200. Sharing In The Joy Of Jesus. Jesus said, “… that My joy may be in you.” Adapted from a sermon on John 15:11. (No.2 in series of 3 on Love, Joy and Peace)

Posted on November 20, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

Joy is not hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure. The belief that pleasure or happiness is the most important goal in life. However joy is the result of finding the source of real pleasure, in the Lord, (in who He is and in what He has done) the only One who can bring true genuine lasting joy in life no matter what.
Joy is recognising and acting on God’s steadfast love and faithfulness for us in the past, present and future.

1).  Joy Because Of God’s Faithfulness In The Past
The people of God knew great joy when God gave them victory over their enemies. Eg.,
i). Under King Jehoshaphat. 2 Ch 20:1 “After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites (from Mt Seir) came against Jehoshaphat for battle….  14 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel …  15 And he said, “… ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. …   17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ , “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.”  21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever.” 22 And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. 23 For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. AND 2 Chron 20:27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies.” An amazing God using amazing strategies to win an amazing victory. And the people were so grateful.

ii). David won a victory over the Philistines. 1Sam 18:6 “As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments.” It’s a great occasion for joy when the Lord gives us victory over our enemies as a sign of His steadfast love and faithfulness to us. He loves us with steadfast love. He is faithful. We can rejoice in His steadfast love and faithfulness. (It is interesting that the “steadfast love” and “faithfulness” of God appear together in 39 verses in the Old Testament.)

iii). 2010. Something happened that I had never seen before and have never seen since. A mind-blowing experience in the Cathedral in Sydney on the night of the 50th Anniversary of the Healing Service in the Cathedral. We were celebrating 50 years of God’s blessing, and praising God for the thousands of people over those years who had experienced the love of God in physical, spiritual and emotional healing. Some present had been there for many of those 50 years with wonderful memories of the healings they had experienced and had seen others experience.
In the sermon I recounted some stories of wonderful healings during that time and then I said, “The Healing Ministry is not about Jim Glennon (its Founder), nor about Jim Holbeck (me as the Leader 1988-2006), nor about the new Leader, Chris. It’s all about Him!” (As I pointed skywards).  The Cathedral erupted. There was spontaneous release of joy and praise from all over the Cathedral; shouts of ‘Halleluia’, ‘Praise the Lord’ and hands all over the Cathedral raised in praise; people clapping and people punching the air in praise and thanksgiving. This spontaneous eruption lasted about 2 minutes or so. When it ceased as suddenly as it began, I lowered my raised hand with my index finger still pointing to the sky and finished the sermon. Later a  bishop who had been invited to the service came forward to pronounce the Blessing. Before he did so, he announced to the congregation, “That’s the most fun I’ve ever had in this Cathedral!” Joy was tangible that evening. God was praised and glorified. His people were blessed with a deep joy.

It reminded me of the incident in Jesus’ life in Luke 19:37 when Jesus was entering Jerusalem, “the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” However as we know, there are always party-poopers who want to stamp out what they see to be excesses, “39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” Jesus’ reply indicated that God must be praised and if humans hadn’t done it on that occasion the stones would have cried out in praise, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” Lk 19:40.
God must be praised. If the people hadn’t praised Him that night, one felt that the inanimate bricks which had witnessed God’s steadfast love and faithfulness and power for 50 years would have cried out in praise. It was a glory moment I’ll never forget. The Joy was tangible for the rest of the evening. It was as though God had visited His people and we were glad!

2). Joy Because Of God’s Faithfulness In The Present
In The Good Times
Psalm 4:7. We can have joy even when we live in humble circumstances. Psa 4:7 “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.” (Deep joy despite having little rather than shallow frivolity in having excess).
Prov 15:16 Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it.
Prov 16:8 Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice.
Ps 16:8-11. When we have experienced His guidance and blessing. Psa 16:8 “I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.” AND v. 11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Sometimes we go through difficult times but they lead to great blessings. I was preaching at St Stephen’s Coorparoo in Brisbane shortly after I had been ordained. I quoted from the passage in John 16:20-21 where Jesus told His disciples that He was about to leave them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.” His disciples would experience great pain when Jesus left them, but they would later rejoice when they knew His death and resurrection and ascension had brought them such blessing. Great pain followed by great joy! At the end of the service a woman came up to me, eyeballed me and said, “You’ve never had a baby have you?” I had to admit that I hadn’t. But I knew of many women who had testified to the truth of Jesus’words. The joy of holding a new born bundle of joy can lessen painful memories.

In Difficult Times
Ps 51:10-12. David, in despair over the consequences of his sin with Bathsheba, turned to God. Psa 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation… ..”  He knew he was out of fellowship with God and longed to experience the joy of his salvation once again. He wanted to be forgiven. He wanted to be changed. He wanted a clean heart.

Isa 12:6. Isaiah encouraged the people of Jerusalem to rejoice in God’s presence. Isa 12:6 “Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” (We need to Practice His Presence! How often do we talk about God as though He were not in the room with us.)  In  Mat 18:19-20. Jesus reminded us, Mat 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” This is the whole basis of every Healing service, the presence of Jesus with His people. And His provision for their need in the previous verse, Mat 18:19 “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” The twofold promise of His Presence and His Provision for His people when they gather together in His name.

Habbakuk 3:17-18. Joy and rejoicing in times of material hardship such as in famine or drought. Hab 3:17 “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, 18 YET I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” (Instead of focussing on our meagre provisions  we should focus on  our Provider, Jehovah Jireh with gratitude for what we have!)

Jas 1:2-4. When undergoing various trials we can praise Him because handled correctly they help to strengthen us. James wrote, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing”. James 1:2-4. Perhaps it is true that often there is no gain without some pain.

Luk 6:22-23. We can rejoice when facing insults and persecution, “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.”  Rejected by the world but loved by God!

3). Joy Because Of God’s Faithfulness In The Future
Ps 30:5. God can change us overnight when things are tough, Psa 30:5 “… Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Handing things over to God brings peace and the joy of knowing that He is in control.

Jn 17:5, 17. Jesus in His High Priestly prayer in Joh 17:5 as He prepared to face the cross, prayed, “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” AND Joh 17:13 “But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” (ie., “They will eventually recognise that my death was not a senseless defeat. Rather they will see it as a great victory and the cause for sharing in My joy.”)

Heb 12:2. When Jesus was facing rejection, mocking and certain death, He didn’t focus on His difficulties. He focussed on the joy that lay before Him after His death and resurrection and ascension. Heb 12:2 “Jesus …, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
When we are going through difficulties in life we need to have our focus on the Lord who does “work all things together for good for those who love Him”. Rom 8:28.

4). Joy At All Times. The Fruit Of The Spirit
St Paul reminds us that joy can be our constant companion no matter what the circumstances may be.  It is part of the fruit of the Spirit he described in Gal 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control.” Joy is a manifestation of the life of Christ in us by His Spirit in the good times and the bad times. Paul wrote in 2 Cor 4:7 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”

That’s why we can share His love, His joy and His peace as we pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18), to be filled with the life of Christ. To be filled with His love, His joy and His peace.

Blog No.200.  Jim Holbeck.  Preached in Trinity Church Port Macquarie and also posted on Sunday 23rd November 2016

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Healing, Prayer, Real Life Stories, Salvation, Sermons on John's Gospel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

199. “Abiding in the Love of Jesus.”  Adapted from a sermon on John 15:9-10 (No.1 in series of 3 on Love, Joy and Peace)

Posted on November 13, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

John 15:9-10, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”

We might well ask, “What is love?” We consider a couple of incidents that might be seen initially as “love stories.”

The first is a true story from the Old Testament in 2 Samuel 13. A young man had fallen in love with a beautiful woman.His name was Amnon, a son of King David.  He told his friend, “I love Tamar.” But he added that she was his half-sister. That meant he could not marry her. Together he and his friend worked out a plan so that Amnon could take advantage of her sexually. It was a horrible plan.  But unfortunately it was successful. Amnon violated Tamar. However immediately his attitude to her changed, 13:15 “Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up! Go!” He told his servant, 17 “Put this woman out of my presence and bolt the door after her.”  It is a true story. But by no means is it a story of true love!  From so-called “love” to hatred in a moment is never true love. True love always seeks the best interests of the other person, no matter what!

The second true story comes from the 20th Century. The occasion was a wedding. During the marriage service the bride-groom promised to fulfil the following vows to his beloved. He promised to give himself to her to be her husband. To live with her according to God’s word. To love her, comfort her, honour and protect her. To forsake all others, and to be faithful to her as long as they both would live. Romantic stuff! It would seem to be Commitment with a Capital “C!”

That night on their honeymoon he went down to the bar for a drink at the hotel where they were staying. There he met an attractive young woman who invited him back to her room. They had a sexual encounter. Then he went up to re-join his wife on their honeymoon.  She found out years later what had happened, the first of many betrayals. I still remember the hurt and pain in her voice as she said to me, “And this was on our wedding night!”  A true story but by no means a story of true love!

We could ask the question, “WHAT IS ‘LOVE’?”  There is a very simple one word answer in 1 John 4:8,   “God is love.” He is the origin, the source and the pattern of True Love.  (Perhaps some further explanation is needed.)

1). GOD LOVES US WITH TRUE LOVE

Fortunately we don’t have to guess whether the God of this universe loves us. He has revealed His love for us both by His actions and by His words.

i). He has shown His love in the death of His Son on the cross

In a verse called “the gospel in a nutshell” are these words, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16. He died so that we could be forgiven and enter into eternal life.

St Paul wrote that God has revealed His love for people who did not deserve His love, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8. The apostle John put it in similar words, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 1 John 4:9. John also wrote about true love as being God’s love for us rather than our love for Him, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:10. His love is to be seen as the only true pattern for true love.

 ii).  His love is there for us for ever. God’s love for His people never ceases.  Paul writing from personal experience recognised that nothing and nobody could ever separate us from the love of God, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” Rom 8:35-39.  No matter what situation we may be in, God’s love is available for us if we reach out to Him. We are loved by One who is the very embodiment of love Himself.

2).   GOD WANTS US TO LOVE HIM

It’s amazing that the Creator God of this whole universe wants us to love Him. The early Israelites were taught to recite the Shema, a Hebrew word meaning to “hear”. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Deut 6:4.   Jesus affirmed that command from God. When He was asked about the Greatest commandment He replied, “The most important (commandment) is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mar 12:29-30. He then added another commandment concerning love, “The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 12:31. 

 God wants us to love Him and to express that love. It is His purpose for us. We are fulfilling our God-given destiny when we love Him. As St Peter put it, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. 10  Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 1 Pet 2:9-10. We express our love for Him in praise, adoration and thanksgiving as His chosen people.

3). WE ARE TO LOVE OTHERS WITH HIS LOVE

We have a God-given responsibility to be concerned for others.  God commanded His people in Lev 19:16-18 in words that would be good to obey in election times and indeed every day.  “You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbour: I am the LORD. 17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbour, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the LORD.”  Loving one’s neighbour was not a new initiative in the teaching of Jesus. He brought the teaching from Leviticus with a new emphasis into the world of His day.

John wrote that love for one’s neighbour is a test for our purported love for God. If there is no love for one’s neighbour then any professed love for God is not true love for Him, “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. (21) And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” 1 Jn 4:20.

4).  WE CAN LOVE OTHERS WITH GOD’S (AGAPE) LOVE

How can we follow the pattern of God’s love? By allowing Him to express His love through us to others by His Holy Spirit. In the following verses, the Greek New Testament word for “love” is “agape” which is used of God’s love or love which has its origin in Him. It is love for the unlovely, for the unworthy, for the undeserving. It is a love that always seeks the best interests of others.

 The Holy Spirit pours out His (agape) love in and through us.  Rom 5:5  “… God’s (agape) love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” This love just doesn’t trickle into our hearts. The word Paul uses for “poured” is ἐκχέω (ekcheō) which is used of the shedding or pouring out of Jesus’ blood for sinners. Mat 26:28; Mark 14:24. It is used of new wine “bursting” through old wineskins, Luke 5:37. In Acts 10 many were amazed when God “poured out” His Holy Spirit on the Gentiles, Acts 10:45. So the sense is more a deluge of His love rather a trickle into our hearts.

 The Holy Spirit expresses the presence of His life in us by His fruit, the fruit of the Spirit, Gal 5:22  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love (agape) , joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” If the Spirit indwells us then the fruit of His life in us should be plain  to see.

Love towards others is a consequence of being born again, of God. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love (agape) is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” 1Jn 4:7. To be born of God is to be born of the Spirit. To be born of the Spirit means we have become sharers of the divine nature.  To share His nature means that we can love others with His love,  2Peter 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, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.  His love! Through us! For others!

 The question then is this. How can we experience this love of God flowing through us to others?  By asking God to fill us with His Holy Spirit. We are right to pray in this way because that is what He wants for us, Eph 5:18, “ And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” The effects of that infilling are two-fold. One is in relation to God by expressing our love for Him in praise to Him. The second is in terms of our relationships with others by joining with them in mutual praise and thanksgiving to Him and in our mutual submission to one another because of our reverence for Christ, Eph 5:19 “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20  giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

 We are reminded that this infilling is not a once for all occasion. Rather it is a continual infilling, “Keeping on being filled” with His presence. It also means continually exhibiting all of the fruit of the Spirit all the time. If we are filled by the Spirit of God we will show forth His fruit in our lives, namely, “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Not one or two in this list, but all. “Fruit” (karpos) is singular. The fruit is all those qualities, not some.

Or as Jesus put it in John 15:9-10, it means continuing to abide in Him and abiding in His love, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”

 LOVE! Being open to God’s love for us! Responding to His love in expressing our love for Him in praise, adoration and thanksgiving. Allowing God’s love to flow through us to others as we keep on praying to be filled with the Spirit of God and allowing His fruit to be manifest in our lives. It means abiding in Him and putting into practice all He has commanded us. In the words of St Paul as he set out what true love is and what it is not in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends.” 

A Prayer: “Lord, please keep on filling us with Your Holy Spirit so that Your love may flow through us to help meet the needs of a needy world. AMEN”

Blog 199. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Sunday 13th November 2016

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Forgiveness, Real Life Stories, Sermons on John's Gospel, Temptations, TOPICS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

198. Does God Really Listen To Us When We Pray? Some Thoughts On Prayer. 1 John 5:14-15

Posted on October 27, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

A friend recently remarked that when he prayed he often wondered if anyone was listening. He said he believed that God did listen but nevertheless the thought kept coming back. In reply I mentioned some of the Bible verses that tell us that God does listen and that He delights to answer our prayers. The following are some of those verses. However our conversation stimulated me to do some more thinking on the subject.

In 1 John 5:14-15 John affirms that we can know God listens to us when we pray. We can also know that He answers our prayers. There are 2 main words for “know” in New Testament. One is the verb (ginosko ) from the noun (gnosis = knowledge.) It can mean beginning to know and increasing in knowledge. The other main word is (oida a perfect tense form of the verb εἴδω =  eídō meaning “to see.”) It means having a full or complete knowledge. It is used twice in these verses.

 1).        WE CAN “KNOW” THAT GOD HEARS US WHEN WE PRAY. 1 Jn 5:14

1 Jn 5:14) “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. (15) And if we KNOW   (οιδαμεν =oidamen)   that he hears us–whatever we ask— …” John is stating the fact that God hears prayers that are prayed according to His will.

Another fact my friend found helpful was the statement that God takes us seriously. He is supremely motivated to listen and to answer our prayers.

We see that even in the Old Testament. For example in Isaiah 65:24  “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” He knows what we are going to say and to pray at any moment. So in that sense it may be that His answer is in the process of being fulfilled even as we pray. In Jeremiah we see another aspect to prayer, Jeremiah 33:3  “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” When our hearts are inclined to call out to Him, He listens and answers and may bring greater enlightenment to us. A reason why prayer  is answered is found in Zechariah 13:9  “They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.'”  Calling on His name means trusting in who He is and in what He has done. They are described as “God’s people” who acknowledge that “The Lord is our God.” God listens particularly to the prayers of His people in this personal relationship with them.

 But what are the conditions for answered prayer? God is certainly not a robot who responds instantly and positively to whatever we pray. John gives us the answer in 1 Jn 5:14. “if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

i). We have to be in the centre of God’s will, and praying according to God’s will for our prayers to be answered. Again it is about the intimacy of our relationship with Him. As Jesus promised in John 15:7 “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Remaining or abiding in close fellowship with Him enables us to come to know Him more closely and to discover more of Hs character and His will. The real measure of that is if we are taking His words seriously and living by them. It means that if we are abiding in Him and allowing His words to abide in us, we are being drawn into a closer relationship with Him. Then we will have a greater understanding of His will. Our prayers will then be in closer conformity to His will. It is these prayers that He promises to answer.

We see the same truth a few verses later in John 15:14 “You are my friends if you do what I command. … 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit–fruit that will last–and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.” Being a true friend to Jesus by obeying Him enables Him to be a TRUE FRIEND to us by blessing us with answers to our prayers.

 ii).  We have to get rid of doubt and truly trust Him.

Mk 11:22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” AND

Jas 1:6 “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” Doubt is a lack of trust and a breach of love.

 iii).  We need to get rid of pockets of unbelief. Jesus speaks with the father of a boy with an unclean spirit. Mar 9:21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” 23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Many of us have faith for some things to happen. But there may be pockets of unbelief in all of us regarding other things. It is a mature person who prays to the Lord, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Only God knows what those pockets are. Having faith in the sufficiency of my faith is entirely different to having faith in the sufficiency of the Lord.

iv).  We have to live lives pleasing to Him. 1Jn 3:21-23, “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.”  To “receive from Him whatever we ask” is conditional. It is conditional on keeping His commandments especially His commands to believe in His name and to love others.

 v).  We have to have the right motives in praying. Jas 4:2  “…. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” A failure to pray will mean a failure to receive. A failure to pray with the right motive will also mean a failure to receive. We are to live for His glory, not ours.  To do His will, not our own. To fulfil His purpose for our lives, not to ask Him to simply satisfy our desires for our sakes.

 2).    WE CAN “KNOW” THAT GOD ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS. 1 John 5:15

1 John  5:15) “And if we know that he hears us–whatever we ask—we KNOW (οιδαμεν =oidamen) that we have what we asked of him.” It is not saying, “Might possibly get” or “Perhaps may get sometime in the future”. Whether we like it or not the words are in the present tense, “we have”.

I once advertised the topic of a coming sermon. It had this title, “We Ask! He Hears! We Have!” It drew some interesting responses. Among them was this, “Where did you get that from?” It was a natural response. It seems too glib or too good to be true. It certainly wasn’t true in the experience of some of the questioners that when they prayed they immediately got the answers they were seeking. But we have to take God’s word seriously and to reflect on what it is really saying, even when it doesn’t seem to fit in with our experience. Reality is what God says. It is not what we feel or have experienced thus far in life. I told my questioners that I got the sermon title directly from these verses in 1 John 5:14-15, “…  we ask …  he hears … we have.”  (I had simply deleted the intervening words.) They are the natural ways to interpret those verses.

 We might ask, what did Jesus teach about answers to prayer?

It was interesting meeting up a week later with the friend I mentioned at the beginning of this article. He shared that it had encouraged him to realise that God takes His people (including him) seriously. I responded in words that I have reflected on ever since, “Yes, He takes us a lot more seriously than we take Him.”  I realised afresh what an indictment that is on us as humans! God Almighty, the Creator of all things and all people takes us seriously. Enough to send His Son to die for us on a cross and to offer us forgiveness and new life in Him! Enough to ensure that all His promises to His people are fulfilled in Christ! As St Paul wrote,  2 Corinthians 1:19-20 “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. (20) For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him …”. The promises are ours in Him!

St Peter said the same, that God’s promises are ours in Him, 2 Peter 1:3 “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 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, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” Promises that enable us to become like Him. Yet how seriously do we take Him? How seriously do we take His promises to us?

Jesus made many promises about prayers being answered. The following are some of them.

  • Mark 11:24 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”  The answer to our prayer is available to us now in Christ [you have received] but is released to us [will be yours] according to His timetable, not ours.
  • John 14:13 “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”[The important thing to note is that prayer has to be in His “name”. It has to be in accord with Who Jesus is and dependent on what He has done. It has to be for the glory of God, and not simply for our own personal convenience! Though of course God delights to give us what we need to live for Him.]
  • John 16:23-24, “In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” Jesus was stating that the time would come when His disciples would not need to ask Him for help. They could ask the Father directly and He would give them whatever they asked for in Jesus’ name.

They could do so because Jesus had opened the way for them to approach God directly and because they now belonged to the family of God as His children,  Ephesians 2:18 “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” The writer to the Hebrews put the same truths in these words, Hebrews 10:10 “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. … 10:19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, … 10:22  let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Confidence to come before God personally with the full assurance of faith.  

 Is There Any Limit To What God Can Do In Answer To Prayer?  

Paul wrote these encouraging words in a Doxology in Ephesians 3:20, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” God can do far more than we can ever ask for in prayer. In fact He can do much more than we could ever imagine. How does He do it? According to His power that is at work in us.

What then is the upper limit? Sorry, I have no answer because God says of me that as a finite human being I cannot even begin to imagine the unimaginable. I just know it is more than I can imagine. Even the fact that I know that God hears and answers our prayers came by revelation from Him through His word. My experience in prayer confirms this revealed truth.  But what I do realise is that it is His power not mine. Perhaps what I need to do is to act on Paul’s command in Philippians 2:12  “…  work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13  for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Perhaps it is time for all of us to cease trying to imagine the unimaginable and to cooperate with God as He works in us to give us the willingness and the ability to do what He wants to do in and through us by His power. The things that please Him! Perhaps even unimaginable things for His pleasure? Imagine that! (No I can’t, but He can!)

Blog No.198. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Thursday 27th October 2016

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197. “FAITHFULNESS.”Adapted From A Sermon On The Fruit Of The Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23.

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

This is the 7th in the list of the nine characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit in Gal 5:22-23. We look first of all at what Faithfulness is not, before seeing what it really is.

 1). WHAT FAITHFULNESS IS NOT.  Some Examples Of Unfaithfulness

Just a few weeks ago a famous New Zealand Rugby player was waiting with his team to catch a plane at a New Zealand airport. The story goes that he left the team and apparently met up with a young woman in a toilet that was reserved for disabled people. Those who saw him enter the toilet later judged it to have been a sexual encounter. When the news broke, people were shocked and vented their disgust. But the reactions were varied. Some condemned the couple for using a toilet that was set aside for disabled people. “How dare they take up that space!” was the criticism. A majority of others however, knowing that the player had a well-known partner, condemned him for being unfaithful to her. (People do not like unfaithfulness.)

Many years ago I was counselling a woman who was having marital problems. Her husband had been unfaithful on a number of occasions. But I was even more disgusted when she told me he had been unfaithful even on their wedding night. She told me that soon after they had arrived at their hotel for their honeymoon, he had gone down to the bar for a quick drink before retiring. There he met a young woman drinking alone who had invited him back to her room where a sexual encounter took place. I still remember the deep sadness in her voice as she said, “Even on our wedding night!”  (People hate unfaithfulness.)

A Senior Clergyman who was well-known and respected in his diocese reached retirement age. A big function was held for him and his wife. After the function he suggested that his wife go home while he finished tidying his office. However he never went home. People were shocked to discover that immediately after the function he had run off with the woman who had been his secretary. (People were disgusted. People hate unfaithfulness.)

If a famous footballer, a top lawyer and a senior clergyman can’t be faithful, who can? Well, all of us should be and can be by the grace of God.  But we need to understand what faithfulness looks like. To do so we need to look beyond human individuals to the supreme example of faithfulness. That is God Himself.

 2). WHAT IS FAITHFULNESS? The true pattern is found in God Himself.

There are many passages in the Bible that describe the faithfulness of God. We look at two from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament.

2  Old Testament Passages.

i).  He Is Faithful in His mercy and provision. Lamentations 3:22  “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23  they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ”  He is faithful to His people every day.

ii). He is Faithful to His eternal promises. Deuteronomy 7:9. He fulfils His promises to provide for His people. Deut 7:9,  “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.” He is always faithful and He will be faithful for ever.

2 New Testament Passages

i). 1Cor 10:13. He promises to help us overcome temptation. “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” 

BUT if we do fall to temptation, God has another promise for us.

ii).  He is faithful in forgiving us and cleansing us. 1 John 1:8-9.  “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 & to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

(He is “Faithful” to His Old Testament promises to forgive His people when they repent of sin and ask for His forgiveness. He is “Just” because justice has been done. Jesus died in our place and bore the punishment we deserved for our sin.)

3). HOW CAN WE BECOME FAITHFUL PEOPLE?

What do we have in mind when we say we want to be faithful people? The picture in the minds of many is that we are weak frail people who want to do right things but are too weak to do them without God’s help. So we cry out to God, “Please make me to be a more faithful person.”  OR as we sing these words in the hymn, “Just a closer walk with Thee”.  [ “I am weak but Thou art strong, Jesus keep me from all wrong, I’ll be satisfied as long, As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.”] It is a prayer in which we recognise our weakness and we cry out to God for His help.

It Is Asking God To Give Us What We Think We Don’t Have.

BUT there Is Another Way Of Looking At How We Can Become More Faithful People. We go back to Gal 5:22-23 and try to work out what it is saying. Gal 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control.”

What is fruit? It is the outward expression or manifestation of the life within.

The apple is the outward manifestation of the life within the apple tree. The fruit of the Spirit is the outward manifestation or expression of the life of the Holy Spirit who dwells in every believer.

”Fruit” is singular. So the fruit is ALL those qualities or characteristics of the Spirit being manifest in and through our lives.  Not just one or two, but all the fruit, all the time!

Does that characterise us? It should! But HOW can it happen?

4).  BY ALLOWING THE HOLY SPIRIT TO FILL US WITH HIS PRESENCE

Paul wrote, Eph 5:18 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit”. It is a command. It is in the present continuous tense, “keep on being filled”. It is passive in voice. We can’t fill ourselves. We have to be filled. Only God can fill us with His Spirit.

When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are filled with the life of Christ. The fruit of His indwelling life is seen through us and we show forth the fruit in our lives,  (“love AND joy AND  peace AND patience AND  kindness AND goodness AND faithfulness AND gentleness AND self-control.”)

As we ask God to fill us with His Holy Spirit we are asking Him to fill us with What We Already Have Within Us by His Spirit. God’s resources are made available to us by His indwelling Spirit. It’s as though we are getting out of the way (dying to self) and letting God flood us with His indwelling presence by His Spirit. It is allowing His life, His character, the fruit of the Spirit to be expressed though our lives.

So we could say that “Faithfulness” is not something “out there” to be hankered after. It is something we already have within us by the Holy Spirit. It is allowing God to express His character, His Faithfulness through us as we allow ourselves to be continually filled with His Spirit.  BUT HOW?

5).  THROUGH PRAYER. PRAYING THAT GOD WOULD FILL US WITH HIS SPIRIT

There’s a wonderful hymn that captures this desire to be filled with the presence of God. It was written by Theodore Monod, a French pastor who spoke at Keswick conventions and Deeper Life meetings. It has the theme that before we become believers we are full of self and have no place for God in our lives.  The first verse has these words, “Oh, the bitter shame and sorrow, That a time could ever be, When I let the Saviour’s pity, Plead in vain, and proudly answered,  All of self, and none of Thee,  All of self and none of Thee.”

 Then we become Christians and give Him a little space in our lives. The next verse ends with the words, “Some of self and some of Thee.” Later we give Him a bigger place in our lives. The next verse ends,  “Less of self and more of Thee.” Finally we come to that point in our lives where we say something like this in the final verse of the hymn, “Higher than the highest heavens,   Deeper than the deepest sea, Lord, Thy love at last hath conquered; Grant me now my heart’s petition, “None Of Self, And All Of Thee.”

I believe there are thousands of people in our churches who are at that point in their lives where they want all that God has for them in Christ. They want a sense of reality. They want more victories and less defeats. They want to be more faithful. Deep down they are crying out in their hearts, “Lord, I want NONE of self and ALL of Thee.”  They desire what St Paul prayed for his readers in Ephesus to experience, namely to be filled with God’s fullness, Eph 3:19  “and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Are you one of those people? If you are, you might like to join me in a prayer asking that God would fill us with His Spirit. Then and only then can we show forth the fruit of the Spirit in our lives day by day and moment by moment. Only then can we become the people God wants us to be, those characterised always by “faithfulness.”.

A PRAYER TO BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

“Heavenly Father, I ask You to forgive all my sin and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness.  

Fill me afresh with Your Holy Spirit so that the fruit of the Spirit might be seen in me for every moment of my life.

Enable me to show forth continually “love + joy +  peace + patience +  kindness+  goodness +  faithfulness + gentleness +  self-control,” (the evidence of Your presence in me).  

Thank You for hearing me and for the answer You are bringing me, even now as I pray. AMEN.”  

Blog No.197. JIm Holbeck. Posted on Thursday 20th October 2016

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

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verse 1. Loving one another as brothers and sisters.

Verse 2. Showing hospitality to strangers.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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195. SUMMARY Of Articles On Sexuality And Same sex marriage

Posted on September 30, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

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

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

HOMOPHOBIA

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

 BIBLE TEACHING AND “GAY MARRIAGE”

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE LAW AND GAY (OR SAME-SEX) MARRIAGE

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

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

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

HUMAN REBELLION AGAINST GOD AS SEEN IN ROMANS CHAPTER 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 ELECTIONS AND SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Creation, Forgiveness, Salvation, Sexuality, Temptations, TOPICS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

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

Some Comments on the question:

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

The difficulty of changing the definition of marriage

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

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

What would a plebiscite achieve?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on August 13, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

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

THE PASSAGE

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

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

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

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

We see a wonderful link in this verse.

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

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

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

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

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

Blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places!

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

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

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

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

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

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

A SUGGESTED PRAYER BASED ON Eph 1:3

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on August 5, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

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

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

 Some Amazing Truths

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Suggested Prayer

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

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

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

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

 NOTE 1]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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