186. SOME NEWS re Holbeck blogs

Posted on June 1, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

I am hoping to do a number of things on my blog in coming months. When one is nearing 81 one discovers that time is limited in which to make contributions to life. So I propose to do the following. God willing!

1).        “Group Discussion Material.”  I hope to turn many of my previous articles into material that can be used for Group Discussion Study material or by individuals for private study. They will contain information on the topic and also questions for discussion in groups or for individuals.

They will have the category name “Group Discussion Material” in the Category section on the right hand side of the blog.

For example there are two in progress at the moment, material on my early blogs on “Forgiveness” beginning with Blog No.001. (GROUP DISCUSSION MATERIAL on “Forgiveness”) see below.

The other is material on the “Lord’s Prayer” beginning at Blog No. 173.   (Group Discussion Material on “The Lord’s Prayer.”) see below.

(They have begun but are a work in progress at the moment.)

This is what the categories look like at present on the blogsite.

Categories. (Note too that the SEARCH facility on the right hand side of the blogs just above the category section is great for finding verses, names and topics in all the blogs.)

2).        Healing Ministry. Core Teaching. I propose to put on the blog many of the topics which I have taught at various Healing Seminars over many years in Australia, New Zealand and in the USA. In particular I am hoping to download all my teaching at the Core Teaching seminars I have conducted.

  • These are in Stages such as Core Teaching Stage 1 and this will be followed later by Core Teaching Stages 2, 3, 4 and 5. They have between 4 to 6 topics in each stage. Together they consider many of the foundational truths which can help people begin and successfully maintain a Healing Ministry. Or they can help individuals understand the basis of praying for those in need.
  • Thousands of folk over the years have attended these seminars and have testified that they have been a blessing to them. It is my hope that I can share with interested people what has been a blessing to me as I prepared and delivered them.
  • These will be in the Category section on the right hand side under the category “Healing Ministry. Core Teaching Stage 1” etc.
  • They will be able to be downloaded anywhere in the world for free and could be printed out from the website and used in Bible Studies, Seminars, as well as for individual study etc.
  • Attention could be drawn to the studies by Group Leaders to enable their group members to print out the blogs including questions for themselves. (A great time-saver for all concerned!).

3).        Sermons. Topics. From time to time I will try to add some sermons I have preached over the years and share some sermon outlines. I hope to add other topics I have taught, if time permits.

4).        Blogsite. At present my blog site is www.holbeck.wordpress.com but this may change in coming months. However typing (jimholbeck blog) into search engines should find them in the future.

A reminder

  1. My blogs can be found by typing (jimholbeck blog) into any major search engine.
  2. My 2 Amazon Kindle books can be found by typing (Amazon Kindle Jim Holbeck) into the search engines.
  3. My material on You Tube can be found by typing (You Tube Jim Holbeck) into the search engines.

Motivation

I am trying in all this to focus on the Lord who has done great things for me and for my family. My desire is to see the Lord exalted as people peruse the materials and find Him revealed in them. Instead of putting them in books etc for which payment is necessary, I am trying to make the material available freely throughout the world. In biblical terms, “Freely I have received. Freely I give.”  I trust you will do the same with the material you use.

Blessings in His marvellous name!

Jim Holbeck

Blog No.186. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Wednesday 1st June 2016

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

185. For What Sort Of People Ought We To Vote? The Characteristics Seen In The Beatitudes In Matthew 5. (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on May 21, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

In the previous article we looked at the first four of the Beatitudes especially as they related to one’s relationship to God. Now in this article 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. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.(8) “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (9)  “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (10)  “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (11)  “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. (12) Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

 OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR FELLOW HUMANS

1).    Merciful. Verse 7. “Blessed are the  merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” The word “merciful” is used only twice, once here of believers and the other of Jesus in Hebrews 2:17 where He is described as being “a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” 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. When we have experienced the mercy and love of God towards us in Christ, our hearts will be moved to be merciful and loving towards others.

We are not to see mercy as an almost impossible goal to aim at. Rather it 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 it to others. The more we express it to others in forgiveness, love and concern, the more we are likely reap it back.

God will always be merciful to those who have called on His name and who have received His Son. But as we have seen in today’s world they may not always receive mercy from those around them. Consider the slaughter of Christians throughout the world, especially in parts of Africa and the Middle East. It is a great reminder to us that only those touched by the grace of God and have become recipients of God’s mercy, are really capable of extending mercy to others.

The candidates for whom we vote in the coming elections should be characterised by genuine mercy and not by dangerous unrealistic “sympathy”.

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 by separation from evil. 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. It is the “real thing!” One of the woes pronounced by Jesus was on those who were not what they appeared to be outwardly, Matthew 23:27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

Again purity in heart is not some impossible ideal. It is the result of abiding in Christ. Christ expresses His own life through us as we abide in Him.  We come to see (spiritually) what God is like as we abide in Jesus, and we can be transformed more and more into His likeness through faith in Him (2 Corinthians 3:18.)  We need to vote for someone who is genuine, the real article, a real WYSIWYG type of person.

In these days there is another major area where purity is needed. It is purity in marriage. Not only would we want our candidates to be not 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. To suggest that those in same-sex relationships should be recognised as “married” does not honour the concept of marriage, nor does it honour God Himself who has clearly shown that same-sex relationships are taboo in His sight.

Many are saying that we should allow for same-sex couples to be married as a matter of equality. But it is not a matter of equality we need to focus on. Rather it is a matter of truth and reality as God sees it. It is a matter of honouring the Creator who has told what He thinks of marriage and has given laws to be obeyed for the benefit of humankind.

We would want our candidates for election to take a stand on marriage as being between a man and a woman. We would not want them to be influenced by so-called “progressive” ideas based on atheistic Marxist philosophies that are increasingly placing less and less importance on marriage and family. A vote for same-sex marriage would be an act of defiance against God’s declared will concerning marriage relationships. Conformity to the will of God brings blessing upon a nation. Conformity to some of the world’s values and ways of behaviour closes the door to His blessings and protection. So our candidate would need to be soft-hearted towards all people, concerned to love them with God’s agape love, seeking their best interests. However at the same time they would need to be tough-skinned when being unfairly accused of bigotry etc when they side with God against atheistic influences.

 3).   Peace-Makers. Verse 9. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”   We noticed in the last article that this word “peace-makers” (eirēnopoios) is found only here in the New Testament. There is a similar expression in James 3:18, “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” ( make = poiéō and peace = eirēnē).

Are you a peacemaker? I’m not asking whether you have a deep peace. The virtue is not so much in knowing peace oneself, though that is a blessing from God. The blessing is in being able to help establish peace between others. And one can do it because one has learned to experience peace within oneself. [I once counselled a woman who was trying to be reconciled to her husband. However she was greatly distressed when someone she went to for help, poured out her own hatred of men. She certainly did not encourage the woman to seek for reconciliation.] You can’t dispense what you don’t have!  It’s as we come to experience the peace of God in our own hearts and minds, that we can help others in their search for peace. The privilege of being children of God is that we can experience the peace of God which is beyond all understanding, and can share it with others.

We need to note in these violent days that Jesus is not saying, “Blessed are the pacifists!” Nor is He saying, “Blessed are the peace-keepers.” No, it is the “peace-makers” who are blessed. They are to actively seek to establish and maintain peace.

On a personal note. My father together with thousands of other young Australians went to war for King and country to fight in the trenches in France in World War 1. They didn’t go because they were violent men. Nor did they go because they wanted to have an overseas adventure. No, they believed their wider families in Britain and Europe needed protection against an aggressive advancing nation and they went to “make peace” not through reasoning it out with the enemy (for that was too late) but by trying to halt the advancing armies who were intent on murder and destruction.

Not many like to think of a peace-maker as having to defend innocent people against an aggressor but unfortunately it is sometimes necessary. We in Australia should be eternally grateful to all those young people who came to help defend us against a Japanese invasion during World War 2. So many families in the USA lost beloved children who came to help us in Australia as “peace-makers” when no other way of making peace was possible. Peace was “made” but at such a great cost! No one loves war, but sometimes those who are able to do so may need to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

We need to vote for candidates who hate war but who recognise that sometimes it may be necessary to respond appropriately in conflict situations 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 other nations.

Australia and “outsiders” coming to our nation

On a very practical note about our desire for peace. It is important that we and our leaders recognise what those who have come out of Islam have warned us. That is that Islam means “submission” and not “peace”. It looks to establish Islamic law in every place and bring everyone under submission to Islam. We would err if we ignored those warnings and elected in our nations those who naively thought that it was a religion of peace. We would not want our elected representatives in Parliament to welcome into our country those who want to destroy us because they hold an extreme ideology.  Far too many world leaders have kept on saying that Islam is a religion of peace and that terrorism is not true Islam. However many present day Islamic leaders and those Islamic scholars who have left Islam publicly disagree with them and insist that terrorist acts and jihads are indeed true Islam. One would think that the Islamic leaders past and present might know a bit more about Islam than our western leaders.

It seems to me that Australians have a wonderful sense of fair-play and that they would welcome genuine refugees from any part of the world even if they came with absolutely nothing to offer in skills or possessions. Provided that they were willing to fit in with our culture and live by our values! I’m sure that many folk would only be too willing to help such people acquire skills and to eventually find employment. That certainly happened after the Second World War as thousands of migrants (DP’s I think we called them, Displaced persons) were warmly accepted into Australia. It has to be admitted that many of them had some exposure to Judeo-Christian values before they came. They valued the opportunity to live a new life in a new country with values similar to those countries from which they had come.  Assimilation and integration was their deep desire and so assimilation became a reality and not an impossible ideal.

What Australians are concerned about is not what people bring in their hands (they can come empty-handed). Rather they are concerned about what people bring in their heads as they come to our land. If they come to our lands having been brain-washed since birth to believe that all but themselves are dirty infidels worthy of nothing but death then that is a problem to be faced honestly and not ignored as part of a misplaced “tolerance” or so-called “compassion”.

How one discerns the thoughts and motivations of people is difficult indeed but our candidates for election would need to be those who were willing to face such problems and to seek the answers. Hopefully our candidates would not selfishly want to be seen by the community, or even by other nations, as “compassionate” caring people. It would be so easy for such people to seek to portray themselves as loving, tolerant, broad-minded and open hearted heroes (Nobel prize for peace contenders?) by opening wide the doors to our nation. However their unquestioning openness might in fact have exposed their fellow Australians to present and ever increasing danger through their naivety in allowing into our country those who would seek to harm us. For example Angela Merkel in Germany may have been recently seen as a hero for tolerance, mercy and generosity as she opened her country to a multitude of “unprocessed” refugees. (Time magazine “Person of the Year 2015” no less!) This was in spite of serious warnings that had been issued about jihadists who would enter Europe among genuine refugees. In spite too of the boasting of some Islamic leaders that this would be another form of jihad through migration. Not everyone in Europe would agree with what she has done. Nor would they necessarily see her as a hero. Tolerance in all its forms has to be tempered with reality not naivety.

Those whom we elect to parliament will have a very difficult task trying to work out how we may best help people in need without being naïve about the dangers. It is a task they must take extremely seriously and soon.

4).    Persecuted. Verse 10. “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  In these days of increasing “victim mentality” it has to be said that Jesus is speaking about the persecution of those who want to live for Him, by His values, and who are willing to take a stand for Him. He is not talking about the suffering we bring upon ourselves through inappropriate behaviour or speech. People may feel that they are victims when they lay themselves open to abuse and to criticism by their insensitivity in unnecessarily upsetting others. For example none of us wants to be shown up by those who have had more success in some areas, or who are coping better than we are. An easy way to cope with our own failures is to discredit those who are making a better job of it than we are.  In that way we try to divert the gaze of people from our shortcomings, to get them to look at the failures of others. But it is a principle of life, we reap what we sow! Sow criticism and you will reap criticism. Sow negativity and you will reap negativity. Sow hatred and you will reap hatred. Sow indifference and you will reap indifference.  So love and you will reap love (but not necessarily from those whom you set out to love.)

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.” Persecution is not something we seek in order to get blessing. Rather it is the inevitable outcome of trying to lead a life pleasing to God. 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.

Why do people persecute God’s people? Because they don’t really know Him or His laws, Psalm 119:150 “They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose; they are far from your law.” Saul of Tarsus thought he was persecuting Jesus’ followers. However he discovered in that encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus that it was actually Jesus whom he was persecuting, Acts 9:5.  He discovered that Jesus was alive and his life was changed by the grace of God. As he wrote of himself, 1Timothy 1:13  “though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief.” His unbelief had blinded him to reality. His encounter with the Risen Jesus, with reality,  transformed him so that he became an agent of mercy rather than the murderous person he had become before.He had become a “new creature” as he described such a change in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 

 How should those who are being persecuted respond to their persecutors? Jesus taught his followers, Mat 5:44 “ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” St Paul also gave instructions, Rom 12:14 “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.” AND 1Cor 4:12  “and we labour, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure.” No doubt many of the early Christians were praying for Saul of Tarsus the Persecutor perhaps not knowing that eventually their prayers would be answered and Saul the Persecutor would become Paul the Preacher! It is no use when we are being persecuted to see ourselves as the victims of ongoing inevitable onslaughts. We have the weapon of prayer that enables us to have victory in spite of persecution and our prayers may be used by God to change the hearts of our persecutors, as Paul’s heart was changed.

Suffering persecution is inevitable for believers but it may be a sign to people that we belong to Jesus. It’s worth it to suffer in this way for His name, because the end result is our ongoing acceptance with God, and an entrance into all the kingdom riches God has for us in Christ.

Which candidate would be willing to be persecuted for honouring God and for seeking to maintain the Judeo-Christian ethos of our nation? Even if it brought scorn from other members of parliament and from some members of the general public?

Summing Up

If our life is right with God, we will be empowered to live as we should live in our relationships with our fellow humans. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live with the “Beautiful Attitudes” of the people of God? How might we pray to be people who live like that? Perhaps a simple prayer is that we might pray to be filled with the Spirit of God.  Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:18, “(keep on being) be filled with the Spirit.”  He also wrote in Galatians 5:16, that if we live by the dictates of the Spirit, we will “not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”   (He spells out in Galatians 5:19-21, all the rotten characteristics of human nature apart from God, “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (That’s the world without God!)

But then Paul goes on to contrast that, with the beautiful fruit of the Spirit, the inevitable outcome of the life of Christ within us, if we allow the Spirit to fill us with Himself.)  So here are the qualities and characteristics of those whom we would want to elect to Parliament, Gal 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,  kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self- control.” As you compare this list of characteristics with the list of Beatitudes you can see a strong resemblance. Both lists depend on the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit to motivate and empower people to live and act in these ways.

God’s people enlightened and empowered by His Spirit to show forth those magnificent qualities. God’s people guided by His word and His Holy Spirit to make the decisions that will be beneficial for their own nation and for the other nations of the world. Indeed, modern day versions of William Wilberforce who helped change a world and free people from the evils of slavery.

Perhaps if we prayed as I suggested in a former article No.183 “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10, we might have more insight on the particular person we should elect to parliament. Not only that but as we keep praying that His kingdom may come and His will be done in that individual (and in the lives of all to be elected) then we might see changes for good in our nation that we might not have seen otherwise.

Blog No.185.   Jim Holbeck. Posted on Saturday 21st May 2016

Posted in Bible verses. Comments, Creation, Forgiveness, Healing, Politics, Prayer, Sexuality, Temptations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

184. The Coming Elections in 2016. For What Sort Of People Ought We To Vote? The Characteristics Seen In The Beatitudes In Matthew 5. (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

We could ask ourselves the question, “Who best represents the values (character and behaviour) that are important for our nations in these coming elections in Australia on 2nd  July and in the USA in November?” Depending on our backgrounds, we might come up with different answers. Many people would see some guidance in the teaching by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, speaks of the “Beatitudes”, (from a Latin word meaning “blessed” or “happy”.) Or as someone has said, the Beatitudes are the “Beautiful Attitudes” that should characterise all peoples especially the people belonging to God. They show us what humans should be like in their relationship to Him and to one another.

2 points to note.

  1. These qualities are meant to be the characteristics of all peoples. They express both our responsibility to live in a certain way, and our privileges and blessings as we do so as God’s creatures.
  2. They are relevant for all our relationships, our vertical relationship with God, and our horizontal relationships with our fellow humans. We could say that the first 4 refer to our relationship with God, and the second four, to our relationships with our fellow humans. (We focus in this article on the first four characteristics.)

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. ”   It isn’t saying that it is blessed to be poor. It may be true that God has a special concern for the poor  (for those who are the victims of the injustice from other people). It may be that many people in their poverty have cried out to God for His help and provision and been wonderfully blessed by Him. (Their poverty was the background in which they discovered the amazing grace of God to them). But that is not the main thrust of this passage. The real blessedness of this passage has to do with those who are poor in spirit.  Not just “poor”, but “poor in spirit.”

What does that mean? It means that they are not full of themselves, and that 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.”  Someone having a proud spirit may want to live independently of God’s grace wisdom and strength. However God pours out His grace, His mercy and His blessings on those who humble themselves before Him and are open to receive His wisdom.

When David sinned against God in his adultery with Bathsheba, he eventually repented and in humility cried out to God, “Create in me a pure heart  O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.”  He realised that his heart was not pure for he had been involved in deliberate sin and deceit, even planned murder. Neither was his heart steadfast for he had been a faithful servant of God but had later yielded to temptation and had brought disrepute on himself and the nation. He could later write from his own experience, Ps 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart O God, You will not despise.” God did restore him and used him in His purposes but it took David to acknowledge his sin and to cry out to God for help  for that change to come in David.  As it says in Proverbs 29:23, “A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honour.”

Those people who are full of themselves, arrogant and full of pride, feel they have no need for God. Unfortunately while they remain with that strong arrogant independent spirit God cannot use them. Why? Because they place themselves beyond His help and forfeit the wisdom He could have given them to live lives of purpose for themselves and for the benefit of the people they represent.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The resources of the kingdom, the gifts of God’s grace, are open to those who are open and humble enough to receive them. (James reminds us that sometimes we don’t get answers to our prayers because we ask from selfish motives. Selfishness is the opposite of kingdom living in which we focus on the needs of others, not our own. )

The candidates for whom we would wish to vote would be people who are characterised as being “poor in spirit” in the terms we have described above.

 2).  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. He mourned with the woman whose only son was being carried out for burial, and then brought him back to life. He mourned with Mary and Martha when their brother Lazarus died, and He wept.

But it’s much, much more than that. This is another stage in spiritual maturity and wholeness.  Blessed are those who are sensitive towards God, and who mourn for their sins, and the sins of others. Blessed are those who are grieved when people ignore God, and don’t obey Him.

This was the sort of mourning we see 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.”)

It’s sad that we often try to excuse the sins of some people thinking we should be tolerant. Jesus however grieves about the damage their continuing sin is bringing on them and on others. 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 were not only sympathetic towards fellow humans but who also were realistic. We would want them to see things not only from a human point of view but from God’s declared perspectives given to us in His eternal word.  They need to feel about the world as He feels about it, wanting to be agents of the changes that only He can bring.

3).  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.”  And in Mat 21:5   “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'”   It wasn’t very much later that this “meek” Jesus drove money changers out of the temple. If we want to be meek, we must become like Jesus. Meekness is power under control, like the breaking-in of a wild horse. It has lost none of its strength. Rather its strength is now harnessed and controllable for good purposes.

Meekness means being open to God to be taught by Him how to live as we should. The noun of this word is found in James 1:21, “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” The truly meek person, the truly humble person is willing to be changed by the power of God through obedience to His word.

Meekness means looking to God for wisdom. True wisdom is to be found in Him and in Him alone. So-called human “wisdom” lacks perspective for it is missing the deepest dimension of truth and reality, a God-consciousness. James writes about the paucity of human wisdom apart from God in James 3:13-18, “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”

One does not have to look far to see examples of such wisdom in the nations of the world.  It is “earthly” [epigeios = of the earth which is (gē)] in the sense it is limited in its understanding for it ignores the spiritual dimension of life. It is “unspiritual” [ psuchikos = from (psuchḗ = soul)] indicating that it is “soulish” wisdom or wisdom also lacking any spiritual dimension. But the final word is alarming. It is “demonic” [from (daimoniōdēs) meaning “demon-like”.] Though this word occurs only here in the New Testament, there is a similar expression in 1Timothy 4:1 “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” One of the signs of the end times will be the proliferation of false teachings which owe their origin not to God but to deceiving spirits. Deception is widespread in our world, not only in individuals but also very obviously in the leaders of nations who are making decisions which are not conducive for the welfare of those nations..

By contrast, true wisdom, the wisdom of God, has wonderful qualities. If such wisdom were sought, discovered and applied by the leaders of the nations of the world, the world would have much more peace and stability. The qualities are described in James 3:17, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 and a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace”.

It is quite amazing how just that one verse fits in with Jesus’ teaching in the Beatitudes with the mentions of peace, gentleness, mercy and righteousness.  That is even further emphasised when one sees that mention is made in this verse in James of those who “make peace” (in the Greek original poieō = make and eirēnē = peace)  while Jesus mentioned “peace-makers” in Mat 5:9  where the word is (eirēnopoios) which combines those 2 words. The words, “making peace” occur also in Ephesians 2:15 “by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace”  and in Colossians 1:20 “and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”

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 most closely conform to this quality of meekness? Could they, with God’s help? Would they be willing to ask Him for such help?

4). Hungering and thirsting for righteousness. Verse 6.  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied”. The noun “righteousness” and the adjective “righteous” each occur over 90 times in the New Testament. 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.”)

We can understand what righteousness means because God has shown us in His word in the gospel. Romans 1:17 “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” What God wants is for people to come to Him by faith in the gospel message about Him and then to live out the implications of that faith as they live (by faith) for Him. In theological terms they will have an “imputed righteousness” meaning that they are made right with God through faith in Jesus and His righteousness is imputed to them. But they also have an “imparted righteousness” imparted to them by the Holy Spirit to live holy lives according to the will of God. As Paul put it in Romans 8:4, Christ came and fulfilled the law “in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” It is the Spirit of God who enables us to do the will of God (what God wants), for only He can motivate and empower us to do so.  But it needs our total commitment to Him to be enabled to so.

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

We need to “keep on” with that hunger and thirst for what God wants in our lives and in the lives of others. As we become what God wants us to be, and to do what He wants us to do, we are inwardly satisfied and fulfilled in a way that nothing else satisfies. However it becomes addictive. We want more and more to obey Him, and more of His grace to be poured out on our lives.

Which candidate has that hunger and thirst for righteousness for themselves?  For their own nations?

A Quick Summary Regarding The Sort Of People We Should Be Voting For

They need to be “poor in spirit”. Not full of themselves but open to God’s influence in their lives and in their deliberations on what is needed for their nations.

They need to be “those who mourn.” Having God’s attitude to a sinful world and wanting to do something to bring about change for the good of the people with His help. .

They need to be “meek” (understood correctly). Humble before God but strong in seeking His best for their people.

They need to be those who “hunger and thirst after righteousness.” They need to be in a good relationship with God or be willing to enter into a close relationship with Him. They then need to live out the implications of that relationship as they  look to Him to give them the wisdom they need, to act for the welfare of the people they represent.

Feeling a little despondent as you look at such a list? Can’t think of many candidates who have all or even some of these qualities? Perhaps we may a bit more encouraged as we look at Part 2 on the remainder of the Beatitudes. Or ……?

We need to pray that God’s Kingdom may come and that His will might be done in and through and following the elections! And especially influencing us as we make our decisions regarding for whom to vote!

Blog No.184. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Tuesday 17th May 2016

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183. How To Pray When You Don’t Know How To Pray. The 2016 USA and Australian Elections

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

The contenders have taken their places. It seems to be a contest between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on one side of the Pacific and between Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten on the other side. Not everyone is content with the choices on either continent. It seems that people are even willing to not vote, or to vote informal or even to vote for the other party out of spite because they don’t like their own particular party leader.

I wish I knew the answer. But I did have some thoughts. God has sometimes used the most unlikely people to accomplish His purposes on earth. He is interested. He is more interested than we are. He can do more about the situation than we can. It’s worth getting onside with Him to see how we can make a difference.

 Cyrus and the Jews

There was a time when the Israelites languished in exile in Babylon far away from their home in Jerusalem and Judah. It seemed they would never return to their homeland. But God had a purpose to bring them home. It involved a man who was the most unlikely to be used to achieve such a purpose. It was Cyrus the king of Persia. Isaiah predicted what would happen through this servant of Yahweh. Isaiah records that Yahweh called Cyrus “my shepherd” and that he would make possible the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple, “He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfil all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.'”  Isa 44:28.

Yahweh also called Cyrus, His anointed.  In the Brenton translation of the Greek Septuagint, Isa 45:1 “Thus saith the Lord God to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, that nations might be obedient before him; and I will break through the strength of kings; I will open doors before him, and cities shall not be closed. 2 I will go before thee, and will level mountains: I will break to pieces brazen doors, and burst iron bars.” Here the words for “my anointed” are (χριστῷ μου or Christo mou) the same word used for Christ as the anointed one. God had “anointed” Cyrus for a special task in bringing His people back to their land. That is further indicated in verse 13 where Yahweh says, Isa 45:13 “I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways level; he shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward,” says the LORD of hosts.” In other words He would work in Cyrus to motivate him to work for the good of His people.

Saul of Tarsus the Persecutor became Paul the Preacher

When we are first introduced to Saul of Tarsus we find a nasty piece of work indeed. He is seen as “holding the coats” of those who stoned the saintly Stephen to death. Then the chilling words in Acts 8:1 “And Saul approved of his execution. “ The church was scattered but Paul did not give up. More chilling words in Acts 8:3  “But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”

Would time lessen his anger against the believers? Apparently not! We come to chapter 9 and Luke records of Saul, “But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” Not a very likely candidate to be a servant of the Lord.

But God has His purposes and sometimes He achieves them, as we have said above, through the most unlikely people. We read what happened as he travelled on the road to Damascus to arrest believers. Act 9:3 “Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

He knew then that Jesus was alive and that He was what He had claimed to be. He realised he had been blind spiritually but now had been blinded physically. He was brought into Damascus “where for three days he was without sight and neither ate nor drank.” 9:9. He may have wondered what would happen to him having persecuted the church of God. But God had a purpose for Saul. He used a disciple named Ananias to go to Saul and lay his hands upon him so that he might regain his sight. Ananias could not believe that he was to do that for the persecutor Saul.  But he did so when the Lord assured him that He had a purpose for Saul,  Act 9:15 “But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” Saul was healed and within a few days was proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues and proclaiming that He was the Son of God. By the grace of God the great persecutor of the church was to become the great preacher of the church. God knows what He is doing as He accomplishes His purposes.

God can make a difference!

How then can we pray so that He can make a difference in the elections in the USA and in Australia. Some people think the candidates on present indications could never be used by God if they were elected. However as we have seen above, God sees things differently to us. His vision is much broader and deeper. He knows what He wants to accomplish in the mightily blessed land of America. He knows what He wants to do in Australia the “Great Southland of the Holy Spirit.” We don’t know whether He wants to bless us abundantly so that we return to Him in adoration in praise and with grateful hearts. On the other hand we don’t know whether He is fed up with our sins and will use the elections to chastise us. Only He knows.

We may have in our minds what we would like Him to do. For most of us, we would  like to have elected the people who love Him and who are open to be led by His Spirit to bring God’s blessings to our nations. That may not seem possible at the moment. However 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.

Be part of God’s solution, not part of the problem

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. We need to be led and empowered by God’s Holy Spirit to be the people of God He wants us to be and to do the things He wants us to do. In the words of Philippians 2 we are to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling, for God is at work in us both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” 2:13-14. He gives us the willingness and the ability to do things that please Him. 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 knowing that He did amazing things through Cyrus the Persian King and through Saul the persecutor. Or He may do it through changing the circumstances which are under His control. He may do it through other most unlikely people who are not even on the horizon as yet. 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.” )

Blog No.183. Jim Holbeck. Posted Monday 9th May 2016

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182. The Prayer That Can Change The World. The Lord’s Prayer. “Yours Is The Kingdom And The Power And The Glory, Forever And Ever. AMEN” Matthew 6:13. (Study 9 of 9)

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

(NOTE:- This article may be downloaded in PDF format for individual or group study by clicking here. Study 9 of 9 on Lords Prayer

These are powerful words addressed to a powerful God. Though these words are not found in many of the earliest manuscripts they do fit in with the theme of the other words in the Lord’s Prayer. They are like a doxology focused on God expressing the fact that He is King of the universe, that He is the source of all dynamic power and that all glory resides in Him. We look at each phrase in this doxology.

1).        “YOURS IS THE KINGDOM”

In an earlier article (number 175) we looked at many of the things involved in the word “kingdom.” We saw that it means “God’s rule over people. It means submitting to Him. Letting Him dictate how we should live personally, in family life and as a society. It means, by His grace, living by His laws, obeying the two great commands to love God with all we are and to love one another as ourselves.”  So the words at the end of the Lord’s Prayer are a reminder to us that not only is He “King” but He must be acknowledged and worshipped as such. Praying “Yours is the kingdom” is a decision to place oneself under His kingly rule.

2).        “YOURS IS … THE POWER”  (Mat 6:13 in some versions)

Here the word for “power” is (dunamis) from which we get our English word “dynamite.” The word occurs more than 120 times in the New Testament. It is used generally in the New Testament in terms of strength and ability in addition to being used to describe the power of God. However it must be remembered that in the New Testament, God is seen as the Supreme One who controls all power whether it be according to His direct purposes or according to His permissive will.

Paul declared the same thing of the risen and exalted Jesus. He expressed it in Ephesians 1:19-22. However before we look into that you may need to have a bit of a break. Why? Because the next few sentences are so filled with power words that you will be exhausted by the time we finish looking at just these four verses! Chapters could be written on each one of the words.  (Just in case you feel squeamish at the thought of numerous power encounters with numerous power words in the next paragraph, I will give you a quick summary. “God Is The One And Only Boss Of Everything And Everyone, For Ever!)

Power words in Ephesians 1:19-22. (For those who desire the power of God in their lives!) Now for the foolhardy, sorry I meant Bravehearts! Here the power words are shown with the transliterated Greek words following in the brackets. (And where applicable some English derivatives are shown as well.)

In Eph 1:19-22 Paul wrote that he prayed that his readers might know

“what is the immeasurable (Gk = huperballo) [English, think of hyperbole.]

greatness (Gk = megathos) [English think of megathon]

of his power (Gk – dunamis) toward us who believe, according to [English, think of dynamite]

the working (Gk =energia) of his great might (Note: It really is might Gk =kratos) of his strength (Gk = ischus)  [English, think energy for “energia” and for “kratos” think of the “cracy” in theo-cracy and demo-cracy.

20 that he worked (Gk = energeo) in Christ

when he raised (Gk = egeiro) him from the dead

and seated (Gk = kathizo) him at his right hand in the heavenly places, [English, think of Cathedral where the bishop is seated with authority!]

21 far above all rule (Gk = arche) [English, think “monarchy” the rule of one person or “oligarchy” the rule of a few. Or the opposite which is “an-archy” meaning no rule]

and authority (Gk = exousia)

and power (Gk = dunamis)

and dominion (Gk = kuriotestos)

and above [Gk huperano = above in rank or power. Also in Eph 4:10, “He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.”]

every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

22 And he put (Gk = hupotasso= subjected) all things under his feet

and gave him as head (Gk = kephale) over all things to the church.” [English, think of “encephalitis”, from (en) “in” and (kephale) meaning “head.” He is the Lord, boss, master, ruler of the church.]

In Other Words, God Is The Only Supreme Ruler For Ever. He Has The Power To Do As He Wills.

 3).        “YOURS IS …..   THE GLORY”

The glory belongs to Him! But what is glory? It is the Greek word “doxa”. Seeing there are 274 occurrences of the word in the Greek LXX Septuagint version of the Old Testament and 168 occurrences in the Greek New Testament, we find many varieties in the meaning.

It helps us to understand that the root of the word is the verb (dokeo) meaning to think, consider, view, appear. The word (doxa) “glory” then can refer to opinions and to praise and honour. It can also refer to light and perfection. A contrast is made between the imperfections of the glory of man and the perfections of the glory of God. For example in John 5:44, “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” Praise from fellow humans is not the same as praise from God. That is seen in John 12:42 “Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.”

 Jesus came from glory with His Father and would be returning to glory with Him. He prayed to His Heavenly Father, Joh 17:4 “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” He wanted His disciples to be with Him in glory, John 17:24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”

 Believers can be transformed by the Spirit in this life as they focus on the Lord in praise and adoration, 2 Cor 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” They may suffer in life because of their commitment to Christ but God is pleased to work within them to prepare them in this life for glory, 1 Peter 4:13 “But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”

 The sense of appearance is seen in the glory to be associated with the second coming of Jesus. He is to appear in glory, Mat 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne (literally “on a throne of His glory”). He takes His people to be with Him in glory, 1Peter 5:4, “And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” AND Col 3:4, “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

 Believers are being glorified in this life and will be glorified further when Jesus comes. At His first coming He came to die for sinners. At His second coming He will bring them with Him into glory, Heb 2:10 “For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.” They will abide with Him in glory.

 The Lord’s Prayer. A Summary

When you put together all the different phrases in the Lord’s Prayer you can see why Jesus taught it to His disciples so that they might know how to pray. It forms a wonderful pattern for prayer.

It begins with a positive confident approach to a loving Heavenly Father.  “Our Father in heaven”

It seeks to give God His rightful place in our lives. “Hallowed be Your name.”

It desires that God establish His rule in the hearts of everyone. “Your kingdom come.”

It expresses submission to do the will of God. “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

It humbly asks for provisions from the One who has promised to provide. “Give us today our daily bread.”

It acknowledges that we can only come to God because of His saving grace. “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us.”

It expresses a realisation that there are temptations galore around us and so we ask God to lead us so that we do not enter into situations He knows would be beyond our maturity to deal with. “Lead us not into temptation.”

It asks the Lord to deliver us from any hold that evil or the evil one might have over us. “Deliver us from evil.”

It concludes with praise to God for His love, mercy, glory and grace as we express our adoration and praise to God our Heavenly Father as we affirm, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory. For ever and ever.  AMEN”

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER by individuals and groups. (Added on Sun 3rd July 2016)

Question 1. What does it mean that God is king?How does that fact manifest in today’s world?

Question 2.   In section 2 there are many descriptions of God’s power.Which descriptions mean more to you than the others?

Question 3.   In 2 Cor 3:18 we read that we “… are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” What do you think is our part in the transformation process?

Question 4. How could you describe “glory” in just one sentence?When Jesus returns what sort of glory you think that we will see at that time?

Blog No. 182. Jim Holbeck. Posted Monday 02 May 2016. (Revisited Sun 3rd  July 2016). 

 

 

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Forgiveness, GROUP DISCUSSION MATERIAL on "The Lord's Prayer", Prayer, Salvation, Temptations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

181. The Prayer That Can Change The World. The Lord’s Prayer. “Deliver us from evil.” Matthew 6:13. (Study 8 of 9)

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

(Note:-If you wish to download this article in PDF format, click here Study 8 of 9 on the Lords Prayer Based on Blog 181)

There are many believers throughout the world who believe we are seeing an unprecedented level of evil in our world today. It is obviously manifest in the rise of Islamic terrorism which many believe is demonically inspired. But there is also a diminishing level of respect for those who deserve respect. Because of the expanding and readily available forms of media there is a greater exposure to evil than ever before. Temptations in many forms are rife in our communities. Praying the Lord’s Prayer and especially this phrase “deliver us from evil” can be of supreme importance in trying to live a godly life in an ungodly world.

 What does it mean to “deliver us from evil?” The word for “deliver” is from the Greek word “rhuomai”. We see it used in this verse in the Lord’s Prayer in Mat 6:13 ( αλλα = but, ρυσαι = deliver, ημας = us,  απο = from, του =the, πονηρου= evil). The phrase is a prayer asking God to deliver us from evil. However the phrase has the definite article “the” before the word “evil”. It can mean that we are asking God to deliver us from evil in general and specifically to deliver us from the temptations of the evil one, meaning Satan or the Devil.

A).   The first phrase. “DELIVER US …”

We see the use of “rescue” or “deliver” in the following ways in the New Testament.

  • To rescue the righteous and the godly from temptation and evil. Seen in the Lord’s Prayer in Mat 6.13 and in 2 Peter 2:7-9 “and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.”
  • It can mean to deliver or rescue people from those who would do them harm. For example:-
  • Rescue from enemies.  eg., in the prophecy of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, Luke 1:74 “that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear.”  Rescue from evil men. Paul wrote in 2 Thess 3:2 “that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men.”
  • Rescue from unbelievers. Rom 15:31, “that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea.”
  • Rescue from persecution. 2 Timothy 3:10  “You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11  my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.”
  • Rescue from the threat of death. 2 Timothy 4:17-18, “But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.” 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen”
  • “Rescue” is used mockingly of Jesus on the cross. Mat_27:43 “He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.'”
  • Rescue from a personal enemy. From the body of death. Rom 7:24 “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
  • Jesus was called “the Deliverer.” Rom 11:26  “And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
  • Rescue from difficult situations. 2 Cor 1:10, “He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.”
  • Rescue from the domain of darkness. Col 1:13 “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.”
  • Rescue from the wrath to come at the Second Coming of Jesus. 1Thess 1:10 “and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”

B).   The second phrase “FROM EVIL”. As we noted above, “evil” is from the Greek word “πονηρός” [ponērós]. The expression [ton ponāron = “the evil” or “the evil one”] is used in the New Testament as follows.

  1. Of Satan as the evil one [ton ponāron].
  • The evil one may tempt people to add to the truth so that it becomes a lie. Eg., in Matthew 5:37 “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything  beyond this comes from the evil one.”
  • Possibly Mat 6:13 “deliver us from the evil one” though it may also refer to evil in general. .
  • The evil one attempts to stop the word of God from taking root in human hearts. Mat 13:19, “the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart”.
  • Those belonging to the evil one may be found among the righteous. Mat 13:38, “the weeds are the sons of the evil one.”
  • Jesus prayed to His Father to protect His followers from the evil one. John 17:15, “that you should protect them from the evil one”.
  • The evil one as “diabolos” (the accuser) launches missiles of accusation against God’s people. Eph 6:16 “the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
  • St Paul affirmed that God will strengthen believers and guard them from evil. 2 Thess 3:3 “the Lord will protect you from the evil one.”
  • St John affirmed that the young men had learned to overcome the evil one. 1 John 2:13, 2:14 “you have overcome the evil one.”
  • St John recognised that Cain, who murdered his brother Abel, belonged to the evil one. 1 Jn 3:12 “Cain who belonged to the evil one.”
  • St John wrote that the evil one does not touch those who are born of God. 1 Jn 5:18, “He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him”.
  • St John recognised that the whole unbelieving world lay in the power of the evil one. 1 Jn 5:19 “the whole world is in the power of the evil one.”

2.  Human beings were described by Jesus as being “evil” in the sense they have a human nature which has a bias towards evil.

  • God’s provision is poured out on the righteous (the good) and the unrighteous (the evil) in His sight. Mat 5:45, “He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good.”
  • Humans with a bias towards evil can do things that appear to be good. Mat 7:11, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children”. But how much greater is the provision of the good Heavenly Father, “how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
  • Evil outward expressions come from evil within humans. Mat 12:34-35. “How can you speak good when you are evil for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 the good man out of his good treasure brings forth good and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.” AND Luke 6:45, the evil man out of his evil treasure produces evil”.
  • Outward sins derive from a sin nature within. Mat 15:19-20, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person….”

3.  Evil (in thought , word or deed)

  • Jesus knew when people had evil thoughts. Mat 9:4 “Jesus knowing their thoughts said ‘Why do you think evil in your hearts’?”
  • John the Baptist reproved Herod for committing evil. Luke 3:19, “for all the evil things Herod had done.”
  • St John described in Jn 3:19-20 how men loved darkness because of the evil in their lives, “men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”
  • Jesus taught what would happen to evil people at the resurrection, John 5:29, “those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgement.”
  • Jesus taught that the world hated Him because he testified of it that “its works are evil.” Jn 7:7

4. Evil spirits

Jesus gave His disciples authority over evil spirits. Eph 6:12  “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

Thus they would be enabled to have victory in the evil day, “Therefore take up the whole armour of God,  that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” Eph 6:13.

Summing up we can say this. To pray “deliver us from the evil one” is good preventative medicine because it invites God’s protection over us as the only One Who can enable us to recognise and overcome temptation in all its forms. As we pray the prayer we can become more aware of the evil around us and more sensitive to the Holy Spirit who allows us to discern what is evil in our situations.

Likewise it is good curative medicine to pray the prayer to God over ourselves and our loved ones so that they and we might indeed be set free from any evil influences to which we may have succumbed. God knows what those influences are.  He also knows how to set people free from evil in all its forms.

Few people have any great understanding as to the horrific nature of evil and how repugnant it is in the sight of God. If they did they would be much more inclined to cry out to God for deliverance from evil.  One person who did come to recognise the awfulness of sin was Leon Jaworski, the Chief Prosecutor at the Nuremburg Nazi War Crimes Trials.  He commented “As we cannot envision the heights we can reach by placing ourselves in the hands of God, neither can we imagine the depths to which we can sink without Him.” The evidence before him demanded such a description of the evil that humans do to each other when they do not depend on God. (Quoted by John White in ” Changing on the Inside” page 61).

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER by individuals or groups. (Added Sat 2nd July 2016)

Question 1.  When we pray “deliver us from evil” we are admitting that evil does exist. What forms of evil do you think we can see in the world today?

Question 2.  In Section A we see the words “deliver” or “rescue” used with regard to a whole range of personal human situations. Can you relate to some of them in your own personal walk in life? Would you be willing to share which ones they might be?

Question 3.  Jesus obviously believed in the existence of the Devil or Satan. Why do you think some people today find it difficult to believe there is a Devil? How would you try to convince them otherwise?

Question 4.  Some people rebel at the thought of being labelled as “sinners” when they see themselves as “nice people” who “try not to hurt others” If you were asked to do so, how would you try to explain to them how the words in Section B might apply to them?

Question 5.  Do you think that  Leon Jaworski, the Chief Prosecutor at the Nuremburg Nazi War Crimes Trials (who is quoted at the end of the article above) went too far in describing  the evil (as he saw it) in human hearts?  Why or why not do you think so?

Blog No.181.  Jim Holbeck. Posted on Monday 25th April 2016 (Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand, a day when we remember especially those who laid down their lives in seeking to protect innocent people from the evils done (and attempting to be done) by war mongering individuals and nations). Revisited on Sat 2nd July 2016

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Forgiveness, GROUP DISCUSSION MATERIAL on "The Lord's Prayer", Healing, Prayer, Temptations, TOPICS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

180. The Prayer That Can Change The World. The Lord’s Prayer. “Lead Us Not Into Temptation.” Matthew 6:13. (Study 7 of 9)

Posted on April 17, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

(NOTE: A PDF file of this blog can be downloaded by clicking here. 180. The Prayer That Can Change The World. The Lord’s Prayer. “Lead Us Not Into Temptation.” Matthew 6_13

“Lead us not into temptation.” The wording is the same in the original Greek New Testament versions of both Matthew’s (6:13) and Luke’s (Lk 11:4) gospels, namely “not” (μη),  “lead” (εισενεγκης),  “us” ( ημας),  “into” (εις),  “temptation” (πειρασμον).

.However a recent translation such as the New Revised Standard Version has these words, “And do not bring us to the time of trial”. Other translations have “save us from the time of trial.” Though the words may differ the concept is very much the same in each translation.  “Bring us not to” may mean the same as “save us from”. What then are we actually praying when we pray this part of the Lord’s Prayer?

“Lead”. It may help us to look a little more closely at the actual words. “Lead” is from a Greek word (eisphero) which means to bring, bear or carry. (We get some idea of this in the name Christopher where it means “bearer of Christ.”) But there is no concept of God deliberately leading His people into temptation. Rather the prayer is a request to God that He work in such a way that His people do not walk into situations which He knows would be too tempting for them to deal with successfully.

“Temptation”. The other word in this short phrase is “temptation”. It can also be translated as “trials”. It is the Greek word (peirasmos) meaning both “trials” and “temptations” while the verb is translated as “tempt” or “test”.  The different meaning depends on the origin of the trial or temptation. Simply put, Satan or the Devil or the Tempter is the one who tempts. God is the One who tests. We will see how this works out in the New Testament.

IT IS THE DEVIL WHO TEMPTS HUMANS

The devil tempted Jesus as a human. The temptation narrative is first described in a general sense. Mat 4:1 “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted (peirazō = to tempt) by the devil. It is interesting to note that the “led” (anagō) is a different word to that in the Lord’s Prayer. It means literally “to lead up.” The Spirit led or guided Him into the wilderness. In Mark’s account it is a much stronger word for the Spirit’s work. It is (ekballo) meaning to “throw” or “cast forth”.  Mar 1:12 “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.” Jesus was full  of the Spirit as He began His ministry and the temptations were a God-permitted opportunity for Him to register His defeat over Satan’s temptations at the very beginning of that ministry. The Spirit motivated and empowered Jesus to defeat Satan on his own “home-turf” as it were.

After that general introduction to the temptations they now are described specifically.

1). The first temptation to Jesus was to satisfy a legitimate need (human hunger) in an illegitimate manner.  Mat 4:2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter (Here it is the verb peirazō= the one tempting) came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” There was nothing wrong with Jesus satisfying His hunger by eating food. But the devil was tempting Jesus to use His power in an inappropriate way (to do a miracle at the behest of the Devil, and not acting according to the will of His Heavenly Father.)

Jesus’ answer showed that He recognised that the temptation was a temptation to act independently of God. He committed Himself to live by the revealed will of God in His word, Mat 4:4 ‘But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”

 The Devil acts on the same principle in tempting humans today. Every human has legitimate needs. Sometimes the needs are crying out to be met. However the needs must be met in legitimate ways, in God’s ways. We read that Jesus didn’t put Himself into a compromising situation. He was responding to the leading of the Holy Spirit. He relied on the Holy Spirit to enable him to recognise the source of temptation and the means by which He was to overcome it. Humans, where they find themselves in tempting situations, must ask themselves whether the Lord has led them into that situation or whether they have compromised their faith in some way or other. They have to be honest in recognising that sometimes they are the ones who have placed themselves in difficult circumstances. When the devil tempts, his ultimate aim is to destroy the person. When God allows trials, his ultimate aim is to strengthen the person.

 2). The second temptation for Jesus was to test the faithfulness of God in caring for Him. If Jesus was going to live by the authority of the Word of God then the Devil would deceitfully quote that authority as part of his temptation. Mat 4:5 “Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'”

Jesus recognised the strategy of the Devil in quoting scripture to Him.  He saw it as a temptation to put God to the test. It was to force God’s hand. Jesus would not do that as He replied, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'” 4:7.

 If Jesus had thrown himself down from the pinnacle it would have been an act of presumption on His part. God’s care is always there for those who are walking according to His way and in His will. The devil tempts humans today to act independently of God sometimes as a means of trying to force God’s hand. Sometimes the dividing line between assurance and arrogance is difficult to see. Arrogance leads us to attempt to do what we want to do rather than the will of God. Assurance means that we are looking to the Lord for His guidance, overruling and protection as we seek to obey His well and not our own.

3).  The third temptation was to obtain power by submitting to the Devil and receiving power through him, Mat 4:8  Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”  For Jesus to have done that would have been an act of idolatry. He indicated that in His reply, Mat 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'” For Jesus commitment to God and to the will of God was central to His life.

 Jesus had won the victory over Satan by living according to the will of God revealed in His word. The devil had met his match. Mat 4:11  “Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.”

 There are many people in our world who feel powerless or at least lacking in power to change their circumstances. Sometimes they seek power in attempting to have secret knowledge. They may seek this knowledge through delving into eastern religions or by dabbling in the occult. In these ways they may be led into deception. Others seek power through intimidation, harassment and bullying. It is a means of trying to build oneself up by knocking down or destroying other people. As such it is not of God.

There is a place for humans to seek for power. However it should be in submitting to God in every way so that He can empower them to be the people of God He wants to be and do the things He wants them to do. The powerful person then is the person who humbles himself or herself before the mighty hand of God. Only then can He exalt them to fulfil His purposes. As Peter wrote,  1Peter 5:5  “…  Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.”

The common factor in Jesus’ victory over these temptations was His dependence upon the word of God in Scripture. That is where the victory is to be found for every human in every generation, 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

QUESTIONS for consideration by individuals or groups. (Added Sat 2nd July 2016)

Question 1. Do you think it is a sign of a luke-warm faith on their part when people feel strong temptations? Why or why not?

Question 2. As you look at the account of the first temptation, can you see any way in which humans today are tempted in similar ways? What are some of the ways in which people are tempted in today’s world?

Question 3. In the second temptation Satan tried to tempt Jesus by misquoting the Scriptures by which He was living and obeying. Have you ever had any experiences in which the Devil or a fellow human tried to deceive you by misquoting some part of the Bible? How did you recognise it as deceit and how did you overcome it?

Question 4.  We are often tempted to compromise ourselves or our ideals. In what ways do those various temptations to compromise come? How can we overcome the temptation to compromise?

Question 5. In what ways would you seek to help someone who felt helpless or powerless in their situation in life? What dangers would you need to avoid in doing so?

Blog No. 180. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Sunday, 17 April 2016. (Revisited Sat 2nd July 2016)

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179. Sermon on John Chapter 21. St Peter. Moving From Failure to Fruitfulness

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

The sermon is printed below and can be heard by clicking on the following link.  (But you need to be warned that there is a uniqueness about the recording. It records an 80 year old voice competing with an 80 year old [trying to dominate] echo in a 188 year old convict built church on the east coast of Australia. Extremely rare if not unique!)

Can you remember how good it felt last Sunday morning at the end of Daylight Saving in New South Wales? You religiously got up at 3 am to put all your clocks back to 2 am. The hands of every analogue clock! Figuring out how to reset every digital watch! But it was so good to get an extra hour of sleep.

But have you ever thought how wonderful it would be, to be able to turn back the clock 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 years? To be able to have a fresh start. To be able to make the right choices instead of the wrong choices. To be able to make the right friends instead of the wrong friends. To be able to plan your life instead of just drifting along?

Well let me tell you the good news and the bad news. The bad news is that you can’t turn back the clock like that. You and I have to live with the consequences of what we said and did over all those years. However the good news is that the Lord can deal with all the things in the past. He can turn our previous past failures into today’s and tomorrow’s successes and victories.

We can experience this as we allow the Lord to come into every area of our lives to deal with all the things in our past. To remove the junk and the gunk that has accumulated over the years. To heal the memories of all our hurts, pains and disappointments. To remove the guilt and shame stemming from our sins and failures

As we allow Him full access into our lives He can help us move from Failure to increasing Fruitfulness, From Defeat to Success. He can set us free from bondage to things and places and people so that we can experience true freedom for perhaps the first time in our lives.

We see that happening in the life of St Peter in John’s Gospel chapters 18 and 21. We can see how Peter would always remember the scenes of two different charcoal fires. One represented utter failure. The other represented new opportunities and resounding victory.

1). FIRST SCENE. Of Failure. Took Place Around A Charcoal Fire In The Court Of The High Priest. John 18:15-27

The Last Supper had taken place.  Jesus had then taken His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane. There Jesus had prayed, “Father let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless not my will but yours be done!” He was committing Himself to do the will of God. Soon after Judas came to betray Him. He was taken to be tried at the Court of the High Priest. Peter had been able to get into the court as well. We read what happened in John 18:17ff as he was warming himself around a charcoal fire standing with soldiers and servants.

 i). The FIRST DENIAL around a charcoal fire. (Before a servant girl). The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” Jn 18:17. (It was a question expecting the answer ‘No’). Would he say, “Yes I am His disciple!” or would he deny Jesus as Jesus had warned him? It was only a servant girl. Someone with no authority at all. His reply rang out, “I am not.” His first denial came as he stood around a charcoal fire.

 ii).The SECOND DENIAL around a charcoal fire. (Before a group of soldiers and servants.) 18:25ff. So they said to him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?”  (This was a question expecting the negative answer ‘No’). These people had authority. They could do him harm. His reply rang out once again, “I am not.” Twice he had been asked to affirm his loyalty to Jesus. Twice he failed as he stood around a charcoal fire. 

But now came another challenge. From an eye-witness to what had happened in the Garden. We read what happened.

iii). The THIRD DENIAL around a charcoal fire. (Before an eye-witness.) John 18:26 “One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?”  (This was a question expecting the answer ‘Yes’.) There was no escape for Peter. He had been seen with Jesus. What would he say? Would he affirm his love for Jesus or would he deny Him? Would he be loyal or disloyal? John records what happened, Joh 18:27 “Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.”(As Jesus had prophesied that Peter would.)

3 denials. 3 failures while standing around a charcoal fire. How could Peter ever be forgiven? Would he ever now lead the disciples when he had denied Jesus? Was his life as a disciple now over? Had he missed out on what could have been if he had only remained faithful to Jesus?

BUT the GOOD NEWS is this. God does something about losers and those who fail to live as He wanted them to live. He forgives them as they confess their failures. He restores them as they receive forgiveness in Jesus.  He equips them by His Spirit to serve Him. He uses them in His purposes as they become available to Him.

2). SECOND SCENE. Took Place Around A Charcoal Fire On The Shore Of The Sea Of Tiberias. Meeting the Resurrected Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias. Jn 21:1-17

Peter the Failure. Peter may have seen himself as a loser. He had failed Jesus. He had denied Him just as Jesus said He would. He was still a failure at the beginning of John 21.

What do losers do when they are confronted with their own weaknesses? They do something they know they are good at, in an attempt to gain some sense of self-worth; some sense of significance; so they don’t feel such failures as people.

What made Peter feel significant? He was a fisherman. So he told the other disciples, “I am going fishing.” That was something he could do well. They went with him. (They too had failed Jesus). But yet another failure. These professional fishermen fished all night and caught nothing. You can imagine how despondent they felt. No Jesus. Not even any fish. Failure. Failure. Failure. (A bit like our lives sometimes. Chaos. Failure all around us.)

BUT SOMETHING HAPPENED that was to turn Peter’s life right around. Something he hadn’t really expected.

At dawn they heard a voice calling out from the shore, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”  (This question expected a ‘No’ for an answer. They answered him, “No.” John 21:5. The voice said, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.

It was John the beloved disciple who recognised the voice. He told Peter, “It is the Lord!” Impetuous Peter threw himself into the sea and the other disciples came in the boat dragging the net full of fish. John 21:8.

Once on the shore they saw a charcoal fire with fish and bread laid out on it. When Jesus asked them to bring some of the fish they had caught, it was Peter who responded quickly. John records that he went aboard and hauled the net to shore. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” He gave the fish and the bread to them.

 The Peter who had been humbled by his failures was now to be exalted. Jesus singled out Peter and asked him 3 questions.

“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” (Peter had once boasted that he would remain faithful even if everyone else failed Jesus. Now severely chastened by the events of the past few days he was not willing to boast about being more faithful or having more love than the other disciples. He replied simply, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” Jesus was recommissioning Peter.

But there followed another question by Jesus. Jesus said to Peter a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter replied, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” Another statement of recommissioning.

 The third question from Jesus “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” brought deep grief to Peter. Why grieved? 3 times around a charcoal fire Peter had denied Jesus before His crucifixion. Now 3 times around a charcoal fire the Risen Jesus was asking Peter if he loved Him.  Peter responded, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

 Peter had learned the lesson of humility. He was now fit to lead the disciples. He had thrice affirmed his love for Jesus. And thrice he had been recommissioned. Peter did become a leader of the church. He did strengthen his fellow disciples. He did go on to fulfil God’s will for Him as he served Christ

But how about you and me? Do we ever feel as though we have failed in life? Perhaps looking back we realise that we did not honour our parents as we should have done. We realise that in many ways we failed our spouse or a family or our friends. We failed to be the person we could have been. We failed to do the things we could have done.

The story of Peter reminds us that God takes the abject failures of life. Those who have never reached their full potential in life. Those who feel they have failed to make the contribution they would have liked to have made in life. Those who feel they have failed their families and friends. Those who feel they have failed the Lord by not loving Him or serving Him.

AND He can forgive them of all their failures and sins. And He can cleanse them of sin and guilt, And He can empower them to BE what He wants them to be. And He can empower them to DO what God wants them to do. As Paul wrote in Philippians 2:12-13, we are to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling” knowing this fact that as we make ourselves available to God, He is able to work within us making us willing and able to do what pleases Him. But it needs that total commitment to Him in love.

 Jesus as the Risen One says to each and every one of us this morning in this service.

  1. “Jim (or your name) do you love me more than these?” My reply (and your reply) should be “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus says to us, “Fulfil My purpose for you.”
  2. “Jim, do you love me?” My answer (and your answer) should be “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus says to us, “Fulfil My purpose for you.”
  3. “Jim, do you love me?” My reply (and your reply) should be, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus says to us, “”Fulfil My purpose for you.”

We can move from FAILURE to a greater FRUITFULNESS as we commit ourselves afresh to Jesus and allow Him to forgive us, to cleanse us and to empower us to live for Him.

Why not do that as we sing our next song which has the words

V1. The greatest thing in all my life is knowing You.

V2. The greatest thing in all my life is loving You.

V3. The greatest thing in all my life is serving You.

We can turn the song into a prayer as we sing these words in each verse

The greatest thing in all my life is knowing You.

I want to know You more. I want to know You more.

The greatest thing in all my life is loving You.

I want to love You more. I want to love You more.

The greatest thing in all my life is serving You.

I want to serve You more. I want to serve You more.

As we make these words our prayer this morning God will take our prayers seriously. He will begin the process of turning our lives around by healing what He knows needs to be healed in our lives and by guiding us by His Spirit and by empowering us to live for Him, to His glory and not ours!

Blog No.179. Jim Holbeck.  Posted on Sunday 10th April 2016

 

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178. The Prayer That Can Change The World. The Lord’s Prayer. “Forgive Us Our Sins.” Matthew 6:12. (Study 6 of 9)

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

“Why did they change the Lord’s Prayer?” That is a question often asked today. In past decades people learnt the prayer using these words from the Book of Common Prayer, “And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us.” In later versions “trespasses” was changed to “sin” and “trespass” to “sin”. More recently they may have heard the prayer in words like these, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” The reason is that there are 2 versions of the Lord’s Prayer in the Bible.  One is in Matthew 6:12 (NIV),  “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” The other is in Luke 11:4 (NIV)  “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.” However it is good to realise that they have virtually the same meaning as we shall see.

It is obvious that everyone needs to ask forgiveness from God because no one apart from Jesus has perfectly obeyed the 2 Great Commandments Jesus gave His disciples, Mat 22:37, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” We have failed in our duty towards Him and towards one another in not loving as we should. No one has loved God with every fibre of their being for every moment of their lives. Nor has anyone put others above themselves for every moment of their lives either. We have all broken the two Great Commandments. We all need forgiveness.

The Meaning In Matthew’s Version. Mat 6:12. “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” The word used twice in this verse for “forgive” is (aphiēmi). It means to let go, pardon, loose and remit as well as forgive. In this prayer we are asking God to forgive us the debts we owe to Him. But we qualify that by adding “as we have forgiven our debtors.” This past tense of the verb (have forgiven) is found in some texts but in many other manuscripts the verb is in the present tense (forgive), that is, “as we also are forgiving”. Both imply that it is necessary to forgive others if we are going to ask God to forgive us.

The word “debt” is (opheilēma) which can mean something owed or an obligation.  It can also refer to something done to another that requires repayment in some way. “Debtors” (opheiletēs)  is from the same root, and refers to those who for some reason owe a debt to another person.  When we sin in some way against another person it is as though we have taken something from them. [See NOTE 1 below]

What we are doing when we pray these words is asking God to forgive us or to set us free of the guilt of our words and actions against Him and against others. But Jesus seemed to indicate that we can only do so when we have already forgiven (or are willing to forgive) those who owe us by sinning against us.) If we ask for His mercy we must be willing to extend mercy to others.

 The Meaning In Luke’s Version. Luke 11:4.  In Luke the same word is used for “forgive” but a different word is used instead of “debts”. It is “hamartia” which can mean missing the mark or failing to obtain a perfect score.  Luke 11:4 “and forgive us our sins (Greek. hamartia), for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted (Gk. opheilō) to us.” [See NOTE 2 below]

Forgiveness involves forgiving or cancelling the debts people owe us.  This is seen in the Parable of the Unmerciful servant, Mat 18:27 “The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go.”

In simple terms humans sin against one another in the sight of God and they need to confess it before Him and to ask for His forgiveness. Not only that but they also need to confess to God that they have forgiven those who sinned against them as well.

Some Questions And Answers Concerning Forgiveness. (Please note that questions for consideration by individuals and groups is found at the end of this article.)

First Question.  Does it mean that if someone prays the Lord’s Prayer they are automatically forgiven?

Answer.  Not necessarily. We need to remember a number of truths.

i). The prayer is the family prayer for all believers, all who have put their trust in Christ for salvation. We can only truly pray “Our Father” when we have come into His family as His adopted children through faith in Jesus. [See NOTE 3 below]

Salvation and acceptance into the family of God is to be found in Christ alone, Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

 ii). The ground for God’s forgiveness is not based on the fact that we asked for forgiveness. It is based on the shed blood of Jesus who gave Himself to redeem people from sin. But that forgiveness is only to be found in Him and in Him alone, Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” and in Colossians 1:14 “in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” When we receive Him into our lives as Saviour and Lord we receive, in Him, forgiveness for all our sins. As Peter declared in Acts 10:43 “To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

 iii). Praying for God to forgive us our sins is not the ground of our forgiveness. Rather it is the means by which we appropriate the forgiveness God offers us in Christ and we receive in Him. That is why the preaching in the early church focussed on Jesus as the only One who could save from sin and the only One who could bring forgiveness through His death and resurrection. Peter preached on the day of Pentecost that his hearers should repent of their sins and become committed to Christ in order to receive forgiveness, Acts 2:38 “And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” He also preached later on that those who did believe in Jesus would receive forgiveness, Acts 10:43 “To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Second Question. Well, how does a person make sure that they are forgiven?

Answer. By receiving forgiveness in the only place it is to be found, in Christ. Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:3 that God has blessed us in the heavenly realms in Christ with every spiritual blessing in Him. And as verse 7 reminds us, it is in Him that we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Third Question. Does the believer then need to pray that part of the Lord’s Prayer if they already have forgiveness in Christ?

Answer. Yes, the prayer is meant to be prayed in full because it reminds us that we need to remain open to God so that we walk in true righteousness before Him.  As we have seen above there is no one who can ever claim to have perfectly obeyed the 2 Great Commandments given by Jesus. It would be a deceived person who claimed that they no longer sin. It only takes a modicum of common sense to realise that everyone is guilty of breaches of love towards God or others. It is true as John wrote in 1John 1:8  “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” [See NOTE 4 below].

So every time we pray “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us” we are coming before God allowing Him to show us how we have transgressed against Him and against other people, especially where we have not loved as we should have. We also allow Him to show us those people who have sinned against us so that we can recognise their sin and forgive them in His presence. Then we can confess all these things before Him to experience His forgiveness and His cleansing.

It can be seen then that these words “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us” are not just throw-away lines in the midst of a nice prayer. Rather they are an opening of our hearts to God in a loving full and total commitment to Him so that we might not continue to sin in the ways He has shown us. It means that we are doing serious business with God, wanting to walk in the light and not wanting to be influenced by the deception that we can no longer sin.  It means being a Christian living in reality and not in the unreality of self- righteousness.

POSTSCRIPT.  A Concern

One of the things that concerns me in recent days is the number of younger preachers whom I have heard on the internet who have taken what I consider to be an extreme view of Romans 6:11  “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” They say that they have died to sin and one of them even suggested that he had not had a sinful thought for a number of years. But they fail to read on to the following verses where Paul writes, Rom 6:12 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” Paul was showing that humans have free-will and have to make choices. The reality is that sin still exists and believers have to choose to present themselves to God moment by moment to have victory over sin. The reality as Paul saw it was that believers could still present their bodies to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but they had the choice of presenting themselves to God to be instruments of righteousness. (Dead people cannot make choices.)

Others say that they no longer have a sinful nature and now having God’s nature can live righteous lives all the time. However the 39 Articles of the Church of England and Anglican churches says this about our old nature in Article IX Of Original or Birth-Sin, “And this infection of nature doth remain, yea, in them that are regenerated.”  We may be partakers of the divine nature as St Peter affirms in 2 Peter 1:4  “… by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature” but the Bible states that the old nature remains in those who are born again. Paul exhorted the believers in Ephesus  “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23  and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24.) The old self still existed but the believers had to choose to put on the new nature.

That is why even very senior Christians can get it wrong sometimes. Peter who wrote those wonderful words in 2 Peter 1:4 failed to live as he should after many years as a believer and as a church leader. Paul described what happened in Galatians 2:11-13, “But when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. “  Paul knew the gospel message was being compromised by Peter and the others so he took action, Galatians 2:14 “But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?’” If even Peter was guilty of sin after many years of victorious Christian living and ministry, one would think that less mature believers would need to be careful of claiming to be without sin.

It may be that these younger preachers today are confusing what is theirs potentially and what is their actual situation. It may be true that if someone had a 100% understanding of the will of God and lived in 100% obedience to His will and was motivated by 100% pure agape love towards God and towards their fellow humans, they could potentially live 100% pure lives. But that is not realistic. The only way it can become realistic in a person’s mind is to justify their behaviour by thinking they are dead to sin and (even unconsciously) lessening the sinfulness of sin. The reality is that no one apart from Jesus has been or ever will be sinless all the time.

So praying “forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us” is as necessary for our young preachers today as it is for the rest of us.

………………………..………………………………………………………………………………….

[NOTE 1] Being in debt to others. We may have taken things from people such as some of their material possessions. Or we may have damaged (or taken from them) their good name or reputation through criticism of them. Or we may have taken from them some of the peace they were enjoying before we spoke or acted towards them in a negative way. Every sin has a consequence.  Every sin does damage to the sinner and to the one sinned against. It has to be dealt with or else the damage remains. We are in debt to the ones against whom we have sinned in some way or other and we need their forgiveness. Similarly those who have sinned against us are indebted to us and need to ask for and receive God’s forgiveness and hopefully ours as well.

[NOTE 2] Luke 11:4. Note the present tense in both the verb “we ourselves forgive” (we are forgiving) and the participle “indebted” (being indebted to us). It speaks of an on-going attitude of forgiveness to be adopted towards those who sin against us.

[NOTE 3] Receiving Christ as Saviour. We can see in the following verses that believing in Jesus and receiving Him are equated. Many of His own people did not believe in Him, nor receive Him and as a result were not born into God’s family. John wrote in John 1:11-12, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

[NOTE 4] It is important to note that in 1 John 1:9 that the verb “to cleanse” is present tense. In other words we could translate it as “God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to keep on cleansing us from all unrighteousness.”  Some have called it “keeping short accounts with God” in order to receive the experience of forgiveness for sins of which we recently have become aware and for ongoing cleansing.

QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION BY INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS. (Added 30June 2016)

Question 1. When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment of all He replied in Mat 22:36-40 giving two commandments  that had to be obeyed. They were to love God with all one’s being and to love one’s neighbour as oneself. What is significant in the answer Jesus gave?

Question 2. How could you attempt to use these 2 Great Commandments to try to convince someone that they needed forgiveness?

Question 3. On what grounds can we ask God to forgive us? What is involved on His part and on our part?

Question 4. In the Postscript above, mention is made of St Peter being rebuked by St Paul in Galatia for behaving in a way that was contrary to the gospel message they were both preaching. Do you find that encouraging or discouraging as you seek to live for the Lord now? Why?

Question 5. In NOTE 1 above it is suggested that those who sin against us are indebted to us, or they owe us. Forgiveness involves cancelling those debts.  Why do you think it is so difficult for people to forgive those who hurt them when they come to realise that they have to cancel all those debts?

Blog No.178. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Monday 21st March 2016. Revisited Thurs 30th June 2016

 

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177.  The Prayer That Can Change The World. The Lord’s Prayer. “ Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread. ” Matthew 6:11. (Study 5 of 9)

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

“Jehovah-Jireh”. So begins one of the most popular Christian songs in recent years. The song continues with words like these, “Jehovah Jireh, My provider, His grace is sufficient For me, for me, for me.” Other parts of the song have these words, “My God shall supply all my needs, According to His riches in glory, He will give His angels Charge over me, Jehovah Jireh cares for me, for me, for me, Jehovah Jireh cares for me.”

Not only is it a lovely song to sing but the words express important truths about God. He is seen as “Jehovah-Jireh” meaning He is Yahweh, the God who Provides. The word for “provides” is “raah” which means to see, to watch over and to provide. It speaks of the care Yahweh has for those who are His. The most well-known example is found in Gen 22:12 where God provides the lamb for the sacrifice just as Abraham was to offer up his son in sacrifice and He says, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” The story continues, Gen 22:1 “And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.” The response by Abraham was to decide to remember that place as Jehovah Jireh, “The LORD will provide”.

God is creator and king. He also supplies human needs. Eg., Psalm 145:8-9 remind us of His grace, mercy and love. “The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  (9) The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.” But it also spells out the practical aspect of that love in His provision for His creatures, (15) “The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. (16) You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

God provides. Jesus also encouraged us to pray, “Give us each day our daily bread.” That is a prayer based on the faithfulness of God. We are asking our Heavenly Father to supply our needs for the coming day.

1).        GOD KNOWS WHAT OUR REAL NEEDS ARE

What did Jesus mean by “bread”? It meant of course, the food known as bread, such as a loaf of bread. Most of the 300 plus references in the ESV Bible to “bread”, refer to bread of that sort. God provides the basic necessities of life such as the materials to make bread.

It can also mean our material needs in general. When we pray “Give us each day our daily bread”, we’re inviting the Lord to meet all the needs He knows we have. Jesus was to say a little later, regarding our basic needs in life for food and drink and clothing, Luke 12:30-31 “For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”

If we allow the Lord to be the King, the Ruler, the Master of our lives, and if we set our minds on knowing and doing God’s will, then He tells us that we don’t need to be anxious about our material needs. He promises He will provide them for us. As Jesus also said, “If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will Your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?” Mat 7:11. (Lk 11:13 the Holy Spirit.) If human fathers (who are by no means perfect) provide for their children then how much more will the Perfect Father in heaven be motivated and be able to provide for His adopted children.

But “bread” in the Bible can also mean provision for our spiritual needs. Jesus said in John 6:32-33, “My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” And in John  6:35, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” God once gave the manna to fall from heaven to provide for the physical needs of the Israelites as they journeyed in the wilderness. Then He gave His Son Jesus to come from heaven to bring satisfaction to our spiritual hunger and thirst. God wants to meet our needs, not necessarily our wants. There can be a difference! Only God truly knows what that difference is!

2).        GOD PROVIDES SUFFICIENT TO MEET OUR NEED

Jesus didn’t encourage us to pray, “Give us right now, enough resources to last for the next 12 months.” Nor was it to be prayer asking that God might fill our lives with all the luxuries imaginable. It was prayer for daily needs. We see that pattern in the Old Testament in God’s provision of daily manna. Exodus 16:4, “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions’.”  He provided for the day. (The only change would be on the sixth day when they were to gather twice as much to cater for the seventh day when they were not to go out to collect the food, but to rest. Any extra gathered on that day in disobedience would go bad by the next day.

God provided. They had to exercise their faith to go out to receive His provision for their daily need. When they longed for meat, He provided for their need by having quails land in the camp each evening. Here was a loving God’s provision for the needs of His people. He is still a loving God. He still cares for the needs of His children.

3).        GETTING OUR NEEDS INTO PERSPECTIVE

One problem we have in bringing our needs to God, is that we too easily make them the focus of our attention. In fact we can do that in our prayer life so that praying for our needs or for those of our family, gets right out of proportion. Instead of focussing on the love and mercy and greatness of God, and becoming more and more people of praise, we can major on asking Him to do things or to supply things for us. (We need to remember that God is not our “Bell-boy” to respond immediately to every wish or whim that we might have.)

The right focus is seen in Proverbs 30. The writer didn’t want to become too materialistic. His prayer to God was a simple one, “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.” The writer knew himself. He knew that too much or too little would cause a problem in his relationship with God. He explained it clearly, “I may have too much and disown You and say ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonour the name of my God”.  He wanted only sufficient provision to enable him to live life every day in a good relationship to God, of whom he had already written in 30:5, “Every word of God is flawless, He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”

Job also had the right perspective on life. Job 23:12, “I have not departed from the commands of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.” He was determined to live in obedience to God, to major on God’s commandments to him. He placed the importance in his life on knowing and fulfilling God’s words, treasuring them more than the food he needed every day.

4).        WHAT IS OUR FOCUS? IS IT HEALTHY OR UNHEALTHY?

Notice where the petition comes in the Lord’s Prayer. It follows after “Father, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come.” (“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”) Our focus is not to be on what God can provide for us, but on the Provider Himself. One of the disadvantages in living in a prosperous nation like Australia is that most of us know where our next meal is coming from. In fact we may have all the ingredients for all the meals for the whole of the coming week in our pantry and refrigerator already. It is so easy to take God’s provision for us for granted.

Gratitude to God was a lesson the Israelites needed to learn as they journeyed from Egypt to the Promised Land. He warned them through Moses that when they eventually began to enjoy greater prosperity they were to remember that it was He who had been providing for them throughout their entire journey, Deuteronomy 8:11-16, “Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, (12) lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, (13) and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, (14) then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,(15) who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock,(16) who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end.”

 It is so easy to forget that God has been at work in our lives during the hard times as well as the good times. It is so easy to begin to think that we are self-made people and owe any successes we have to our own wisdom, effort or skill.  Moses warned in the following verses, (8:17) “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ (18) You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth.” Praying “Give us this day our daily bread” is a reminder to us that every blessing we have comes ultimately from the hand of God Himself.  That should keep us humble and always dependent on Him!

 5).        NOTICE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PLURAL “US” AND “OUR”

The Lord’s Prayer is the family prayer of all believers. It is not a “Gimme!” prayer. Rather we pray that the Lord would provide for all His children “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread.” Christian love demands that we think of the needs of others as we pray for our own needs to be met. As the apostle John wrote in 1 John 3:17 “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

As we next pray these words “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread” our empty hands should be extended towards Him to receive His provision for our needs. They should also be uplifted in gratitude and praise to Him for His  gracious provision to us. Then we will be motivated to extend our hands to others sharing with them what God (as Jehovah Jireh the Provider) has shared with us. After all He enriches us for a purpose. To be generous with what He gives to us. As St Paul wrote, 2 Corinthians 9:10 “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.”  

“Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread.” These words are simultaneously a request for His provision and also a declaration of faith in Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides for His people.

QUESTIONS for individuals or groups to consider. (Added on Wed 29th June 2016)

Question 1. In Luke 12:30 Jesus spoke of the need to “seek first His kingdom”.What do you think that means for us today? In what practical ways can we show we are “seeking first” His kingdom?

Question 2. If God promises to provide for our needs, not our wants, how can we tell the difference between our wants and our needs?

Question 3. In Proverbs 30, what important truth is the writer bringing out regarding God’s provision to us?

Question 4. What warnings does Moses give in Deuteronomy 8 about “forgetting” God. How can we make sure that we don’t “forget” Him?

Question 5. If you were asked to show the truth in the last paragraph beginning “As we …” by using hand actions how would you attempt to do it? What truths would you be trying to express in this way?

Blog No.177. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Monday 14th March 2016. (Revisited on Wed 29th June 2016)

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