to get rid of the concept of “male” and “female” “is  … an artificial and anti-theist-tainted social construct. It’s an overt act of fist-shaking rebellion against the laws of nature and nature’s God. And it’s dangerous.” As God said, and as Jesus affirmed, and as previous generations understood until atheistic Marxist philosophy took such a recent hold in our universities, “In the beginning God made them male and female.”  

B).       Marriage. (Mk 10:7) ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, (8) and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. (9) Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”  How simply has God described His creation. It is understandable to every generation of people. He made “male” and “female”. He had a purpose for the human race to continue through marriage, (Mark 10:7) ‘For this reason a man (a male person) will leave his father (a male person) and mother (a female person) and be united to his wife (a female person), (8) and the two will become one flesh.’ And the human race would continue in families. So God’s institution of marriage must be protected. As it says in Hebrews 13:4) “Marriage should be honoured by all”.

 Marriage as an institution established by God Himself has to be respected, honoured and preserved.  It must never be diluted or altered in any way.

Individual marriages must be respected as well, 13:4 continued, “ … and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”

Marriage is between a man and a woman. The creator said so. Jesus affirmed it. It’s not about human equality. It’s about human responsibility to be obedient to God who created marriage to be between a man and a woman. It’s about human creatures living in the way God created them to live.

3).  Jesus Wants Us To Find Our Security In Him. In His Peace And Rest In This World Of Turmoil.  Heb 13:5-6

A). Our security is in Him and not in possessions. Heb 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because GOD has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” 6 So WE say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”  Our contentment and our security are never to be found in possessions. They can only be found in the Lord. How can we know this contentment? By getting rid of all stress by coming to Him.  But how?

B). He Wants Us To Come To Him To Experience His Rest And His Peace.  In the Holy Communion service we read these “Comfortable words” of Jesus. Mat 11:28 “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  He invites us to come to Him when we are under pressure of any sort, whether it be School, Family life, Workplace, Marital tensions,   Financial strain, Sickness, Grief, Bereavement, Loneliness, Depression, or  Hopelessness. We are to come to the One who is present among us. Getting rid of the burdens we carry so that in their place we can put on the yoke of fellowship and walk in peaceful fellowship with Him. But how do we get rid of the burdens we are carrying? 

C).  He commands us to get rid of every burden by casting every burden on Him

God has said in the Old Testament, Psalm 55:22  “Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you.” Or as Peter wrote, 1 Pet er5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”  What burden do you want to hand over to the Lord so you can receive His peace and rest? A Physical need? A sickness or weakness? A spiritual need to feel forgiven or to be able to forgive? A need to get rid of guilt?  An emotional need such as depression or Post Traumatic Stress? A need for meaning and significance in life?   A need to belong?

It may be that you don’t really know what the burden is. You just know you are weary and heavy-laden. He knows what it is. He wants you to hand yourself completely over to Him so that He can take away the burdens He sees you carrying.

As you come to the Lord who is present among us, hand over those burdens and receive His peace.  You may like to pray using these words, “Lord, I thank You for knocking at the door of my heart and asking to come in. I open the door of my heart wide open to You and invite You to come into my life as my Saviour. I invite you to come into all the areas of my life and to take your place as the Lord and Master of my life.  I hand over to You all the burdens I know have been carrying and the burdens You know I have. Fill me with Your presence by Your Holy Spirit and give to me Your peace that passes all human understanding. AMEN.”

Just allow the Lord to show you what to hand over to Him. Then allow Him to fill You with His presence and His peace.

Blog No.196. Jim Holbeck. Posted Wednesday 19th October 2016. 

 

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195. SUMMARY Of Articles On Sexuality And Same sex marriage

Posted on September 30, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

A number of folk have asked me to do a summary of some of my articles which have relevance to sexuality and to proposed same-sex marriage. That would be a pretty hefty tome. So instead, I am putting some of the details of what I have written so far, in this summary. The idea is that if anyone wishes to read any of the articles, all they need to do is to click on the link number at the beginning on the article and they will be taken to that article as it appears on the blogsite, www.holbeck.wordpress.com

I will do the summary under various headings. The blogs with relevance to that topic will be noted under those headings in chronological order as much as possible from earlier to more recent articles.  

HOMOPHOBIA

050. (“Homophobia. Who Is Guilty? A Surprising Possibility!”) The surprising possibility arrived at in this article is that those who are most guilty of homophobia or dislike of homosexual people are not necessarily those who disagree with same-sex behaviour. Rather those with more guilt are those who involve others in behaviour that is contrary to God’s declared purposes for His creatures.

 BIBLE TEACHING AND “GAY MARRIAGE”

077. (Question. “What Does The Bible Say About ‘Gay Marriage’? Is There A Simple Answer?”) This article has these words in the conclusion, “God has declared in no uncertain terms that all sin including homosexual activity is contrary to His will. Thus the term ‘gay marriage’ is an oxymoron because the words are incompatible in the sight of God who instituted marriage on a different premise. His intention has always been that a marriage is the relationship between a man and a woman who commit solely to each other in love.”

078. (Question:- “Would Jesus Be In Favour Of Gay Marriage? What Does The Bible Say?”) The article contains these words, “Jesus took these verses from the Old Testament very seriously as He quoted them. He saw them as coming from God Himself. Marriage and subsequent family life was His Heavenly Father’s idea. He too held the Father’s view of marriage as seen in those Genesis passages.”

080. (Modern-Day Idolatry. Wrongly Adapting To Modern Culture. Leviticus 18). In this article are these observations, “Modern-day idolatry consists of replacing the God of Israel (YHWH) with a god who has different values altogether. Such a god exists only in the imagination of those who attempt to make ‘him” (or “it” or “her”) a god who is more acceptable to much of modern culture. Such a god can help nobody. Only the true God YHWH, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is able to do so, because He exists. He longs to help those who turn to Him for true direction and fulfilment in life.”

085. (Sodom. Any Relevance For Sexuality Today?) This article talks about a modern predicament. “There are so many folk around the world saying that that homosexual activity is to be accepted and approved of. Perhaps even suggesting that there could be same-sex marriages which have the same status as heterosexual marriages. Perhaps even inferring that those in such same-sex relationships are to be seen to be in a “family” relationship. Perhaps suggesting that those who don’t agree with homosexual activity or homosexual marriage are homophobic and guilty of hate towards them.” Some suggested answers are given in answer to this predicament.

 086. (Jesus and Sexuality and Marriage). The article recognises these facts, “Jesus was a ‘Bible man’. He accepted the authority of the Old Testament Law and Prophets as determinative for His life and teaching. He expected His followers to have the same commitment to His Father’s revealed will in the Scriptures. … Putting all this together we have to say the following:-The Old Testament forbids homosexual activity. Jesus by His teaching showed His reliance on the Old Testament scriptures as the word of God and saw marriage as the one flesh relationship between one male and one female according to the Creation ordinance.”  

196. Hebrews 13:8,  “Jesus Christ Is The Same Yesterday And Today And Forever.” (What that should mean for us today)  In Section 2 of this article attention is drawn to the institution of marriage itself in Hebrews 13:4 “Marriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”  Marriage is seen as an institution established by God Himself and has to be respected, honoured and preserved.  It must never be diluted or altered in any way. Individual marriages must be respected as well, 13:4 continued, “ … and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”  When asked about the nature of marriage, Jesus quoted what God said about it at creation. (And remembering that Jesus was the Agent God used to create the world). He also identified just 2 genders, because He created just 2 genders.  Today some folk have been deceived by atheistic Marxist philosophy which is trying to get rid of genders such as “male” and “female” and “boys” and “girls”. They say those terms have evolved over time, so let’s go back and get rid of genders. BUT Jesus takes us back to the beginning of creation. God made them “male” and” female”.

THE LAW AND GAY (OR SAME-SEX) MARRIAGE

117. (Divine Comedy 2. God in the Dock regarding Marriage. Genesis 2:24). “We may put God in the dock and question His view on marriage and judge Him (and those who follow Him) as guilty of discrimination. But He has told us as our Creator that He will not “extend” His revealed concept of marriage to any other relationship. As His creatures, dependent on Him for even our next breath, neither should we! The time will come for all of us when He will place us in the dock, not to ascertain our views, but to judge us according to His!”

118. (US SUPREME COURT AND REDEFINING MARRIAGE. Decision? Division? Treason?). This article posted in 2013 warned of the damaging consequences that could follow if the Supreme Court voted in favour of redefining marriage. It was unfortunate that some of the judges appeared to have already made up their minds before the investigation began and in the eyes of many would not be able to give an unbiased hearing to evidence contrary to their beliefs. Even the prospect that 9 individuals could vote on changing the meaning of the concept of marriage seemed preposterous at the time. That such an important decision passed on such a narrow majority and came into law showed that human wisdom is not necessarily true wisdom in the eyes of many. What I mentioned as possibilities have come true. Division was caused with some advocates of same-sex marriage going to extremes to silence the views of those who were not in agreement with them. I also warned, “So if a US Supreme Court as the highest legal authority in the land were to come out in favour of something that these people see as anathema, it would give the leaders in such lands and cultures incentives to really poison the minds of those who don’t know better. It could help to incite even greater hatred towards Americans at home and abroad. It could make it extremely dangerous for American nationals living in such places. It could make it even more dangerous for Christian and Jewish minorities in many lands.”  That too has come true.

 119. (Same-Sex Marriage and God’s plan in Genesis 2:24). This article seeks to give some reasons as to why there appears to be a shift towards the acceptance of the concept of same-sex marriage. We note the following in the article. “The first reason is that people want to be fair. … there is a stress on justice and equal rights.” A second reason is that with more “outings” taking place people among prominent celebrities, some family members or personal friends have also been encouraged to “come out” as being gay. A third reason is that some gay advocates have been extremely successful in selling the concept that “being gay is normal”  (a concept that many heterosexual and homosexual researchers reject). As we discuss this whole topic, we must never forget that the Creator who created all things and all people knows everything about human nature and what makes us what we are. He has revealed His will about sex and family life. In the article we look at what He has revealed to us.

HUMAN REBELLION AGAINST GOD AS SEEN IN ROMANS CHAPTER 1

123. (What’s Wrong With The World? Rebellion Against God! Romans 1:17-18).  God’s wrath is said to be revealed towards unrighteous people. We read in the article, “God wanted to reveal Himself and His ways through human instruments but they suppressed the truth. They held it down, did not allow it to be revealed as they lived in ways opposed to God’s will and desire for humans. In the very descriptive words of AT Robertson, “Truth … is out in the open, but wicked men, so to speak, put it in a box and sit on the lid and “hold it down in unrighteousness.” Their evil deeds conceal the open truth of God from men.” (Word Pictures in the New Testament). … If God’s wrath is being revealed against those who suppress the truth then who might those people be? That is what we will look at in later articles. It is important that we do so. … A life characterised by rebellion against God and the ongoing rejection of His will (what He wants) will not have a happy ending. … But praise God there are those who do repent of their rebellion against God and receive the truth in Jesus. These are seen as those who become righteous in the sight of God, 2Cor 5:21  ‘For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.’  Good news for those who repent and believe in Jesus. Bad news for those who continue in their rebellion against God.”

124. (“What’s Wrong With The World?” Revolting Humans! That’s What! (An Overview of Romans 1:17-32).   Humans in rejecting God make wrong choices. As the article points out, “Paul described it as exchanging or replacing God’s values and substituting their own. There were three main exchanges in their rebellion against God.  i). The First Exchange. IDOLATRY. (Replacing God by idols.) Rom 1:23 -24,  … God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonouring of their bodies among themselves. He handed them over, allowing them to do what they wanted to do. What happened was physical degradation. ii). The Second Exchange. FALSE RELIGION. (Worshipping the God-given creation instead of the Creator Himself.) Rom 1:25-26,   … they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.  God’s response? Rom 1:26  For this reason God gave them up to dishonourable passions. They wanted to live in this way. God allowed them to do so. Paul goes on to tell us in the following verses what form those passions took. iii). The Third Exchange. HOMOSEXUALITY. (Humans rejecting the God-created order for human relationships and substituting their own.)  … Rom 1:27-28,   .”..  And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.”  Humans failed to acknowledge God’s right to dictate human behaviour as their Creator. They rejected what He wanted of His creatures in the sexual sphere and substituted their own desires springing from debased minds. The word “debased” is a very strong word in the different translations. It is translated as “worthless”, “reprobate”, “depraved”. The rebellion is, after all, the incredible situation of creatures rebelling against their Creator!

Paul continues listing the consequences of rebellion against God as he closes the chapter. He shows the wide expanse of human sin in addition to the idolatry, false religion and homosexuality he has just mentioned. Humans are “filled with” all manner of unrighteousness, and are “full of” characteristics forbidden in many of the 10 Commandments. … As though to sum up the case against humans in revolt against God, Paul says humans are the opposite of what God wanted them to be. He does this by using four Greek words denoting fine character, and placing an “a” at the beginning of a word to give the opposite meaning. Instead of being wise, faithful, loving and merciful they are foolish, faithless, heartless and ruthless. …  No wonder Paul could write in a later chapter, Rom 3:23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Every human is in the same boat. They have all sinned in one way or another. But praise God that they can be cleansed, forgiven and transformed to become new creatures in Him.”

 125. (“What’s Wrong With The World?” Humans Replaced God With Idols! Romans 1:18-32).   As I wrote in the article, “It is an upside down world! People of all cultures around the globe are saying it. That happens when you replace God with idols. When you do that you begin to live in deception. Everything is reversed. What God called “good” is now seen to be “bad”. What He called “evil” is now seen to be “good” or “desirable”. And as verse 32 reminded us, people not only do the wrong things in life, but approve (“applaud” in HCSB version) others when they do the same things. … Perhaps what the world needs to do (and to do soon before our western civilization slides over the edge into oblivion and a God-hating and God-forsaken world takes its place) is to follow the lead of the people in Corinth in New Testament times. As we saw in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, many of Paul’s readers were part of the moral degradation of the day. But they learned that life could be different! They changed from being sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, men who practiced homosexuality, thieves, greedy, drunkards, revilers and swindlers. They heard the gospel message about new life in Christ. They responded to the message.  They were changed as Paul reminded them, “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”  Or in the words of The Message, 1Co 6:11  … for not so long ago you were on that list. Since then, you’ve been cleaned up and given a fresh start by Jesus, our Master, our Messiah, and by our God present in us, the Spirit. He can do so in today’s world in the life of any person who wants to be different.” I give some answers as to how that can happen.

126. (Praying For Healing For A World In Rebellion Against God. Through Its Idolatry).  After some discussion on the topic I added the suggested prayer,  “Dear Lord, we pray that You would open the eyes of those who are deceived, who cannot recognise You as the Creator of all things. May they come to recognise You as the One who is responsible for all life on this earth. Convict them of the sin of regarding humans as merely things that can be disposed of as desired. Enable them to recognise the truth of Your word that all humans are created in Your image and that all human life is sacred.  May they turn to You to ask for forgiveness for promoting what is evil in Your sight. Bring Your healing to those who are now living with guilt and shame and regret. We ask these things in the name of Jesus, our Creator, Saviour and Lord. AMEN.”   

127. (Praying For Healing For A World In Rebellion Against God. Through Its False Religion). The discussion is followed by the suggested prayer,   “Heavenly Father, we pray for all those who remain in the darkness and ignorance of sin. Especially the sin of not making You the Lord and Master of their lives. Open their eyes to see that they have exchanged the truth in Jesus for a lie and are caught up in false worship. Touch them in the power of your Holy Spirit so that they might be brought from darkness into light, from bondage to Satan into the freedom which is in Christ, and from death into life. May they open their hearts to receive Jesus as their Saviour, to worship Him as their Lord, and to serve Him in the fellowship of His church. We ask these things in Jesus’ name and for His sake, AMEN.” 

128. (Praying For Healing For A World In Rebellion Against God. Through Its False Sexual Practices.)  Many people in today’s world end up in sexual bondage of one kind or another, and don’t know how to escape. The following is a suggested prayer they can pray for themselves or for others.  “Heavenly Father, we pray that we will come to know Your will through Your word, the Bible, so that we can live in a way pleasing to You. Show us what You dislike about our thinking and our behaviour so that we can turn to You for forgiveness and for help to be different.  Help us to understand Your plan and purpose for the world regarding relationships, so that every relationship we have, may be according to Your will. We ask these things in Jesus’ name. AMEN.

129. (Summary of Romans 1:17-32. Human Rebellion against God).  In the article I wrote that these verses represent God’s realistic appraisal of the whole human situation, “God’s appraisal! We have seen in a previous article that these verses apply to every human ever born who has been rebellious against God. That’s all of us except for Jesus. We may look at these verses and pat ourselves on the back that we are pretty good in comparison with some notorious sinners in this world. But when we come to words such as greed, envy, disputes, deceit, gossips arrogant, proud, boastful, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful, we realise that we ourselves have failed to get a perfect score in those areas of life.  It means that we are sinners just like the ones we have judged as being guilty of sin. 

I suggested a prayer for anyone who feels they are not right with God,  “Dear Lord. You have shown us so clearly in Your word that none of us can stand before You, trusting in who we are or in what we have done. We have all rebelled against You in many and various ways. I confess that I am guilty before You and I need Your forgiveness and love. I have learned that Jesus, the Son of God, died on the cross so that I might have forgiveness. I have learned too that He rose from the dead and is alive today.I invite You Lord Jesus to be my Saviour from sin and to be the Lord and Master of my life. Come into my life to make me a new creature and to guide and strengthen me to live as I should, from this day forward.I thank You by faith for the victories I shall experience in life with Your help. Please accept my thanks in Your precious name of Jesus. AMEN

138. (Rejecting God’s Commandments Means Missing Out On His Blessings).  In this article I made these observations,  “When you reject God and His word, you distance yourself from His ongoing protection and blessing. When we cry, “I don’t want anything to do with you God!” He respects our freewill and allows us to go our own way. We saw that principle in Romans chapter 1 where three times it is said that when people rebelled against Him,  He “handed them over” to do what they wanted to do. In previous blogs we saw what that meant for the modern-day issues regarding abortion, false religions and inappropriate sexuality. When people turn their backs on their Creator they think they will find greater freedom. However the opposite is true. They come under greater bondage than they ever imagined….   As I mentioned in my previous article, those who deny the power of God are often those who have not experienced His power in their own lives. They have little concept of the incredible transforming power of God as His Holy Spirit works in the lives of those who are open to Him. They cannot visualise or imagine the people they know being changed to any great degree. But as many of us have discovered in ministry, when people respond to the gospel of Christ they become different. As Paul wrote in 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. New! Brand new! By the power of God!”

159. (BEWARE OF INSULTING THE PROPHET JESUS!)   In this article we look at the evidence that Jesus was indeed a prophet and the challenge that truth presents, “in a world that largely ignores Him and is insulting Him as a living Person in a world that so much needs Him, His wisdom, His grace and His strength.  As the title warns us, BEWARE OF INSULTING THE PROPHET JESUS! When we come to realise that He is not only a prophet, but also the Creator of this universe, the Sustainer who keeps it going, the Redeemer who came to give His life for the life of the world and ultimately will be the judge of all the peoples of the world, then He has to be taken seriously as a living Person today. Not to take Him seriously is to insult Him.”

 ELECTIONS AND SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

183. (How To Pray When You Don’t Know How To Pray. The 2016 USA and Australian Elections).  In the recent series I did on the Lord’s Prayer we saw it as a prayer that can change the world. It seems to me that we need to take that prayer seriously particularly in praying the section,“Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It is asking Him to establish His kingdom on earth so that His will may be done on this earth. In praying this prayer we are submitting ourselves to be involved in His kingdom purposes. As we continue to pray the prayer it may be that God will show us what things we can do to make a difference in our local situations. … For example I believe that God is prompting me to write this article so that at least one other person in the USA or Australia who reads this may want to become part of God’s solution and not remain part of the problem through “opting out”. We also need to pray for the candidates. We need to pray that God’s kingdom will come and that His will be done in their lives. …  He knows what He wants to do and through whom. Our praying this part of the Lord’s Prayer is our invitation to Him to do what He wants to do in our own hearts,  in our cities, in our own nations as well as in the wider world. We can make a difference as we pray regularly, “Lord may Your kingdom come and Your will be done in my life and in the lives of all these people whom I now bring before you.”  (But don’t add, “Though I can’t see how You could ever possibly use Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton or Malcolm Turnbull or Bill Shorten.” )

189. (“What Sort Of People Should We Elect To Government?” This article was based on a sermon preached just prior to the Australian Federal elections in 2016. It was on the qualities seen in the Beatitudes in Matthew. When few candidates seem to have those qualities we can still pray. As I wrote, “We need to pray before the election and after the election, “Lord, May Your kingdom come, and Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Mat 6:10.  Then we are praying that God would work in Kingdom power in over-ruling the election results, knowing that He will honour those who honour Him. And after the election we need to continue praying so that He over-rules any Parliamentary decisions that don’t honour Him or that are against the best interests of the people. Most importantly we need to pray for those elected  and for ourselves, “Lord, may Your kingdom come in all of us and may Your will be done in and through all of us to Your glory and to the benefit of Your people throughout the world.”

194. (Marriage For Same-Sex Couples? The Problem With an “Eticsibelp”. [A back to front Plebiscite.])  This article was published just after the proposed question for the plebiscite (due in February next year) was released in September. I have difficulty with the proposed question and with the whole concept of voting for or against same-sex marriage. I wrote in sections 9 to 11 of the article regarding the future if a plebiscite is held.

  1. “I cannot imagine those who vote “No” taking to the streets in violent protests if the plebiscite had a majority of people voting “Yes” to same-sex marriage. Rather I would imagine that they would seek to share where appropriate what their view of marriage was, in the hope of convincing some to see the reasons behind their views. Many of them would perhaps be bolder and would seek to warn others by sharing their view that God is opposed to homosexual behaviour and thus to same-sex marriage. However as  those motivated by the  love of God for their neighbour they would share their concerns in an appropriate way.
  2. Those who vote “Yes” and see their view prevail in the plebiscite could rejoice that same-sex marriage could now become a legal reality. But there may be others who voted “Yes” who could seek to have alternate views to theirs silenced altogether. It is happening already, in various ways, in Australia and overseas.
  1. There is a danger that those operating from an atheist Marxist philosophy in which there are no absolutes might be tempted to silence those who believe there are absolutes in life. Such people see those absolutes stemming from a Creator who has given His creatures instructions on how to live in a way that is beneficial to humankind and glorifying to Him.  The concern is what form that silencing might take. The present indications are that many will not be motivated by tolerance and love.”

So here is the summary of the articles to this date. I hope they are helpful in this condensed form though it would be wise, where possible, to read the actual articles themselves to get a fuller overview of these important topics. 

Blog No.195. Jim  Holbeck. Posted Friday 30th September 2016

 

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194. Marriage For Same-Sex Couples? The Problem With an “Eticsibelp”. (A back to front Plebiscite.)

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

The question to be voted on in the plebiscite in Australia on the 11th February next year appears to be this one.  “Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?”  But there is a problem with the question as I see it. It is not the right question to ask. The procedure is back to front so that it could possibly become an unhelpful “eticsibelp” and not a helpful plebiscite to conduct.

Some Comments on the question:

  1. The proposed question could be seen to be invalid because it contains an oxymoron. That is, two conflicting statements in the same sentence. The present MARRIAGE ACT 1961 – SECT 5 states that “marriage  means the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.” With that definition it is not possible to vote to “allow same-sex couples to marry” when they don’t meet the requirement for marriage as presently expressed in the Marriage Act definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman.
  2. The real situation is that the Government appears to be asking the people to vote on their willingness to change the definition of “marriage” in the Marriage Act. It is unfortunate that the wording of the question proposed for the plebiscite doesn’t spell that out more clearly.  It is much, much more complicated process than just simply giving permission for same-sex couples to marry.
  3. A better approach would have been to have a plebiscite on changing the definition of marriage to include the marriage of same-sex couples. Then if that was approved in the plebiscite, the Parliament could pass legislation to enable that to become law. A question such as this one would have been preferable, “Should the definition of marriage be changed in the Marriage Act, to include the marriage of same-sex couples?”
  4. What the suggested question in the proposed plebiscite does is to make the decision very personal when it need not have been so.  The phrase “… allow same-sex couples to marry”  is by its very nature extremely personal. It is about people. It is about allowing or not allowing two same sex individuals to become a married couple. On the other hand changing a definition about marriage involves primarily a change in words, a broadening of the definition of marriage.  It is not primarily making decisions about people as such.  (Though of course there would be personal implications that would follow from any change in wording.)

The difficulty of changing the definition of marriage

  1. The problem with changing the definition of marriage is that in the eyes of a vast number of the population, marriage is a given that cannot be altered. Marriage for them is seen as an institution created by the Creator Himself as a gift to humankind. For such people marriage is not seen as a social construct or the result of progressive evolution. It is as declared in Genesis 2:24 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” When Jesus was asked about the nature of marriage He referred back to the beginning of marriage as He referred to the Genesis account, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, (5) … ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? (6) So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” Mat 19:4-6. That has been the understanding of marriage in vast parts of the world over many centuries.

6.  Another difficulty is this. Many people in the LGBTI community world-wide have said that they do not want the definition of marriage to be changed. Some of them have indicated that they want to have the freedom to explore other same-sex relationships if they wish to do so, rather than being locked into a monogamous relationship.

What would a plebiscite achieve?

  1. The plebiscite will not “settle the matter once for all.” It would be extremely naive to think so! If the “Yes” vote wins then it may make no difference in the thinking of those who believe that marriage should only be between a man and a woman. Such people (like the vast majority of humankind until the last few decades) will think that a wrong decision has been made by the people.
  1. If a “No” vote wins then it is almost certain that those arguing for same-sex marriage will not give up their fight to see it adopted. To them it is about human rights and equality and it is not easy to see many of the proponents of the “yes” vote simply acquiescing to a “No” decision.

What does the future hold if the plebiscite is held based on the proposed question?

  1. I cannot imagine those who vote “No” taking to the streets in violent protests if the plebiscite had a majority of people voting “Yes” to same-sex marriage. Rather I would imagine that they would seek to share where appropriate what their view of marriage was, in the hope of convincing some to see the reasons behind their views. Many of them would perhaps be bolder and would seek to warn others by sharing their view that God is opposed to homosexual behaviour and thus to same-sex marriage. However as  those motivated by the  love of God for their neighbour they would share their concerns in an appropriate way.
  2. Those who vote “Yes” and see their view prevail in the plebiscite could rejoice that same-sex marriage could now become a legal reality. But there may be others who voted “Yes” who could seek to have alternate views to theirs silenced altogether. It is happening already, in various ways, in Australia and overseas.
  1. There is a danger that those operating from an atheist Marxist philosophy in which there are no absolutes might be tempted to silence those who believe there are absolutes in life. Such people see those absolutes stemming from a Creator who has given His creatures instructions on how to live in a way that is beneficial to humankind and glorifying to Him.  The concern is what form that silencing might take. The present indications are that many will not be motivated by tolerance and love.

What do you do when you see a problematic time on the horizon? Christian believers would say we need to pray. But what to pray? Jesus gave His followers a prayer to pray at any time. It is a prayer asking God to “do His thing” in the world and in human hearts, including our own.

When we pray “Our Father in heaven” we are recognising the immense privilege we have of belonging to the family of God through faith in Christ. And the responsibility to live as His obedient children

“Hallowed be your name” expresses our request that we and all others live in such a way that exalts Him as our Creator by not ignoring Him nor rejecting His instructions on how to live to please Him.

“Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in heaven” is our way of asking Him to touch the life of every person in kingdom power so that they open up to Him. Then by His Spirit they can receive kingdom wisdom and live in kingdom righteousness and be motivated and empowered by kingdom love.

“Give us this day our daily bread” reminds us that we are totally dependent on Him for His provision for this world. He is Creator and Sustainer of the whole universe, and its Provider.

“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”  reminds us that  none of us is perfect and we all need God’s forgiveness.  We have to forgive others in the same way He has forgiven us. He makes it possible for us to do so.

“Lead us not into temptation” recognises that all of can be tempted and we are asking God to direct our steps so that we are not led into tempting situation which He knows are beyond our capacity to resist apart from Him.

“But deliver us from the evil one” is a prayer asking God to set us free from the temptations, seductions and deceits of the evil one, whom Jesus called “the ruler of this world” in John 14:30.

There are those who say that homosexual practice is good and God would bless same-sex marriages. There are others who say that the Bible teaches that God sees homosexual practice as contrary to His purposes for humankind and there cannot be, in His sight, an entity known as same-sex marriage.  Both can’t be right. Who might be deceived?

Blog No.194.  Jim Holbeck.  Posted on Wed 21st Sept 2016.

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193. Praying Our Way Through Paul’s Letter To The Ephesians. Ephesians 1:3. Thanking God For What We Have In Christ

Posted on August 13, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

Why embark on such a journey? As the old saying puts it, “Why not!” There are many good reasons why it would be a good idea. One reason is that it is always good to base one’s prayers upon God’s revealed truth rather than simply wandering off in our own thoughts as we pray. A second reason is that this Epistle has some of the deepest theological truths that one can find in all the Bible. A third reason is that this is a very practical letter with instructions applicable to various groupings of people.  It is relevant. It is real. It is true.

THE PASSAGE

Following his greeting to the believers in Ephesus, Paul wrote one long sentence in the Greek text that goes from verses 3 to 14. ( I originally thought that I would look at the following passage from verses 3 to 6. But as you will see I was impacted by incredible truths just in verse 3.)

(3) “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, (4) even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love (5) he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, (6) to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”

 SOME AMAZING TRUTHS in Ephesians 1:3.  God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

Paul began verse 3 with a blessing – to God! He is about to describe the blessings God has bestowed on His people. However he begins the passage with his focus on God as the One who blesses, before he begins to elaborate on the blessings God bestows. (It’s always a good thing in prayer to focus on the Lord in praise and adoration before we begin to speak about His blessings.)

We see a wonderful link in this verse.

  • “Blessed” in “Blessed be God” is the Greek adjective (eulogētós).
  • The phrase “Has blessed us” is from the verb (eulogéō) and
  • the “blessing” in “every spiritual blessing” is the noun (eulogia). The words all come from a common root. What a blessed verse this is! We are blessing the One who has blessed us with blessings!

Does this sound familiar? We find a similar expression used in the call of Abraham in the Septuagint Greek version of the Old Testament.  Gen 12:1 “Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you (eulogéō) and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” (eulogētós, an  adjective from the verb (eulogéō). The people of God are blessed by Him to be a blessing to others. We note that they are the same words used in Ephesians 1:3.

God had another promise of blessing for His people in Gen 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you (both are from the verb eulogéō) and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (eneulogéō from en = in and eulogéō, meaning to bless in or through someone). He was promising to bless those who blessed His people and that through His people the whole family on earth would be blessed.  That was God’s declared purpose. It meant on the other hand that those who frustrated His purpose by dishonouring His people would come under His curse.

We see that it is incumbent on the people of God throughout all the ages to fulfil their God-given responsibility by living for God in the way He intended them to live. If they do, God can bless them by working through them to bring blessing to the nations. If they fail to live as they should, multitudes miss out on His blessing.

 St Paul had also painted a cosmic responsibility for the people of God in the letter to the Romans. Twice he wrote that the gospel message was to be spread throughout the world so that people of all nations could come to the obedience of faith. Rom 1:5 “through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations”, and Rom 16:25 “Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith.”  If the people of God shared the gospel message throughout the world and the people of other nations accepted the message, then they would all be able to participate in the promises of blessings God has prepared for His people throughout the world and throughout the ages.

Blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places!

What sort of blessings are “spiritual blessings?” They contain, in the spiritual realm (as we have seen above), the incredible privilege of belonging to the people of God. They include all the other blessings that flow from that relationship. (More about that in the following articles.)

Paul uses the word “spiritual” as a contrast to “material” in these verses. Rom 15:27  For …  if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. AND 1Cor 9:11  If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? Recipients of spiritual blessings should feel obligated to make some material contribution to those who shared those blessings with them.

 Another spiritual blessing is to be able to receive a deeper spiritual knowledge of the will of God. Eg., Col_1:9  And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, AND 1Cor 2:13  And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

 Spiritual songs are part of the spiritual blessings God gives to His people. Eph_5:19  addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, AND Col_3:16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. They are used in expressing our praise to God and to encourage others in worship.

Spiritual gifts are also part of the spiritual blessings. Paul mentions them in these verses, Rom 1:11  “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— AND 1Cor 12:1  Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed”. AND 1Cor 14:1  “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.” A spiritual gift enables us to live and to minister beyond our natural resources. God gives us gifts to enable us to fulfil His purpose for us as we seek to live for Him. He also gives them so that others are blessed through our exercise of those spiritual gifts.

It seems that even in this one verse Eph 1:3, we have enough to turn into prayer. We will have lots of opportunities to look further into the blessings God has given us in Christ as we journey through this the rest of this epistle. But now is the time for prayer.

A SUGGESTED PRAYER BASED ON Eph 1:3

“Heavenly Father, we thank You for all You have done for us in Jesus. We thank You for all You have given us in Him. We thank You that You have blessed us in Him with every spiritual blessing. We thank You that through faith, we are the children of Abraham and that we have been blessed by You to be a blessing.

Help us Lord to realise that this world is not about us, but that it is about You. It’s about Your purpose to bless the world in Your love. We thank You that not only are we the recipients of Your love but that we also have the wonderful privilege and responsibility of being instruments of Your love and blessings to others in this world.   

Grant us the wisdom to know Your will and the power by Your Spirit to do it so that we might fulfil  Your purpose for us. We ask these things in Jesus’  name. AMEN!”

Blog No.193. Jim Holbeck. Posted Sat 13th August 2016

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192. Praying Our Way Through Paul’s Letter To The Ephesians. Ephesians 1:1-2. A Gracious Greeting about God’s Grace and Peace

Posted on August 5, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

(In this series I hope to take a leisurely stroll through St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians to reflect on the truths that are to be found throughout the epistle and to turn those truths into suggested prayers.)

 The Text.  Eph 1:1 “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

 Some Amazing Truths

We really can’t ignore the wonderful truths in the opening words of this letter. They are full of meaning.  Paul himself had been a recipient of God’s amazing grace (Note 1) and had come to know the God of peace, to know peace with God and to know the peace of God (as we will see in other passages).

By the grace of God Paul had changed from being the great persecutor of the church to being the great preacher of the church. He saw this as being the gracious will of God for him.

He describes his Christian readers as being the “saints,” that is, those who are separated from the world to belong to God while still living in the world. They are the “separated ones” or the “holy ones.”

The Ephesian believers are “faithful in Christ” because they have trusted in Him for salvation and were continuing to trust in Him as they sought to live for Him in the world of that time.

Paul wanted his readers to experience God’s grace and His peace. He describes his God in very intimate terms as being “God our Father” echoing Jesus’ own words as He taught His disciples to address God as “Father” in the Lord’s Prayer.

The grace and peace also come from Jesus who is described as the “Lord Jesus Christ”.  In these words Paul reminds us that Jesus’ name means “one who saves. Jesus is also the “Christ”,  God’s “anointed” one. In addition Jesus is the “Lord” a term used of God Himself.

So even in the very introduction to his letter Paul gives Jesus His rightful place as a member of the Godhead and One who is able to impart grace and peace.

A Suggested Prayer

“Heavenly Father we thank You that You called Paul to be an apostle to share the good news about You. We thank You that You inspired him by Your Holy Spirit to record these words so that You would use them to bring blessing to countless generations.

We thank You that through the gospel You call your people to belong to You as your saints. We pray that we may become more and more holy in our thoughts, words and deeds so that Jesus may be seen in and through our lives. 

We thank You for Your amazing grace in calling us to respond to You, and that by Your grace, we have been saved through faith. We thank You that like St Paul, we have come to know peace with You as the God of peace and that we can know Your peace in our hearts and minds to keep us safe.

Help us Lord to live by the power of Your Spirit so that we may bring glory to You in all we say and do. We ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour Amen.”

 NOTE 1]

Paul had been a recipient of God’s amazing grace as we see in this epistle.

Redemption and forgiveness. Eph_1:7  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

Made alive with Christ. Eph_2:5  even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

The riches of God’s grace to him in Christ. Eph_2:7  so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

The stewardship of God’s grace to him. Eph_3:2  assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you,

He was gifted for ministry by God’s grace. Eph_3:7  Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.  And Eph_3:8  To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, AND Eph_4:7  But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 

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191. Q&A. Giving the right answers to questions! About Jesus!

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

Q&A (short for Question and Answer) has been around for a long time. Pontius Pilate, a Roman Procurator in the time of Jesus, featured in such a program. As he faced the Q&A audience he asked them a question, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” The audience answered, “Let him be crucified!” Matthew 27:22. Pilate in weakness succumbed. They crucified Jesus.

God Himself came up with a different answer to the question as to what to do with Jesus. St Paul describes His answer. “God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father,” Philippians 2:9-11. God exalted Him to be Lord over all.

Today we too can answer Pilate’s question regarding what to do with Jesus. But the real question is whether we answer it in Pilate’s way (chickening out) or in God’s way (investing in!)

The very , very scary thing is that it is a decision that only we can make for ourselves. No other person who has ever lived can make the decision for us. Not even the Lord God Almighty can make it for us. It is our decision alone. The consequences are eternal.  Rejection of Him in this life means rejection by Him in the life to come.

On the other hand the very, very exciting and exhilarating thing is this. Whoever answers the question correctly about what to do with Jesus, by believing in Him and accepting Him into one’s life, has acceptance by Him in this life and in the life to come. As Jesus promised, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”  John 5:24

Perhaps most of us will never become members of a Q&A live Television audience. But there is a live Q&A program going on in our own hearts and minds as the question keeps coming to us, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” What a confronting question! But what innumerable blessings there are for those who answer the question correctly!

Blog No.191. Jim Holbeck. Posted Friday 29th July 2016 and based on Facebook posting on Thurs 28th July 2016

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190. A Prayer For Healing For Ourselves, Our Loved Ones And Our Nation

Posted on July 24, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

I was asked to pray at our church today giving thanks for our experiences of God’s healing power and to pray for His healing to continue to be upon ourselves, our loved ones and our nation. This was basically the prayer I prayed.  The people responded, “Amen!” Would you be prepared to add your “Amen” too?

“We thank You Lord that you have described Yourself to us in Your word. You have told us in Exodus 15:26 that Your name Jehovah (Yahweh) is ‘Rapha-el, I am the Lord who heals you.’
We thank You Lord that You have healed Your people throughout human history.
We thank You that when Jesus came, You worked through Him as Your servant to heal the sick and to set the captives free.
We thank You that You worked through the apostles and others to bring healing to those who needed Your healing touch.
We thank You for healing we have experienced personally in body, mind and spirit and for healing in our relationships.
We thank You for those You have healed in this city at services, at seminars and for those healed through ministry at Healing Rooms and other places.
Lord it amazes us that You are so loving and powerful in bringing answers to our prayers as we have prayed for healing for ourselves and others.
But we are challenged by this affirmation in Your word, that You are ‘able to do far more abundantly than all we can ask or think according to your power at work in us.’  (Ephesians 3:20).
Lord we have asked for great things and You have answered with great blessings. We have imagined You bringing wonderful healings and You have brought wonderful healings as we have prayed for them.
And yet You encourage us by saying that we cannot even begin to imagine what You are really able to do in answer to prayer.
Lord, we pray that You would work within us so that our faith may grow and grow and grow to be the size of a mustard seed so that we see mountains moved in answer to prayer. Mountains of ignorance and unbelief. Mountains of grief and sickness and sadness. Mountains of sin and evil. Mountains of hopelessness and depression. Mountains of cancer and other illnesses. Then people will begin to understand that You ARE ‘the Lord who heals.’
PRAYING FOR OUR NATION
We thank You too Lord that You have told us how to pray for healing for our nation. You have encouraged us with this promise, 2 Chronicles 7:14 ‘If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.’

Lord touch us and all the people of this nation in the power of Your Holy Spirit so that we may indeed humble ourselves before You, confessing our sins so that we may receive Your forgiveness, guidance, healing and blessing. We pray that this wonderful land of Australia may be healed by You so that it may become (not just by name) but in reality, the ‘Great South-land of the Holy Spirit’. We ask these things in Jesus’ name. AMEN.”

Blog No.190. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Sunday 24th July 2016

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189. “What Sort Of People Should We Elect To Government?” (Adapted from a sermon preached on Sunday 26th June 2016

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

Advice is often given on how to vote.  It ranges from the simple “Vote sensibly and once” to very lengthy explanations on how to preference parties and individual candidates so that the party or person you want to see elected has more chance of being elected. However not all of us have the advanced mathematical training to be able to work out all the permutations and combinations behind the different ways of allocating preferences.

For Christian believers we might say that we need to vote in such a way that God is glorified through our voting and that maximum benefit is obtained for the people of God throughout the world. But how can that happen? The following are some of the hints we obtain as we look at God’s revelation of His will to us in His word, the Bible.

 I).   GOD IS INTERESTED IN PEOPLE AND IN THEIR BEST WELFARE 

God knows what is best for His people. He knows that is in their best interests to come to know him to love Him and to obey Him. We see that expressed in Paul’s letter to the Romans. In the opening chapter we have these words,  “Jesus was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, (5)  through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations.”  Rom 1:4-5.

We also see that expressed in the last chapter of Romans,   “(God’s mystery) …  has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith.”  Rom 16:25-26.

 It means that God wants every nation and every individual within every nation to come to trust and obey Him for their own benefit. God has a plan and purpose for nations and for individuals in the nations of the world. He promises blessings to the nations that take Him seriously. (Otherwise they miss out on His blessings.)

That is how He has acted in history especially in relation to the nation of Israel. He once faced His people with a choice. He had taken them out of bondage in Egypt and was about to bring them into the Promised Land.  The choice was to live in God’s way or not to live in God’s way.  God was honest with them and set out the consequences for each choice.  “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse:  27  the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, 28  and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.” Deut 11:26-28. If they lived His way they would experience His blessing and His protection.

He later repeated the necessity for them to make the right choice in Deut 30:19-20.  “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20  loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” We have choices as individuals and as nations to walk in God’s way which brings His blessings of life and good, or to reject Him and lose His protection and blessing.

We could ask ourselves these questions,

  • “Which parties or individuals would be antagonistic to what God wanted to do in and through our nation?” For example those who wanted to restrict religious freedom and freedom of speech.
  • “Which parties or individuals will promote those values that God sees as important and which will bring His blessing on our nation?”

We look then to see who are the people who are blessed by God and can bring blessing to others for whom they have responsibility. .

II).   WHO ARE THE PEOPLE WHOM GOD BLESSES? Jesus Describes Them In The Beatitudes In Matthew 5.  Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, speaks of the “Beatitudes”, or as some people have called them, the “Beautiful Attitudes” that should characterise all peoples especially the people of God.

A).       CHARACTERISTICS COMING FROM OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. Mat 5:1-2, “Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. (2) And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the …. “

1).   “POOR” IN SPIRIT. Verse 3.  “Blessed Are The Poor In spirit, For Theirs Is The Kingdom Of Heaven.  God has a special concern for the poor (especially for those who are the victims of injustice.) That’s not the meaning here. “Poor in spirit” means that they are not full of themselves. They have room for God in their lives. It’s so easy to become arrogant and proud, to have a proud spirit.  Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5:5,6, “Clothe yourselves all of you with humility towards one another, for God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you.”

The candidates for whom we would wish to vote would be people who are characterised as being “poor in spirit” not being full of themselves nor relying on human wisdom. Rather they would be those who are open to God and to His wisdom and guidance.

 2).  THOSE WHO MOURN. Having A Sensitive Heart. Verse 4.  “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.  We could take this as meaning to be able to mourn with others in their sadnesses. Paul expresses that in Rom 12:15  “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” That’s what Jesus did in His ministry on earth as He brought comfort to the sorrowing.  We must too.

But it’s much more than that. It means, “Blessed are those who are sensitive towards God, and who mourn for their sins, and for the sins of others. Blessed are those who are grieved when people ignore God, and don’t love or obey Him.”

This was the sort of mourning we saw in Jesus as He came to Jerusalem, and looked upon the city that had hardened its heart against Him and against God’s purposes. As He looked upon the city He mourned over it and wept. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who were sent to you, how often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings and you would not! Behold your house is forsaken.”   (That is, “Your sin has brought this upon you. You didn’t mourn because of your sins.  You didn’t turn to Me for the help I could have given. You have forfeited My protection and My blessing!”)

Mourning for our sins and for the sins of others allows God to intervene in our lives to bring His healing and blessing. Mourning for the sin of the nation may be a vital step in bringing healing to the nation. Again we would wish to vote for candidates who feel about the world as the Lord feels about it, seeing it in all its need and wanting to see the beneficial changes that only He can bring. And hopefully allowing themselves to be used by Him as humble agents of those changes.

3).  BLESSED ARE THE MEEK. Meekness. Verse 5.  “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”   Meekness is not weakness.  Jesus said of Himself in Mat 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle (meek) and  humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  Soon after this same “meek” Jesus drove money changers out of the temple. Meekness is power under control. The word for “meek” is (praǘs) which was used for the breaking-in of a wild horse. It loses none of its strength. Rather its strength is now harnessed and controllable for good purposes. Meekness means looking to God for wisdom. True wisdom is to be found in Him and in Him alone.

Meekness means honouring Christ in our own hearts and being willing to humbly share Him with others, 1 Peter 3:15 “but in your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect”.

Which candidates conform most closely to this quality of meekness? Would they be willing to humble themselves to ask God for His wisdom and guidance? Or would they ignore God and even mock Him and those who seek to obey Him?

4). THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS. V6.  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied”. 

There are many ways of describing the word “righteousness” but a very simple one is this, “What God wants”. (A modern version of this verse puts it, “God blesses those who want to obey Him, more than to eat or drink.”) The writer of Proverbs 14:3 wrote these words, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” When people do what God wants, the nation is blessed. By Him. When they ignore Him they suffer the loss of what might have been theirs.

Righteousness includes the sort of personal lives we should live, as well as the qualities needed in the corporate life of a nation. It is the passionate desire to see God’s will done in every life and in every situation.

Which candidate has that hunger and thirst for righteousness for themselves? For God to bring His blessing on their own nation?

We look at the other four Beatitudes which direct us to the sorts of attitudes we should have to our fellow humans. They represent not only Christian values but also the characteristics and values which the God of this universe desires of all His creatures. They are found in Matthew 5:7-12

B).  OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR FELLOW HUMANS

1).    “BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL. Verse 7. “Blessed are the  merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”   Mercy can be described as being the concerned, kind attitude adopted to those in need. Jesus showed it when He offered Himself to die on the cross for our sins.  Mercy is the inevitable expression of a heart that is in a close relationship to God.  As Romans 12 puts it, “I beseech you therefore by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice to God which is your spiritual worship.”  It’s from that experience of God’s grace and mercy that Paul can say a few verses later, “He who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”  As we receive the mercy of God, we are motivated and empowered to show mercy to others.

The candidates for whom we vote in the coming elections should be characterised by genuine mercy and not by dangerous unrealistic unthinking so-called “sympathy” which ignores the dangers..

2).  PURITY. Verse 8. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”  (“Pure” is from katharós which has many shades of meaning. It can mean being clean and undefiled. It can mean utter sincerity so that one is inwardly what one is outwardly. In modern day computer terms believers should be WYSIWYG people where the letters in the acrostic stand for “What You See Is What You Get.” What you see on the screen should be the same as what you typed on the keyboard. We need to vote for someone who is genuine, the real article, a real WYSIWYG type of person.

MARRIAGE. In these days there is another major area where purity is needed. It is purity in marriage. Not only would we want our candidates not to be guilty of adultery, but we would also want them to be not guilty of adulterating the concept of marriage itself. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews gave a stark warning in Hebrews 13:4, “Let marriage be held in honour among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” We need to realise afresh that this is God’s world and that marriage between a man and a woman has always been His idea.

We would want our candidates for election to take a stand on marriage as being between a man and a woman and not see God’s concept of marriage be adulterated in any other way.

 3). PEACE-MAKERS. Verse 9. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”   We need to note in these violent days that Jesus is not saying, “Blessed are the pacifists!” No, it is the “peace-makers” who are blessed. They are to actively seek to establish and maintain peace.

We need to vote for candidates who hate war but who recognise that sometimes it may be necessary to use force where innocent people are being threatened with violence and death.

They should be motivated to seek for ways of making peace for individuals and for peoples in our and other nations.

“Outsiders” coming to our nation. On a very practical note about our desire for peace. It seems to me that the majority of people in countries like Australian have a wonderful sense of fair-play and that they would welcome genuine refugees from any part of the world. However to seek to bring into our country those who have already stated before they arrive that they hate us, they hate our culture and they hate our God revealed in Jesus Christ, would be a dangerous thing to do.

What is needed in our candidates and in our elected members to government is Sensitivity to the needs of people AND Sensibility in choosing whom we welcome into our country.

4).    “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO ARE PERSECUTED.’ v. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”    Jesus taught that it is par for the course as a Christian to be mocked and persecuted. As He went on to say in verse {11} “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

If we want to live a life pleasing to God we will be persecuted. He might be pleased with our desire and efforts to serve Him but some of our fellow humans may not be so pleased with our devotion to Him.

Which candidate would be willing to be persecuted for honouring God and for seeking to maintain the Judeo-Christian ethos of our nation?

SUMMING UP

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live in a country where all the people were characterised by the qualities expressed in the Beatitudes?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all our leaders who governed our nation had those qualities? We could safely elect such people to Parliament because they would be open to God’s wisdom as to how best govern our nation. They would have our best interests at heart. Blessings would flow if they remained faithful to the Lord.

But what happens when hardly any of those standing for election seem to have those qualities?

We need to preference the candidates who seem to want to live by God’s Kingdom principles personally and who want to see them observed by the nation.  We give a lesser place to those who appear to be antagonistic to God and to God’s people and who ridicule Him or His word or His disciples.

We need to pray before the election and after the election, “Lord, May Your kingdom come, and Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Mat 6:10.  Then we are praying that God would work in Kingdom power in over-ruling the election results, knowing that He will honour those who honour Him. And after the election we need to continue praying so that He over-rules any Parliamentary decisions that don’t honour Him or that are against the best interests of the people.

Most importantly we need to pray for those elected  and for ourselves, “Lord, may Your kingdom come in all of us and may Your will be done in and through all of us to Your glory and to the benefit of Your people throughout the world.”

Blog No.189. Jim Holbeck. Posted Monday 27th June 2016. 

 

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188. HEALING MINISTRY. CORE TEACHING. STAGE 1 TOPIC 1. (“Becoming The People God Wants Us To Be.”)

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

TOPIC 1. “Becoming The People God Wants Us To Be.” 

Most people when they hear the word “healing” immediately think of physical healing. However physical healing is just one part of the healing that God wants to bring to His people. God’s salvation in Christ has provision for wholeness in every dimension of life. Salvation (soteria in the Greek) has the sense of wholeness. Wholeness in body, mind and spirit. The verb deriving from soteria (salvation) is sozo and is translated as “save” or “heal”. God wants everyone to come to know Him and to experience His healing power and love. He wants them to be in the centre of His will for them as His saved people.

The people of God as God’s saved people are to be prepared for the Second Coming of Christ their King. It means submitting to Him now as King and becoming His “holy” or “set apart” people.

How do believers prepare for His Coming? Peter asked, 2 Pet 3:11-14. “What people ought you to be… ? ” The answer is by becoming the people God wants us to be. It appears from 3:12 that when we live as we should we can “hasten” the coming of that day. 2Pet 3:11-12, “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12) waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!” Of course God knows when that final day will be. It won’t catch Him unawares! But He encourages us by telling us that we can make a difference in the world as we live for Him.

We need to look at three concepts in connection with this.
1). The first is the concept of the Kingdom of God and what it means to live under God’s rule.
2). The second is how Jesus lived and ministered on earth as perfect man in submission to God.
3). The third is how we are to follow that pattern as we live for God today.

1). THE CONCEPT OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

i). Everyone is meant to live according to Kingdom principles
The kingdom of God means God’s rule over His people. They are meant to live in willing submission to Him. Humans today can have an inner motivation and power to live as they should. God promised a New Covenant in which He would work in the lives of His people to motivate them and empower them to do His will. Such promises were seen in the following verses. Jer 31:33, I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts…. Ezek 11:19-20, And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. Ezek 36:26-27 is similar but adds, 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Those promises were fulfilled in what Jesus did in His death and resurrection and in the gift of the Holy Spirit He poured out on the church. God’s resources have been made available to believers by the gift of His Spirit to them. Paul wrote in Rom 7:6 that believers now “serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.”  In Eph 1:13 he wrote of the inheritance believers have in Christ. “In him you also… were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” The Holy Spirit brings life and imparts kingdom resources to God’s people.

ii). Living contrary to kingdom principles causes damage
a). The danger of effect of hate, resentment and unforgiveness.
God has commanded people to love one another. If however they refuse to do so and continue to live with wrong negative emotions such as hate and resentment and refuse to forgive others, this can cause physical and emotional stress which can lead to illness.

b). Psychosomatic illnesses. Many health professionals see a link between unhealthy thinking and physical illness. They say that unhealthy thinking in the mind (psyche) can affect the body (soma) adversely.

Believers, as those indwelt by the Holy Spirit, can have victory over damaging negative emotions through renewed minds.

iii). If we lived according to those kingdom principles, we would be more likely to maintain health.
Healing is accelerated as negative factors are dealt with. For example, seeking to obey what God has commanded, such as loving one another and forgiving those who hurt us, opens us up to His healing power.

The prayer Jesus taught His followers , “Your kingdom come, Your will be done” should include, “Begin in ME!” Jesus commanded us to pray for His kingdom to come but it is necessary to pray that God work in us as well as in other people. That is, we need to allow Christ as the King to establish His kingdom in our lives. This should be seen in terms of Christian living (kingdom righteousness, kingdom love, kingdom wisdom and kingdom power) by the kingdom resources He places within us by the gift of His Holy Spirit.

2). JESUS AS THE PERFECT HUMAN LIVING UNDER THE RULE OF GOD

What does Phil 2:5-7 really mean? Jesus “emptied Himself?” Paul never suggests that Jesus emptied Himself of His divinity. He never ceased to be the Son of God or ceased to be divine. Rather He “emptied Himself” of many of His privileges that were His as the eternal Son of God.

  • Even though He was the Creator He limited Himself to a human body. He became tired, hungry and thirsty like other humans and he expressed Himself through human emotions.
    • He didn’t continue to “grasp” or hang on to the privileges of being omnipotent (He said He could only do what He saw the Father doing. He said that of Himself He could do nothing.)
    • He didn’t hang on to the privilege of being omnipresent because on earth He could only be in one place at one time.
    • He didn’t hang on to the privilege of being omniscient in terms of knowing all things. As a human he asked questions to obtain answers. He grew in wisdom.

Jesus’ perfect life and perfect death as the “TRUE” human.
In His perfect life He fulfilled all the requirement of the law of God for humans. A human had lived as God intended humans to live. A human had fulfilled the obligations of the law. In His perfect death as a human He bore the punishment for breaking of the law by the entire human race. He was and is the ONLY TRUE human who lived as God intended humans to live

Jesus’ Healings and Miracles.  Are they a proof of His divinity or His perfect humanity? Jn 20:30-31. Note the order of the words. Messiah! Son of God! Whilst we rightly appeal to Jn 20:30-31 as a proof text for Jesus’ divinity we need to look more closely at what John is saying. Jn 20:30 “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 here described Jesus as the Son of God. But he puts “Messiah” first. Is John meaning that the signs Jesus performed are a proof of His divinity or is he saying that the signs prove that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one (and of course the eternal Son of God as well)?

The latter meaning would fit in with the prophecy in Is 61:1, 2 about the coming Messiah and Jesus’ use of that passage to describe His own ministry in Luk 4:18-21, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. … (21) And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus’ perfect availability, perfect faith, perfect obedience, as the true human.
If John meant that Jesus’ ministry was performed as the true human operating under the anointing of the Holy Spirit of God then the following would be true.
• He ministered in total reliance upon His Heavenly Father. Thus He was perfectly available for the Father to give Him the words to say and for the Father to work His signs and miracles through Him at any time.
• It would mean that Jesus was operating always in perfect faith in His Father, and lived a life of perfect obedience to Him.
• It would mean that there existed between the Father and Jesus a perfect intimacy so that He could see what the Father was doing in every situation.

Peter’s explanation of Jesus’ ministry. Peter wrote of Jesus’ ministry in Acts 10:38, “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”

Jesus as the eternal Son of God and Creator would not have needed God to anoint Him with power unless He limited Himself to minister as a human in reliance on God. Then He would need God’s empowering by His Spirit. The additional phrase “for God was with Him” seems to be Peter’s way of explaining the source of Jesus’ power in ministry. Jesus was God’s instrument in healing people. This verse fits in with so much of the New Testament teaching that Jesus was the instrument God used but the source or origin of His ministry was in God Himself as He ministered on earth.

Jesus’ explanation of His ministry. It came from the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus returned from the temptations in the wilderness He began His ministry with an announcement in the synagogue in Nazareth. Luke records that Jesus read from the scroll from Is 61:1-2. He then announced Lk 4:20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” It was a claim that He was the Messiah. It was also a declaration that His ministry would come from an anointing with the Holy Spirit.

An encouragement for believers.
We need to recognise that the Holy Spirit who anointed Jesus for His ministry is the SAME Holy Spirit who has anointed us. The verb “chrio” (anoint) is used of Jesus being anointed by the Holy Spirit in Lk 4:18; by God in Acts 4:27; and with the Holy Spirit in Acts 10:38. It is also used of Jesus being anointed with the oil of gladness in Heb 1:9. It is used of believers in 2 Cor 1:21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 2Co 1:22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee..

The noun “chrisma” (anointing) is used of believers in 1 Jn 2:20, But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge and in 1 Jn 2:27, But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything–and is true and is no lie, just as it has taught you–abide in him.

These are the only references for these Greek words for “anoint” or “anointing” in the New Testament. They are significant. It shows us that every believer has been anointed by the Holy Spirit, and that there are no comparisons in the use of these words in the New Testament.

Often in today’s church we hear the phrase being used that one Christian was “more anointed” than another believer. However such an expression has no biblical basis at all and its use has led to pride and arrogance on the part of some people and caused hurt to others. All believers were anointed by the Holy Spirit when they were established in Christ 2 Cor 1:21. Perhaps we could say in biblical terms that one can’t become “more anointed.” However one could become more available to God by abiding more closely to Him so that the anointing we have received from God can more readily flow through us. The emphasis then is not on seeking “more anointing” but on humbly playing our part in seeking to abide more closely with Him.

Jesus’ explanation of His ministry of Words and Works.

The Words Jesus spoke. He said of His teaching in Jn.7:16,“My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.”  He meant that the origin of the teaching was not Himself but the Father. He was the instrument through whom the words of the Father came but they did not originate in Him.

He said a similar thing in Jn 17:7-8 of the teaching coming from the Father. Jn 17:7 “Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. ” Again the Father was the source of Jesus’ words, and Jesus was the instrument through whom the teaching came.

The Works He performed. (Again we see the same concept. The works originated with the Father and Jesus was the instrument through whom He worked. Jn 5:19, So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise?  Because of the intimacy between Jesus and His heavenly Father, Jesus could “see” what the Father was doing in every situation and was available to be used by Him to accomplish His work.

In just one verse in Jn 14:10 Jesus summarised His ministry of words and works. Jn 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. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.”

Jesus continued the same pattern in His explanation of His ministry. His words came from His Father with His authority. The works Jesus did were in fact the works of the Father working through Him. No wonder Jesus said that to reject His teaching was to reject the Father who had sent Him. Jn 12:49 “For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment–what to say and what to speak.”

Jesus, The Pattern of Perfect Humanity.

Jesus showed us how humans should live. We see Him as being perfectly submitted to God and to God’s will for Him for every moment of His life. We see His perfect availability to His heavenly Father as the true human.

We need to take seriously what Jesus and others said about His ministry. We often assume that Jesus exercised His ministry as the Son of God and that’s why He could do signs and wonders and miracles with His divine power. But that would mean that Jesus was not living as a true human if He had resources open to Him that were not open to other humans. He had to live as a human and minister as a human that He might be able to die as a human for humans.

Jesus as man overcame temptation by relying on and acting on the word of God. Mat 4:4,7,10.
Jesus as man overcame the powers of darkness and triumphed over them in the cross. Col 2:15.
Jesus as man fulfilled the law of God by His perfect obedience as man.
Jesus as man died on the cross to bear the sins of the human race.

What was His secret? It was His intimate relationship with His Father for every moment of His life.

Abiding in the Father.
Jn 14:6-11. In the passage from Jn 14:6-11 we read of this intimacy of relationship. Jn 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
• When people saw Jesus they saw the Father.
• When people heard Jesus speak they heard the Father’s words.
• When people saw Jesus minister they saw the Father at work through Him.

Jesus explained that intimacy in Jn 14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. If they found that degree of intimacy difficult to grasp then they could look at Jesus’ works which were a manifestation of the Father at work through Him. or else believe on account of the works themselves.

Jn 17:21. Jesus spoke of this intimacy between His Father and Himself as being one with the Father and as being “in” each other. He wanted His followers to have that same oneness that He and the Father enjoyed. When they showed forth that oneness then the world could believe that God sent Jesus. Jn 17:21 “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”  Jn 17:22 “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one”  Jn 17:23  “I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

Jesus seemed to be inferring that when believers did not share that intimacy with Himself or with God, or that oneness with each other, the world would find it difficult to believe that God had sent Him.

What need there is for believers to recognise, act on and enjoy their oneness in Christ. Not only will they be blessed but the Lord Jesus will be recognised in them and exalted as the One sent from God with His authority.

3). OUR OWN CHRISTIAN PERSONHOOD AS WE LIVE FOR GOD

Does it all depend on our “ability” or our “avail-ability?” What is our responsibility? My little summary is this. “Our responsibility is to be available to His ability in and through us.” When we rely on our own ability we close ourselves to God’s ability to work through us. If Jesus could do nothing of Himself and told His followers that they could do nothing apart from Him we need to take Him seriously indeed.

Christian living is not just our trying to do the best we can in a difficult world. It is really letting God work within us so that motivated and empowered by Him we are able to work out in our everyday living and ministry what He is working in us. Phil 2:12-13.

The need to abide in Him. John 15:5 Jesus said, “Without me you can do nothing”. (As we will see later in Core Teaching we can do lots of things as Christians but nothing of eternal value unless it originates in Him.) However as we learn to abide in Christ in a deepening personal and intimate relationship things can begin to happen in and through our lives. Jesus said in following verses, Jn 15:7 “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

When believers learn to abide in Christ and to absorb and live by His word, their prayers will be answered. Why? Because through abiding in Christ and living in the word of God we can come to know God’s will more clearly and our prayers will be more in accord with the will of God. Such prayers receive answers.

The example of Paul. Gal.2:8. Paul understood the concept that Jesus taught. The source of all true ministry was God Himself. But He could use human instruments. He had used Jesus as a human. He had used Peter and Paul. Paul described his ministry and the ministry of Peter, as God working through them. Gal 2:8 (“for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles”). Peter and Paul exercised their ministries but in reality it was God at work through their availability to Him.

God’s grace is sufficient. 2 Cor 12:9-10. Paul here elucidates an important principle. From his own experience he had learnt that in time of difficulty, the grace of God was more than sufficient to enable one to cope. God had encouraged him with the words, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” From that point Paul saw the value of weakness because it opened one up to the power of God.  He continued, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

The strong person in God is the one who recognises his or her weaknesses and relies on God for His strength. The believer who relies on his or her own wisdom and strength is heading for a real fall. As Paul wrote in 1 Co 10:12 “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”

Paul’s motive in life. To know God in a deeper way. Phil 3:10 “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”
Christianity is all about commitment and love. That’s what the 2 Great Commandments of Jesus are all about. Mk 12:30 “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ Mk 12:31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.

As believers we have come to “know” the Lord through our personal commitment to Him. But our understanding and experience of Him is meant to deepen. In coming to know Him more deeply we are coming to recognise and understand just who He is as the eternal Son of God, as the Creator and the Sustainer of the universe. Yet He wants us to see ourselves as His friends, (Jn 15:14) “You are my friends if you do what I command you”. AND (Jn 15:15) “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”

We also come to “know” Him more deeply as we learn to recognise and appreciate more deeply what He has done for us as our Saviour from sin as the Messiah, and as we respond to His rule over us as our Lord.

In knowing Jesus we come to know the Father as well as Jesus said in Jn 14:7 “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Jn 14:8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jn 14:9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father….”

Paul at prayer for his friends. He prayed that they might know God more deeply. Eph 1:17 (NIV) “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” The deeper knowledge of God that Paul wants for himself, he wants for his friends as well. He prays for them that God by His Spirit might bring that revelation of God to them.

Our goal in life must be a deeper relationship with Jesus. For that we need to have the right focus in life.
Our focus must not be on the gifts God gives to us but more on the Giver of the gifts, God himself.
Our focus must not be on healing as an end in itself but on God as the One who heals in His love and power.

To enable us to get our focus right in life we need an openness to God so that He can do in and through us what He longs to do. In a later topic,  we look at how we can become more open to God especially as we pray the prayer of openness to God found in Psalm 139, verses 23, 24.

SUMMING UP
Section 1. The good news is that everyone can become more whole. Our conversion experience is but the beginning of the work God wants to do in our lives. I was once asked to describe the Healing Ministry in just one sentence. I found myself saying and I still hold to what I said on that occasion, “The Healing Ministry is about getting people into the kingdom and getting the kingdom into the people.”

In other words people need to come into the kingdom of God through putting their faith in Jesus Christ. That is absolutely vital. Wee could say, What does it profit a person to gain all the healing in the world if they then lose their soul. Until they are born again they haven’t begun to live! Any healing ministry must be evangelistic if we are going to “love” the people who come to us for help. To love them is to seek their best interests and their best interests are met when we introduce them to Jesus as Saviour and Lord.

Then the Healing Ministry is about “getting the kingdom into the people”. By that I mean encouraging people through the word of God to become open to kingdom living as willing subjects of the King. That should work itself out in kingdom righteousness as we live by the principles of the kingdom in loving, forgiving etc.
It should mean seeking kingdom wisdom so that we are making the right decisions in life and not operating according to worldly wisdom which gets very poor press in James 3.
It should mean loving others with kingdom love in the way Paul expresses it in Rom 5:5, “for the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is God’s gift to us.”
It should mean kingdom power as we rely on God Himself to manifest His love and power in transforming the lives of those to whom we minister and for whom we pray. (Including ourselves). But more of that in future topics.

Section 2. The truths here can be life-changing. It shows us how Jesus lived and ministered as a human on earth. It shows Him as a human living under the rule of God’s kingdom for every moment of His life. Instead of having a picture in our minds that Jesus was different from us as a human we see He was the REAL THING, the ONE TRUE HUMAN.

It helps us to appreciate what He did in humbling Himself to become a human and in relying on His Heavenly Father for every moment of his life. It helps us understand how humans should behave as we read of His perfect obedience to God. It helps us recognise what God can do in human lives which are fully open to Him. Jesus sets the pattern for every human to follow.

Section 3. How we can follow that perfect pattern of Jesus as we live for Him in today’s world. What indeed might God do in and through our lives if we sought to follow Jesus’ pattern of perfect submission and perfect availability to God.

In the Notes we read that the important thing to keep in mind as we live for the Lord and seek to serve Him, is that it doesn’t depend on our abilities but on His ability in and through us. (But more of that in future topics as well.)

Suffice it to say that God wants us to become the people He wants us to be. He can heal us and change us by His work within us so that we can work out even more in our everyday living what He is working is us. Phil 2:12-13.

Blog No.188. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Thursday 2nd June 2016

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Forgiveness, HEALING MINISTRY Core Teaching, Prayer, TOPICS | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

187. CORE TEACHING OF THE HEALING MINISTRY. An Introduction

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

BACKGROUND TO THE CORE TEACHING NOTES

 In all my teaching I have had this as my goal, 2 Tim 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”  It is a great joy and blessing to be able to delve into the word of God and to see what He says about the realities of life. A joy to find out why people are as they are and how they may be changed by the grace of God. Then the privilege of being able to share those life and health changing truths with others.

Decades ago I wrote that I was on a learning curve about healing. (See here) I am still on that learning curve! But these Core Teachings contain many of the things I have learned on the way. Each topic represents about an hour’s teaching. So be prepared! But first about about the background in which these teachings developed.
Brisbane Diocese. During my first 10 years in the ordained ministry there had been little opportunity to develop any specific Biblical teaching programs. I had done some teaching in parish and Church Missionary Society youth groups as a layman and later as a Priest had taught New Testament for a year for the Australian College of Theology Th A course at St Francis Theological College in Brisbane. However parish duties and Scripture teaching in several primary and secondary schools took up all my time.

Armidale Diocese. When I became the Dean of St Peter’s Cathedral in Armidale diocese my ministry was focussed on the preaching and administrative program for the 2 main town churches and the 5 country centres in the parish. One special joy was the teaching involved in introducing the “Know Your Bible” course each semester for a large group of women from many denominations.

Sydney Diocese. When I succeeded Canon Jim Glennon as the Leader of the Healing Ministry at St Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney my main teaching was at the Postal Congregation Seminars held a couple of times each year at Marsfield. Otherwise normal Cathedral duties, preaching at the Healing services in the Cathedral and counselling occupied my time.

One woman to whom I ministered said that she found the biblical base to the ministry so helpful she wanted more. She asked whether I would be willing to do some teaching if she could invite some of her friends along to hear as well. In fact she managed to encourage a whole group of friends to come every Monday morning for 2 hours of praise and teaching. I taught through some books of the Bible and also tackled some biblical topics as well.

What I discovered was important. In one on one ministry I could only minister to one person at a time. However in teaching 20 or more folk on those mornings, we ministered to one another as we shared insights into God’s word and prayed with and for each other. It gave me a chance to really delve into God’s word every Sunday night to have an hour’s talk ready for the morning. I found it immensely satisfying and fulfilling. Those who came, kindly said they found it helpful as well.

I later combined some of the subjects together to form the seminars for the Inner Healing and Wholeness Weekends. We also began to arrange seminars for the Core Teaching programs which were held at our Healing Ministry Centre at Newtown Sydney from Tuesday morning to Thursday afternoon. (There are now 5 Stages of the Core Teaching with 4 to 6 subjects in each stage.)

Those who have been exposed to the teaching over the years would number in the thousands rather than the hundreds. There have been opportunities to teach some of the topics in many country areas in Australia and for a month in New Zealand in 1993 for the Order of St Luke. An invitation to minister in Florida USA led to our teaching the Core Teaching Seminars at All Saint’s Episcopal Church in Winter Park near Orlando in Central Florida. They in turn have taught Core Teaching modules to dozens of folk from many denominations.
What is the teaching about? I have always felt that God’s word has the answers to our human situations and that as people turn to His word and act on it, they can be changed to become the people of God He wants them to be. He loves us enough to want to communicate with us. He has communicated with us through His written word (the Bible) and through His living Word (the Lord Jesus). But to know accurately about Jesus we need to turn to the written word as our source. These teaching topics are all based on the word of God and I only refer to other sources when I feel it might be helpful to do so.

My great desire is that anyone in the world who has access to a Bible might be helped through reading this Core teaching material. It is simple and hopefully easily understood. An even greater desire is that those who are helped might be willing and motivated to share (and hopefully teach) this Biblical teaching with others to the glory of God and for the benefit of His people.

Blog No.187. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Thursday 2nd June 2016

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Evangelism, Forgiveness, Healing, HEALING MINISTRY Core Teaching, Prayer, TOPICS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment